From the North to the South of Vietnam, visitors can have a chance to explore the unique beauty and distinctive characteristics of each region. From the cultural and political center of Hanoi to the economic center of Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), travelers you have to overcome the distance of about 1730 km. This is the way to move between two major cities, therefore, you have various means of transportation to move, you can travel by train, passenger cars, airplanes, or personal vehicles.
Flight
There are many flights from Saigon – Hanoi. It takes about 2 hours and 5 minutes to fly from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. You can refer to the ticket price of the cheap airlines with the price excluding taxes and fees such as Jetstar Pacific (440 000 VND – 690 000 VND per way), Vietjet Air with fares ranging from 599 000 VND/ one way to 1 410 000 VND/way, Vietnam Airlines from 899 000 VND/ way to 2 900 000 VND/ way.
Train
With the train, you should take the Reunification Express train from Hanoi railway station. Because this is the fastest train. This brand name has four types of train SE1, SE3, SE5 and SE7 which travel from Hanoi to Saigon. It has daily trains and it takes about 34 hours from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City. The types of seats are various and have a big range of quality, the hard seat, the soft seat, the hard as well as the soft berth with air conditioner and comfortable seats. Fares depend on what type of seat you purchase, and the compartment you take, the difference is quite big from 554 000VND to 1 607 000 VND.
Passenger cars
By car, you go to the bus station in Hanoi and choose the car with the route Hanoi – Saigon or Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh City. Some reputable car companies that you can choose are Hoang Long, Mai Linh, Ngoc Le, A Ba … Travel time ranges from 37 – 38 hours, the fare for each route ranges from 600 000 VND to 900 000 VND depending on vehicle quality.
Personal vehicles
If you like sightseeing across each region of Vietnam, you can choose the form of travel by private vehicles. Because of the long journey, you need to prepare thoroughly, bring all necessary documents and follow traffic laws as well as carry a bottle of gasoline reserves, precautions out of gas without gas stations on the way. You can divide your roads into 3 stages.
Stage 1: From Hanoi to Quang Binh province
You start from the heart of Hanoi and follow the expressway Phap Van – Cau Gie and continue traveling on the expressway Cau Gie – Ninh Binh. At the end of the highway, you turn right and follow No 10 national highway to the city of Ninh Binh and then move to Tam Diep town. Move along Highway 1, you pass Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and arrive Quang Binh province.
If you move by motorcycles, you are not allowed to move on the highway. Therefore, when moving from Hanoi, you follow Giai Phong road and keep moving until Phu Ly (Ha Nam province) and to Ninh Binh City. From here, you move as above guide.
Stage 2: From Quang Binh province to Khanh Hoa province
Departure from Quang Binh, you still travel along No 1 national highway to Hue city. Go through Hai Van Pass, you get to Danang. About 205km more along Highway 1, you get to Quang Ngai province. Continue to go to Binh Dinh, you move to the town of Song Cau and Tuy Hoa (Phu Yen province). Through Phu Yen, you will arrive Khanh Hoa province.
Stage 3: From Khanh Hoa to HCM City
In Khanh Hoa, you can relax in the beautiful Nha Trang beach to continue the journey. You move along Highway 1 to get to Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan province. From here, you move along Highway 1 then turn to Ho Xuan Huong road to arrive Long Khanh town – Dong Nai province. About 7km more, you reach the highway Ho Chi Minh City – Long Thanh – Dau Giay. Entering the Thu Thiem tunnel, you arrive the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
Or you can go to Long Khanh town, Dong Nai, but does not move on the highway, go further 25km that goes throughVo Nguyen Giap street, entered the Hanoi Highway to get to HCMC.
