scrubbedexpat141

Think I've mentioned but if I remember rightly we've got 3 overnight journeys, one is a longer trip from the bottom of the middle to Hanoi.

I'll make sure we book in advance and make sure we book a private and nice as possible.

Silly question - but are there many 2 bed compartments / cabins or is it all 4+?

typical

Good plan. Where in the middle? If it's Danang or Hue you can get a Livitrans sleeper all the way. If it's further down (like Nha Trang) I'd be very tempted to get a day train up to Danang and then change to Livitrans.

None of the trains running the HCMC-Hanoi line have a 2 bed compartment - 4 is the minimum. I don't remember about the Hanoi-Sapa line if you're doing that.

In the private trains, you're almost certain either to have the cabin to yourself or to be sharing with another foreign tourist couple or individual.

csdf

I stayed here in April, also on my first night in HCM. Perfectly fine place in a good location, but somewhat soul-less I thought. My favourite bit was the rooftop bar.

scrubbedexpat141

My spreadsheet of where and when and how is on home laptop, meant to email to myself but forgot.

Will have a look tonight for where and how the Mrs has planned stuff so far...I just sent her the link you gave and she has already been on it reading etc so hopefully we'll be alright.

Stupid question - is it all fairly straight forward getting to the stations, on the right trains and on time etc etc etc or is it just chaos?

Thanks for your help mate.

typical

It's utter chaos. First getting to the stations - true about getting around the big cities in general - traffic is bloody awful. It can take half an hour to drive a mile.

The chaos is worse at the stations. However the trains run so infrequently, it's usually obvious when yours is going, and there are always officials around who can point you in the right direction (literally - they won't speak English). Keep an eye out for the "name" of your train.

Another good thing about the 'luxury' trains actually - at the major stations you tend to board via their own waiting rooms, which means a) harder to get lost and b) less chaos. It's worth arriving at least an hour before though, just to make sure you can find where to go. And take provisions - the train will almost certainly be late.

scrubbedexpat141

OK. So top tips for that;

Book earlier
Try and get the private / luxury trains
Get there early
Leave hotel really early because in HCM and Hanoi the traffic will be carnage.

You're a life saver mate.

typical

No problem. Was a huge adjustment for me, to go from Dubai time (where nobody really cares) to Vietnam time (where nobody really knows). And don't want you separated from your Dong unnecessarily...

scrubbedexpat141

Yeah, so what's the 32,000 timestable like?

Ethos83

Hi Scamp.

I don't claim to be as knowledgeable as Typical but a few observations from my trip last year:

1. Hotels in Vietnam can be cheap and a good bargain. But there's something to be said for staying in a Western standard hotel in the main cities. Hanoi and Saigon are crazy, filthy and chaotic places and slipping back to the peaceful calm of a good hotel after a day's sightseeing can't be understated. That said, if you're willing to spend $60 a night for a room you will find a decent and clean hotel, especially in Hanoi. Also, if you're going in the summer you may want a hotel that has a pool to cool down at the end of the day.

By the way, if you book a hotel near the Cathedral in Hanoi, it's easy to get to the train station on foot, avoiding the need for a taxi. Hanoi is not a big city and easily walkable.

2. In the smaller places like Hoi An and Hue, hotels are inexpensive and very good deals. In Hue we paid about $40 for a brilliant hotel with great rooms with soft beds. Can't remember the name but poke around booking.com and read through the reviews carefully and you'll find good bargains.

3. Don't expect much from the trains. We took the Livitrans to Sapa and back to Hanoi. The carriages were grimy, the ride bumpy and uncomfortable and the berths a bit short. If you're tall it will be awkward, to say the least. You won't get much sleep. On top of that, the schedules are bizarre meaning you arrive at the destinations in the wee hours of the morning, shattered and feeling dirty.

The train is the only way to get to Sapa but for other destinations I'd recommend taking a flight instead. Vietnam airways had cheap internal flights and it was well worth the money.

4. Sapa was marvelous because of the tribal villages. Be sure to take a trek through the valleys visiting the villages and try to do a tour that takes you to a local farm. It's mind blowing and akin to visiting medieval England.

5. Hoi An is great. Try to go there if you can. Hardcore Vietnamese experts may sneer at Hoi An for being too touristy, and it is touristy but it's the prettiest town in Vietnam and a fantastic place to chill for a few days, relaxing in a bar or restaurant along the river, drinking beer and eating cheap and tasty Vietnamese food. The beaches are only a few kms away. By the way, don't bother getting something hand tailored in Vietnam. It's not worth it.

6. Danang is gritty and unremarkable.

7. If you do a private day tour somewhere, make it absolutely clear to the driver you have no interest stopping at any shops or factory outlet. He will do so if you don't tell him off. If it's an organised bus tour you'll have no choice but waste time at these shops. The stuff will all be overpriced. Just treat it as a snack/smoking break.

8. The Vietnamese will see you solely as a walking ATM. Don't feel the need to buy anything out of guilt. Just laugh and move along.

typical

If you can work in dollars, that's way easier.... more or less 20,000 = $1, so the notes you'll play with most will convert nicely.

The 1,000 and 2,000 dong notes are useful for giving to kids, charity cases or occasionally to buy a drink or snack. They are also made of paper so don't do well in the climate when stuffed in a pocket.

Notes you'll actually use:
5,000 (made of paper, try to avoid them)
10,000 (made of plastic similar to Singapore notes, as are all the following)
20,000 (usefully worth about $1 but rather rarer than the 10k and 50k)
50,000
100,000 (probably the most useful to have, ATMs tend to spit these out most)
200,000 = $10 (these notes are pretty rare but the Techcom Bank ATMs seem to give them out quite reliably, they're also very useful to reduce wallet bulk)
500,000 = $25.00 (ATMs love to give these if you withdraw more than a million; you'll need to break them before you can use them anywhere other than high end restaurants or hotels, unless you're buying something that costs almost this much)

If you get a 500 dong note it'll just take space in your wallet. If you get offered a 200 dong note, it's really not worth the trouble even taking it.

typical

Good set of things and I agree with almost all

I part agree with this:

It's very possible to sleep on the trains and I have done so plenty, but comfortable it definitely isn't. Light sleepers will be woken up by the bumps and jerks of the train for sure. I'm surprised you found it grimy though - at least on the Hanoi-Danang Livitrans the bunks were definitely old and worn, but clean.

Little torn about this though:

The train has some distinct advantages - cheaper plus travelling overnight saves a hotel room, you see some fascinating scenery, you can meet fellow travellers (which I almost never did flying around), and - for nearly every major place except HCMC - you arrive in the centre, rather than getting deposited miles from the centre for a long and expensive taxi ride in. (This is worst in Hanoi, especially when the traffic is bad - an accident on the bridge and you can be looking at 2-3 hours to drive airport - downtown. Nha Trang is bad because the taxis really do overprice massively).

The train is also very seldom cancelled, while weather can really mess up the domestic flight schedules. Other than the Hanoi-HCMC trunk, there are usually more trains at a wider range of times than there are flights, too.

On the other hand, there's no question flying is a far more civilised way to go. Ho Chi Minh City's airport is only a short trip from the centre, too. Vietnam Airlines isn't terrible by any means, and there are a couple of low costs now plying their trade in Vietnam as well.

If it makes a difference, my order of preference is:
Bus - no bloody way
Train - if combination of time and price make it clearly a better proposition than flying
Plane - preferred
Taxi - if someone else is paying and the whole trip can take place in daylight

This is definitely true of some or even many Vietnamese, but not all. It is a country where the average wage is still just over $6 per day, and the amount of wealth we have is mindblowing. On the other hand, I have met some fantastic people there. I expect as a tourist there'll be far more of the first group than the second, but don't be put off trying to talk to people by the hawkers, the scammers and the thieves.

typical

Two interesting things:

1) Vietnam's currency unit is worth the least of any currency unit in the world, now the Zimbabwean Dollar has been suspended. The Kuwaiti Dinar is worth the most. 1 dinar is worth nearly 75,000 dong.

2) The Vietnamese sub-unit of currency, the xu, has long-since ceased to exist - except on the English scrabble board, where it is an incredibly useful and high-scoring two letter word.

scrubbedexpat141

Thanks gents, really useful stuff in there. (Currently copying and pasting loads from this thread into a document to print off)

At 6'2" I don't expect to fit into many Asian based beds / doors but I'm not a giant by any stretch so should be alright. Sleep quite heavily and snore like a trooper so that'll keep shared cabin occupancy happy I expect.

Ethos - On hotels / trains etc I can be quite happy with something that's old and a bit shit, it's cleanliness that would make me hate it. But let's face it, most will be clean enough.

Typical - I'll work in bucks then, Will keep a currency converter loaded on my phone to use when needs be. Excited about being a millionaire... Last time I got close was in Italy, but I was too young to have enough money to change it.

Taxis expensive then?

How then, for example, is the best way to get from one area of HCM back to the hotel after a day of sightseeing when I'm desperate to get back to the hoetl and chill and take a dump?

typical

Ah sorry - I meant long distance. Around town they're cheap enough to take without worrying - but just be careful about being ripped off. Get Vinasun or Mai Linh taxis wherever possible.

Spugsy

A few mates have been and it sounds amazing, proper mad but amazing.

You'll never get down those tunnels though mate