In Vietnam the common way to get from city to city is by sleeper bus. Its very easy to book sleeper buses as most hostels will help you to book as well as travel agents looked all around every city. You can also book buses on the app 12Go Asia. Because I was traveling around the time of Tet (Vietnamese Chinese New year) a lot of sleeper buses were already booked or too expensive so I opted to book a sleeper train.
I booked the sleeper train from Da Nang to Hanoi a whooping 18 hour train ride. Here is how my trip went and my review of the journey:
How I booked the trip
It was fairly easy to book the ticket. I went onto the 12go Asia app and looked up the date I wanted. I looked at what time I wanted based on what time I would get to Hanoi in the morning. Once I booked the ticket I then waited for a confirmation email from the same company. This email took a couple of hours later and I impatiently waited but nonetheless the booking was confirmed. I pain around 45 USD for this ticket. The train company I was on was Vietnam Railways.
What are the different classes
So there are three different types of classes you can book for your trip:
- 1st Class Sleeper
- This is a four bed cabin that has a little table in the middle.
- The bed come with a pillow and blanket; not sure when the last time they were washed are so keep that in mind.
- There is room for your bags under the seat.
- In the hall there is a sink and water dispenser.
- Located at the end of the carts are gonna be very basic bathrooms.
- Air Con will start once the train leaves the station
- There were poweroutlet that worked well on my journey
- 2nd Class Sleeper
- This sleeper is gonna have all the same amenities as a 1st class sleeper but instead of four beds there are 6.
- I had a friend use this class and she said it was not too bad but she would have preferred the 1st class
- 2nd Class Sleeper (seats)
- This is gonna be your least comfy and is not recommended for overnights
- Seats only and limited space
I chose the first class sleeper as it was my first time taking a train in Southeast Asia and I wanted to be as comfy as possible.
Before the Trip: I recommend buying as many snacks as you want and water. Also buy yourself some dinner and something to eat for Breakfast. I bought Ramen and used hot water to cook it; it was very satisfying.
My Journey
I took a grab taxi to the Da Nang train station which was only about two rooms; so super easy to navigate; one waiting before ticket and another after showing ticket.
Once I got on the train I settled in and was hoping to get other travelers in the cabin with me, bust sadly I did not. However, I did get a very nice Vietnamese couple in my cabin.
The beginning of the train ride was very uneventful as all I did was stare out the window watching the world go by. Closer to night time a trolly came around with the option to buy dinner; which looked like rice with some sort of protein. At this point I made my Ramen and enjoyed that for dinner.
Sleeping: Did I get the comfiest sleep of my life? NO! But it wasn’t the worst. I wound get 40min- 1 hour at a time and this was because when the train stopped, it stopped hard and would wake me. Put it this way I got enough sleep that when I got the Hanoi I did not need a nap and was able to carry on with my day.
Final Thoughts
The train ride was not bad at all and I would recommend to anyone if they wanted to use it instead of the bus. 18 hours went by super fast and honestly you don’t even realize where the time goes. The biggest benefit of using the train is that there are bathrooms, and though not the cleanest, its better than not having the bathroom. (Sleeper buses do not have bathrooms on it) If you are traveling with friends that can book the whole cabin with you even better!
