Haiphong Visa Run Cost 2026
What the Huu Nghi Run Actually Costs
Two numbers cover almost everyone: 3.6M VND for the private car, or 6.0M VND with the 90-day e-visa filed for you. Priced per car, not per head. Below is where each figure comes from, what the coach version really costs once you add the last 17 km, and the costs nobody quotes you until the day goes wrong.
What you pay, line by line
Private car, Haiphong to Huu Nghi
Car plus a 90-day e-visa
Where the 3.6M VND goes
Haiphong to the Huu Nghi gate is roughly 250 km each way. The car runs the CT04 expressway to the Hanoi ring road, then CT01 north through Bac Ninh and Bac Giang to Lang Son. Tolls on those two expressways alone eat a real slice of the number, and the driver is on the clock for about twelve hours with no second fare that day.
That is the whole reason a Haiphong run costs more than a Hanoi run. Hanoi sits 170 km from the gate. Haiphong sits 250 km, and the extra 80 km is two more expressway hours that cannot be shared with anyone else's booking.
Coming from Hanoi instead? The Hanoi to Huu Nghi guide has that route priced separately.
The coach version, priced honestly
You can get up there on your own. Coaches leave from Ben xe Vinh Niem and Ben xe Cau Rao for Lang Son, roughly 250 km and 5.5 hours, at 170,000 to 220,000 VND a seat. Read the ticket carefully: some of those services run to Tan Thanh, which is a different border gate altogether, 280 km out. You want the bus that ends at Ben xe phia Bac in Lang Son city.
Then the maths gets less tidy. The bus station is 17 km short of the Huu Nghi gate, so you need a taxi out and a taxi back, and you agree that fare yourself. You also need to clear both checkpoints, turn around, and be back on a coach before the gate closes at 19:00, with 5.5 hours of road still ahead of you. Miss it and you are paying for a Lang Son hotel plus a second day off work.
The e-visa is separate either way. Do it yourself and the government fee is around $25 single entry or $50 for multiple entry. Our 2.4M VND covers that fee plus the filing, so you are not stuck refreshing a portal the night before you have to leave the country.
What is not in the price
- A Chinese visa, if your passport needs one. About 50 nationalities enter China visa-free for up to 30 days under a policy running to December 31, 2026. Everyone else pays the visa fee and waits out the processing days. US passports need one.
- Meals. Lang Son city lunch on the way home runs a few dollars. Pho chua and roast duck are the local orders.
- A Lang Son hotel, if you ignore the 19:00 closing and end up stuck north of the city.
- Larger vehicles. Four passengers or more need a minivan, quoted on WhatsApp before you book.
- The last 17 km, if you take the coach. That taxi is yours to haggle.
The expensive version: when the border says no
A visa run only works if you genuinely enter the country next door. Walking to the middle of the Friendship Gate and turning around is not an exit. If your passport is not on China's visa-free list and you have no Chinese visa, Chinese immigration will turn you back, and the day is spent without a new stamp.
The fallbacks are Na Meo in Thanh Hoa and Lao Bao in Quang Tri, both on the Laos side. From Haiphong neither is a day trip: they are overnight runs, so add a hotel and a second day to whatever the car costs. That is the real price of booking the wrong border, and it is why we ask for your passport before we take a deposit.
Some visas can be extended inside Vietnam, some cannot, and the fee depends on the visa type. A run is usually the simpler answer for a tourist e-visa, but it is worth knowing both numbers. Guidance on the visarun.vn network hub covers the alternatives city by city, and the visa extension guide walks through the in-country route.
Four ways the number lands
Three things move the price without changing the service. Vehicle size is the biggest one: a sedan covers three passengers, and a fourth means a minivan quote. The date matters too, because Tet and the big public holidays fill the border with traders and everyone's queue gets longer, so leave more slack in the plan.
And file the e-visa yourself if you prefer to pay the government fee directly rather than our 2.4M VND. That is a legitimate way to cut the bill, and it does not change the drive. Just make sure the approval is in hand before you leave Haiphong, because there is no visa window at the gate.
Cost questions, answered
How much does a Haiphong visa run cost in total?
3.6M VND for the private car on its own, or 6.0M VND with the 90-day e-visa filed for you. By coach the transport drops to 170,000 to 220,000 VND each way, plus the e-visa fee and a taxi for the last 17 km to Dong Dang.
Is the visa run price per person or per car?
Per car. A sedan takes up to three passengers at 3.6M VND. Four or more need a larger vehicle, and we quote that on WhatsApp before you book.
What is not included in the price?
A Chinese visa if your passport needs one, meals in Lang Son, and a hotel if you miss the 19:00 border closing. The Vietnam e-visa is included only in the 6.0M VND package.
Why is a private car 3.6M VND when a coach is 200,000 VND?
The coach drops you at Ben xe phia Bac in Lang Son city, still 17 km from the gate. From there you negotiate a taxi each way, and the whole loop has to beat a 19:00 closing with a 5.5-hour ride home. The car removes all three of those failure points.
Check your passport, then book the run
Book on WhatsAppAsk us for a quote
Tell us your dates, pickup location, and how many passengers. If you are not sure whether your passport can cross into China, send it and we will say yes or no before you pay anything.
WhatsApp: +84 33 693 08237
Email: book@haiphongvisarun.com
Response time: usually within a few hours
