Vietnam Railway
- Reviews
About Vietnam Railway
A railway journey is a convenient way to explore the country. No matter whether you are after a quintessentially old school experience with a slow long-haul train or a super modern highspeed express, a train travel allows you to get to your destination in style and enjoy the trip at its most. Vietnam Railway is one of the operators you can book a train ride with. Before confirming your booking, remember to check the date of your travel, class, price and conditions of your fare.
What are the Main Stations of Vietnam Railway?
The main stations covered by Vietnam Railway’s route map include
- Da Nang
- Hue
- Hanoi
- Ho Chi Minh City
- Ninh Binh
- Dong Hoi
- Nha Trang
- Hai Phong
- Phan Thiet
- Binh Thuan
What are the Most Popular Routes of Vietnam Railway?
Here are some of the routes offered by Vietnam Railway which enjoy the greatest popularity with travellers:
What are the Train Classes & Prices of Vietnam Railway?
Depending on the length of your trip and your preferences you can choose a first or second class ticket in a sleeper coach for an overnight trip or opt for a hard or soft seat if available. Note that the choice of ticket classes depends both on the route and the length of your trip. Basically, your train may feature first class berths but you will not be able to book one if you are doing just a short two-hour stretch. In general, second class berths are a good choice for longer trips, and soft seats get you covered if your train ride is supposed to take under 4-5 hours.
Pros & Cons of Train Travel
Pros of Train Travel
- The best thing about railway travel is no traffic jams. Even on rush-hour, long weekends or during the high season
- An easy online booking process – you do not need to go to the railway station, which was the case in many places not so long ago!
- Prices for train tickets are usually more affordable compared to airplane tickets yet for certain destinations and trips the total travel time can be almost the same
- While rail travel is obviously slower than air travel, railway stations are often located in the centre of the city which saves you a sack of time getting to/from there while airports are almost always are quite a long way out of the city
- Travelling by night allows you to save on a hotel room and sleep well at the same time – opposite to a night bus where even the sleeping class is a huge compromise
- On certain routes luxury service is available
Cons of Train Travel
- For longer trips a train ride is definitely more time consuming than air journeys
- Trains do ride on schedule but being out of schedule is not unheard of for train travel – and delays can be huge, so if you are planning a connection to your flight, carefully check the time your train arrives at the station and think twice.
- Cleanliness is sometimes an issue with second and third class tickets, and with toilets, too.
- If your train makes a lot of stops, in some cases it is difficult to figure out when to get off as stops are not always clearly announced or marked with the exception of an electronic screen.
Vietnam Railway Company Reviews
A
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Mar 27, 2026
Driver asked for surcharge said it was owed when it wasn’t ; then tried to reduce surcharge ; refused to pay as it was not payable
V
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Mar 18, 2026
No hassle .. everything went well even though the train was delayed by 25 minutes ….
A
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Mar 16, 2026
We loved it! Everyone was very friendly on our SE27.
D
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Mar 16, 2026
Broke down- three hours became five… no announcement until hour later. Toilets overflowing filthy
J
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Mar 6, 2026
Not clean, so much garbage on every seat and floor
L
Train Second Class Seat, Vietnam Railway, Mar 1, 2026
Delays and not a very clean or nice Train
T
Train Soft Seat, Vietnam Railway, Feb 8, 2026
Train was fulli booked
Have 3 unplaned Stops too let other trains passed .The planed Stop was in a smal town with absolut nothing to See .It start 14:30 and arived in Da Nang at 19:00 in the DARK.
We passed the interresting Landscape in the DARK.You Pay the Double Price vor the Double time!!as a bus.
E
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Feb 8, 2026
A fantastic and comfortable journey!
T
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Feb 7, 2026
Perfect, and our seats were in the left side of the train as we hoped!
L
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Feb 3, 2026
The train was very comfortable and the scenery was great - try to be on the left side of the train (views down the cliff face) and not right at the front or back (no overhead storage). We didn’t see an option to pick seats when booking , but we didn’t really look. Drinks and food are available for purchase. Overall a great experience.
J
Train 1st Class Sleeper (Reunification Express), Vietnam Railway, Feb 1, 2026
Top
B
Train Second Class Seat, Vietnam Railway, Feb 1, 2026
Train tickets didn’t get sent to me until
P
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Jan 31, 2026
Other travelers smoking in side of the train... And then smelling after cigarettes in our compartment
Terrible wakeup Musik ... However after playing for 20 minutes the same .I actually started to like it... Perfect ear worm
Like the mandarin threes in front of toilets
Loud and could not sleep well
Let call it an experience... It down but have to be positive but a strong
S
Train 1st Class Sleeper (Reunification Express), Vietnam Railway, Jan 31, 2026
I spend a good night. The train was calm. It however arrived more than 1 hour late at my arrival station. My cabin's door was broken so I could not close it completely : the risk was to stay stucked inside.
J
Train Soft Seat (Reunification Express), Vietnam Railway, Jan 30, 2026
Train was lovely and spacious. Seats reclined and wasn’t too delayed getting into Nha Trang. It is a rather slow train, never exceeding 80km per hour, but we got to see parts of Vietnam we would never see had we travelled by air
M
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Jan 27, 2026
The toilets are a little bit dirty
M
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Jan 26, 2026
Nice view but not the most comfortable ride. Train left and arrived exactly on schedule
G
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Jan 25, 2026
Train ride to Hue was great.
S
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Jan 22, 2026
The train was unstable
D
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Jan 19, 2026
Train ran on time. The staff keeps up bathroom supplies and offers snacks. Cleanliness could have been improved, but we would do it again. Every step was seamless.
C
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Jan 12, 2026
and if you’ve never taken a train in Vietnam before, the entire process can be extremely confusing—from booking to actually traveling.
When I booked, I didn’t fully understand the seating and cabin setup. I selected what was labeled as a first-class sleeper, but it ended up being a four-berth cabin, which felt more like a lower-class sleeper. There was no option to choose specific beds, and we were assigned the top bunks. With extra luggage and very limited storage space, I had no choice but to sleep with my luggage at my feet. The bed itself was already hard and uncomfortable, and this made it worse.
There’s also no real dining area. You eat in your cabin, whether you want to or not, which I didn’t realize beforehand. Staff walk through the cabins opening doors to sell food, even if you’re sleeping. Communication was another major issue—the staff spoke no English, so it was stressful not knowing when our stop was coming up. You really have to pay close attention to station announcements and timing on your own.
If I were to do this again, I would only book a four-berth sleeper for private use so the entire cabin is yours. Otherwise, it’s not a comfortable experience, especially with luggage. If you do decide to book, pack light and be prepared for very limited guidance and comfort.
Overall, it’s functional transportation, but far from user-friendly for first-time or international travelers.
J
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Jan 12, 2026
It was not possible to store luggage above the seats due to the amount of luggage.
R
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Jan 12, 2026
Crowded train
A
Train Soft Seat, Vietnam Railway, Dec 30, 2025
Difficult to make payment. First you denied then you accepted payment via Wise card.
C
Train Second Class Seat, Vietnam Railway, Dec 29, 2025
The carriage was dirty, and the people made a lot of noise and it was almost impossible to get any sleep. We were delayed by 1 hour and 20 minutes. Definitely not worth the money for the lack of comfort and punctuality, better go by bus it's also cheaper.
S
Train 1st Class Sleeper (Reunification Express), Vietnam Railway, Dec 27, 2025
The sleepers cabins are comfortable and the railway personnel very kind and helpful. We had a great rest during the night and could take fully advantage of the next day!
S
Train Second Class Seat, Vietnam Railway, Dec 25, 2025
123go Website did not give me option for the 1at class, I had to pay for it again at the station to get it.
D
Train Second Class Seat, Vietnam Railway, Dec 19, 2025
Very nice
A
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Dec 6, 2025
The experience was terrible. From used stained sheets after 3hour delay on the train without any previous notice to putting us in second class when we booked first class. It was just a a horrible experience.
H
Train 1st Class Sleeper (Reunification Express), Vietnam Railway, Nov 16, 2025
Noisy
H
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Nov 14, 2025
Actual ticked from Vietnam Railways was submitted 3 days before departure. Print version is not required during boarding.
This is actually berth (instead of seat).
F
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Nov 12, 2025
I thought I had booked a private 2 berth first class sleeper compartment. When I boarded the train I was shown to the correct coach Number (8) and the seats numbers on my tickets (1 &2) but it was a 4 berth couchette. I tried explained to the train attendant, he just shrugged and pointed to the ticket. Not what I expected. Then at 06:00 the train attendant came and told us we all had to get off and join a fleet of buses because of flooding.
We had to scramble to get all our bags etc together as we were being rushed by the train staff. We then had a 4 hour journey with no stops no water until rejoining another train further along the line. From what was being discussed it appeared this was preplanned. Had I been informed earlier I would have opted to fly instead. I honestly feel let down, which is a shame as I have had good service with your company in the past.
S
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Nov 5, 2025
This was our first train experience in Vietnam. We had a first class, 4 bunk cabin, and thankfully only 2 passengers. The bunks were a bit hard, with a pillow and thin blanket. The train was slow and stopped 2 hours in to our journey due to severe weather. We decided to abort the journey at that point and headed to the nearest airport.
J
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 31, 2025
Cancelled our trip due to flooding in Hue
T
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 28, 2025
A lovely scenic ride through real Vietnamese countryside and coastline. Highly recommend
N
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 27, 2025
1 hour delay, had to sit on a used bed sheet even if just for 3 hours. Cleanliness is what it is, but that was expected.
M
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Oct 27, 2025
Free pick up from hostel was nice. The first leg was with a mini-van however was packed with locals, so no personal space or comfort. The transition with tuktuk in Phnom Penn was very well organised. Second leg was with comfortable touring car bus, no wifi.
G
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 26, 2025
Reliable and easy to use.
F
Train Soft Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 24, 2025
On the whole bus journey and service was very good. Down side - There was no water in toilet on the bus. Hygiene needs to be sorted.
A
Train Soft Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 22, 2025
The train left on time. The onboard entertainment and services were excellent. Very comfortable journey.
A
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 9, 2025
On time departure/arrival
Seats are comfortable and have a power socket
Plenty of food and drinks available
Toilets were clean
B
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Oct 5, 2025
Train was on time, quite comfortable trip with beautiful views. I had luck and received my seat (by coincidence) to the left hand side next to the window. Best place to enjoy the panorama. Once at the station, you don’t need to exchange your ticket, you should directly go to the waiting room assigned to your train. (When purchasing the ticket, the platform showed that I would receive it x days before the trip, this didn’t happen, but I received it still on time.)
B
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Sep 15, 2025
On pictures train is looking very nice- on reality cleanliness was not so good,, restaurant was not working,air conditioner was not possible to adjust as I want
E
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Sep 13, 2025
4 bed 1st class cabin certainly not luxurious but acceptable. Basic facilities. Toilet old but cleaned regularly. Regular food sellers. Hot and cold water available. Bed linen reused between passengers earlier on route. Arrived 4 hours earlier than timetable. Rocky journey, difficult to sleep. Polite and considerate fellow cabin mates.
N
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Sep 2, 2025
Train from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City
E
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Aug 29, 2025
I booked and paid for a two berth, bottom bunk cabin. I ended in a four berth top bunk. There were cockroaches crawling in the walls, the bedding was most definitely not laundered. Not great.
M
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Aug 25, 2025
We got the top bedsleeper , which is just ok have a European companion which he is too tall or just fit in so far
A
Train 2nd Class AC Seat, Vietnam Railway, Aug 24, 2025
After waiting for more than one hour in the pick up place, they sent a car to take us to another pick up place where we waited another 30’. We should have arrived to destination at 11:00 and we acually arrived 2 hours later. Furthermore, the stalls in the sleepbus where very tight and the staff treated us pretty much like animals and not customers.
F
Train 1st Class Sleeper, Vietnam Railway, Aug 22, 2025
A complete disappointment, going first class, with some dirty and very uncomfortable beds and clothes where others have already slept! Furthermore, the air conditioning was extremely cold and could not be adjusted or turned off! Very dirty bathrooms! If you have to travel, I suggest choosing the BUS trip, much more comfortable and pleasant.
M
Train Second Class Seat, Vietnam Railway, Aug 20, 2025
It was great to travel by vietnam rail, everything went smoothly