Pumpkin Express

The price for what is provided is pretty high, so the value for this train trip is very low. The ticket guy for Pumpkin Express was easy to find and even at the station earlier than expected. He was also very helpful in getting me the drinks and snacks for my cabin and providing clear guidance on when and where to wait and board. Overall, it was an okay experience, but I couldn't sleep at all on the train despite having the entire VIP cabin to myself and there were only a few snacks and a couple drinks provided. I was impressed with the fact that I could actually charge my phone and they had a few different working lights in the room. The trains are very old, but they were cleaner than I expected. However, I also traveled only one month after the pandemic lockdown was lifted in Vietnam, so there were very few tourists traveling in general; that's probably why things were in decent condition (even the bathroom was pretty clean for a train). I was disappointed that there was no onboard wifi; luckily I had my own SIM with mobile data plan which worked on some parts of the trip. I took a private, 8-pax bus back from Sapa to Hanoi instead of the train, for which I paid only $25. It was much more comfortable, scenic, and quicker than the train. I likely would not take the train ever again unless the conditions were MUCH better (i.e., they need a complete overhaul).

Very dirty, cockroaches in cabin. Bathroom filthy. Staff not very friendly. Beds hard and air conditioning doesn't work properly. Room was very hot, no air. Left half an hour late.

Carriage was comfortable with free refreshments. Staff were friendly and helpful.

The pumpkin express from Hanoi to Sapa was great. We got a private sleeper cabin and slept pretty much the whole way on very comfortable beds with air con. We even had snacks, WiFi and plug sockets which we weren’t expecting! Would definitely use again.. plus saved money and time. Make sure you organise a pick up from the station when you arrive in Sapa, as it can be a bit hectic with a lot of people trying to over charge.

Bed sheets dirty, covered in blood! Slept with a towel as a blanket. Plus side, you get X2 bottles of water, cola and beer (1st class) very noisy and difficult to sleep but noise and movement settled down around 1am.

We booked a double room. The rooms was clean and cute. It’s not exactly easy to sleep. It’s pretty loud and the train rocks quite a bit. Navigating the train station in Hanoi was a bit difficult. Several attendants at the train station directed us to different tracks and trains. We made it on the train about 10 minutes before it left. The train left exactly at 2135 and we arrived on time at the station before Sapa. There is a snack cart and coffee and tea offered in the morning. We experienced the same lack of toilet paper as everyone else. So bring your own just in case.

Cabine de quatre personnes, confortable et propre. Trajet bruyant a cause des passagers de la cabine.

I think this is very over sold. The carriages were very poor, not clean, the staff were not very interested. We were told in the evening that a coffee in the morning would be free, when it arrived we asked for 20, 000 Dong each, the cup wasn't even half full and it was terrible. The toilets we a shambles. It was very very poor!

Overall our trip was very very good. Easy picking up tickets, attendants pointed us to correct train car, etc. Cabin was clean, with clean sheets. We saw that there was WiFi but never got the password. Train bathroom was questionable but not the absolute worst. No toilet paper when we first arrived, but it was refilled the next morning. There were 2 sinks separate from toilet so you can brush teeth, etc.! We got a 2-person private cabin, so the mattresses were doubled up, firm, which I liked. Train is rocky and loud so bring ear plugs! Would do it again!

- Very dirty bathrooms, really unacceptable for this rate - airco in face while trying to get some sleep on hard and too short bed (if your height is >1.80m) - offering coffee is great, but not if the train arrives within 1 minute after receiving it

We had Insects in our room. The matresses were hard. The Service Lady did not speak any English. The VIP sleeper was totally overpriced. We paid 10 times as much as for a Bus. Next time we will take the Bus both ways the quality is so much better!

The train wagon was worse than asia express and we pay just the same. Also there were some bugs in the cabin that we need to kill.

The cabin was very clean and the bed was comfortable and they provided snacks and water, the train trip was a bit bumpy but that was expected.

The cabines were ok, but the toilet was really very dirty.

Incredibly loud, the speaker in the cabin kept cracking, the ‘VIP’ experience was less than comfortable and not worth the price. Very disappointed!

The airco was to cold to sleep en not comfortabele , Coffe and thee should be free available .

They gave us the wrong tickets . First they don’t want to help us and asked us to step in the wrong cabin. It’s because we keep ask for the wright tickets that they helped us . We had to take the train later .

Family of 4, boys at 12 and 19 years. Thanks to details on tripadvisor we found the right building. The guy at the ticketoffice was late so that caused a little stress to all of us wantint to exchange our voucher to tickets. The sleeper was better than excpected, water, bananas and biscuits was included. Noisy, bring earplugs,bunks where ok. Take it as an adventure.

We booked a 1st class from Lao Cai to Hanoi with only 2 beds but was given a 4 beds. The air con was not cold at all so we make noise to the train station master. At the end they changed us back to another 4 beds. We are very disappointed as we paid so much for 1st class but get 2nd class bed.

Comfortable beds and enough space for both of our luggage. Quite noisy people around us which made it hard to fall asleep.

Ticketing very efficient and journey was on time. But mattress far too firm for me

The bed was REALLY hard. We couldn’t opt for a hard or softbed, because there wouldnt be any hard beds- but this was basically a wooden plank. However, train was perfectly in time and even provided water and snacks and there was electricity on board.

The beds are pretty short for a tall European. Our neighbours was snoring beyond healthy and acceptable standards. Toilet, sheets were clean. We got complimentary banana, water and cookies. Staff to help while boarding was organised.

1st class rocks!!

Room was good. We booked a private room for 2. The top bunks were folded up. The lamp was broken. The mattresses were super firm but at least we had electrical outlets. The facilities were good for what it was. This was so much better than Oriental Express. We booked a private room with OE. OE had not electrical outlets and the bunks where bolted down so we couldnt fold them up.

This is for pumpkin train - The train beds are comfortable and toilet was fairly clean. Just the unstable wooden noise from the dividers when the train moves. We also had a bad experience when boarding the train as we do not have the tickets (we pre booked and only have the voucher which we tot is sufficient) and are confused with which platform and train to board. There was a guy approaching us offering help to find us the train. And when he got us the tickets he brought us to the cabin and he immediately asked us for tips, indicated how much he wants which was very intimidating. He wouldn't leave until you give him the amount he wants. Just be careful when you board the train and get your tickets.

Train car was clean, comfy beds, warm blankets

Comfortable and easy

火车睡铺整体是不错，但火车的一切都需付费，这点不够透明化

Very nice except 1 toilet not working

The ride with Pumpkin to Lao Cai ws not worth the premium price.

Train was great, a real adventure. Was rocky but bed very comfortable and slept well. Toilet and washing facilities are what you'd expect on a train but sufficient. 12go.asia were great for arranging the booking but the directions to the ticket office were misleading and we struggled at the station. Glad we arrived 1.5hrs before the train.