Hello fellow backpackers!
An honest review from two girls who “survived” a 13 hour bus ride (Dalat - Hoi An) on VIP 32 Cabin (3 rows, single cabins):
- You get what you pay for. It’s not a luxsry ride it’s not panoramic ride, it’s an effective ride
- The staff were friendly, but they didn’t know much English, so you have to be patient. The first announcement was recorded and played in English too, so we knew what was going on.
- We had one longer break at the beginning of the ride (30 minutes, food and toilet) and another shorter one at around the middle of their journey (toilet). The bus stopped to load packages and other passengers, so you could probably get additional toilet breaks if needed.
- At the beginning of the drive we wrote down our Whatsapp number and somebody (driver?) contacted us and answered all of our questions in English.
- Vietnamese roads are bumpy and there are many bends. Hoking is a way of communication and NOT a driver’s fancy. It’s worse at the beginning and the end of the drive, since city roads are busier. It obviously also depends on the driver.
- It’s probably a good idea to wear long sleeves and socks, as it gets quiet cold, even with the AC off.
- There is a USB port as well as a light in each cabin, however they only work in some cabins.
Our only complaint is that the seats didn’t feel very clean - if that’s a problem for you, bring a towel to lay on.
All in all, the main point of the ride is to get you from point A to point B and in our case it did that punctually. Any rest you get is a bonus, you can stretch out better than on a normal bus (one of us is 175 cm tall and with a smaller carry on bag stretching out would have been easy).
Manage you expectations and you’ll be fine. Save travels!
ดาลัด ไป ฮอยอัน, รถบัส รถนอน, An Phu Hoi An Travel, 17 มิ.ย. 2025
The worst experience. Overbooked the bus, so asked us if we wanted to get an earlier one. Then was an hour late to picking us up. Ended up getting onto a random bus, and they never stopped for food or the toilet the entire time.
Poor attempts at communication from staff. Bus left an hour late. Pick up was in a random location on the side of the road. The seat/bed I had was small, and I was unable to sit up. I might have just been unlucky as I was at the back, on the bottom. But otherwise coach was comfortable enough.
ดาลัด ไป ฮอยอัน, รถบัส รถนอน 34 ที่นั่ง, VietNam Travel Bus (Việt Nam Travel Bus), 31 ส.ค. 2023
As good as a 15 hour bus journey can be! Very organised, stopped a few times for toilet breaks at ideal times. Seats were super comfy and had 2 USB points for charging devices. The seats don't really go up, just extend down flatter for sleeping but still comfortable.
ดาลัด ไป ฮอยอัน, รถบัส รถนอน 34 ที่นั่ง, VietNam Travel Bus (Việt Nam Travel Bus), 2 ส.ค. 2023
Bus driver was shouting and beeping the horn the whole night so struggled to sleep, then we arrived in hoi an at hand 5 in the morning, an hour and a half earlier than we were supposed to
The pickup was fast, easy and organized. They have a nice cafe to wait until your bus leaves.
The beds were very spacious (could fit two people if you're cuddling), the only problem I had was that I was a little too tall (1.74m) to lay down straight but like 2cm less and you'll be fine. We did some bathroom stops on the way (I think it was 3-4 I kinda slept through them) We arrived at exactly 7 am as we were supposed to and I was checked on by the company if everything's alright. We had two waters, wifi and the curtain. Definitely recommend it.
Relieved to have made it to our destination alive and without accident! Crazy driving down mountain passes. One driver smoked a cigarette in the bus at 5am and opened his window to air it out. Also, two of our four sleeper cabins didn’t have electricity so no light and couldn’t charge our phones.
An Phu Hoi An Travel, An Phu Travel, Asian Bus Travel, Hoang Minh Limousine, HT Travel, Tan Kim Chi Bus, Tan Quang Dung Buslines, The Queen Tourist, TNT Travel Bus, Viet Lao Bus, VietNam Travel Bus
