Vietnam Sleeper Buses – Safety, Tickets, Comfort, Costs and More
Scribbled by Claire ◊ 09 Apr 2025
Read on for everything you need to know about catching the classic Vietnamese sleeper buses, including ticket costs, how to make reservations, seat comfort, safety, the drivers and lots more.
Vietnam is far longer from top to bottom than you’d expect when looking at a map. From tip to toe it is more than 1000 miles, with a width as small as thirty miles at its narrowest. If you are backpacking on a budget, it’s almost certain you’ll end up on a Vietnam sleeper bus at some point to traverse some of this distance!
Even if you are tempted by the trains, you’ll likely have to reach somewhere that the Reunification Express does not travel, such as Ha Giang.
Having been on (far too many) sleeper buses in other countries, we found the Vietnam ones unique! So, here is a little post dedicated to these special buses, with some visual representations of the sleeper buses, what the journeys/drivers were like, what we thought of them, their safety, and the best way to book your Vietnam sleeper bus.
We hope this helps you prepare for your trip through Vietnam!
IN THIS GUIDE //
Vietnam Sleeper Buses Guide
SLEEPER BUS TYPES IN VIETNAM
WHAT ARE VIETNAM SLEEPER BUSES LIKE?
– OUR EXPERIENCE OF SLEEPER BUSES IN VIETNAM
INSIDE A VIETNAMESE SLEEPER BUS
– AMENITIES ON A VIETNAM SLEEPER BUS
– SEATS ON SLEEPER BUSES IN VIETNAM
DO SLEEPER BUSES IN VIETNAM STOP FOR BREAKS?
HOW TO BOOK VIETNAM SLEEPER BUS TICKETS
– CAN YOU CHOOSE A SPECIFIC SEAT?
– HOW MUCH DO SLEEPER BUSES COST?
SLEEPER BUS OR TRAIN IN VIETNAM?
ARE SLEEPER BUSES IN VIETNAM SAFE?
– BUS DRIVERS
– BUS ACCIDENTS
– CRIME
THINGS TO BRING ON A VIETNAM SLEEPER BUS
FINAL THOUGHTS
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Sleeper Bus Types in Vietnam
There are several types of buses in Vietnam.
We have been on lots of very local buses with no aircon, high quality ‘limousine buses’, which are usually vans with reclining leather seats, and full-size, posh tourist buses. There are so many varieties! However there are three usual types of bus you’ll get for a long ‘sleeper’ journey in Vietnam:
Normal reclining seats | we never took any of these but they do exist (because we saw them). They are just normal, standard coaches or buses that you get all over the world, with two pairs of upright seats per row.
Standard sleeper | these have semi-reclined, half horizontal seats and are a little wider than normal ones.
VIP sleeper cabin | these are usually pretty snazzy private berths that you can fully recline in with curtains.
Travel tip | be prepared for your bus journey to sometimes involve switching vehicles, and just because a type of bus was advertised, it may only be for part of the journey.
Our most complex route involved four types of bus, a car and a ferry over the course of twelve hours (with a three hour break between buses and a 30-minute wait on the wrong side of a dual carriageway in a car with no explanation).
Also, not a single bus arrived when we were told it would, so don’t put too much faith in any travel timings.
What Are Vietnam Sleeper Buses Like?
Vietnam sleeper buses are standard overland transport options which have bed-style seats instead of the usual upright ones. Some have more lay-flat type seats, others are a strange half-and-half combination.
Note | although they are called ‘sleeper buses’, they’re also equally used during the day, too. So, even if you book a bus journey that runs from morning to evening, you’ll be on one of these distinctive Vietnam sleeper buses!
Our Experience of Sleeper Buses in Vietnam
We travelled on five Vietnam sleeper buses on our most recent month-long trip through northern Vietnam. On previous visits, we have also used sleeper buses in central and southern Vietnam. We’ve probably taken about 20-ish, so far!
Note | we never took the insane, pimped out VIP buses that you see on the internet with private compartments, smart lighting and televisions. Although we know they definitely exist, do not bet on getting one! Many routes do not offer that type of bus (they seem more common in central Vietnam) and are often over-exaggerated in photos (this is very common).
Inside a Vietnam Sleeper Bus
Inside any standard Vietnamese sleeper bus, there are various things that are always the same:
Shoes | as you get on the bus, you’ll be handed a plastic bag which you are expected to put your shoes in. You then keep this with you at your seat. I was once asked to remove my socks too.
Space | if we are being honest, the buses can feel a little claustrophobic when full, especially if you are taller. They’re really not that bad, but I could imagine some people feeling a bit trapped, especially at night in the dark. I felt a little like this on the top layer, at the back. For reference, we’re both 5 foot 8/9 tall (175cm).
Hygiene | we found all the buses were clean enough (the little trays at the foot end were never very clean though). There were no overall hygiene concerns.
Clientele | in terms of passengers, the sleeper buses we caught across all our Vietnam trips were ones with predominantly Vietnamese people rather than foreign tourists. On average, it would be us and maybe two others who did not speak the language.
Amenities on a Vietnam Sleeper Bus
Storage | there is the standard storage space for large luggage in compartments in the underneath area of the bus. Never put delicate items or expensive electronics in there though because your bags will likely shift about during your journey. We never had any concerns about the safety of our bags.
Onboard, there is not much space for baggage; a small backpack or handbag is all you can really fit on your ‘bunk’ with you. Some buses have an additional rack for smaller luggage near the front, but not all.
Power | none of the standard sleeper buses have charging ports/plugs or video screens. More expensive modern ones do, though, and you can choose to pay a lot more for this (although there’s no guarantee anything will work).
Bathrooms | about a quarter of our sleeper buses had a bathroom, but I would not choose to use it unless you are desperate. Assume you won’t have one unless your company *specifically* says you will. Even then, last minute, your bus might get swapped out for a different one.
Lighting | do not rely on there being appropriate lighting. One bus we named ‘disco-party bus’ because all night the driver would just change up the pink, red, blue, green and yellow strip lights on a whim. Technically each bunk has an individual light too (although we saw some middle seats without them and ours did not always work).
Aircon | the two rows of outside seats (on the left and right sides) have aircon vents. Once I had a nice man come around show me it. Another time I was given a seat with a broken one so I couldn’t turn it down so was freezing the entire journey.
Bedding | each seat was equipped with a blanket, plus a pillow that stays attached to the seat – they appeared to be clean (we had no choice but to trust them, anyway).
Seats on Vietnam Sleeper Buses
Sleeper bus layout | a standard Vietnamese sleeper bus has seats spanning three rows, with a lower and upper level, or ‘bunk’. Each seat reclines almost to a lie-flat position and your feet are wedged under the head of the seat in front. This is not as uncomfortable as it sounds and, honestly, if I got this seat on a plane, I’d be ecstatic!
The seats themselves are wide enough for an average person to sleep on but if you’re tall, you’ll struggle with the length (we are 5 foot 8/9 and ‘kind of’ fit. It’s tight).
The upper seats have a guard that stops you rolling out of your seat and falling down too. The floor was also cushioned, because sometimes people sleep in the aisles (which is mad because they’re really narrow).
DO VIETNAM SLEEPER BUSES STOP FOR BREAKS?
Yes, absolutely! Every time a bus stops for a break, it’s at a kind of ‘service station’ with some food offerings, sometimes a shop and usually a sketchy squat toilet or two.
They stop for 20-30 minutes and almost everyone gets off, leaving their belongings.
Remember to take your shoes off when you get back on the bus!
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How to Book Vietnam Sleeper Bus Tickets
The bus network in Vietnam is run by hundreds of different companies, so there’s no centralised online system. This means you have several options to purchase a ticket.
Booking Bus Tickets Online
It is easy to book Vietnam bus tickets online, ahead of your intended departure date. This is what we do now, to save hassle and time.
In previous years, we used to spend entire mornings locating the cheapest hotel or agency on the street and book whatever was the best priced bus to our destination (it’s all about that tight Vietnam backpacker budget!).
However, over the years, we’ve begun to value our safety, comfort and convenience more than the few pounds we might save. For example, I can never sleep on any buses, ever. I also weirdly struggle a little bit with travel sickness, but only at night.
So, we work around these issues by booking online where we have the most options and and can read lots of reviews for each individual company.
12GoAsia | the best online booking option is 12GoAsia. This transport aggregator website gives you the option of booking your bus via various companies online – for a very small mark-up. We use this website *a lot* and it works reliably all over southeast Asia, and even in Morocco. It’s just much easier than scouting around for tickets and you can read reviews.
It’s also essential to book your Vietnam bus ticket in advance during busy times, like Tet.
Booking Bus Tickets in Person
You can also arrange onward bus tickets in Vietnam in person when you arrive at your destination:
Accommodation | inquiring with your current hotel or hostel is a good shout for ease. They will almost always be able to arrange a bus for the next day or even same day (tickets never seem to sell out – but definitely prebook around Tet and other holidays).
Tour agencies | if you are not happy with the price, product or time offered, check out neighbouring hotels and tour agencies. They all somehow have different services with varying costs and times. We rarely booked directly with our hotels. Often, we wanted a particular time of day for our buses, so wandered around until we (usually) found someone who offered what we needed.
Bus station | you can also go to the bus station and get a ticket directly. This will always be the cheapest option. Some bus stations are easier to navigate than others, such as Sapa (they even print their prices clearly on boards) and in Hanoi, My Dinh bus station is easy to figure out, too.
Travel tip | it’s still worth checking 12GoAsia to get a ballpark amount for how much your trip should cost before you speak to tour agencies and hotels.
Can You Choose a Preferred Seat?
No, most of the time, you cannot choose a seat on a Vietnam sleeper bus.
The seats are generally not assigned at the time you buy your ticket, especially if you buy in person through an agency.
However, there is a bus attendant onboard who chooses where you sleep on your behalf. There does not seem to be much of a pattern but we have always been directed to seats nearer the back (perhaps because our journeys were the longest?). They have also always sat us in seats next to each other.
We’ve had an attendant sit an entire random group of tourists together across the back row just because we were white (even though we didn’t know each other!).
I think they were trying to be helpful.
How Much do Vietnamese Sleeper Buses Cost?
Sleeper buses in Vietnam are not particularly cheap. Compared with nearby places, like Thailand and Laos, we found them to be generally more expensive, but more spacious.
We’ve listed some bus route prices below in Vietnamese dong (VND) and U.S. dollars ($).
A long-distance bus in Vietnam, even if booked through an agent or hotel, can sometimes be upwards 650k VND ($25) depending on distance. If you go for a complicated route that involves ferries and several buses with changes, you could pay upward of 1400k VND ($56).
Here are a few representative Vietnam sleeper bus ticket prices for popular routes in 2025:
Hanoi – Sapa | 6 hours, VIP sleeper cabin – 780k VND ($30)
Hanoi – Sapa | 6 hours, standard sleeper – 416k VND ($16)
Danang – Phong Nha | 7 hours, VIP sleeper cabin – 494k VND ($19)
Danang – Phong Nha | 7 hours, standard sleeper – 312k VND ($12)
Ho Chi Minh City – Dalat | 8.5 hours, VIP sleeper cabin – 936k VND ($36)
Ho Chi Minh City – Dalat | 8.5 hours, standard sleeper – 494k VND ($19)
Hanoi – Saigon | 40 hours, VIP sleeper cabin – 3369k VND ($130)
We wouldn’t recommend the last one!
As mentioned above, check for representative prices on 12GoAsia.
Sleeper Bus or Train in Vietnam?
We have taken more than 20 sleeper buses and several long-distance trains (one was a painful 17 hours on hard seats trapped with a eagle-sized wasp – questionable decision-making by us that day).
Obviously, this is all personal opinion, but here are our pros and cons of buses and trains in Vietnam:
BUS
◊ Drops you off at a more convenient location (most of the time)
◊ Normally quicker
◊ Usually more affordable
◊ Sometimes the only option because train routes are limited
◊ Slightly easier to book tickets last minute
TRAIN
◊ Journey comfort does not depend on how ambitious the driver is
◊ It is kind of a rite of passage to ride the classic Reunification Express
◊ Has better views most of the time
◊ You can choose the class of your seat and seat position
◊ Debatably safer
Conclusion | I don’t really know which is better. If I were spending a month in Vietnam and travelling from Hanoi to Saigon, I’d almost certainly do a combination of trains and sleeper buses.
I know that answer isn’t super helpful but it’s the most honest response I have.
Summary | buses are more flexible, trains are more fun!
Are Sleeper Buses in Vietnam Safe?
Statistically, yes, Vietnamese sleeper buses are safe. There are various factors to consider, such as the drivers, road quality, the condition of the vehicles and personal crime.
Sleeper Bus Drivers
Vietnamese sleeper bus safety predominantly depends on your driver. Some bus drivers are absolutely perfect, never speeding, swerving around corners or running motorbikes off the road.
Others, well, they’re not so angelic.
The biggest risk is a bus driver falling asleep, which is most likely to happen at night. Avoiding overnight journeys reduces this risk.
Our experience | we’ve had about half-and-half crazy to calm drivers, if we’re honest. It’s also quite difficult to determine how crazy your driver is if you’re at the top of the bus at the back in complete darkness. These seats get ‘flung around’ the most which make any turns seem more severe, plus you cannot see the road. I hate it.
Bus Accidents in Vietnam
In terms of road accidents in Vietnam, lots of sleeper buses run every single day and it’s rare there is an incident. These do obviously happen occasionally though, like this one, for example.
However, road accidents happen in all countries and I wouldn’t be put off taking a bus journey in Vietnam.
Vehicle condition | from our (admittedly anecdotal) experience, the buses appeared to be in perfectly okay working condition and we never had a large sleeper-style bus breakdown in Vietnam. I’m no mechanic, though, so that’s all I can share!
Travel tip | if you are a nervous passenger – research the route the bus is going to take. For example, the bus from Hanoi to Ha Giang is pretty straight and simple, whereas the bus from Hanoi to Sapa is wiggly and a bit uncomfortable at the end. It’s best to be prepared – maybe don’t take any journey that unnerves you at night.
Crime on Vietnamese Sleeper Buses
In terms of theft, or any form of harassment or personal safety, we definitely consider Vietnamese buses to be safe.
We saw Vietnamese people get off the bus at rest stops and leave all their belongs unattended, including their phones, so they clearly do not anticipate anything being stolen.
Women | there were many Vietnamese women who chose to travel alone, overnight, on these buses. They were always given an individual seat and not a shared one at the back (see picture below). The buses also always have a bus attendant present.
Theft | other bloggers have reported that ‘petty theft is common in Vietnam’. From our months in the country, we’ve not personally heard of a single visitor who has actually had something stolen, and certainly not on a sleeper bus.
Perpetuating random stories on the Internet is not our vibe, so I’ll say to watch your stuff (like you would anywhere), but you’re not at a high risk of anything happening.
We (and all our acquaintances and friends) had nothing untoward happen to us, so would (anecdotally) recommend Vietnamese sleeper buses, in terms of safety.
PLANNING A VIETNAM TRIP?
Have a quick peek to see if any of our other Vietnam posts might be helpful.
Destination info:
Learn the truth about the Tam Coc Boat Tour
Explore the dramatic karst rocks of Ninh Binh
Don’t miss these 11 things off your first-time Hanoi itinerary
How to cruise Halong Bay on a budget
Read about how to ride the Ha Giang Loop independently
Why you should avoid Sapa’s Cat Cat Village
Planning guides:
Are you insured to ride a scooter in Vietnam?
An entire one Month Vietnam trip budget for backpackers
Three 7-day Vietnam itinerary routes, perfect for shorter trips
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Things to Bring on a Vietnam Sleeper Bus
Although it depends on how long your journey is (overnight buses can run from 5 hours to 17+ hours, so that will determine how much stuff you need), there’s always some core survival items we take with us on sleeper buses in Vietnam.
We wear or take a day-bag containing all of the below:
◊ Drinking water
◊ Toilet paper
◊ Disinfectant wipes/gel
◊ Snacks | many
◊ Eye mask | disco lighting is not conducive to good sleep
◊ Ear plugs | often, bus patrons will not use headphones
◊ Layers | when the the air-conditioning is inevitably Arctic
◊ Inflatable/travel pillow | my favourite item for these buses
◊ Travel sickness pills | if necessary
◊ Cash | for rest stops
◊ Power bank | for longer journeys
◊ Offline entertainment | I didn’t get great phone reception on long bus journeys
◊ Socks | shoes get left in a bag
◊ Comfortable clothing | you’ve should at least try and sleep
Frequently Asked Questions
Are sleeper buses in Vietnam safe?
Yes, we’d consider travelling on sleeper buses in Vietnam to be safe.
What is the best seat on a Vietnam sleeper bus?
The lower berths are the most comfortable seats on Vietnamese sleeper buses.
On standard sleeper buses, the middle row does have access to air-conditioning. This could be a blessing or a curse depending on if you are a warmer or cooler person!
Getting a seat above the wheels is generally less bumpy, and seats at the front tend to be better for anyone with sickness.
Is there a luggage limit for sleeper buses in Vietnam?
None of the buses we took had a luggage limit in Vietnam.
Online booking agents commonly published that bus tickets include a larger 20 kilogram bag and smaller 7 kilogram ‘carry-on’ one.
Are there toilets on Vietnam sleeper buses?
There are sometimes toilets on Vietnam sleeper buses. Don’t bet on it!
Can I lie flat on a Vietnamese sleeper bus?
Yes, you can lie down flat if you book a VIP sleeper cabin style bus.
Do sleeper buses in Vietnam have seatbelts?
Yes, Vietnamese sleeper buses often have seatbelts, however they are commonly broken.
Final Thoughts – Sleeper Buses in Vietnam
This post gives an honest recollection of our experiences of Vietnamese sleeper buses and our thoughts on them.
In the end, they’re largely reliable (albeit mildly unpredictable), safe, budget-friendly and the most efficient method of navigating Vietnam. They are almost certainly an essential part of most Vietnam itineraries, no matter the length!
We never get much sleep on them but they get us where we need to go.
I hope you are lucky enough to get a shiny new VIP bus!
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Thank you, Claire + Nick
Thank you for your post!
We travel with more then 20 kg. Do you think it would be a problem and we should buy an extra ticket?
Hi, I’m sorry so the late reply, I’ve had dengue fever! I don’t think it would be a problem at all – there’s never been a mention of a luggage restrictions and nobody ever checked ours. Have you taken your trip yet? If not, I hope you have a fantastic time 🙂