Trip Planning & Practicalities
Hanoi Metro for Visitors: Fares, Hours and How It Pairs With a Motorbike Rental
About 6 minutes to read
Hanoi has two metro lines in operation. A visitor comparing them with a motorbike rental needs three answers: where the trains go, when they run, and what parking near stations looks like. This article sets out what published sources say about each, with dates. The operator’s fare-change notice shows its price tables only as images, so the fare figures below come from July 2025 press and portal reports. Check the board at the station before relying on them.
Which lines run today
| Line | Open section | Stations |
|---|---|---|
| Line 2A (Cat Linh to Ha Dong) | 13.1 km, fully elevated, 12 stations | Cat Linh, La Thanh, Thai Ha, Lang, Thuong Dinh, Vanh Dai 3, Phung Khoang, Van Quan, Ha Dong, La Khe, Van Khe, Yen Nghia |
| Line 3 | Elevated section only, Nhon to Cau Giay, 8 stations, in operation since August 2024 | Nhon, Minh Khai, Phu Dien, Cau Dien, Le Duc Tho, Hanoi National University, Chua Ha, Cau Giay |
Hanoi Metro’s Line 3 station page describes the whole planned line: 12 stations, of which 8 are elevated and 4 underground (Kim Ma, Cat Linh, Van Mieu and Hanoi Station). A European Investment Bank statement of 20 October 2026 says the elevated section has operated since August 2024 and the underground section is scheduled to open in 2027 under the government’s current plan. So the metro does not yet reach Hanoi Station, and the planned underground Cat Linh station on Line 3 is not open. None of the sources reviewed says whether the network reaches the Old Quarter or the airport.
Hours and how often trains come
A VietnamPlus report dated 9 February 2026 said operating hours on both lines stay unchanged at 5:30 to 22:00 daily. The same report gives the timetable that applied from 9 February 2026:
| Period | Train every |
|---|---|
| Peak: 6:30 to 9:00 and 16:30 to 19:30 | 6 minutes |
| Off-peak: 5:30 to 6:00 and 9:00 to 16:30 | 10 minutes |
| Evening: 19:30 to 22:00 | 15 minutes (previously 10) |
| Weekends and public holidays, all day | 10 minutes on Line 2A and the elevated Line 3 |
The report gives no frequency for 6:00 to 6:30. Timetables are adjusted from time to time, so confirm the current one.
What a ride costs
Hanoi Metro announced new fares for both lines from 1 August 2025 and says the detailed tables are posted at the stations. Its notice shows them as images, so no figure below comes from an official text page. Read them as “under the tariff in force from 1 August 2025”, now about 15 months old.
| Ticket | Figure reported | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Single journey, cash, Line 2A | 9,000 VND for a short trip up to 19,000 VND for a full 12-station trip | Nguoi Quan Sat, 6 July 2025 |
| Single journey, cash, Nhon line | 9,000 VND up to 15,000 VND for a full trip | Nguoi Quan Sat, 6 July 2025 |
| Day ticket (price quoted for the two lines) | 40,000 VND | Ministry of Construction portal, 7 July 2025 |
| Weekly ticket | 160,000 VND | Ministry of Construction portal, 7 July 2025 |
| Monthly ticket | 140,000 VND for priority groups, 280,000 VND for everyone else | Ministry of Construction portal, 7 July 2025 |
Buying a ticket and who rides free
Hanoi Metro’s ticket-types page says tickets can be bought in the “Hà Nội Metro” app or at station ticket counters. A VietnamPlus item of 4 November 2025, on the new ticket system for Line 2A, said passengers without a smartphone can buy a single-ride ticket at a station counter and receive a QR code sticker valid for one gate entry. Check whether this still applies. The VietnamPlus report of 9 February 2026 says people aged 60 and over, children under six, people with disabilities and members of poor households travel free under current Hanoi city regulations and policies. The sources reviewed do not say whether foreign visitors qualify for any free or discounted category, whether the app is available in English or whether contactless payment works today. Concessions change, so ask Hanoi Metro.
Luggage size
Hanoi Metro’s passenger rules page says bulky luggage may not be brought into stations or onto trains, and defines it as anything larger than 56 x 36 x 23 cm or heavier than 18 kg. The sources reviewed do not cover helmets or bikes on trains. Rules change, so check large bags against Hanoi Metro’s current rules.
Metro plus a rental scooter: station parking today
No official list of station parking, park-and-ride lots or parking fees turned up in the sources reviewed. What reporting does show is a patchwork:
- Bao Xay dung reported in early May 2026 that motorbikes were packed in layers under the viaduct at Van Khe, and described similar crowding at La Khe. At one lot the reporter found no ticket, no price board and no sign showing the spot is authorised. The same report describes repeated attempts to keep the area under Cau Giay station clear.
- Hanoi Metro told that paper it is not assigned to manage directly the roadway, pavement or public land beneath its stations, so removing unauthorised lots is a matter for local authorities.
- On 20 March 2026 a city transport body asked Hanoi Metro and local authorities, in a request Ha Noi Moi reported, to plan the removal of unofficial lots and stalls around Line 2A stations.
- The same Bao Xay dung report quotes a transport expert who says more riders are reaching stations by motorbike while authorised parking is seriously short; the report notes some official lots are small and fill at peak hours.
The practical reading is that a space at a station cannot be assumed, and no source gives an official tariff for station parking, so none is quoted. A rider thinking of leaving a rental scooter at a station should ask the rental shop beforehand whether that is allowed under the rental terms and who bears the risk. Parking arrangements and rules change, so confirm with the official source.
When the metro makes more sense than riding
The sources do not rank the two options, but these limits are worth weighing against a trip:
- The trains serve only the stations listed above. A destination elsewhere, including the Old Quarter or Hanoi Station, falls outside what the sources confirm as open today.
- Service ends at 22:00 and, on ordinary weekdays (not public holidays), evening trains come every 15 minutes from 19:30. A late return needs another plan, and Hanoi Motorbike Rental for a Late Flight: Plan Pickup and Return covers planning around a late flight.
- Starting a metro trip without a bike avoids the station-parking question altogether.
- Large bags run into the size and weight limits above.
Where the train does not fit, Motorbike Rental Hanoi: How to Choose the Right Bike helps with choosing a bike, and Motorbike Riding Safety in Hanoi: Essential Tips covers riding safely once the bike is chosen.
Sources checked
- Line 2A: line length and stations, per the operator’s station page. Line 2A station page
- Line 3: the planned 12-station layout, per the operator’s station page. Line 3 station page
- Line 3 progress as stated by the financier on 20 October 2026. EIB press release
- Hours, timetable and free-travel groups (9 February 2026); the counter-ticket item (4 November 2025). VietnamPlus report
- Start date of the new fares and the price tables the operator posted as images. Operator fare notice
- Day, weekly and monthly ticket prices (7 July 2025). Ministry of Construction portal
- Single-journey cash fares as reported on 6 July 2025. Nguoi Quan Sat report
- Where tickets can be bought. Operator ticket-types page
- Definition of bulky luggage on the metro. Operator passenger rules
- Parking under the Line 2A viaduct, reported around 8 May 2026. Bao Xay dung report
- The 20 March 2026 request to clear lots near Line 2A stations. Ha Noi Moi report
Thuê xe máy Nguyễn Hà is open 09:00–21:00 daily at Ngõ 5 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Bồ Đề, Long Biên, Hà Nội (near Gia Lâm bus station). Phone: 0334 699 969.