International trains to / from Vietnam: Hanoi - Beijing (China) trains; Hanoi - Hongkong; Hanoi - Kunming
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Ha Noi - Beijing
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Ha Noi - Hong Kong
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Ha Noi - Kunming
Hanoi - Beijing
There is a safe and comfortable twice-weekly train service between Beijing & Hanoi. A Chinese express train with 4-berth soft class sleepers and restaurant car runs from Beijing to Dong Dang on the Vietnamese frontier (you might need to get off and wait on the platform for an hour or two at Nanning while the train is shunted). At Dong Dang you pass through customs and passport control and board a connecting Vietnamese metre-gauge train for the final run to Hanoi.
Note: The departure days from Beijing changed in 2004 - the train used to leave Beijing on Mondays & Fridays. Departure from Hanoi is confirmed as Tuesdays & Fridays - some parts of the Vietnamese railways website still say Tuesdays & Thursdays in error. You can check train times and fares at booking@opentour.vn / info@opentour.vn
** Dong Dang is the frontier. Change trains.
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Fares & how to buy tickets.. |
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One-way fare in soft class 4-berth sleeper |
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Beijing - Hanoi / Hanoi - Beijing |
The fare is the equivalent of 143 Swiss francs (£71 or $120 or 1,939,000 Vietnamese dong) if you buy your ticket at the ticket office |
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Nanning - Hanoi / Hanoi - Nanning |
The fare is the equivalent of 46 Swiss francs (£21 or $38) if booked at the ticket office. |
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How to buy tickets, in Hanoi...
At Hanoi station, go to ticket window 16 for foreigners & international trains. You will need to show your passport and a valid visa for China. You can pay in US dollars or dong.
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How to buy tickets, in Beijing...
To buy at the ticket office in Beijing, traveller Que Clothier reports: "I finally got my ticket from a small pavement shop front office next to, and part of, the Railway Hotel, which is directly next to Beijing West as you face it. The only thing that gives it away as a ticket office is the A4 paper sign sellotaped to the front window - however this is in Chinese. There is also a phone number to ring if they are closed to find out ticket sale opening times. This office is four doors to the left of the main front doors of the Railway Hotel it also has a souvenir / poster shop next door to it so you cant really miss it. The women in the office does not speak English but has a tick sheet with questions and answers and you simply point to the correct answer, for example: Nationality, UK. It was really easy. They still insist inside the station that they do not sell tickets and that you have to go to the bank of China which is about a five minute walk past the "actual" ticket office. The bank still are not aware that they "sell" train tickets..!" If you have any further feedback, please email us..!
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On board the Hanoi-Beijing train...
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| Above: The twice-weekly Hanoi-Beijing train service actually consists of two trains. This is the 2-car metre-gauge Vietnamese train which runs between Hanoi and the Chinese frontier at Dong Dang, where you change to or from the standard gauge Chinese train. |
Above: This is the Chinese soft class sleeping-car which runs between Dong Dang & Beijing. It has comfortable, air-conditioned, carpeted 4-bed soft sleepers, and there's a restaurant car for most of the journey. A wonderful way to travel between Beijing and Vietnam..! |
Ha Noi - Hong Kong
Hanoi ► Hong Kong
There is no direct train service, but the best overland option is probably as follows, costing in total about $75 or £35 one-way. You cannot buy a through ticket, you generally buy tickets for each section of this route as you go along. If you have any more information (including fares) for traveling via this route, please e-mail us..!
Day 1, take a bus or train from Hanoi to Dong Dang near the Chinese frontier. A train leaves Hanoi daily at 05:40 arriving Dong Dang 11:35, hard seats only, fare 36,00 dong (£1 or $2). There are later trains from Hanoi at 07:20 arriving Dong Dang at 14:30 and at 14:00 arriving 19:25, but these won't give you enough time to connect with trains in China. Please double-check these train times locally before you travel.
The actual frontier is about 3km from Dong Dang, taxis available. Expect it to take around 2 hours to pass through both Vietnamese and Chinese border formalities. Once in China, take a local taxi from the frontier to the nearby Chinese town of Pinxiang. Expect the taxi to cost 80-100 RMB ($10-$12).
Day 1, travel from Pinxiang to Nanning by train, leaving Pinxiang at 14:45 and arriving at Nanning at 18:07. Fare about 17 RMB (£2 or $4).
Day 1, travel by overnight train from Nanning to Guangzhou, leaving Nanning at 23:55 and arriving at Guangzhou (main station) at 11:48 next morning. Soft and hard class sleepers available. Fare about 350 RMB (£24 or $44) in a soft sleeper, 255 RMB (£17 or $32) in a hard sleeper.
Day 2, travel from Guangzhou (Dong station) to Hong Kong (Kowloon station) by train. There are a range of departures daily, including one at 14:00 arriving 15:48. Fare about HK$190 (£13 or $25).
Hong Kong ► Hanoi:
There is no direct train service, but the best overland option is probably as follows, costing in total about $75 or £35 one-way. You cannot buy a through ticket, you generally buy tickets for each section of route as you go, although you might want to pre-book the Hong Kong-Guangzhou and Guangzhou-Nanning sections through Chinatripadvisor.com. If you have any more information (including fares) for travelling via this route, please e-mail me..!
Day 1, take a train from Hong Kong (Kowloon station) to Guangzhou (Dong station). There are a range of departures daily, including one leaving Kowloon at 12:15 and arriving Guangzhou Dong at 13:47. Fare about HK$190 (£13 or $25).
Take an overnight train from Guangzhou (main station) to Nanning, departing Guangzhou at 16:02 and arriving Nanning the next morning at 05:30. Soft and hard class sleepers available. Fare about 350 RMB (£24 or $44) in a soft sleeper, 255 RMB (£17 or $32) in a hard sleeper.
Day 2, take a morning train from Nanning to Pinxiang, leaving Nanning at 07:58 and arriving Pinxiang at 12:07. Fare about 17 RMB (£2 or $4).
Take a taxi from Pinxiang to the frontier at the Friendship Pass. This will cost about 80-100RMB. Allow 2 hours or so to pass through both Chinese and Vietnamese border formalities. Then take a taxi the next 3km into Dong Dang town. This taxi will cost around $3, payable in US Dollars.
There are several trains a day from Dong Dang to Hanoi. There are trains from Dong Dang at 06:00 (arriving Hanoi at 11:30) or at 13:35 (arriving Hanoi at 19:50). Frequent buses are also available. Dong Dang to Hanoi is 161 km (100 miles). Note: Please check Dong Dang - Hanoi train times locally, as these may have changed. fare about 36,000 dong (£2 or $4).
Ha Noi - Kun Minh
Hanoi- Kunming train service currently suspended...
There used to be a direct metre-gauge sleeper train from Hanoi to Kunming in China twice a week. Unfortunately, floods and landslides damaged the Chinese part of the line in May 2002 and this train is currently suspended, and likely to remain so for many years. Because of a shortage of funds for repair, it is not clear exactly when (or if) it will start running again, although there are reports that work on a new fast standard-gauge line will start at some point. In the meantime, use a sleeper bus to the frontier then a train to Hanoi as shown below.
Hanoi ► Kunming by sleeper train + sleeper bus...
While the train remains suspended, take an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai - see the train times & fares above. Lao Cai is just 3km from the Chinese border. Use a local taxi to reach the border post and cross over to Hekou on the Chinese side. Passing through both sets of customs takes about an hour. Then travel overnight from Hekou to Kunming on one of several 'sleeper buses' (buses with sleeping-berths). One bus leaves at 19:00 and arrives in Kunming around 07:00, but there are earlier and maybe later departures. The bus fare is about 87 RMB. You may want stop off at Lao Cai to visit Sapa, 40km away, before going on into China.
Traveller Tom Finn reports: "The Hekou-Kunming sleeper bus was great, they drive like mad and you are a bit squashed but not too bad. The bus was boarded by police in a small town at around 1am. They took our passports and scowled at us for a while. Luckily they came back with the passports and we arrived safely in Kunming at around 7am the next morning." If you have any more information on this route please e-mail us..!
Kunming ► Hanoi by sleeper bus + sleeper train...
Southbound, take an overnight sleeper bus (a bus with sleeping-berths) from Kunming to Hekou on the Vietnamese frontier. There's also an earlier departure, and there maybe later ones. The bus fare is about 87 RMB. At Hekou, cross over the border to the Vietnamese side and use a taxi to get to Lao Cai 3km from the border post. Then use an overnight train from Lao Cai to Hanoi - . You may want stop off at Lao Cai to visit Sapa, 40km away, before going on to Hanoi. If you have any more information on this route please e-mail us..!
On board the Kunming-Vietnam sleeper bus...
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| Above: The sleeper bus from Kunming to Hekou (for Lao Cai in Vietnam). |
Above: The sleeper bus berths are not huge..! |
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