Vietnam by train, and which legs are actually worth it

Vietnam by train means one railway, and it runs the length of the country. The Reunification line covers 1,726 km between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in 32 to 35 hours, and the useful thing to know is that riding one leg of it is a highlight while riding all of it is an endurance test.

Should you take the train the whole way?

Almost certainly not. A day and a half in a carriage costs two nights of a trip and delivers, for most of those hours, a view of embankments.

The train earns its place as a way of covering specific legs — particularly overnight ones that replace a hotel night with a berth — rather than as an itinerary in itself. The transport guide sets it against the sleeper bus and the internal flight.

Which legs of Vietnam by train are worth it?

Four, in order of how much they repay the time.

Hue to Da Nang, about 3 hours, is the one everybody should do. The line climbs the Hai Van Pass with the South China Sea below it, and the 20 km between Kim Lien and Lang Co is the reason. Sit on the sea side.

Hanoi to Dong Hoi, overnight, is the practical one: it lands you in the morning within 45 minutes of Phong Nha and saves a hotel night.

Hanoi to Lao Cai, overnight, is the way to Sapa and the classic Vietnamese sleeper.

Da Nang to Nha Trang or Quy Nhon, overnight, covers a leg that is dull by road and awkward by air.

What do the classes mean?

Four of them, and the names are literal. Hard seat is a bench. Soft seat is an airline-style recliner. Hard sleeper is a 6-berth compartment. Soft sleeper is a 4-berth compartment with a door.

For an overnight, book soft sleeper. The difference in money is small against the difference in sleep, and the lower berths are worth the premium over the uppers — you can sit up on them, and your bag lives under you rather than above someone else.

Bring your own food for anything long. There is a trolley and there is usually a dining car, and neither is the reason to take the train.

Is the train better than the bus?

For an overnight, yes, and the reason is not price. A sleeper bus is a reclining pod on a road; a train berth is somewhere you can sit up, walk away from, and use a toilet on. Arriving rested is worth more than the fare difference on a two-week trip.

The bus wins on routes with no railway at all — Ha Giang and Mui Ne among them — and on price everywhere.

How do you book it?

Through the national railway's own booking site, a reputable agent, or the station. A guesthouse will usually book for a small fee, and that fee buys you out of a language problem at a ticket window.

Book sleepers a few days ahead in normal weeks. Around Tet and the public holidays, book as far ahead as you can and expect prices to rise sharply — the whole country is on the same train.

What does the fare cost against a flight?

Less than flying and more than the bus, and the gap is smaller than most people assume. A soft-sleeper berth on an overnight leg costs a fraction of a hotel night, which is the calculation that actually matters — the leg is free if it replaces a room.

Book direct rather than through a reseller where you can. Agency margins on Vietnamese rail are a meaningful share of a cheap ticket, and the cost guide sets out where the rest of a budget goes.

One thing worth paying for: the lower berth, and the 4-berth compartment over the 6. On a 12-hour leg those two upgrades cost little and decide whether you arrive rested.

How does it fit a route?

As the spine of a north-to-south trip rather than the trip itself. The two weeks route and the one month both work well with two or three train legs and one internal flight for the long jump.

The stations to know are Hanoi, Nam Dinh, Ninh Binh, Dong Hoi for Phong Nha, Hue, Da Nang, Dieu Tri for Quy Nhon, Nha Trang and Saigon. Everything else is a bus or a car.