Train from nha trang to da nang
Since we tried to experience every possible mean of transport, we couldn’t miss the sleeper train to reach the city of DaNang. Go straight to our train booking tutorial here. Our stay in Nha Trang is not very comfortable, not to say inconvenient. The sleeper train from Nha Trang to Da Nang will be our best memory. Because of Tet holidays (Vietnamese lunar new year), hotels are super full and remaining places are way overpriced; we try then on Airbnb: same story, but eventually we manage to find a room, even though 5 miles away from the centre. Unfortunately at our arrival, the owners welcome us with a bad surprise: if we want the room we booked, we have to pay more than double the price. Alternatively they suggest us to go to a nearby guesthouse, quite crumbling, same price. Tired and annoyed we are happy (not really…) with the second option, finding ourselves in a bare room, with a mattress thrown on the floor as only piece of furniture. We have dinner in one of the many Russian restaurants in town, that lately has been surprisingly settled by them, despite the not near mother land: hotels, restaurants, shops, travel agencies, there are cyrillic signs everywhere. View on Nha Trang coastlineAfter said problems we decide to leave Nha Trang the next day and we book a sleeper train to Danang, that leaves late at 10pm. Here’s a parenthesis on how to book a train ticket in Vietnam. There are 3 ways to book a seat on a train in Vietnam:
Powered by 12Go Asia system Dalat train stationWhat seat/bed do I need to buy?To know how to book online, follow our tutorial here. It depends on how long your journey is. Trains in Vietnam are very slow, which is good both to enjoy the landscapes by day, and to get some sleep at night. If it’s gonna be a 6-hour travel or more, we recommend to do it on a sleeper train overnight. You have these choices:
On every coach, there’s a toilet, a pair of sinks with mirrors, basic needs to prepare for the night. If you have a shorter journey, you can try a very local experience like:
Klook.com Basically every Vietnamese train runs from Hanoi all the way to Ho Chi Minh City, or the other way. For this reason, timetables are variable, you need to book some days before to find a soft bed which normally are the first to sell out. Normal seats are bookable only on the same day of travel, so just show up at the station as early as you can. Train travelling in Vietnam is a rewarding experience that we definitely suggest to try! Plane tickets cost as much as a night ride on a train, but on the latter you’ll be able to relax, sleep, meet new people, and enjoy the views. Let’s go back to our stay in Nha Trang: we need to find a way to spend the day without having to carry our backpacks with us, which we cannot leave at the guesthouse, too far from the station, and we have to find a place where to take a shower before our long travel by train too. The perfect solution to our needs is Vinpearl Land, a big fun and water park that rises on an island in front of Nha Trang, in a majestic almost Hollywood style, as the cubital font writing that dominates the scenery. Definitely beyond Vietnamese background. We spend the day sliding down the slipways like kids, a few slow and romantic rides for Ambra’s taste, and after the sunset we leave the island on board of both a technological and spectacular cable car over the sea. A taxi ride at triple the normal fare, always for our beloved Tet, and we reach the station ready to get on the train and dive into an authentic rustic atmosphere, kind of travelling back in time. Amazing to see employees busy with refilling the wagons jugs with water one by one, whole families dealing with piles of luggage in order to reach maybe the opposite far end of the country, more than 1000 miles away; it is compulsory to cross the tracks to reach the third one, and there is a ticket inspector at the door of every coach, that will take care of it for the entire trip. Our ticket says “soft sleeper bed” class, that means we are entitled to a bed in a 4-person compartment. We find a small cute family formed by mum, dad and a baby, occupying the lower beds: we communicate with them only with gestures, they show us how to climb up, they look at us smiling and with curiosity. Exploring the other coaches, scenes are diverse: westerns mix with locals in 6 hard-sleeper-bed compartments, with literally hard surface bed as they mean it! Some Vietnamese travel sitting on stools in the corridors, people eat everywhere, some other even cook, stirring soups in big pots, kids run around half naked, a lot of smells, sometimes unpleasant; all of that combined with rural landscapes out of the windows, endless rice fields, women working under the sun with their typical Vietnamese hats. The train does many stops, some planned some other not, but hours go by with no issues, we sleep quietly and rest. 500 km and 12 hours later, we arrive in DaNang, where we will remain for several weeks. WHERE TO STAY:
HOW TO MOVE AROUND:HOW TO GET YOUR VISA TO VIETNAM:
TRAVEL INSURANCE:
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