hello, we have been advised that you can buy train or bus tickets that allow you to hop on and off at different locations travelling from Hanoi to Hoi Chi Minh City.......has anyone used these tickets? Is it worth doing or would you recommend flying........the only thing with flying is you don't get to see much of the scenery along the way!
We're travelling from Beijing to Shanghai to Hong Kong to Vietnam to Cambodia and Thailand. We'd like to keep costs to a minimum if possible, Can anyone tell me what the buses and trains are like? Should we fly or go over land.....that is the question!!!
Reply to this Hello Dicko 😊
For Thailand I certainly recommend travelling overland. VIP busses are very comfortable and not expensive at all. Also there is the option of taking overnight sleeper trains which is the most comfortable option. Trains should be prebooked because they get full. Busses go very frequently and dont need to be prebooked. Also bus and train travel in Thailand is quite a bit cheaper than flying even though flying is not expensive there either.
If you really want to save money you could choose the third class train and second class buses. I took the 3rd class on the train overnight. It is not at all comfortable to travel overnight that way but it is very cheap. As far as I remember the second class busses have no toilets but they are also very cheap.
Mel
Reply to this Hi Mel
Thanks for your help! I think we'll always take the land option where we can but the thought of sitting on a train or coach for 41 hours seems a little daunting!!
Never mind, thanks for the info!
Thanks
Lisa
Reply to this Anyone got any advice on travelling down the east coast of Australia? We'll land in Cairns mid Sept and have 6 weeks to make our way down to Sydney. Any recommendations where to stay and what to do? I hear that buying a camper van and making your own way down would be the best option but seems pretty expensive to me.........Do the greyhound or trains stop off at most places on the way down? Is accomodation easy to find if you havent booked anything?
Reply to this Dear Mike and Lisa,
It's not bad at all when travelling from the North to the South of Viet Nam 'cause you have a long journey, not only Viet Nam. You are right when you say that if you got a flight for your journey, you can not view the landscapes along way. I also often travel by bus in Viet Nam and i think that it's simple, easy and cheap, not so tired. The cost is also much cheaper than airplane, for example if you travel from Ha noi to Sai gon by bus with sleeping bed (Not sitting), it cost you around 65$ and you can stop at 5 places: Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Da Lat (or Mui Ne), and Sai Gon. If you go by train, it's more expensive and you have to buy tickets for every route because it's not open train.
I am living in Ha Noi and i travel quite often so i know which is the best way for travelling in Viet Nam, if you come to Viet Nam and feel difficult for your travelling or tickets, i feel pleased to help you.
Good Luck
Reply to this Hi Nguyenbig
Do you have any advice on the best and cheapest (if possible!) to get from Hong Kong to Hanoi? I can't find any flights which leave HK and fly to Hanoi, i have to travel to bangkok first. Is there a better route that we can take by train or flights?
Thanks for your help
Lisa
Reply to this Dear Mike & Lisa,
From HongKong to Ha Noi, it's possible to go by airplanem, you can contact Vietnamairlines for the tickets. There are many flights a day but only some direct flight from Hong Kong to Ha Noi, the others flight will land on Ho Chi Minh city then continue flying to Ha Noi. It's a waste of time
You also can contact Southern China Airlines to get the tickets, for this airlines, they don't have so many flights like Viet Nam Airline but the price might be cheaper than Viet Nam Airlines
Try to get in touch with them and if you can not book the tickets, i think you can fly from Thailand, there are more cheal flights than from HongKong (AirAsia or Nok Air is very cheap!)
Good Luck
Reply to this Hi Nguyen
Thanks for the info, over the weekend we did some research on travelling from Hong Kong to Hanoi by Train which i think we will do now, There isn't a direct service but i think this would be the best option and we'll see so much more this way, we also may train from Hanoi to Saigon instead of flying. We will see so much more!
Any other tips would be greatly appreciated!!
Thanks for your help
Lisa and Mike
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