Vietnam — Getting the bus in Hanoi, Vietnam

Wow! That was easy!

September 2015

Google Maps are so good!

I discovered I could use Google to help me get around by bus in Hanoi, and I was blown away. I was stunned by what I found. I couldn’t believe it worked, and even now, I can’t believe it worked!

I wanted to go to Hồ Hữu Tiệp, ngõ 55 Hoàng Hoa Thám, Quận Ba Đình, Thành Phố Hà Nội, which is also known as the “B52 Lake”. I wanted to go there because I remember seeing the “B52 Lake” on the news as a child. It was an iconic image.

I could find a location of the “B52 Lake” on Google Maps, but it was too far away to walk in the early afternoon heat of Hanoi, and at this point, I had no luck with taxis. I could find them, but I couldn’t explain where I wanted to go. There was, of course, the “motorbike taxi” offer on every street corner; however, I’d heard some horror stories of tourists being taken to where they didn’t want to go and/or being charged a small fortune.

Having found Hồ Hữu Tiệp (B52 Lake), ngõ 55 Hoàng Hoa Thám, Quận Ba Đình, Thành Phố Hà Nội on Google Maps I decided, out of curiosity, to see if it would give me directions. I knew it worked for walking or driving, but I wondered about public transport. So, I pushed the button, and it worked! There on my phone were the necessary details to get me, by bus, from my hotel to the “B52 Lake”. Everything I needed was there. The location of the bus stop, the name, the bus number, the route it would take, the point at which I had to get off, and the cost. Surely, it couldn’t be that simple?

By this point in my trip to Hanoi, my local SIM card was beginning to play up, so for the trip, I took the precaution of ensuring that I had cached all the maps on my phone and dumped screenshots to Evernote before I left the hotel. Better safe than sorry.

I left the hotel, walked down to the local bus stop, and waited for my bus to arrive. My presence at the bus stop did seem to cause some interest. Don’t tourists usually take the bus in Hanoi?

I stood there, waited, and after a couple of false starts (it was the wrong bus, but thanks to the information on my phone, I didn’t even get on them), the bus I needed came along.

I got on the bus, handed over 7,000 Vietnamese Dong (£0.24 GBP; $0.36 USD) to the conductor (the amount Google said it would cost), and showed the conductor the map. He seemed perfectly happy with 7000 Vietnamese Dong for where I was going.

On the bus, I watched my little blue dot travel along the route, and just before we got to where Google suggested I had to alight, I pressed the “stop request” button. The bus stopped, and I got off.

From the bus stop, I followed Google Maps to the lake.

Seriously, it couldn’t be easier. I was amazed that it worked and worked so well.

This could be my top tip for Vietnam, certainly for Hanoi, to get around use Google Maps, the map directions, and get on the bus.