Getting from Hanoi to Co To takes two legs: a limousine van or bus east to Van Don, then a fast boat out to the island. The road is the easy part, with vans almost every half hour. The boat sets your day, so pick your sailing and port first, then a van that reaches that port at least 45 minutes early.
How we built this guide: on 21 October 2026 we checked van and bus listings on 12Go for Friday 13 November 2026 and MoMo's Hanoi to Van Don page, flights to Van Don on Google Flights for 13 to 15 November, Sun Group's 2025 and 2026 guides to Ao Tien port, Co To ferries and fares, VnExpress's Co To guide, Vietnam's tourism board, 2025 and 2026 reports on fares, fuel and storms, and the CDC's motion-sickness advice. We did not make the trip, and no port or operator publishes a full timetable we could check. Prices are in Vietnamese dong (VND) with US dollar estimates at Vietcombank's selling rate of 26,070 VND per dollar on 21 October 2026. Where 12Go showed dollars, we read its VND price instead.
Which way from Hanoi to Co To suits you?
Take a limousine van to the port and a fast boat; almost everyone does. Our Co To Island guide covers the beaches and where to stay.
| Way | Time | Price seen | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limousine van to Van Don, then fast boat | About 6 to 8 hours | Van 371,250 to 507,000 VND (about $14 to $19), boat about 200,000 to 330,000 VND | Most travelers |
| Coach or sleeper bus to Van Don, then fast boat | About 6 to 8 hours | Fares from 210,000 VND on MoMo, plus the boat | The lowest cost |
| Flight to Van Don, then fast boat | About 4 to 5 hours from Ho Chi Minh City | From 1,024,181 VND (about $39) on Google Flights, plus the boat | Travelers coming from the south |
| Van to Ha Long, then Tuan Chau Express | Half a day or more | Boat 390,000 VND standard | Combining with a Ha Long stay, in summer |
Times are our estimates from the published times below.
How do you get from Hanoi to Van Don?
By limousine van or bus, in 3 to 4 hours. Sun Group's Ao Tien port guide puts the drive at about 3 to 3.5 hours on the expressways.
12Go listed 77 departures for Friday 13 November 2026 from two companies:
- Son Hai Limousine: every 30 minutes from 04:00 to 19:30, from 22 Ngoc Tri, 66 Ha Yen Quyet or 81 Nguyen Van Vien, timed at 4 hours, 507,000 VND (about $19.45), with hotel pickup and drop-off. The 07:30 is due at 11:30.
- Minh Chau Limousine: to its "Van Don Cai Rong Port Stop" in 3 hours, from its office, 28 Dinh Nup, Royal City, Times City, Aeon Mall Long Bien or Vinhomes Ocean Park. Its 9- and 11-seat vans cost 472,500 VND (about $18.10), and a 22-cabin bus started at 371,250 VND (about $14.20). The first vans left between 02:30 and 03:45 and reached Cai Rong between 05:30 and 06:45, in time for the first boats; daytime vans left between 06:30 and 09:30.
MoMo lists more operators, including Trung Thanh Limousine, Cua Ong Limousine and Duy Khanh Limousine, with fares of 210,000 to 710,000 VND (about $8 to $27) and departures from 00:00 to 23:30. Pickups include the Hanoi Opera House, My Dinh bus station and Noi Bai airport, and drop-offs include both ports.
Tip: ask for a drop-off at your boat's port. A taxi from Cai Rong to Ao Tien, about 10 km, costs from a few tens of thousands to over 100,000 VND, per Sun Group.
Cai Rong or Ao Tien: which port?
Choose the port your boat uses; both have sailings all morning. Sun Group's September 2026 Co To Con guide describes Cai Rong as the traditional pier, with more daily trips and easier booking, and Ao Tien as the newer, more modern port, sometimes with fewer trips.
| Cai Rong port | Ao Tien port | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Cai Rong town, the center of Van Don | About 10 km from Cai Rong, 7 km from Van Don airport |
| Boats | Ka Long, Quang Minh, Co To 68, Phuc Thinh, Hai Vinh, Nguyen Viet and others | Single- and two-hull: Havaco (Tuan Chau Express), Ka Long, Quang Minh, Manh Quang, Nguyen Viet, Hoang Quan |
| Departures for Co To | 06:00, 07:30, 10:00 and 13:30, plus extra weekend sailings (December 2025) | Between 06:00 and 15:00, about every 30 minutes from May to August (September 2026) |
| Crossing | About 1 to 1.5 hours | About 60 to 90 minutes |
| One-way fare | About 200,000 to 250,000 VND on single-hull boats | 250,000 to 330,000 VND, plus a 30,000 to 50,000 VND port fee |
Sources: Sun Group's December 2025 boat guide, fares guide and Ao Tien port guide, whose Co To departures were 06:00, 07:00, 07:30, 10:00, 12:30, 13:30 and 15:00 in September 2026. Ao Tien had about 60 passenger boats in April 2026 and handled up to 16,000 passengers on the busiest days of summer 2025, per the Ministry of Construction.
What do the ferries cost?
About 200,000 to 330,000 VND (about $7.70 to $12.70) one way, and fares move. Sun Group's September 2026 guides list:
| Boat | From | One way | About US$ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ka Long, Quang Minh | Cai Rong | About 200,000 VND | 7.70 |
| Co To 68, Co To 01, Phuc Thinh, Hai Vinh, Nguyen Viet | Cai Rong | About 250,000 VND | 9.60 |
| Single-hull boats | Ao Tien | 250,000 to 300,000 VND | 9.60 to 11.50 |
| Two-hull boats, including Havaco | Ao Tien | 300,000 to 330,000 VND | 11.50 to 12.70 |
| Tuan Chau Express, standard or VIP | Tuan Chau, Ha Long | 390,000 or 500,000 VND | 15 or 19 |
| Wooden boat, about 3 hours | Van Don | About 95,000 VND | 3.60 |
Two-hull boats on the Ao Tien route rose from 250,000 to 300,000 VND in April 2025, per Thoi bao Tai chinh Viet Nam, and in April 2026, after diesel prices jumped, one Van Don operator told the Ministry of Construction it was holding its fare rise to about 20%. Children aged about 3 to 5 pay roughly half on many boats, and Sun Group says some operators give passengers over 70 a 20% discount with ID. VnExpress puts the slow wooden boat at nearly 3 hours, sailing when full.
Tuan Chau Express from Ha Long mainly runs in the May to August peak, per Sun Group, which times it at 2 to 4 hours; our Hanoi to Ha Long Bay guide covers the road to Tuan Chau.
Can you fly to Van Don instead?
From Ho Chi Minh City, yes, but not every day. Google Flights showed no flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Van Don on Friday 13 November 2026, and one Sun PhuQuoc Airways nonstop on Saturday 14 November and Sunday 15 November, leaving at 09:10 and landing at 11:10, for 1,564,181 and 1,024,181 VND. The airport is about 7 km from Ao Tien port, per Sun Group; our airport transfer report found no public bus we could confirm, so take a taxi. From Hanoi, go by road.
How long does the whole trip take?
About 6 to 8 hours from a Hanoi hotel to Co To, or about 5 to 6 hours on an early van. Using the timetables above:
- Early van: Minh Chau's 02:45, Cai Rong at 05:45, the 07:30 boat, Co To by about 09:00: about 6 hours 15 minutes, or 5 hours on the 06:00 boat.
- Morning van: Son Hai's 07:30, Van Don at 11:30, a taxi to Ao Tien, the 12:30 boat, Co To at 13:30 to 14:00: about 6 to 6.5 hours.
- Sun Group's sample plan: pickup at 06:30 to 07:00, Ao Tien by 10:30, a 90-minute boat at 12:30 to 13:00: about 7.5 to 8 hours.
- Flying from Ho Chi Minh City: the 09:10 flight, Van Don at 11:10, the 12:30 boat from Ao Tien, Co To by about 14:00.
These are our estimates from published times, not timed trips.
Do you need to book ahead?
In summer, on weekends and on holidays, yes. Sun Group calls April to September the peak, especially weekends and the 30 April to 1 May and 2 September holidays, and advises booking 1 to 2 weeks ahead then, or 3 to 7 days ahead online for ordinary summer weekends. Arrive 45 to 60 minutes early with the ID used on your ticket. Book your room at the same time: the island's roughly 3,200 rooms were largely booked for the 2025 April and May holiday, per Thoi bao Tai chinh Viet Nam; see our Co To Island guide.
When are sailings canceled?
Whenever a storm or tropical depression is forecast, and sometimes in winter winds. Sun Group's December 2025 boat guide says sailings pause before storms and that operators typically offer a rebooking or refund; keep your ticket and call the operator. Its December 2025 itinerary warns that strong winds and big waves from November to February can delay or reschedule ferries. Before Typhoon No. 3 in July 2025, authorities moved about 8,850 visitors off Co To ahead of gusts of level 9 to 10, per Dai bieu Nhan dan.
Watch out: keep a spare day between Co To and any onward flight, check the forecast three to five days ahead in summer, and book a room you can change.
How do you avoid seasickness?
Look at the horizon and sit away from the bow; Sun Group says two-hull boats cause less seasickness. The CDC advises watching the horizon, avoiding the parts of a boat that move most, skipping reading and screens, and taking motion-sickness tablets before symptoms start: it lists an onset of about 2 hours for meclizine and dimenhydrinate. Ask a pharmacist or doctor which suits you.
Coming back: Co To to Hanoi
Boats leave Co To for Cai Rong at about 08:00, 10:00, 13:30 and 15:00, and for Tuan Chau at 10:00 and 15:30 in summer, per Sun Group's December 2025 guide. Book a van back for at least an hour after your boat is due. See the Starting from Hanoi hub for other trips, our Bai Tu Long Bay guide for the bay off Van Don, and Hanoi to Cat Ba for an island closer to Hanoi.
Key facts at a glance
- 12Go listed 77 Hanoi to Van Don departures for Friday 13 November 2026, from 371,250 VND (12Go).
- Ao Tien port is about 7 km from Van Don airport and 10 km from Cai Rong (Sun Group, September 2026).
- The Ao Tien crossing takes about 60 minutes (vietnam.travel).
- Two-hull boats from Ao Tien rose to 300,000 VND in April 2025 (Thoi bao Tai chinh Viet Nam).
- Ao Tien handled up to 16,000 passengers a day at the summer 2025 peak (Ministry of Construction).
Limitations
Van times and fares are 12Go and MoMo listings checked on 21 October 2026 for 13 November; they change, and 12Go's prices include its fees. Boat times and fares come from Sun Group's travel guides of December 2025 and September 2026, written by a resort developer, which disagree with each other in places; no port or operator publishes a complete timetable we could check, and fares rose with fuel prices in 2026. The flight to Van Don ran only on some days in our sample. Door-to-door times are our estimates. In summer and winter, check the forecast and confirm your sailing with the operator the day before.
