The North - South Reunification Line... Click for route map

Over the last decade the Hanoi-Saigon train service steadily improved and there are now a whole range of daily air-conditioned trains linking Hanoi, Hue, Danang, Nha Trang & Saigon (HCMC), an ideal way to travel between these cities. Here are the principal trains, there are additional trains at peak times such as the Tet holiday period in late January or February. The timetables shown here are compiled from the online timetables shown on Vietnamese Railways' own websites www.vr.com.vn & www.gahanoi.com.vn, written in Vietnamese.

Southbound timetable...

Hanoi ► Hué ► Danang ► Saigon (Ho Chi Minh)
Km	Train number:	SE1	SE19	SE3	SE7	SE5	TN1	SNT1
0	Hanoi depart:	19:30 day 1	20:10 day 1	22:00 day 1	06:00 day 1	09:00 day 1	13:10	-
116	Ninh Binh	21:49 day 1	22:25 day 1	00:13 day 2	08:22 day 1	11:21 day 1	15:48	-
175	Thanh Hoa	22:58 day 1	23:39 day 1	01:16 day 2	09:33 day 1	12:37 day 1	17:11	-
319	Vinh	01:41 day 2	02:25 day 2	03:32 day 2	12:08 day 1	15:11 day 1	19:50	-
522	Dong Hoi	05:50 day 2	06:39 day 2	07:40 day 2	16:36 day 1	19:40 day 1	00:39	-
688	Hué arrive	08:48 day 2	09:42 day 2	10:27 day 2	19:47 day 1	22:42 day 1	03:39	-
688	Hué depart	08:56 day 2	09:50 day 2	10:35 day 2	19:55 day 1	22:50 day 1	03:47	-
791	Danang (for Hoi An) arrive	11:26 day 2	12:20 day 2	13:00 day 2	22:25 day 1	01:28 day 2	06:49	-
791	Danang (for Hoi An) depart	11:41 day 2	-	13:15 day 2	22:47 day 1	01:43 day 2	07:09	-
928	Quang Ngai	14:34 day 2	-	15:35 day 2	01:21 day 2	04:23 day 2	10:10	-
1,095	Dieu Tri (for Qui Nhon)	17:41 day 2	-	18:36 day 2	04:23 day 2	07:56 day 2	13:38	-
1,315	Nha Trang	21:22 day 2	-	22:12 day 2	08:35 day 2	11:44 day 2	17:55	19:00 day 1
1,551	Binh Thuan for Phan Thiet	00:18 day 3	-	02:14 day 3	12:39 day 2	16:19 day 2	22:53	\|
1,726	Saigon arrive:	04:39 day 3	-	05:20 day 3	16:05 day 2	20:03 day 2	02:30	04:17 day 2

All these trains run every day except trains SE7 & SE8 which only run at busy periods.

If an 04:30 or 05:20 arrival in Saigon or Hanoi seems uncomfortably early, remember that in SE Asia it's usual to rise earlier than most westerners do, and you'll find plenty of taxis available at this time. It's not like arriving in a western city that early, so don't worry!

Hanoi to Saigon is 1,726km or 1,070 miles. .

SE1, SE2, SE3, SE4: The best trains, with air-conditioned soft sleepers (4-berth), air-conditioned hard sleepers (6-berth), air-conditioned soft seats.

Trains SE3 & SE4 were equipped with smart refurbished cars in January 2015, allegedly with free wifi. SE1 & SE2 will get similar refurbished cars & wifi by the end of 2015

SE5, SE6: Air-conditioned soft sleepers (4-berth), air-conditioned hard sleepers, air-conditioned soft seats, air-conditioned hard seats, ordinary hard seats.

SE7, SE8: Only runs at busy times, ask an agency if it's running a month or two ahead. Air-con soft sleepers, air-con hard sleepers, air-con soft seats.

SE19, SE20: Air-conditioned soft sleepers, air-conditioned hard sleepers, air-conditioned soft seats, air-conditioned hard seats, ordinary hard seats.

SE21, SE22, SE23, SE24: On certain dates you'll find additional seasonal trains. I have not shown them here.

TN1, TN2: Air-conditioned hard sleepers (6-berth), air-conditioned soft seats & ordinary hard seats. No soft sleepers.

SNT1, SNT2: Air-con soft sleepers (both older & newer types), air-con hard sleepers (both older & newer types), air-con soft seats. Ask for a 'chat luong cao' (newer higher quality) sleeper. Also has privately-run Golden Trains sleepers attached.

SPT1/2, PT3/4: Air-con soft seats, also has various sleepers.

Livitrans private tourist sleeping-cars, Hanoi-Hué-Danang: Trains SE1 & SE2 have one or two tourist sleeping-cars attached between Hanoi, Hue & Danang run by private company Livitrans, see the photos & information below. These have 4-berth sleepers of a higher standard than the regular ones, but higher fares. See www.livitrans.com for fares & online booking. Note that at busy times, for example Tet & high summer, these Livitrans cars sometimes run attached to trains SE5/SE6 rather than SE1/SE2, so check when booking.

Golden Trains private tourist sleeping-cars, Saigon-Nha Trang: Trains SNT1 & SNT2 have Golden Trains tourist sleeping-cars attached between Saigon and Nha Trang, see the photo below. These have 4-berth soft sleepers of a higher quality than the regular sleepers. Fare $38 for a bed in a 4-berth sleeper, bookable through an agency

Northbound timetable...

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) ► Danang ► Hué ► Hanoi
Train number:	SE2	SE4	SE20	SE8	SE6	TN2	SNT2
Saigon depart:	19:30 day 1	22:00 day 1	-	06:00 day 1	09:00 day 1	13:10	20:00 day 1
Binh Thuan (for Phan Thiet)	22:55 day 1	01:15 day 2	-	09:30 day 1	12:36 day 1	17:04	\|
Nha Trang	03:21 day 2	05:00 day 2	-	13:26 day 1	16:29 day 1	21:29	04:35 day 2
Dieu Tri (for Qui Nhon)	07:13 day 2	08:46 day 2	-	17:29 day 1	21:17 day 1	01:50	-
Quang Ngai	10:07 day 2	11:27 day 2	-	20:18 day 1	00:11 day 2	05:21	-
Danang (for Hoi An) arrive	12:31 day 2	13:58 day 2	-	22:44 day 1	02:47 day 2	08:15	-
Danang (for Hoi An) depart	12:46 day 2	14:13 day 2	18:40 day 1	22:59 day 1	03:02 day 2	08:35	-
Hué arrive	15:23 day 2	16:39 day 2	21:26 day 1	01:28 day 2	05:31 day 2	12:06	-
Hué depart	15:31 day 2	16:47 day 2	21:33 day 1	01:36 day 2	05:39 day 2	12:14	-
Dong Hoi	18:45 day 2	19:52 day 2	00:49 day 1	04:50 day 2	09:16 day 2	15:35	-
Vinh	22:51 day 2	23:53 day 2	05:53 day 2	09:26 day 2	13:27 day 2	20:33	-
Thanh Hoa	01:19 day 3	02:17 day 3	08:23 day 2	11:54 day 2	16:11 day 2	23:36	-
Ninh Binh	02:30 day 3	03:21 day 3	09:56 day 2	13:14 day 2	17:27 day 2	01:06	-
Hanoi arrive:	04:50 day 3	05:30 day 3	12:33 day 2	15:33 day 2	19:58 day 2	03:30	-

How to get to Hoi An...

Hoi An is a historic must-see town featuring on most visitor's itineraries. It's 30 km south of Danang, but has no railway station. Simply take a train to Danang, then a regular buses, minibus or taxi from Danang to Hoi An taking between 45 minutes and an hour. The bus costs about US$3, a taxi costs around US$9-15 depending on your negotiation skills.
Phan Thiet & Mui Ne:
How much does it cost?

Train fares in Vietnam are cheap, and sleeper trains save on hotel bills as well as the cost of taxis to & from airports way outside the cities they serve. The fares shown below are typical fares for the SE1 or SE2, fares actually vary slightly by season, and fares for the slightly faster SE3 & SE4 are a fraction higher, for the SE5/6/7/8 slightly lower. Fares for the SNT trains are about the same, fares for the slower TN trains are significantly cheaper. Incidentally, the old system of charging foreigners higher fares than Vietnamese citizens was abolished in 2002.

Children aged 0 to 4 travel free, children 5 to 9 travel at half fare. Children 10 and over must pay full fare.

Fares are shown here in 1000s of Vietnamese Dong. £1 = approx 32,900 Dong. $1 = 20,500 Dong.

Fares from Hanoi to:	Soft seat	Hard sleeper			Soft sleeper
Fares from Hanoi to:	air-con	air-con lower berth	air-con middle berth	air-con top berth	air-con lower berth	air-con upper berth
Ninh Binh	78	115	103	92	120	118
Thanh Hoa	120	175	157	140	185	180
Vinh	217	320	287	256	337	326
Dong Hoi	374	550	494	442	580	562
Hue	492	790	710	635	834	808
Danang	566	874	786	703	923	895
Quang Ngai	636	935	840	752	988	957
Dieu Tri	750	1105	994	888	1167	1130
Nha Trang	933	1510	1358	1214	1594	1545
Saigon	1140	1680	1510	1300	1725	1672

Fares from Saigon to:	Soft seat	Hard sleeper			Soft sleeper
Fares from Saigon to:	air-con	air-con lower berth	air-con middle berth	air-con top berth	air-con lower berth	air-con upper berth
Nha Trang	320	522	470	404	536	520
Danang	727	1103	992	854	1132	1097
Hue	760	1175	1057	910	1207	1170
Hanoi	1140	1680	1510	1300	1725	1672

Fares from Hué to:	Soft seat	Hard sleeper			Soft sleeper
Fares from Hué to:	air-con	air-con lower berth	air-con middle berth	air-con top berth	air-con lower berth	air-con upper berth
Hanoi	492	790	710	635	834	808
Saigon	760	1175	1057	910	1207	1170
Danang	70	108	103	88	114	113
Nha Trang	404	593	568	482	626	619

Fares from Danang to:	Soft seat	Hard sleeper			Soft sleeper
Fares from Danang to:	air-con	air-con lower berth	air-con middle berth	air-con top berth	air-con lower berth	air-con upper berth
Hanoi	566	874	786	703	923	895
Saigon	727	1103	992	854	1132	1097
Hue	70	108	103	88	114	113
Nha Trang	337	495	474	402	523	517

Fares from Nha Trang to:	Soft seat	Hard sleeper			Soft sleeper
Fares from Nha Trang to:	air-con	air-con lower berth	air-con middle berth	air-con top berth	air-con lower berth	air-con upper berth
Hanoi	933	1510	1358	1214	1594	1545
Saigon	320	522	470	404	536	520
Danang	337	495	474	402	523	517
Hue	404	593	568	482	626	619

How to buy tickets...

Do I need a reservation? Can I stop off? Can I buy an open ticket and hop on & off?

Yes, yes, no... You cannot buy an open ticket and hop on and off trains spontaneously, as all trains require a reservation. All tickets come printed with a specific date, specific train number, car number and your reserved seat or berth number. So you need a separate ticket for each individual train journey you make. If you want to travel from Saigon to Hanoi (or vice versa) stopping off on the way, no problem, you simply need to book a series of separate tickets, one for each leg of the journey, either bought in advance or bought at the station as you go along.

Do I need to book in advance? Can I buy tickets a day or two ahead? Do trains get full?

Booking opens 60 days before departure, sometimes more than 90 days before departure, for the end-to-end journey, for example Hanoi to Saigon on trains SE1 or SE3. Shorter segments of the journey - for example Hanoi to Hue to Nha Trang to Saigon on the SE1 or SE3 - open later, with the really short hops only opening a week or two ahead.
At peak holiday periods such as Tet (Vietnamese new year, in late January or February) you should definitely pre-book as soon as booking opens, but at other times it's not usually difficult to buy tickets at the station a few days in advance if you're not too fussy about the exact date, train or class. If you are booking for the same day or the following day, you might find the best quality SE trains full, but other slower trains may have berths available, or perhaps you'll find the soft sleepers full, but hard sleepers still available, so be prepared to be flexible. However, you're unlikely to get stuck as there's usually something available to your destination even at fairly short notice.
If it's mission-critical to be on a specific train on a certain date in a certain class, I'd recommend paying the small amount extra to pre-book tickets through a reliable agency

Can I buy all 4 berths in a soft sleeper to have a compartment to ourselves?

Privacy-loving westerners who are unfamiliar with sleeper train travel often ask this - although they'll happily sleep in a seat with 300 strangers on a long haul flight. Yes, you can pay for 4 tickets for sole occupancy of a 4-berth soft sleeper if you really want to, but be aware that you may need to politely but firmly repulse any attempt by other passengers to join you, or by staff to allocate passengers to your spare beds. My advice is don't bother, just book 2 beds in a 4-berth soft class sleeper, you'll be safe and comfortable sharing a 4-berth soft sleeper, and might actually meet some Vietnamese people this way, rather than sitting in isolation.

How to buy tickets online...

...buy direct from Vietnamese Railways in Vietnamese, international cards may not work.

Vietnamese Railways launched online booking at www.dsvn.vn as from November 2014, where DSVN = Duong Sat Viet Nam = Vietnamese Railways. The site is currently only in Vietnamese, and though it takes MasterCard or Visa it usually rejects overseas cards. If your card is accepted, you collect your tickets at the station. Further feedback would be appreciated.
How to use www.dsvn.vn: If you want to have a go, the booking process at www.dsvn.vn is fairly straightforward and if you use Google's Chrome browser you can simply right-click anywhere on the page and select 'Translate into English'. You use the journey planner in the usual way, select a train, select a carriage with the class you want, and select an exact seat or berth, then click to buy that ticket. Soft sleepers are shown as a side view with 4 beds (two upper, two lower) in each compartment, hard sleepers are also shown as a side view this time with 6 berths per compartment, upper middle & lower. Seats are shown as a top-down view with two-abreast seats either side of a centre aisle - it's obvious if you think about what you're looking at, and Chrome usually translates the text above the carriage as 'soft' or 'hard'. You may need to fake a Vietnamese mobile phone number with a +84 country code if it rejects your real one.
If you don't want to struggle with Vietnamese, or don't succeed in using this new online system, try the new Baolau booking system below, you can easily use one of the reliable ticketing agencies shown in the section below, or use one of the travel agencies recommended below. Remember that the official Vietnamese Railways website is www.vr.com.vn and their official online sales site iswww.dsvn.vn, be aware that the following websites are not Vietnamese Railways but agencies pretending to be: vietnamrailways.net, vietnam-railway.com, vietnamrailway.com.

...buy online from agency Baolau in English, international cards accepted.

Train & bus booking agency now offer easy online booking in English with international credit cards accepted.
Bookings can only be made when Vietnamese Railways open bookings. For longer distances this is usually 60 days ahead but may be only a week or two for shorter hops. So if the train you want is labelled 'not yet open'either come back later or try another train if it's within 60 days of travel. You cannot buy tickets by email, you need to use their online system, use the Baolau booking form here ► ► ► ► ►
Baolau charge the official Vietnamese Railways price + 40,000 dong ($2) service fee per ticket + either40,000 dong ($2) delivery fee per overall booking for delivery to an address in Hanoi, Danang or Saigon with payment in cash, or 3.3% of the price (perhaps $2 per ticket for Hanoi-Hue, for example) for online credit card payment and collection from the station ticket office.
The booking process is pretty self-explanatory apart from this. When you see prices for each train, you must click on the price in black and again on the price in orange to switch between prices for different types of accommodation , i.e. hard seat, hard sleeper, soft seat, soft sleeper. If you blindly select a train without doing this, you could end up in a hard seat!
Children under 6 free, aged 6 to 9 half price, 10 and over full price.
They will give you seats or berths together in the same compartment, except where that's not possible given availability.
On the Hanoi to Lao Cai route (for Sapa), Baolau also shows prices & sells tickets for the Fansipan, Orient Express, Sapaly and other private carriages, as well as Vietnamese Railways regular cars.
This is a fairly new service, but feedback so far has been extremely positive. Further feedback welcome.

How to buy tickets at the station...

It's easy to buy train tickets at the station when you get to Vietnam. Trains are busy, but except at peak holiday times such as Tet, if you book a day or two ahead you'll usually find tickets available, even if your first choice of class or train is sold out. Reservations were computerised in 2002, and you can buy tickets for most train journeys within Vietnam at Saigon and Hanoi booking offices. So for example, you can buy both a Saigon-Hue ticket and a Hue-Hanoi ticket in Saigon. However, at other stations such as Hue, Danang or Nha Trang, you may only be able to book journeys starting at the station you're at. At ticket offices, you pay in Vietnamese Dong, US dollars are not generally accepted, nor are non-Vietnamese credit cards.

...buying tickets at the station in Hanoi


Hanoi main station on Le Duan Street. Enter by the main doors and turn left into the booking office. Press a button on the box at the entrance (on the right of the right-hand photo) to get a numbered queuing ticket. Take a seat, and watch the illuminated board above the ticket counters (at top right in the photo) to see which counter to go to when your number comes up. Incidentally, the ugly concrete central section of an otherwise attractive French colonial station is the result of American bombs which flattened this part of the station on 21 December 1972...

...buying tickets at the station in Saigon

The train booking office in central Saigon

Saigon station ticket office... The smaller downstairs ticket office (shown above) is for travel today, the main ticket office for advance bookings is upstairs. A numbered queuing system may be in operation, so look out for it. Press the button and take a ticket from the small box at the entrance to the ticket office, take a seat and watch the screens which will show you which counter to go to when your number comes up. Feedback on ticket purchase in Saigon is always appreciated!

Useful Vietnamese words...
Ngòi or Ghé = seat. Năm or Giuòng = sleeper berth. Mèm = soft class Cúng = hard class. Dièu Hòa (ÐH) = air-conditioned. Toa = coach, carriage.		Ga = Station, as in the French 'Gare'. Giò tau = train times. Giá Vé = ticket prices. T1, T2, T3 = Tang 1, Tang 2, Tang 3 = lower, middle or upper berths. K6 = 6-berth hard sleeper compartment. K4 = 4-berth soft sleeper compartment. K=khoang = compartment. Toan vé = Full price (adult fare with no discounts)

What are Vietnamese trains like?

Air-conditioned soft sleepers...

Most western visitors choose to travel in a soft sleeper. Soft sleeper compartments have 4 berths, each supplied with pillow, sheet and duvet and an individual reading light. By day you simply sit on the lower berths. Expect even the newer cars to be a bit tatty and grubby by western standards as they are intensively used, but overall soft sleeper is a pleasant and enjoyable way to travel, especially on the best trains, SE1/2/3/4. You keep all your bags with you, there is luggage space beneath the bottom bunks and in the large recess above the compartment door. Lower berths are recommended if you're tall, as the upper berth has a support chain taking up an inch or two at each end. The most modern cars used on the trains SE1 to SE8 have a 2-pin power socket for recharging your mobile or camera, and you'll find a western-style toilet usually kept supplied with soap and toilet paper at one or both ends of the corridor. Several windows on the corridor side open, useful for photography, but the compartment windows don't open. There's a free water dispenser at the end of the corridor for both boiling and cold water, handy if you have bought some powdered soup, instant coffee or hot chocolate with you, or have bought some dried noodles from one of the stalls at the station. A trolley service comes down the train serving snacks, coffee, soft drinks and beer, and at meal times a member of the train staff will sell you a meal ticket for around 35,000 dong (£1 or $1.60). A set meal with mineral water will then be delivered to your compartment around half an hour later from the kitchen car. At night, you'll find a lock and usually an additional security lock on the door. Between Hanoi, Hué & Danang, also see this sectionabout the privately-run Livitrans sleeping-car, which is a cut above the regular Vietnamese Railways sleepers.

Update 2015: Trains SE3 & SE4 received smartened-up refurbished carriages in January 2015, allegedly with free wifi. Trains SE1 & SE2 are to get a similar refresh by the end of 2015.


4-berth soft sleeper on train SE1, as laid out when boarding...		A hot meal served in your sleeper from the kitchen car for around £1 or $2...		Train SE3 from Hanoi to Saigon. SE3 is painted blue, unlike other trains. Duong Sat Viet Nam = Vietnam Railways.


Train SE1 from Hanoi to Saigon at Danang. Note the number on the coach side, Toa 11 means car number 11...		Relaxing in a soft sleeperon train SE3 from Hanoi to Saigon...		2-pin power socket for your mobile or camera, 1 per compartment...

Air-conditioned hard sleepers...

If the soft sleepers are full, or if you're in a group of 5 or 6 people, there's no reason why you shouldn't travel hard sleeper, especially if it's an overnight journey such as Hanoi to Hue with relatively little daytime element so you'll spend most of the time in your berth. Hard sleeper compartments have 6 berths, lower, middle and top on each side, but apart from the extra two berths, the facilities are exactly the same as for soft sleepers in terms of power sockets, water dispenser, toilets, luggage space and meals.


6-berth hard sleeper...		Boarding train SE1 from Hanoi to Hue, Danang & Saigon.		Refreshment trolley!

Air-conditioned soft seats...

These can be recommended for daytime journeys such as Hue to Danang or Hanoi to Vinh, but for overnight trips always book a soft or hard sleeper so you can sleep properly. In the most modern cars used on the SE-numbered trains, you'll find power sockets in the wall for charging mobiles or cameras.


Soft seats on train SE3...		A soft seats car on train SE1 at Hanoi.

Air-conditioned hard seats...

These have wooden seats in modern air-conditioned cars. A bit hard on the rear for a long journey, but perfectly acceptable for a few hours.


Air-conditioned hard seats car on train SE5 at Hanoi...		Air-conditioned hard seats...

Ordinary hard seats...

Wooden seats in much older cars without air-con. However, these cars have windows that open, which can be an advantage for photography. The photos below show an ordinary hard seats car on train LC3 from Hanoi to Lao Cai, similar cars operate on trains LC4, TN1 & TN2.

Ordinary hard seats caron train LC3 from Hanoi to Lao Cai


Livitrans private sleeping-cars, Hanoi to Hue & Danang... One or two privately-run Livitrans sleeping-cars are attached to SE1/SE2 between Hanoi, Hue and Danang, aimed at foreign tourists. They have 4-berth compartments of a better standard than the regular Vietnamese Railways sleepers, but cost more. If budget is an issue for you, stick with the regular Vietnamese railways sleepers, but if you're happy paying a bit more for a much nicer environment, go for these Livitrans cars. The fare includes water and pot noodles, and there are electrical sockets for charging cameras and mobiles. In the past, the Vietnamese Railways have periodically changed the train to which these Livitrans cars are attached, so check when you book. Note that at busy times, for example Tet & high summer, these Livitrans cars may run attached to trains SE5/SE6 instead of SE1/SE2, so check when booking. Most of the tourists in these Livitrans cars leave the train at Hué, leaving you with little competition for the handful of opening windows in the corridor to photograph the superb scenery along the coast and over the Hai Van Pass between Hué and Danang. Fares: The fare is US$75 one-way per person from Hanoi to Hue or US$85 Hanoi to Danang, travelling in 4-berth air-conditioned soft sleepers.

A rather nice 4-berth Livitrans soft sleeper...		One of the two Livitrans cars on train SE1...

Golden Trains, Saigon to Nha Trang...

The privately-run Golden Trains sleeping-car is a cut above the regular Vietnamese railways sleepers between Saigon (HCMC) and the beach resorts of Nha Trang. It runs attached to the regular SNT1/SNT2 overnight train, see the timetable above.

Right: A 4-berth air-con sleeper on the Golden Trains car. Photo courtesy of Laura Thomson.

Golden Trains 4-berth sleeper between Saigon (HCMC) and Nha Trang

Hanoi - Lao Cai (for Sapa)

Take the Slow Train to Sapa... Click for route map

Sapa is a hill station established by the French in 1922, and its beautiful scenery and colourful local tribal people make it a popular stop on many visitors' itineraries. The best way to get there is to take the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, then transfer the final 38 km (24 miles) from Lo Cai to Sapa by bus, car or taxi. There are both daytime and overnight sleeper trains between Hanoi & Lao Cai, and on the sleeper trains you can use a regular Vietnamese Railways soft or hard sleeper or choose from a whole range of privately-run sleeping-cars of a higher standard aimed at tourists. The line from Hanoi to Lao Cai was built by the French and opened in 1910 as part of the metre-gauge Vietnam to Kunming railway. The Lao Cai to Kunming section was destroyed landslides in 2002, but onward train travel from Lao Cai to Kunming is once again possible on a new standard-gauge railway opened in 2014, see the Hanoi to Kunming section below. Hanoi to Lao Cai is 296 km (185 miles).

Train timetable...