Vietnam: Travel By Train

[Fookhaht]

I'd like to take advantage of Bangkok Airways' recent promotion to fly to Danang, and then take the train trip north to Hanoi.

Anyone ever traveled by rail in Vietnam, particularly in a northbound direction to Hanoi? Would appreciate any information or tips: class of travel, reservations, sites to see along the way, best time windows of travel, etc. Yeah, I can Google it, but prefer to start with members' experience and help here.

Thanks in advance,
Fookhaht

[mike2011]

Believe it or not: Trains are on time. I took the HCMC train to Danang. It was 5 minutes ahead of schedule after a 17 or 18 hrs (?) ride. I had window seat 2nd class. Aircon worked. In Hue I failed to get a ticket for the days I considered so I had to take a bus which was ok.

Danang. If you have little to carry: leave the station and head to the main road. At the main street cross and wait 50 m from the intersection for the Hoi An bus. Take it and get out at the museum. See the collection and return to the bus stop and continue to Hoi An. Visit My Son very early in the morning and escape the buses and Chinese hordes arriving at around 8-9 AM. Trust me, go early or do not go at all. Museum opens 6 AM and you can get good info to understand the place

Hue: Eat, eat, eat, eat - if you still can walk: visit the old town.

Hanoi: Spend more time than planned. Great place. Forget about that pottery village on the river. Total crap, fine dust makes you choke. Most of the stuff is imported chinese junk or locally produced factory material. Cheaper in a 99cents store at home.

However: The national museum shop has fine ceramics, hand made and good price, also some nice weaving. If you do not like to see the museum (the 'real' shop is in the main building on the first floor) talk to the museum shop lady next to ticket sales. She will get you to the shop without paying a ticket. Reasonable people there. Other sales spots are in the Sofitel hotel shop (peng mak) and at Smile coffee shop at 69 Yen Ninh Street, Ba dinh district - google map helps you, it is a walking distance from the old city.

Here is a link: https://www.facebook.com/hienvanceramics/photos/a.584599295049417.1073741854.287490424760307/579966665512680/?type=3&theater

The ceramics are great. I bought from the coffee shop and the museum shop. Both had a limited supply and selection and selections were NOT identical. The ceramics were not the cheapest but best value I saw. In the old quarter most ceramics were pretty much junk, overpriced and ugly.

I made one mistake: I shared some pieces as gifts. My reward was that now I need to bring more..... = not enough for myself.

These souvenirs are a good way to promote local artisan production and local shops or the very nice museum.

Edited June 13, 2016 by mike2011

[IMA_FARANG]

You should have no problem traveling from Danang to Hanoi.....although I have never done it.

I will warn though that until sometime in July going from Ho Chi Minh north will mean you will have to leave the train just outside Ho Chi Minh and take a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Bien Hoa, where you can rejoin your train.

This is because of damage by an accident with the new bridge across the Mekong river near Ho Chi Minh.

This is being repaired right now. but repair work will not be completed before the middle of July as I was told.

At the present time however (June 2016) you will need to leave the train north and take a bus (provided by the railroad) just outside Ho Chi Minh (loading and unloading your baggage on to the bus).

I have traveled on trains in Vietnam from Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) to Nha Trang.

Both day train seat service and over nigh sleeper service is available.

You can book a sleeper car (they call it "soft service") which can save you from requiring a hotel room for the night which is slightly more expensive than a day seat "hard service" seat.

Anyhow, hard or soft train is less than half of the cost by air....bring your camera or a cellphone and take photos from the train.

The Vietnamese are into the "selfie" photo thing on their cellphones....and as a foreigner they want to take "selfies" with you

to show their friends.

Expect to be in a lot of photos.

They sell food on the train, but I would buy a few bottles of water and some munchies to eat on the train before you depart.

Train food is mainly local food....which you may or may not like.

If you are 65 or older, you can get a 20 percent discount on the fare.

Lots of 'backpackers" to, including some damn good looking women....but unfortunately I was traveling on the over 65 discount fare, so I was an old man and they all had "boyfriends" they were traveling with.

Edited June 13, 2016 by IMA_FARANG

[humqdpf]

I have taken this trip many times as I live in Hanoi, the last time about 5 years ago. I have even done it with a motorbike in the guard's van (this costs extra and you have to submit the motorbike at a particular time so they can crate it up).

Recommendations: don't travel at a busy time as the best seating will be already sold out. Always buy the most expensive seats/beds and buy in advance - yes, you can travel at night and sleep but if you want a mattress and a small amount of space you need the most expensive ticket.

The journey took forever - cannot remember exactly how long and I think there were many delays - perhaps up to 24 hours. The train generally moved very slowly over certain stretches of track especially in Hanoi.

You should have no problem getting a taxi at the Hanoi train station.

Food and beer was provided by a guy in the corridor. I don't remember there being any dining car.

[charliebadenhop]

Are there provisions for traveling with a bicycle?

Same as with motorbike?

[RandG]

We travelled by train (apart from the last sector by air for reasons of time) from HCMC to Hanoi a few weeks ago; all day trains, spread over 2 weeks. You can find just about anything you want to know about travelling by train in Vietnam (or in fact just about any other country) on "Seat 61": http://seat61.com/Vietnam.htm#.V16AFMv2bDc .

HCMC / Nga Trang / Da Nang (for Hoi An) / Hue / Hanoi (Hue /Hanoi by air as we were limited by our 15 day visa free).

Bought all our tickets online before we left for Vietnam on http://www.baolau.vn . Excellent service!!

Have a good time; we enjoyed it. Booked our accommodation through a mixture of Agoda and Airbnb.

[Mansell]

If you are in Hue a great way to see the city and all the small roads and neighborhoods is to rent a bicycle. Helps to have a hand held GPS so you can find your way back to your hotel, as it is impossible to read Vietnamese and not many of the poorer people speak English. Also up in Hanoi go to Halon Bay to see the fantastic views, and a similar trip but on a river...do not remember the name. Don't book in your hotel any of these trips, go to Internet cafe or backpacker hotels...will cost about half. Rented a motorcycle/scooter in Hanoi and would ride out into the countryside exploring many villages on my own....very safe and nobody bothered me...in fact I was a big novelty....GPS helped me get back again. Also in Hanoi the Water Puppets are fun and you don't see them anywhere else.

Trains are fun and slow. But nothing beats running along the South China Sea on one side, and the mountains and jungle on the other side. Cheapest seats bare wood, and then some padding the more you pay. I would travel in the day or you will see nothing at night. You have chosen a multiple day journey so you will have some nights etc. great country and friendly people. Enjoy.

[sanukjim]

Yea,I traveled that rail route from Da Nang up to the border in 1971.Got to watch for snipers before Hue and after passing through the city almost all the way to Quang Tri.I prefered to carry an M1 instead of the M16 for better longer shots..Just north of Hue was the last place that I was under fire there in June 1973..Good Luck

Edited June 13, 2016 by sanukjim

[Ulic]

Just traveled from Saigon to Nha Trang. About 10 hours. We booked a " soft sleeper" birth

each way. We used a travel agent in Saigon where I went to get a SETV. The tickets were

about 20% more than booking at the station. (which we did for our return) No double pricing

for tourists, discount for seniors, and it is cheap so don't worry about the cost. You will

need your passport to book the tickets. The births hold 4 people upper and lower on

both sides. But it was not busy and the two of us had our own birth. A very relaxing way

to travel. Lots of eating opportunities both hot meals and snacks. Cold beer as well.

I am sure you are going to spend a few days in Da Nang when you fly in so just book

your train tickets when you arrive. As long as you are not traveling during a public holiday it

will be wide open. As I said it was cheap my ticket was about 670 baht Nha Trang to Saigon,

my buddy paid about 20% less with a seniors discount. We did not have to ask for it they just

told him when he handed in his passport. The trains were on time, and faster and more

comfortable than the bus so a much better option as far as I am concerned.

Enjoy your trip, Vietnam has a whole lot going for it, and it is cheap.

Edited June 13, 2016 by Ulic

[Brer Fox]

I have taken this trip many times as I live in Hanoi, the last time about 5 years ago. I have even done it with a motorbike in the guard's van (this costs extra and you have to submit the motorbike at a particular time so they can crate it up).

Recommendations: don't travel at a busy time as the best seating will be already sold out. Always buy the most expensive seats/beds and buy in advance - yes, you can travel at night and sleep but if you want a mattress and a small amount of space you need the most expensive ticket.

The journey took forever - cannot remember exactly how long and I think there were many delays - perhaps up to 24 hours. The train generally moved very slowly over certain stretches of track especially in Hanoi.

You should have no problem getting a taxi at the Hanoi train station.

Food and beer was provided by a guy in the corridor. I don't remember there being any dining car.

No dining car and if you take a sleeper carriage don't take a heavy duty sleeping tablet. You may wake up finding you no longer own anything.

[Fookhaht]

Great info. Especially the warnings about snipers (Sanukjim).

Owe everyone of you a beer when you come thru Mahasarakham.

[JSixpack]

I will warn though that until sometime in July going from Ho Chi Minh north will mean you will have to leave the train just outside Ho Chi Minh and take a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Bien Hoa, where you can rejoin your train.

This is because of damage by an accident with the new bridge across the Mekong river near Ho Chi Minh.

This is being repaired right now. but repair work will not be completed before the middle of July as I was told.

Supposed to be fixed June 26:

http://www.thanhniennews.com/travel/vietnams-northsouth-train-services-to-be-restored-this-month-63129.html

[burgdawg]

..yes...arrive DaNang and head south to Hoi An as another mentioned...very good call. Yes, you can take bicycles on train. You can also rent them anywhere along the way. The deal with bicycling in VN is thus---stay OFF the main north south highway. Best to pedal the rice trails that you will discover yourself. These paved and hard pack walking and bicycle trails are the way to explore VietNam.

If you are at Hoi An---rent a bicycle and take ferry and cross south. Pedal. You will soon pick up on the system of rice trails that connect all the hamlets in Vietnam.

Read "Fire in the Lake" by Fitzgerald btw....check with Amazon for a book review.

From DaNang---hop train to Hue. You'll see why...spectacular views of the main topography (mountains) that really do split this country in the middle. Hue is worth exploring...great everything. Markets, food, etc. You can book a bus tour to the DMZ while in Hue---check out the tunnels at Vinh Moch and the killzone that became Kae San. Very sad.

From this trek---you can double back to Hue to rest up---or catch train and continue north to HaNoi.

HaNoi---stay in the old Quarter. Good places to stay. Many pedicabs. Explore all the War Memorials, excellent.

From HaNoi---two great choices---take train to LaoCai and bus onto Sapa.

Plus---a trek down to HaLong Bay. You stay out on the boats for several nights---the longer the better!

Explore the caves, karst formations (limestone spires similar to Krabi).

Have fun!

[charliebadenhop]

Wonderful info!!!

Thanks!

[RandG]

Apparently the damaged bridge re-opened today, so you can travel North again without having to change to a bus to go around the damaged bridge. Will take an hour off the journey.