Thinking about Taking a Sleeper Bus in Vietnam?

Last August, we decided to head out to Sapa, while we were in Vietnam. I’d been aching to see some rice terraces for somewhere around the last 8 years, and I was determined to finally make that happen while in Asia this time around.

Since the drive from Hanoi to Sapa is about 5 to 6 hours, depending on weather and traffic, we were thinking the best way (to save waking hours at least) would be overnight on a sleeper bus.

Now honestly, I was a pretty apprehensive about taking a sleeper bus in Vietnam. I’d previously considered it back when I was travelling in Vietnam in 2019, but I’d read so many horror stories that ultimately I decided to avoid going that route. But with the trip to Sapa, we were on a bit of a time crunch, and the sleeper bus seemed like the most sensible option. They’re also a lot cheaper than the train or a private car, so we decided to give it a go.

We initially booked our sleeper bus for an overnight trip, but for some reason I started getting a bad gut feeling, and then my mother-in-law did as well, followed by my daughter. So my wife rushed last minute to rebook our tickets and we changed them to an early-morning bus instead, but it was still a sleeper bus.

The Sleeper Bus

From the outside

From the outside, the sleeper buses look pretty much like your run of the mill coach buses.

From the inside

The inside is where it gets different, and depending on which company you book with, you’re looking at one of two different layouts:

1. Individual pods/cabins, with a bed, a curtain, and a TV screen.
2. Individual lay-back seats, but with no separation, curtains, or privacy.

We ended up in the 1st style, which initially looked decent enough. Now while I didn’t take any pics of the isle inside the bus, it was almost identical to the layout in the following pics:

Basically, a very narrow isle, with a single row of pods stacked two-high on either side.

The Pods

My wife had booked us 4 tickets, which we assumed was for 4 separate pods. But when we got on the bus and checked with the driver, he told us we only had 2 separate pods.

Considering how scammy the Vietnamese are known to be, I’m still not fully convinced that he was being honest with us. But as my wife couldn’t recall what she had actually booked, we decided to let it slide, and went 2 to a pod, with our toddler sleeping with us in our pod, and our daughter and my mother-in-law in the other one.

First off, let me just say that these pods are most definitely not designed for westerners. I’m quite a bit less than 6ft tall, and yet I had to lie with my shoulders on the “pillow” and my feet pressed against the wall on the other end. When I wanted to lie with my head on the pillow, I had to end up with my knees bent.

Now with respect to the width of the pods, while it would be quite roomy for a single occupant, the same can’t be said if you’re 2 to a pod. It’s a tight squeeze, and why I’m positive the driver was BS’ing us about the number of pods we actually should have had.

Here’s another shot of the pod, looking from the isle:

I promise you, it’s about as short as it looks from the above pic. Not exactly a picture of comfort. I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be for anyone 6ft or over.

The Beds

As you can maybe see from the pics, the “bed” is a thin faux-leather-covered mattress, and the “pillow” is a small, flat, and hard cushion. The mattress is also not fully flat, which made it even less comfortable.

The Actual Ride

Ok, so less than ideal interior aside, how was the ride?

Well, if you’re at all familiar with how well the Vietnamese drive, you can probably guess how the ride was. If you’re not, let me just say that the Vietnamese drive like they’re in a video game, and the worse you drive, the higher the score.

To add to that, the roads that lead up to Sapa - which is quite high up in the mountains - are also very winding, and the bus driver was taking the turns at a speed that made both my wife and I feel like we were on a rollercoaster. A rollercoaster that was about to derail at any moment, and that lasted for a solid 2 hours for the winding section of the drive.

I’m honestly surprised that I didn’t puke. It was that bad.

Now granted, I suspected the winding felt worse due to us being in the small pods, and while lying down. I imagined that had we been in regular coach seats, it would have been much better, and on our way back we did book seats in a regular style bus as we had no desire to re-live the sleeper bus experience. It was indeed better in the standard seats, although it was definitely still a little nauseating.

Sleeper Bus Verdict

Now of course there are some more “luxurious” sleeper buses that you can book, but as I haven’t tried any of them, I can’t vouch for them, and suspect they’re probably not a massive upgrade from the one we took.

That said, while I personally wouldn’t recommend taking a sleeper bus in Vietnam after my (and my wife’s) experience, tolerances vary from person to person.

So if you’re not:

• Claustrophobic
• Taller than ~5’8"
• Prone to motion sickness
• A light sleeper
• Someone with back problems

Then you just might be able to tolerate taking a sleeper bus in Vietnam.

But if you are any of the above, I’d say it’s best to avoid it, and look for an alternative means of transport. Or worst case, do like we did and go for an early morning ride, not overnight.