hi! we're travelling in vietnam in december (3 weeks, hanoi to HCMC). we were going to book train tickets for overnight journeys in advance but i've been reading how unpredictable the weather can be in the north in december & we're now considering not booking in advance - just seeing what the weather's like before deciding how long to stay in the north.
does anyone have any idea of the price difference (soft sleeper) comparing booking in advance with booking the day before or a couple of days before? are soft sleepers likely to sell out in december?
any advice welcome :)
jocharlton
1
jjack
I don't think there's a big price difference, if any. Booking in advance with an agent may incur a small service charge, but that same charge would be levied if you booked through them the same day of departure.
I think it's more about how rigid your schedule is, and how much you want soft sleeper class. If you have a bit of flexibility then you can probably wait until closer to the date. If you must leave on a particular date and definitely want soft sleeper class then book as far in advance as you can.
2
mstep
You don't need to book train tickets way far in advance. But if you wait until the very last minute, the train will probably be sold out. And you will be forced to use bus transport, which all travelers complain about endlessly in Vietnam.
3
larsay
December is not a bad month for the North; the weather gets cold in January and February
Not so many tourists, so, no need to book trains in advance,; you book them in Vietnam, after having checked the meteo in the northern moutains (for ex, type" meteo Sapa" on Googles)
5
17091984
In addition to the train, you have many other facilities when traveling to different locations in Vietnam. The expensive tickets are extremely easy to access
6
Suetran.299
December is considered as the peak season in Vietnam, so perhaps price for ticker can raise a bit, so you should book ticket in advance to avoid run-out of ticket
7
sevres_babylone
I was in Hanoi in January, and I expected it to be less rainy than it was. It's probably worth the flexibility to wait until you are there to see how the weather is, and then book your train tickets. We did adjust our plans, and had to give Halong Bay a pass because the forecast was for still more rain. We then went to Hue, buying our sleeper tickets at the train station the day before we left.
On other travels -- Hoi An to Mui Ne, and Mui Ne to HCMC we used open tour sleeper buses, and I have no complaints about them.
9
Thorn Tree
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