MaryG1

My husband and I will be traveling to Vietnam for 2 weeks in Oct/Nov. We are working on our itinerary now. Besides the train to Sapa, has anyone used the rail system? We are looking into taking a overnight train from Hanoi to Hue and then con't south to Nha Trang. Or would flying be our best option?

Kathie

It really depends on how much time you have. If your time is short, the plane makes more sense. If you have time for slow travel, the train might be interesting.

MaryG1

Thanks, we understand it takes longer, thats why we were looking into overnight travel. We could be sleeping and traveling at the same time. Catching a few sites in the evening and then in the am. Is the train system comfortable? Fairly easily to navigate?

thursdaysd

Yes, I've used the train the full length of Vietnam. The best source of info is seat61.com. What do you want to know? I found the bunks a bit hard, and you should take your own water and food.

Vinci

Yep, and I found it's so noisy. Train to Sapa is Oke as some company rent the whole board and fix the original cabin, but train to Hue is just acceptable. But if you would listen to me, I will tel you to fly Ha Noi - Hue as it takes only about 1 hour (while train take 16 hours)and while flight costs around 52-62USD/person , then train costs 30-40USD/person. 2 weeks in Vietnam is not long enough. If you want to find another idea, I think you can go by train Ha Noi - Lao Cai (visit Sapa) and Nha Trang - Sai Gon (take the 5* express train), these are more comfortable and well services.

Feel free to email or ask for more question, I would be happy to help.

Cheers.

MaryG1

Thanks for the info. After much consideration and looking at the train schedule vs the air flights we are going to fly. We may change our itinerary a little for convenience. A little disappointed...we always had fun on our train trips.

smartcookie

You may want to check out Frommer's 2 weeks Vietnam/Cambodia itinerary. I found it very helpful.

http://www.sidestep.com/travel-info-...weeks_viet_nam