Booking Tickets
Tickets for journey in train can be booked in advance through online portal but it is not possible to book ticket through official website of Vietnam railways which is www.vr.com.vn because they don’t accept credit/debit cards issued outside Vietnam for payment. So, one need to visit website of travel agencies to book tickets for train journey which is bit costly.
I would recommend to book in advance so as to avoid last minute rush and limited availability of seats. For booking, website of www.Baolau.vn and www.12go.asia can be considered. Booking charge of Baolau.vn is less as compared to 12go.asia but it is better to book beforehand by paying some amount extra and roam carefree. Only document required for booking is the passport number for foreign travelers.
Seats
The booking can be done for different varieties of seats, there is option to book from hard seat, soft seat, hard bed, soft bed. The basic difference between them is the level of comfort. For long journey, it is better to book soft bed seat so that body gets proper rest while journey and is completely charged for rest of journey.
I booked soft bed which is like 1st class AC compartment having four beds to sleep. Seats can also be taken but it depends on the distance of journey. If the journey is intended for long distance, it is better to take soft bed seat since the trains run on narrow gauge and the speed is average.
