Old Quarter
Strong
Dense 4G across the grid of streets. Signal thins in narrow stairwells and inside some cafes, so load the walking route before you order.
Your first day, connected
The four moments when a working line changes the day.
At Noi Bai
Switch the eSIM on inside arrivals, before the taxi queue. Ride apps need data before a driver can accept.
Bus 86 or a car
Check the next bus and the fare on your phone. The express bus runs to the centre every 25 minutes until late evening.
Old Quarter
Drop a pin at your hotel door. Street names repeat across districts, and a pin is clearer than an address.
Hoan Kiem at dusk
Book dinner, call a ride and keep the hotel name in Vietnamese for the driver.
Where the signal matters in Hanoi
A guide to the places the phone will be asked to work, and what to download before you get there.
Hoan Kiem Lake
Strong
Open ground with reliable data around the lake, good for calls, uploads and booking the next stop.
Train Street
Mixed
The cafes along the tracks run their own Wi-Fi and the lane fills before each train. A screenshot of the timetable beats a live lookup in the crowd.
Ha Long day trip
Thin
Signal holds on the expressway and near the shore, then thins among the islands. Save the cruise ticket, pickup time and an offline map before you board.
From the plane to the Old Quarter
Noi Bai International Airport is about 27 km north of central Hanoi, which Vietnam Airlines and Vietnam Tourism both put at roughly 45 minutes to an hour by road. That is long enough that having data before you leave the terminal changes the first hour of the trip.
Express bus 86 runs into the centre, listed by Vietnam Airlines at 45,000 VND, every 25 minutes from 06:25 to 23:05. Metered taxis are about 300,000 to 400,000 VND, and a ride-hailing car about 250,000 to 350,000 VND. Grab and Be both list Hanoi, and Xanh SM has run electric taxis in the city since April 2023.
- SIM kiosks at Noi Bai ask for your passport; an eSIM skips the counter entirely.
- Turn the eSIM on before you walk out: the pickup point in the car park needs a map and a message.
- Keep the hotel address and a screenshot of the booking in the phone, written in Vietnamese.
What the phone does in Hanoi
Hanoi rewards a phone that already has the apps: ride-hailing for the airport run and for evenings, a map for the tangle of the Old Quarter, a translator for menus and a camera for the lake.
Outside the centre the same line keeps working. Ninh Binh, Ha Long and the road north are all day trips from the city, and one Vietnam plan covers them without roaming or a second SIM.
- Download the Hanoi map for offline use, and the Ha Long area while you are at it.
- Screenshot tour tickets and pickup times; boats and buses do not wait for a signal.
- Keep the QR code for the eSIM private and do not delete the profile while troubleshooting.
A day of data in Hanoi
An estimate for one phone on a normal city day, not a heavy upload day.
| When | What the phone does | Data |
|---|---|---|
| Morning | Walking map to Hoan Kiem, coffee, one ride | ~90 MB |
| Midday | Translation, menu photos, messages | ~60 MB |
| Afternoon | Temple of Literature, photo uploads | ~150 MB |
| Evening | Ride, dinner booking, a short video call | ~180 MB |
| One day, total | ~480 MB | |
Add 1 to 2 GB a day if you post video, work from a cafe or share a hotspot with a laptop.
Plans for a Hanoi trip
Prices come from the live catalogue in the currency shown. One plan covers Hanoi and every other stop in Vietnam.
Prices in USD. The total, including any tax, is shown before you pay.
Which network is this?Local is a virtual network that runs on MobiFone. Your phone may show MobiFone as the network.15 GB7 days
$5.88- Type
- Vietnamese phone number + Data only
- Data
- 15 GB in total
- Validity
- 7 days
- Hotspot
- Yes
Which network is this?Local is a virtual network that runs on MobiFone. Your phone may show MobiFone as the network.3 GB/day15 days
$7.88- Type
- Vietnamese phone number + Calls included
- Data
- Daily allowance: 3 GB resets every day. It is not one pool for the whole trip.
- Validity
- 15 days
- Hotspot
- Yes
30 on-net minutes; 2GB/day bonus if activated before 30 Sep 2026
5 GB/day5G30 days
$11.88- Type
- Data only
- Data
- Daily allowance: 5 GB resets every day. It is not one pool for the whole trip.
- Validity
- 30 days
- Hotspot
- Yes
Questions before you fly
Can I buy a SIM card at Noi Bai airport?
Yes. Noi Bai has kiosks selling SIM cards, and you need your passport for registration. An eSIM installed before the flight skips that counter and works as soon as you land.
Which network should I choose in Hanoi?
All three carry 4G in Hanoi and run 5G in parts of the city. Viettel is headquartered in Hanoi and also serves many mountain and rural areas, which is worth weighing if your route continues north to Sapa or Ha Giang.
Will my eSIM work on a Ha Long Bay day trip?
Near the shore and on the road, yes. Among the islands the signal thins, so save the cruise details and an offline map before you board and treat coverage on the water as a bonus.
Do I need a local number for Grab?
No. Grab and Be work with data and an email address. A local number helps if a driver needs to call, so add one only if you plan to book by phone or stay longer.
Next stop
The same eSIM covers every city on this list.
Sources and verification
Checked September 18, 2026 by the VietSIM editorial team
- 3+ ways to get from Hanoi Airport to Hanoi city center (Vietnam Airlines)
- A traveller's guide to Vietnam's airports (Vietnam Tourism)
- Where we are (Grab Vietnam)
- beTransport (Be Group)
- First electric taxi service launched in Hanoi (Vietnam+)
- Viet Nam's 5G network covers 26% of population (Ministry of Science and Technology)
- Download areas and navigate offline (Google Maps Help)
VietSIM sells prepaid eSIMs for Vietnam. The transfer, app and coverage details on this page are sourced below; prices come from the live catalogue at the moment you load the page.