Vietnam - The Rough Guide to Southeast Asia on a Budget - page 824

mid-morning, while local minibuses tend
to run until early afternoon; both pick up
passengers en route and can be flagged
down along roads. For longer journeys,
tickets are best bought a day in advance,
since many routes are heavily over-
subscribed. Most bus stations have boards
displaying timetables and departures.
here are also an increasing number of
privately owned “high-quality”
air-conditioned buses , minibuses and
sleeping buses (with fully reclined seats)
run by private transport companies,
including the recognizable white-and-green
Mai Linh Express ( W mailinh.vn) that
operate from their own o ces as well as
some bus stations and the bright orange
Futa Express ( W futaexpress.com.vn) buses
that serve destinations around the Mekong
Delta. hese run according to timetables,
and fares are not much higher than those
charged on public buses.
Special “ open-tour ” buses shuttling two
or three times daily between major tourist
destinations are the most popular and
comfortable way for foreigners to travel
in Vietnam. If you have a good idea of
your route, the best thing to do is buy a
one-way open ticket, for example from
HCMC to Hue ($32) or Hanoi ($45),
which enables you to stop off at specified
destinations en route: Mui Ne, Da Lat,
Nha Trang, Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue.
Sinh Tourist ( W thesinhtourist.vn) is the
original company to offer this service and
still the best. You can also buy separate
sector tickets between destinations.
Tickets and onward reservations are
available from agents in each town; book
a day in advance. Longer overnight
journeys are covered by sleeper buses,
with three rows of double-decker sleeping
berths; if you're of compact stature, they
are reasonably comfortable, though toilet
stops are few and far between.
Watch your luggage at stops and don't
accept drinks from strangers as there's a
chance of being drugged and robbed.

between the mainland and Phu Quoc
Island, as well as between Nha Trang and
outlying islands and Hoi An and the
Cham Islands.

TRAINS
hough Vietnamese trains ( W vr.com.vn)
can be slow on some services, they
generally provide the most comfortable
and pleasant way to travel the country. he
website W seat61.com is a useful resource.
he main line shadows Highway 1 on
its way from HCMC to Hanoi (1726km),
passing through Nha Trang, Da Nang
and Hue en route. From Hanoi , one
branch goes northwest to Lao Cai;
another runs north to Dong Dang, which
is the route taken by the two weekly
trains from Hanoi to Beijing ; and the
third goes to Hai Phong .
he most popular lines with tourists are
the shuttle from Da Nang to Hue, which
offers some of the most stunning views in
the country, and the overnighters from
Hue to Hanoi and from Hanoi up to
Lao Cai, for Sa Pa. Five “ Reunification
Express ” trains, labelled SE1 to SE8,
depart each day from Hanoi to HCMC
and vice versa, taking 33-37 hours. here
are also two cheaper daily trains in each
direction, labelled TN1-TN4, that act
as commuter trains and stop at nearly
every station.
here are four main ticket classes of
travel: hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper
and soft sleeper; only faster express trains
have air conditioning. When choosing
which class to travel in, it's worth paying
extra for more comfort. Hard seats are
packed wooden benches in smoky
carriages with trash on the floor (and can
make for interesting encounters with
local people). Soft seats are regular
coach-style seats. On overnight journeys,
you should go for a berth : cramped
hard-sleeper berth compartments have
three tiers of bunks (six bunks in total,
the cheapest at the top), while soft-sleeper
berths have only four bunks. Bed linen is
provided, but you may have to ask the
carriage attendant for fresh sheets if
you get on anywhere besides the initial
boarding station, as they don't get
changed automatically.

11

BOATS
In the Mekong Delta, boats are a bona
fide means of transport between towns,
as well as vehicles for recreational river
tours. Frequent ferries and boats run