Ha Giang
Hanoi
Ho Chi Minh City
Ha Long
Sapa
Mekong Delta
Da Nang
Hue
Hoi An
Ninh Binh
Da Lat
Nha Trang
Phan Thiet
Phu Quoc
Quang Binh
Quy Nhon
Vung Tau
Thai Nguyen
Solo backpacker here, doing HCMC to Da Nang and I am weirdly tempted by the train instead of a one hour flight. The Hai Van Pass bit sounds unreal.
But seventeen hours is a long time to be romantic about scenery. Is the soft sleeper actually comfortable enough to sleep, or do you arrive destroyed? Would you book the four berth cabin or pay extra for the two berth?
Also does the good scenery happen during daylight for the daytime trains, or is the overnight one better so you wake up for the pass? Anyone done this stretch recently, what would you do differently?
Tiếng Việt
한국어
中文 (中国)
日本語
ไทย
Deutsch
Español
Destinations
Instagram
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Threads
Tiktok
The scenery bit is real. Our train got to the Hai Van Pass around 9am and everyone was awake with cameras out. The overnight ones from HCMC time it so you wake up for the good part, it is kind of perfect. I would pick the train over the bus for this stretch just for that morning.
Did this in the soft sleeper last year. Get the lower bunk in a 4-berth, it is genuinely fine, bring earplugs and an eye mask and you will sleep. The 2-berth costs almost double and I did not think it was worth it for one night. Book through the official railway site, the agency markup is silly.
Replying to Daryl Ryan
Replying to Daryl Ryan @Daryl Ryan Lower bunk noted. Did you book the 2-berth or 4-berth in the end, and was the cabin full? Wondering if the 4-berth gets awkward with strangers or if everyone just sleeps.
Replying to Laura Pickrell
I did the 4-berth in the end and it was totally fine. Our cabin had a Vietnamese couple who went straight to sleep, zero awkwardness. Honestly everyone just wants to sleep. The 2-berth is nice but for one night I could not justify double the price. Lower bunk, earplugs, you will be fine.