What level of comfort do the trains in Vietnam provide and how safe are they?
There are five classes on Vietnamese trains: hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, soft sleeper and “super berths” (soft sleeper with air-con), though only the long-distance expresses offer the full range. For short journeys hard or soft seat carriages are fine, though most Vietnamese people can only afford hard seat so these carriages tend to be packed out. For longer journeys, particularly overnight, try and get a sleeping berth. Hard sleeper consists of six bunk beds in one compartment (two tiers of three). In most cases the seats have padding and it’s reasonably comfortable; the exception is the night train to Lao Cai, when you just get a hard wooden bunk and a mat to sleep on. Prices for the bottom bunk are highest and the top bunk is the cheapest, partly because you have to climb up and also because there’s very little space between the bunk and the ceiling. Soft sleeper compartments have four bunks (two tiers of two) which are all priced the same. Note that sleeping berths get boo
There are five classes on Vietnamese trains: hard seat, soft seat, hard sleeper, soft sleeper and “super berths” (soft sleeper with air-con), though only the long-distance expresses offer the full range. For short journeys hard or soft seat carriages are fine, though most Vietnamese people can only afford hard seat so these carriages tend to be packed out.For longer journeys, particularly overnight, try and get a sleeping berth. Hard sleeper consists of six bunk beds in one compartment (two tiers of three). In most cases the seats have padding and it’s reasonably comfortable; the exception is the night train to Lao Cai, when you just get a hard wooden bunk and a mat to sleep on. Prices for the bottom bunk are highest and the top bunk is the cheapest, partly because you have to climb up and also because there’s very little space between the bunk and the ceiling. Soft sleeper compartments have four bunks (two tiers of two) which are all priced the same. Note that sleeping berths get book
