i traveld from north to south by train!! which i think is the best way to travel in vietnam! don't trust the travelagencys when they tell you that there are no seats left in the train!! they just want you to travel by bus, they earn more money!!

Safe enough... Never had problems in Vietnam but don't give the thief a chance. Keep your daypack between your legs and use those small padlocks they sell in the supermarket. keep your passport, flight tickets and money in those bags you can conceal under your clothing. Most stealing is done by fellow broke travellers, not so much the locals. Take it from someone who's been travelling South East Asia for the past 5 years

Train, definetely! No problems, whatsoever!

We travelled all the way from Hanoi to Hi Chi Mihn, by bus, including overnight bus, plane and even motorbike without any problems - it's pretty well organised, there's also a train that runs the length.

The main route (Hanoi south to HCMC) has a great bus system where you buy one ticket and hop on/off a comfortable coach. Vietnam Air from Dien Bien Phu to Hanoi was great. The boats were great. The local bus from SaPa to Dien Bien Phu was a bit harrowing- people sitting in the aisle, around hairpin turns on one-lane roads. Quite the experience though! In two months, we didn't feel threatened or victimized once.

As long as you look at your laguage everything will be ok! I would say that it is very safe! Not worse than in europe where you also can have not nice accidents! In fact they cheat and lie and only see business everywhere - but I guess this is a part of this complitely different world - and if you come here you must experience that as a part of culture! I travel only by public transport - actully it is nice opportunity to meet a lot of lokal people and have fun. The other advantage is price. It is cheeper than buses for turists. Have nice time here!

There are overnight trains which are quite a cool option to travel far distances. They are not super clean, so bring a silk sleeping bag if you want to use them. I slept better though than I thought I would sleep. Public busses can be really crowded with locals (and they won't mind sitting on a bench even if there are already 2 people occupying the place). Also the roads are sometimes in a bit bad shape so it is a bit bumpy. But in general I think the public transport is pretty safe. I have read though, that you shouldn't ride busses at night since there are no street lights...

Safe enough if you are an experienced traveller. Generally there is no vandalism, just need to keep you wallet safe

Spent a month travelling on public transport in Vietnam last year. 3 girls and had no problems. Common sense when it comes to safety of your belongings, s you'd have in any country. Can be a bit of a rough ride but all part of the fun I think. Enjoy!

Ironically, the public transportation system of sub-rate trams and chicken-coop buses are way more dangerous than those open-roofed tuk tuks, which are cumbersome at first and in the end, you just melt into without note or concern for your own safety, haha... believe it.

save but hard with the dirtroads

I went to Vietnam during the Tet (New Year) which was a busy period in the country, and the public transportation (buses) was awfull. Old buses, crowded, very tired drivers and fast, oh boy, very fat driving. I would prefer trains and plains, but they were sold out at the time. Besides this, I would recomment Vietnam :-)

I wasn't in Vietman yet but one of my friends was there for one year for a social year as an english teacher - he only used public transportation and returned safely! He told me that it's not usual for tourists to use it (besides the main tourist areas). people there are very friendly but you can expect to be "an atraction" in the rural areas! And beware that most people don't understand/speak english = they will try to help you but it could be hard!