Hai Phong Travel Guide

Hai Phong is a famous port city in the North, with the symbol of the Royal Poinciana flower, so it is also called "the city of red royal poinciana flowers". Travel experiences in Hai Phong are diverse, from street food to beaches.

What season is beautiful in Hai Phong ?

Hai Phong is suitable for tourism in all four seasons of the year. In winter, when coming to Hai Phong, you will be treated to hot street food. In summer, you can go to the beach or enjoy the famous coconut ice cream at restaurants in the city. In addition, summer is also the time when royal poinciana flowers bloom on the central streets and the road to Do Son.

Move

Tourists often take check-in photos with the train when it arrives at Hai Phong station. Photo: Instagram Ly Nguyen

From Hanoi, you can get to Hai Phong by many means. By road, the most convenient way is via the Hanoi - Hai Phong highway. The travel time is about 1.5 hours. Trains have hard and soft seats, with or without air conditioning, priced from 100,000 to 130,000 VND. Train travelers can park their motorbikes to take the initiative in their means of transportation in Hai Phong. By bus, you can choose Hoang Long or Anh Huy, priced at 120,000-135,000 VND. For more privacy and pick-up and drop-off service within the city, you can choose Hai Phong Travel, priced at 230,000-250,000 VND. From Ho Chi Minh City, you can take flights from Bamboo Airways, Vietnam Airlines and Vietjet Air. Of which, Vietnam Airlines departs from Ho Chi Minh City in the afternoon while Bamboo Airways departs in the morning. Visitors can also fly to Hanoi and travel by road.

Accommodation

Staying in the center of Hai Phong, you can refer to hotels such as Hotel Nikko, Mercure Hai Phong, Vinpearl Hotel Imperia, high-class and luxurious, located in prime locations, easy to move to places in the city. Room prices range from 1.2 million to 2.5 million VND. More affordable options are rooms in Vinhomes and Hoang Huy townhouses or homestays Dreamland - Chihouse, Vancao Green Homestay with prices from 250,000 VND per night. Hai Phong has high-class resorts by the sea, mainly concentrated in Cat Ba. Flamingo Cat Ba Beach Resort, Hôtel Perle d'Orient Cat Ba - MGallery, Nam Cat Island Resort CatbaBay, Monkey Island Resort... average prices range from 1,500,000 to 2,000,000 VND per night. Overnight on a cruise in Lan Ha Bay is also a different option, with prices ranging from 3,000,000 to 6,000,000 VND per person per night.

Flamingo Cat Ba won the most favorite resort award in 2021 in the program "Worth living project". Photo: Resort

Discover

Hai Phong Station

This is the first check-in location for tourists choosing to take the train from Hanoi to Hai Phong. The station bears the strong architectural imprint of the French and is considered one of the most beautiful train stations left by the French in Vietnam. City Theater The Hai Phong City Theater was built in 1904 on the site of an old market in the ancient village of An Bien and completed in 1912. This project was modeled after the Paris theater, with construction materials brought from France, and the construction was carried out by Vietnamese workers and laborers under the direction of French architects. During the French colonial period, the Opera House was a place for political and cultural activities of the French and wealthy locals. Only theater troupes from France or famous domestic theater troupes were allowed to perform here and only the wealthy could afford tickets to see it. Today, this is a tourist symbol of the city, located in the center, regularly hosting cultural activities and is a meeting place for groups of young people in the evening.

Hai Phong bridges are known as the city of bridges. They are especially beautiful at night. Binh Bridge crosses the Cam River, connecting Hai Phong city with Thuy Nguyen district and going to Quang Ninh, designed in a curve to create architectural and aesthetic shape. Also spanning the Cam River, Hoang Van Thu Bridge with its symbolic "Seabird Wing" architecture connects Hong Bang and Ngo Quyen districts with Thuy Nguyen district. Hoang Van Thu Bridge is lit up at night with an artistic LED lighting system, combining many colors. Tourists and locals often come to enjoy the breeze and take photos.

The Swing Bridge over the Tam Bac River was started by the French in 1901. The bridge was designed with a central span that could rotate 90 degrees, along the riverbank so that ships would not encounter any obstacles when crossing the river. Road bridges with many colors were built to make it easier for vehicles to move. The newest bridge is the rebuilt Rao Bridge. The top of the bridge is decorated with 3 red phoenix flowers made of steel, the symbol of the city.

Rao Bridge has a ceiling of three royal poinciana flowers. Photo: Giang Chinh

Absolute Love Valley

"Tuyet Tinh Coc" in Hai Phong. Photo: Nga

The lake in Hai Phong is compared by young people to "Tuyet Tinh Coc" because of its strange blue water color and is surrounded by limestone mountains. This lake is located in Trai Son village, An Son commune, Thuy Nguyen district. This place was formerly called Co Yem lake, standing out with its deep blue color covering a large space with an area of about 20 hectares. The light and dark of the blue color changes many times a day, depending on the clouds and sky. Do Son Do Son is divided into 3 areas, of which area 2 is for swimming, area 1 is for eating and walking. Along the coastal road, visitors can visit Hang pagoda, which is said to be the first place where Buddhism was introduced to Vietnam; Ngoc Hoang temple; Van Ngang temple. Thap Tuong Long pagoda is located on the highest mountain in Do Son, from here you can see the whole beautiful sea. Ba De temple on the way to Do Son is also very famous, worshiping Trinh Lord's wife. Don't forget to visit Bao Dai villa on the hill with a view of 4 windy and cool directions in the middle of summer. The villa is covered in the scent of frangipani flowers, creating a pleasant feeling when visiting. You can rent royal clothes to take photos here, for 30,000 VND per turn.

Peaceful corner at Do Son beach. Photo: Trung Nghia

Do Son has entertainment and sightseeing areas such as Dragon Hill, Hon Dau and casino. Looking from the map, Dragon Hill tourist area is designed in the shape of a phoenix flower - the symbol of the city. The project includes a Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh themed entertainment complex of nearly 25 hectares; a 27-hole golf course complex with a full view of the sea; a Lagoon lake system filtered by modern water filtration technology; fine white sand transported from Nha Trang.

In addition to the above locations, Cat Ba is the "gem" of Hai Phong tourism that you cannot miss to visit the bays, Monkey Island and eat seafood.

Food tour Hai Phong

Spicy bread from Hai Phong. Photo: Son Tung

Hai Phong is most famous for its street food. Tourists from other provinces choose a day food tour to enjoy Hai Phong delicacies such as banh beo, banh da cua, banh mi cay, coconut jelly, vermicelli with spicy fish, snails, chrysanthemum tea, sui din, banh duc tau...

Banh duc tau is a dish that sounds quite strange to people from other provinces, consisting of small pieces of banh duc, diced papaya, and fried shrimp and meat that tastes very delicious. Then they are poured with a spicy and sour fish sauce.

Spicy bread is often chosen as a gift for children, easy to carry, sandwiched with steamed pate and dipped in spicy chi chuong sauce.

Some suggested addresses for delicious restaurants are bun cha nem cua be at 92 Tran Nhat Duat, 32 Phan Boi Chau, banh beo at 41 Le Dai Hanh, banh mi cay at 28 Dinh Tien Hoang and 57 Le Loi. Don't forget to try snails at Thuy Duong restaurant in lane 263 Lach Tray with a variety of snails and salted egg sauce, garlic butter, stir-fried tamarind. In the evening, biting into sunflower seeds or chestnuts while sipping a cup of cold chrysanthemum tea is a "very Hai Phong" experience.