Nha Trang is a stop on the main railway-line connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC or Saigon). The railway station is close to the cathedral in the northern part of town. If you want a soft-sleeper (the highest class available on Vietnamese trains), book your train ticket directly at the train station as far in advance as you are able. Having a private travel agent book this ticket will quite often result in you paying the agent for a soft-sleeper ? the agent will book a hard-sleeper and you will not know until you board the train and it is too late to make changes. This is one of the most common scams in Vietnam! Soft sleeper rooms are 4 berth, hard sleepers are 6 berth. You can sit comfortably on a lower bed in a 4 berth room but in a 6 berth you will have to be very short in order to sit up straight. SNT trains (meaning Saigon to Nha Trang) have similar quality cars but are slower than the SE trains. The TN trains have the oldest and dirtiest cars and are the slowest so therefore are not recommended. Each of the SE, TN and SNT coded trains end with a number. If the number is odd it travels from North to South. If it is even, it travels from South to North.
The journey to Nha Trang from Ho Chi Minh City takes between 6-8 hours on the SE trains (but are often delayed), so a sleeper is not really necessary, a cushioned seat in the AirCon car costs 190,000 dong. The SNT trains take over 9 hours and travels overnight only.
For 445,000 dong (lower bed T1 or 400,000 dong for upper bed T2), you can book a soft sleeper on the SNT1 or SE1, SE3, SE5 or SE7 trains from Nha Trang to Ho Chi Minh City. These are the prices if you buy directly from Nha Trang train station. You will obviously pay more from an agent. Prices and times correct July 2011. Hotels will typically be able to buy the ticket for you for an additional 30,000 dong. The scenery on this journey is not that great compared to further north, so you are not missing out too much by travelling overnight.
The SE1 train departs Nha Trang at 8.26PM and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 4.10AM.
The SE3 train departs Nha Trang at 9.42PM and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 4.30AM.
The SE5 train departs Nha Trang at 12.39PM and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 8.00PM.
The SE7 train departs Nha Trang at 8.41AM and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 4.48PM.
The SNT1 train departs Nha Trang at 6.40PM and arrives in Ho Chi Minh City at 5.20AM.
The SNT2 departs Ho Chi Min City at 7.40PM and arrives in Nha Trang at 6AM.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Nha Trang
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Nha Trang - updated May 2024
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Nha Trang Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
