[sascja]

Hi,

Does anyone know of a travel agency in HK that can arrange train tickets/travel for Vietnam? I'd like to buy overnight train tickets from Saigon to Nha Trang before we go (26 Dec) and because our time in Vietnam is limited I'd rather not risk finding they're sold out if we only buy them when we get to Saigon.

Has anyone done this trip before? (or Saigon to Hanoi)

Thanks,
Sasha

[mrcheese321]

Check out this site: http://seat61.com/Vietnam.htm for information on train travel.

If you are really worried about it, then I know that Vietnam Airlines does tickets from Ho Chi Minh to Nha Trang for about 500HKD/seat.

I've never traveled by train in Vietnam (my first trip there will be in January), but I've heard that it is very comfortable.

Have fun!

c

[ToNzOfPHuN]

Just wondering but what is there to do in Vietnam?

[mrcheese321]

There are like 3 UNESCO World Heritage sites there to visit.

Hui, Hoi An, Halong Bay are all UNESCO World Heritage. They are just suppoed to be amazing places to visit. Also, there are a lot of war relates places to visit.

I'm going because I've heard it is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I am really love the food

c

[ToNzOfPHuN]

I just wanted to say fish sauce smells really baddddddd

[sascja]

Thanks for the replies. I have looked on the site and tried emailing the contacts given but haven't had a response from them. We will be taking one internal flight with Vietnam Airlines but the flights to Nha Trang only leave in the mornings and we arrive in Saigon in the evening and so a night train would sort out travel and accommodation for much cheaper.

If anybody's tried the trains before and can recommend the most comfortable one - that would be great.

And yip, fish sauce doesn't smell too great but it does work quite nicely in Thai curries...

[hbrand]

If worst gets to worst and the tix are sold out you can always catch a bus. From Nha Trang to Hanoi this is about 24 hours (if my memory is serving me correctly, I did it in 2001). It's kind of a mad trip, but down a sleeping tablet and you won't remember a thing!
You'll love Vietnam. It is absolutely beautiful. Crawl through the Cu Chi tunnels and ride on the back of a motorbike taxi in Ho Chi Minh City, two experiences I'll never forget. Very true that Halong Bay/Hoi Ann are magnificent as well. Do the Mama Heinz boat trip in Nha Trang - unforgettable, although your head will be sore the next day. Be careful of your stuff in Nha Trang, I was mugged twice and didn't even take my handbag out with me, the guy I was with lost everything. Don't know if it has changed but back then you couldn't walk down the street without a motorbike flying past and someone trying to grab your bag.

Enjoy!

[newsgirl]

I too am trying to pre-book train tix and the seat61 Web site, while informative on many levels, doesn't suggest how to do this.
We're also leaving Dec.26, but are taking a train from HK to Guanzhou, to Nanning, then Pinxiang and over to Hanoi. YOu may be luckier than us, as you can always hop on a bus to travel between Hanoi and Saigon. Good luck. I'm sure your trip will be a blast. And if anyone has any more info, please pass it on.
Thanks!

[ToNzOfPHuN]

Okay, I just found out that I also have relatives in Vietnam. How is everyone else getting from Hong Kong to Vietnam transportation wise. I am very interested in going in the next week.

[sascja]

Just to pass on useful/useless info - I ended up getting my hotel in Saigon to book the train tickets for me even though we're not staying with them until after we get back from Nha Trang. The train is quite full already and we couldn't get the soft sleeper tickets that we wanted (2wk in advance), so I'd recommend booking earlier.

The travel agents in HK that I tried wanted to charge huge handling fees, foreign exchange surcharges, etc so unless you're booking a whole package with the travel agent, it's not worth going through them. The hotel charged 5%.

I can't wait to go now.