The Hanoi city tour using open top buses which was launched late May has attracted a lot of foreigners visiting the capital city without the need of a tour guide.

The 13-stop route runs through more than 30 attractions of the city, including Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi Opera House, St. Joseph’s Cathedral, Hanoi Flag Tower, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Quan Thanh Temple, Tran Quoc Pagoda, Northern Gate Church, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, Temple of Literature, Lo Prison, Museum of Vietnamese Women, and the Hanoi Post Office.

The 80-seat first class buses have an automatic multilingual narration system in Vietnamese, English, Chinese, French, Bahasa, Korean, Japanese, Russian, German, Spanish, and many others languages, providing complete information about the capital city, which is useful for visitors coming to Hanoi for the first time.

The double-decker bus city tour opened in Hanoi in late May.  The operation time  is from 9am to 6.10pm. Visitors can get off at one stop and get on another bus to continue their trip.  The 80 seat-bus runs on a 13-stop route.   The bus runs by Hanoi Opera House.  The tour offers tourists a chance to explore the city without a guide.   Quan Su Pagoda seen from the bus.   Van Mieu – Quoc Tu Giam also is on the route of the tour.   Young people take a selfie with the double-decker.

Passengers on board receive all conveniences, including free Wi-fi, USB charging ports, a refrigerator, monitor, and surveillance camera system for passenger safety. The GPS-installed buses are automatically programed to ensure that at every stop there is a bus departing and arriving every 30 minutes.

The bus service is from 9am to 6.10 pm with buses departing every 30 minutes. Ticket prices are 300,000 dong (13.2 US dollars) for a four-hour tour, 450,000 dong (19.8 US dollars) for 24 hours, and 650,000 dong (28.6 US dollars) for 48 hours. There is also a cheaper ticket at 196,000 dong (8.43 US dollars) which excludes the ‘hop on, hop off’ service, meaning the ticket can only be used for one single bus ride. 

The ticket counter is located near Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc square (Hoan Kiem Lake terminal).   With 300,000 dong, tourists can explore Hanoi in four hours.  The bus has a refrigerator and mini bar to serve passengers.   A POS is available on the bus for customers without cash.  Passengers on board receive all conveniences, including free Wi-fi. The bus has an automatic multilingual narration system introducing tourist attractions. The 80-seat bus is installed with GPS. A surveillance camera system helps the driver see passengers on both decks. The first deck has 16 seats, including seats for people with disabilities.  Getting excited about the tour.   It is the first time for Dang  Xuan Quan from Hanoi to take a bus tour.

Before the double-decker bus service, tourists had to pay more for travelling costs to explore the capital city. Now, they can hop on and hop off at 30 attractions as many times as they want with only one ticket.

The modern, convenient bus tour is jointly operated by the Hanoi Transport Service Company (Transerco) and Anh Viet Hop on - Hop off Vietnam Company.

According to Hanoi People’s Committee Vice Chairman Nguyen The Hung,  tourist arrivals in Hanoi reached nearly 24 million in 2017, up 9% from 2016. In the first six months of 2018, this number grew 26% from last year as estimated by the Municipal Tourism Department.  

Hanoi city tour Hop on - Hop off route:   -Week days: Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square (Hoan Kiem Lake stop) - Le Thai To - Trang Thi - Dien Bien Phu - Doc Lap - Hoang Van Thu - Hung Vuong - Thanh Nien - Yen Phu - Thanh Nien - Hung Vuong - Phan Dinh Phung - Hoang Dieu - Le Hong Phong - Hung Vuong - Nguyen Thai Hoc - Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam - Ton Duc Thang - Nguyen Thai Hoc - Cua Nam - Phan Boi Chau - Ly Thuong Kiet - Phan Chu Trinh - Hai Ba Trung - Le Thanh Tong - Trang Tien - Dinh Tien Hoang – Hoan Kiem Lake stop. -Weekends (when the walking streets around Hoan Kiem Lake are open): Hanoi Opera House - Trang Tien - Ngo Quyen - Ly Thuong Kiet - Quang Trung - Trang Thi - Dien Bien Phu - Doc Lap - Hoang Van Thu - Hung Vuong - Thanh Nien - Yen Phu - Thanh Nien - Hung Vuong - Phan Dinh Phung - Hoang Dieu - Le Hong Phong - Hung Vuong - Nguyen Thai Hoc - Van Mieu - Quoc Tu Giam - Ton Duc Thang - Nguyen Thai Hoc - Cua Nam - Phan Boi Chau - Ly Thuong Kiet - Phan Chu Trinh - Hai Ba Trung - Le Thanh Tong - Hanoi Opera House.

By Cong Dat