{"id":14683,"date":"2017-07-06T15:20:40","date_gmt":"2017-07-06T13:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/?p=14683"},"modified":"2026-02-17T18:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T17:24:32","slug":"vietnam-train-reunification-express","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecobnb.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/vietnam-train-reunification-express\/","title":{"rendered":"Through Vietnam by train: the Reunification Express"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vietnam<\/strong> deserves to be visited for many reasons: on one hand, it embodies the somewhat rarefied western vision of Asia made of vibrant street life and bizarre traditions, on the other hand, it will offer to conscious travelers an experience that goes far beyond the stereotypes. The vast territory of Vietnam is made up of hundreds of different landscapes<\/strong>, ethnicities, and complex traditions. It is an ancient country where practices that seem to belong to another century still live in equilibrium with the rush to modernity.<\/p>\n

\"Traditional
Photo by Gambs Dep<\/div><\/div>\n

Reunification Express: through\u00a0authentic Vietnam\u00a0by train<\/h2>\n

The best way to really know all the facets of the country is to travel like its inhabitants<\/strong>, thus\u00a0by public<\/strong> transport<\/strong>. However, traveling with such transport, especially by buses, in Vietnam can be an unbearable experience: roads full of traffic and drivers who drive as demigods can lead the visitor seriously thinking that their lives are going to end at any moment. But during my last trip to Asia, I found the solution to this inconvenience, a real pearl for the lovers of slow travel<\/strong><\/a>: visiting Vietnam by train thanks to Reunification<\/strong> Express<\/strong>, the railway linking the country from north to south.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Gambs Dep<\/div><\/div>\n

The construction of the railway linking Saigon<\/strong> to Hanoi<\/strong>, then named Transindochinois, began during French colonization in 1899 and was completed in 1936. During the wars involving Vietnam in the course of the 1900s the line was often sabotaged and bombardments. Until 1975, following the reunification of the country and just to celebrate the newly established Vietnamese unity, the government pledged to restore the line as soon as possible and on December 31, 1976, it was inaugurated under the name Reunification<\/strong> Express<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Today, with 36 hours of travel, it is possible to reach Ho Chi Minh City<\/strong> from Hanoi<\/strong> and vice versa, crossing Vietnam’s green landscapes<\/strong>, though it is advisable to break the trip and discover the country along the way.<\/p>\n

\"Rice
Photo by Gambs Dep<\/div><\/div>\n

Practical tips for visiting Vietnam by train<\/h2>\n

This train is perfect for those who love to travel<\/strong> slowly<\/strong>, forget about European trains, and know that the Reunification Express travels at 50 km\/h, slower than an Italian regional train.<\/p>\n

Some practical advice for a train trip through Vietnam: the seating types are divided into hard seats, soft<\/strong> seats<\/strong>, hard bunks, and soft berths. Since hard seats are not defined because they are orthopedic but because they are made of wood, it is advisable to choose the soft ones, a little more expensive but still very affordable (about 1.175.000 dong Vietnamese or 46 euros for Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi).<\/p>\n\n\t\t