One of the most common transportations in Vietnam is the bus. As Vietnam is a very vast country, you should prepare for long and exhausting journeys that will guarantee you an experience of a lifetime. However, it does not always have to be positive.
Buses in Vietnam often operate as courier companies, so it is quite possible that during your trip you will stop at various places to load and unload various packages – from motorbikes, building materials to vegetables or live chickens.
With standard buses and minivans, you also have to be prepared for very little space, which Vietnamese can fill far beyond capacity. One time we even had 6 more people traveling in the minibus, so they had to sit on plastic chairs in the middle of the aisle. Crazy!
One way to save as much time as possible while travelling as comfortably as possible is to travel on a VIP overnight sleeping bus. And here are 10 things you need to know before your sleeping bus trip in Vietnam.
1. Be careful when booking and buy a ticket for the right bus
You need to be very careful when booking an overnight sleeping bus. There are two types of sleeping buses in Vietnam – you can either book a seat on a standard sleeping bus called a sleeping bus or an open sleeping bus, or on a VIP cabin bus.
While the classic sleeping bus is slightly cheaper, it also offers much less comfort. Although there is a bed available on the bus, which is much more comfortable than travelling in a regular bus or minivan, don’t expect privacy. In fact, the bus offers up to three rows of open bunk beds. The second option is to book a VIP cabin bus. On this bus, you have the whole cabin to yourself.
2. Buy tickets online – you will be able to choose a specific place
There are several ways to book a sleeping bus in Vietnam. The first is to book the tickets directly with your hotel. If the hotel offer does not suit you, you can make a reservation at the tourist offices, which can be found at every turn. The third option is to buy your ticket online.
There are several portals to choose from, such as Bookaway or 12go asia. We’ve always bought our tickets through bookaway because they have the best prices and you can choose the specific cabin number you want to travel in, among other things.
The price of the ticket depends of course on the length of your route. We travelled from Ninh Binh to Ha Giang and one ticket cost us 32€.
3. When choosing a seat, reach for the lower cabins in the middle of the bus
If you have a choice of seats, we recommend reaching for the lower cabins, which are more stable and, in our opinion, much more comfortable than the upper ones. It is best to choose cabins that are located in the middle of the bus. You won’t be disturbed when opening the front door and you won’t be sleeping in close proximity to the toilets at the same time.
4. Buy sleeping bus tickets a few days in advance
We recommend buying tickets at least a few days in advance, as the capacity of the VIP cabin bus is limited. Most sleeping buses leave from the capital Hanoi. You can get almost everywhere from here. However, if you are travelling from other areas the frequency of sleeping bus departures is much lower, so make sure you book your seat as soon as possible.
5. Be prepared for air conditioning
As is customary in Vietnam, the air conditioning is always on full blast everywhere. It’s no different in the VIP sleeping buses, where the driver doesn’t care if it’s 30 or 10 degrees outside. The climate just goes full blast. Although you will have a blanket available, we still recommend you bring a sweatshirt to save yourself an uncomfortable journey.
6. Don’t worry about the TV, you won’t be able to turn it on anyway
A TV is available on several VIP sleeping buses. Legend has it, however, that no one has managed to make it work 😀 You can try, but you’d better not count on it. However, you’ll have USB power available, which can guarantee you uninterrupted entertainment on your mobile or tablet.
7. Not all sleeping buses have a toilet
As we have already mentioned, there are several VIP sleeping buses in Vietnam, so you need to prepare for different conditions. Sometimes the toilets are at the back of the bus, sometimes you have to wait for the stop. You can expect 2-3 stops during an 8-hour journey – it all depends on the driver’s decision, which can be erratic.
8. Prepare for noisy passengers and bring earplugs or earphones
The quality of your journey can depend a lot on which passengers come onboard. In our case, it was a pretty calm and quiet crew, thanks to which we got some sleep. Often, however, you may come across a person on the bus who will be on the speaker phone with their family for the whole journey, or snoring the entire time. We recommend that you bring headphones or earplugs.
9. Read reviews and save yourself from a nightmare
As is the case with hotels or restaurants, there are operators who neglect their buses, thus reducing the overall quality of travel. It’s definitely essential to read reviews before booking buses, as sometimes you may find, for example, cockroaches on the bus, which may not be the best travelling companions.
10. The ride may start and end at a different time than it is supposed to
Even though the bus is scheduled to leave at 19:30, it can very easily happen that during the day you receive a Whatsapp message that you will be picked up as early as 19:00. The same can be true in reverse and you can wait more than half an hour for a bus. You need to be prepared for this in advance. Don’t worry though, the bus certainly won’t leave without contacting you in advance. This, of course, also determines the time of arrival at the final destination.
