Getting Around & Transport– category –

On July 17, 2026, 24 of Hanoi's subsidized bus routes switched to distance-based fares: 3,000 dong to start plus 450 dong per km, with electronic cards requiring two taps, on and off. We lay out how residents' daily transport changes, from an everyday point of view.

On July 1, 2026, Hanoi began a low-emission zone trial inside Ring Road 1. In Zone 1—the Old Quarter and Hoan Kiem lakeside—all vehicles are barred from 7 p.m. to midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We sort out how travelers and residents get around, including 45 free bus routes and trade-in subsidies.

Hanoi broke ground simultaneously on five metro lines totaling about 300 km in June 2026, with two lines planned to connect directly to the airport. For travelers, residents, and business travelers, we explain from a practical angle the lines you can use now and how getting around will change once they're complete.

Vietnam Airlines is expanding its Japan routes. Da Nang-Tokyo goes to 11 flights a week from July, Osaka to five. Hanoi-Osaka doubles to 14 a week on December 1. We lay out how to work your itinerary and booking.

Phu Quoc, once a beach-and-nature island resort, has gained a direct link to a major inland Chinese city. Sun PhuQuoc Airways launched scheduled flights on July 16 connecting Phu Quoc International Airport with Chengdu Tianfu International Airport. It was the first direct air connection between Phu Quoc and southwestern China...

The day is approaching when travelers can fly nonstop from Hai Phong, the northern gateway city, to the southern resort island of Phu Quoc. Sun PhuQuoc Airways, a new airline under the Sun Group umbrella, will launch two new routes from Hai Phong on July 25. For Japanese residents in the north, the south has until now felt out of reach...

When rain starts to fall, traffic on Hanoi's main roads grinds to a halt within minutes. Motorbikes pile up at intersections, water covers the road surface in low-lying areas, and riders have no choice but to judge on the fly which route will be faster. A system that projects information directly onto the road surface has now been added to that daily reality. The city of Hanoi has installed the system at major routes and intersections...

From December 1, 2026, southern Vietnam will have two international gateways. Long Thanh International Airport, under construction approximately 40 km east of Ho Chi Minh City, will begin commercial operations on that date, and international flights will gradually shift away from Tan Son Nhat International Airport (airport code SGN), which has handled them alone until now...

Connecting Vietnam's digital ID app "VNeID" to the electronic ID infrastructure of Singapore and other ASEAN countries — that was the direction indicated on July 11, 2026, in instructions issued by General Secretary and President Tô Lâm. Vietnam, which has been consolidating domestic administrative procedures into a single app, is now moving toward cross-border...

Stack cars and motorbikes vertically. Ho Chi Minh City's answer to its chronic parking shortage is not to expand outward but to build upward. The city's Department of Construction is moving ahead with plans to install a total of four automated multi-story parking towers at three bus terminals across the city. With a footprint of just 2...