Hai Phong
A port city of bánh đa cua, flamboyant trees on the opera strip, and its own sand at Do Son, with the boat on toward Cat Ba. Walk the centre and Tam Bac at night, visit Du Hang pagoda, and eat the red crab noodle soup. Sleep here on the way to Cat Ba or Ha Long.
●●●●○ A port night, with the peninsula as its own ride
Photo: HP1992 · CC BY-SA 4.0
You wake by the opera house and the Lê Chân statue, on the strip where the flamboyant trees come out. The other evening is Tam Bạc: the old street on the right bank, 1,415 m from cầu Lạc Long, behind Chợ Sắt, to the Tam Kỳ junction at Quang Trung. From the end of December 2018 people walk both banks under the lights.
Stay if that square and the river street are the night you want. Sleep on the Đồ Sơn peninsula if the night is the city’s own sand, a bit more than 20 km out. Go to Cat Ba if the island is the trip, about 30 km from the mainland by boat, with a cable car also named. Go to Ha Long if the bay is the trip.
The center sights sit in a walk: the opera, Tam Bạc, and the museum at 66 Điện Biên Phủ. On the 17 August 2025 account the museum is free, Tuesday to Sunday, 08:00–11:00 and 14:00–17:00. Monday is not in that sentence. Bánh đa cua is the bowl, red crackers from Dư Hàng Kênh and crab. One account calls it breakfast and the evening meal, with pavement tables on Trần Phú opposite the opera from about 18:00 until past midnight. The 24 July 2023 map says lunch and all day.
Đồ Sơn is the swim. The department list includes bãi tắm khu 2. In 2026 the buffalo rites run 11–26 September, with the final at 07:30 on 19 September. That is the crowded week. Hòn Dấu is a smaller island off this peninsula, a bit under 2 km offshore on one sentence and nearly 2 km on another. The buffalo rite uses the Đồ Sơn Nghè, not the Lê Chân temple in the center.
Common questions
- Should you stay in Hai Phong, Cat Ba, or Ha Long?
- Stay in Hai Phong if the night is the opera square and Tam Bạc, or the city’s own sand at Đồ Sơn. Stay on Cat Ba if the island and Lan Ha are the trip. Stay in Ha Long if the bay cruise is the trip. Boat minutes to Cat Ba and road minutes to Ha Long were not on a timetable.
- How big is the city after 2025?
- Clause 7 of Nghị quyết 202/2025/QH15, as VOV printed it, keeps the name thành phố Hải Phòng, joins the old city with Hải Dương, and gives 3,194.72 km² and 4,664,124 people. The 15 September 2020 planning task prints 1,561.76 km². The 1 April 2019 census prints 1,561.80 km² and 2,028,514 people. Those older figures are the city before that join. Neighbors in clause 7 are Bắc Ninh, Hưng Yên, Quảng Ninh, and the sea.
- Is there a train from Hanoi?
- On the one table opened, HP1 leaves Hà Nội at 06:00 and reaches Hải Phòng at 08:25. HP2 leaves Hải Phòng at 18:40 and reaches Hà Nội at 21:15. LP7, LP8, LP9, and LP10 run only on the days that table names. The station street was not printed as the branch office at 75 Lương Khánh Thiện.
Top attractions in Hai Phong
1 Hai Phong Opera House Nhà hát thành phố
Look at the city opera house from the square in front of it.
2 Hai Phong Museum Bảo tàng Hải Phòng
Walk the city museum at 66 Điện Biên Phủ and see the rooms on the port's history.
3 Do Son Đồ Sơn
Swim the sand and walk the hill peninsula at Đồ Sơn, a bit more than 20 km from the city.
4 Du Hang pagoda Chùa Dư Hàng
Walk Phúc Lâm pagoda in Hồ Nam, Lê Chân, the hall called Dư Hàng.
5 Hang Kenh communal house Đình Hàng Kênh
Walk the seven-bay ironwood hall at Hàng Kênh and see the boat-shaped floor.
6 Hon Dau Đảo Hòn Dấu
Take a boat to Hòn Dấu, walk to the sea-god temple, and climb the lighthouse.
Side trips from Hai Phong
Cat Ba
An island off Hai Phong with a harbour town, a forested national park and boat trips into Lan Ha Bay.
Ha Long Bay
A UNESCO World Heritage bay in northern Vietnam, with over a thousand limestone islands rising from the sea.
Hanoi
Vietnam’s capital, with a busy Old Quarter, lakes, temples, museums and famous street food.
Hai Phong by interest
Getting there and around
Cát Bi is the airport, Cảng hàng không quốc tế Cát Bi. On 19 August 2025 the city broke ground for passenger terminal T2 in phường Hải An. ACV is the investor. T2 is about 23,200 m², designed for 5 million passengers a year, with a note that it could be expanded toward 10 million. T1’s original design is printed as 2 million a year, and the page says traffic has already passed that. A study to take T1 toward 3 million is named. The 2030 aim for the whole airport is printed as 13 million. The project term is 18 months. An opening day, the street of the terminal, a transfer, and an airport code were not on the city page.
Ga Hải Phòng is the end of the Hà Nội–Hải Phòng table run by the Hải Phòng rail branch. The branch office on that site is 75 Lương Khánh Thiện, phường Gia Viên. On the one table opened, HP1 leaves Hà Nội at 06:00 and reaches Hải Phòng at 08:25. LP3 is 09:25 to 12:00, LP5 is 15:15 to 18:00, and LP7 is 18:10 to 20:55. LP7 and LP8 reach or leave Hà Nội only on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays. LP9 is 07:15 to 10:07 and is Saturday only. Back toward Hà Nội, LP2 leaves Hải Phòng at 06:05 and reaches Hà Nội at 08:49. LP6 is 09:10 to 11:52, LP8 is 15:00 to 17:40, HP2 is 18:40 to 21:15, and LP10 is 16:20 to 19:03 and is Sunday only. HP15 runs Hải Dương 06:20 to Hải Phòng 07:17, Monday to Friday, with the Hà Nội cell blank. HP16 runs Hải Phòng 17:30 to Hải Dương 18:35, Monday to Friday, with the Hà Nội cell blank. Fares were not on the table.
The Hà Nội–Hải Phòng expressway is 105.5 km on the operator page, from the Ring Road 3 junction to Đình Vũ port, not to the opera square. Maximum speed on that page is 120 km/h. Six running lanes and two emergency lanes. It opened 5 December 2015. The toll is a closed system with 6 stations. A toll amount and the drive minutes are not printed. The operator’s page still names Hưng Yên and Hải Dương. Those are the words on that page. The center is a walk: the opera, Tam Bạc, and 66 Điện Biên Phủ. Đồ Sơn’s Nghè is a bit more than 20 km from the city.
The 2020 planning task names huyện đảo Bạch Long Vỹ in the Gulf, separate from the mainland city. The 2019 census table prints 3.10 km² and 624 people. It is not on the 40-place visitor list. No boat table was opened. Clause 7’s neighbors are Bắc Ninh, Hưng Yên, Quảng Ninh, and the sea. The 2020 planning task’s older border sentence is north Quảng Ninh, west Hải Dương, south Thái Bình, and east the Gulf of Tonkin. Both sentences stay. The administrative contact on the city portal is Tòa B, Trung tâm Chính trị - Hành chính, phường Thủy Nguyên. That campus is not the hotel street.
Hai Phong itineraries
Hotels
- The opera and Tam Bạc Center rooms
Rooms in the center wards if the night is the square and the river street. The administrative campus in Thủy Nguyên is the portal’s contact address, not this walk.
Search stays - Đồ Sơn peninsula Peninsula rooms
Rooms on the peninsula if the night is the city’s own sand. The Nghè page puts the temple a bit more than 20 km from the city.
Search stays
Tours & Attractions
Restaurants
What to order is on the food guide.
Southeast Asia TravelGuide Network
Compare Across Southeast Asia: Vietnam vs. Thailand
Most Vietnam trips can add Bangkok for the city night and Phuket for an Andaman beach week.
Capital
Bangkok
- Royal temples and river hotels
- Thonglor and Charoenkrung after dark
- The usual air gate for a two-country trip
Andaman coast
Phuket
- West-coast beaches and beach clubs
- Amanpuri and Kamala
- A beach week after the Vietnam cities