Cát Bi International Airport (HPH) is on the southeastern edge of the city and has direct domestic flights from Saigon, Da Nang, Phu Quoc, and several other Vietnamese cities, plus international connections to Bangkok, Seoul, and a handful of Chinese cities. The airport is small but functional and about twenty minutes by taxi from the centre.
The Hanoi–Haiphong train is the most pleasant way to arrive from the capital: two hours through the Red River delta on a refurbished mid-range service. Trains leave Hanoi Long Bien station roughly every four hours; tickets can be bought on the day. The express bus on the new toll motorway is faster (about ninety minutes) and runs every twenty minutes from My Dinh bus station in Hanoi.
For the islands, hydrofoils to Cát Bà leave from Bến Bính harbour several times daily; slower car ferries from Đình Vũ on the eastern edge of the city take vehicles across to the island.