We decide how best to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang: by night bus (slip bass), plane or train. In this article, we share our experience and evaluate each of the methods, as well as provide practical tips to make travel easier for travelers.
Airplane Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang
Useful material for independent tourists: How to fly to Vietnam cheaply?
It would seem that there are solid pluses: the flight time is only an hour, in Ho Chi Minh City it is easy to get to the airport by bus number 152, air tickets to Nha Trang are very cheap - from 1 thousand rubles (300-400 thousand dongs) from JetStar. What is the complexity of the flight from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang and why did we refuse this option?
- Firstly, the cost of the flight is not always that low. Yes, tickets for $ 15-20 (1-1.5 thousand rubles) are common, but not for every date. Also, plane tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang (one way) can cost $ 30-40 or more. In turn, the cost of tickets for a sleeper bass is about $ 8-10 (170-220 thousand dongs).
- Secondly, JetStar is a rather greedy low-cost airline. Additionally, you will need to pay for luggage (from 143 thousand dongs), and then the airline will brazenly charge the buyer a few more dollars (55 thousand dongs) for payment by card.
- The third reason is the savings on hotel costs when traveling by bus. If you spend the night in a slip bass (the bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang travels just about 8-9 hours), you will save at least $ 10-15 on the hotel.
- Fourth, the need to pay for a transfer from Cam Ranh airport to the city center of Nha Trang (about 35 km) if you fly by plane. Price - from 70 thousand dongs (minibus). There is also a more expensive but comfortable option - ordering a Kiwi Taxi transfer in advance: you will be met with a sign and you will avoid having to fight off local taxi drivers.
Well, the last reason why we decided to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang by bus is the desire to try a new type of transport. We are so accustomed to flying on airplanes, even over short distances, that a bus ride already seems exotic. Namely, we have never ridden a sleeper bass before.
If you still prefer to get to Nha Trang by plane, then we recommend looking for cheap tickets on the Skyscanner search engine.
Night bus Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang (Slipbus)
Sleeping bass, sleeper bass, sleeper bass (sleeping bus) - this is how a night bus with berths is called differently. What he really is? Inside, instead of the usual seats, there are rather comfortable reclining chair-beds, located in two tiers and three rows. In principle, there is enough room for legs, although people of tall stature, perhaps, will experience some discomfort. There are seat belts, handrails and mini-ladders that allow you to climb the second tier, a glass stand and a small pillow - everything is very thought out and comfortable. There are also light bulbs, a toilet, air conditioning and Wi-Fi. Passengers are given blankets and water, but you will have to take care of the food yourself. The night bus is a comfortable, simple and inexpensive way to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang on your own.
The distance from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang is about 430 kilometers, the journey takes about 9 hours, but the road is easily transferred, almost all the time we and other passengers slept.
Tips and tricks:
- Eat before the trip or take food with you (fruit, yogurt, sweets) - we did just that.
- We recommend taking the bus at 8 pm - there are almost no passengers. The most popular buses are for 9 and 10 pm (since they arrive in Nha Trang around 7 and 8 am), and most likely they will be full. We rode in eight hours, and there were only 6 people in the cabin, including us, on the way the bus picked up three more.
- You can leave your luggage at the company's office, which is extremely convenient: after the checkout at the hotel, just leave your bags there and walk around the city center, waiting for the bus departure time.
- Take small bags with valuables and warm clothes into the bus (in case the air conditioners are working at full capacity). Usually the luggage is checked in, but in our case the bus was almost empty, and the driver put the bags on the second tier. A small backpack or bag can be placed at your feet.
- There was no toilet on our bus (or it didn't work), although the ticket seller promised otherwise. However, this is not a problem at all: upon request, the driver will always stop at the side of the road, in addition, there are two stops along the way - you can go to the toilet, wash and have a snack.
- In our opinion, it is best to take seats at the bottom in the middle row (or on the edge - for those who are hot), since the main air conditioners are located at the top on the sides.
Cons of the trip:
- A couple of cockroaches were seen in the cabin, but they were quickly eliminated by vigilant passengers.
- The driver was not very careful - it was rather risky to overtake trucks on narrow mountain roads.
Where to buy tickets and how much do they cost? Go outside Pham ngu lao - it is there that the offices of travel companies organizing trips are concentrated (both direct transfers and Open bas with stops). The seller caught us at the very beginning of the street, the company is called Vina Travel (address: 309 Pham Ngu Lao Street), but we were traveling on a Camel Tours bus. Tickets cost only 210 thousand dong per person - about $ 10! Very cheap.
Bus schedule Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang: departure at 8:00, 20:00, 21:00 and 22:00. The bus starts its way from the office of the company and comes to it in the tourist quarter of Nha Trang (on the second line). We did not find out how much tickets cost in other companies, but judging by the reviews and reports, about the same. It is possible that other offices have buses for earlier times.
Supplement: the cheapest way to get to Nha Trang is by company buses The sinh tourist... Tickets for the flight cost only 170 thousand dongs. It is a very popular carrier - most tourists travel around Vietnam (there are flights to many cities) on their buses.
We recommend looking for a hotel in Nha Trang on Roomguru - this service is looking for the best price among all major booking systems. If you are looking for an inexpensive but good hotel, we especially recommend Min Hoa - we have stayed in this lovely cozy mini-hotel for almost three months. Read our review of Nha Trang hotels with its own beach.
Trains Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang
Trains leave from Saigon Central Station at 6:00, 9:00, 13:10, 19:10 and 22:00. Timetable of trains Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang (and prices), see the official website. The fare starts from 320 thousand VND per person and depends on the type of train and the seat chosen (sitting / sleeping, soft / hard, with or without air conditioning, etc.). Travel time is about 8-9 hours.
We cut this option off as it is quite expensive compared to the bus, besides, we have never ridden in a slip bass and it was interesting for us to try it.
Taxi Ho Chi Minh City - Nha Trang
Another option is to take a taxi. A car for 4 people costs from 13.5 thousand rubles on the Kiwi Taxi website, for a large company it is much more profitable: for example, for 7 people - from 15 300 rubles, a minibus for 13 passengers - from 13 200 rubles.
Best way to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang
In total, the minimum cost of a flight from Saigon to Nha Trang (one way and with luggage) on low-cost flights together with a transfer will be 550 thousand dongs ($ 25). The cost of a trip to Nha Trang by night bus is $ 10, but considering that at least the same amount is saved on the hotel, the cost of this trip can be considered zero. So in terms of cost, the bus option wins unconditionally.
It saves slipping bass not only money, but also time: it is much more convenient to devote the night to the move than to spend 5-6 hours of daytime on the plane (about 1 hour to get to Ho Chi Minh airport, 1-2 hours to check in and wait for the flight , 1 hour - for the flight, 1.5 hours - for baggage claim and the way to Nha Trang).
The advantage of flying is a slightly more comfortable way.
