Travelling within Vietnam
Road Travel in Vietnam
Travelling by road in Vietnam can be quite an adventure. You will certainly take to the roads for some of your journey. For certain trips it is the only option. The road will give you great access to the landscape and scenery of the country. You will also encounter the chaos of life, Vietnam style. It is not unusual to be sharing the road with an unpredictable mix of vehicles: motorbikes, cyclos, horses or buffaloes, people walking and pushing carts, trucks speeding past at full throttle and school girls on bicycles. All of this makes travelling by road an experience not to be missed - but at the same time it can be quite uncomfortable. A lack of attention to road rules, less-than-perfect road quality and an almost universal aversion to wearing motorbike helmets, all combine to give Vietnam the second highest road fatality rate in the world.
We recommend you limit your road travel to shorter journeys (no more than four hours). Any more tends to be quite uncomfortable. Please also be aware that journeys by road will often take a lot longer than you may estimate by looking at the map. Due to the road quality, traffic conditions and sometimes the topography of the landscape, a 200-kilometre road trip can actually take up to 4 or 5 hours and the average speed outside the city is no more than 50km per hour.
Please note that foreign visitors are not permitted to rent and drive their own car in Vietnam. Foreign drivers must obtain a Vietnamese driving permit – a lengthy process and only practical for long term expatriates.
Travelling by Train
The train is a good alternative to road travel and one we recommend you experience at least once on your holiday. Once again, its important to be aware that the quality of the trains is not international standard. Ensure you are seated in a soft berth cabin to avoid travelling in a hot, crowded carriage on a wooden seat for hours at a time. The soft berth cabins are quite adequate (but by no means luxurious!). Enjoy the unique character of train travel - sharing the train with Vietnamese people, making new friends and viewing some stunning landscapes.
If you are travelling to Sapa you will almost certainly be taking the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai and back again (there is no airport in Sapa and the road trip is definitely not recommended). You can travel overnight for one or both of these train trips in a soft berth sleeper (the trip takes approximately 10 hours). If you are staying at the Victoria Hotel in Sapa you can enjoy the luxury of the Victoria Express cabins which are attached to the regular train and offer a superb standard of luxury - equivalent to the hotel itself.
Another popular train journey is the Reunification Express from Hanoi to Hue in Central Vietnam, which takes about 12 hours and is available overnight. Take this trip if you wish to experience the trains of Vietnam, although we generally recommend flying between Hue and Hanoi.
Air Travel in Vietnam
Vietnam Airlines has one of the most modern fleets in the world. Domestic air travel is inexpensive and the service is good. As Vietnam stretches for over 2000 kilometres from north to south, flying is a good option for the longer distances. Upgrading to business class is relatively inexpensive on domestic flights – something to consider if you prefer a little more space. Please be aware, however, that flight schedules are often subject to change without prior notice – one of the quirks of travelling around Vietnam that can take unsuspecting visitors by surprise.
