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JaraVoyager
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Posted 7 years ago

Hi! I will be having a typical Southeast Asia Trip including Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. Are there train routes connecting these countries especially Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia? Because train travel is cheaper and faster, this will be my first option. Thank you!

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Peter
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replied 7 years ago

Hi.
In Thailand and Vietnam you have very good and inexpensive train connections. Which are fast, save and comfortable. You reach most of the "must sees" by train. In Thailand, sometimes you require a bit of additional bus travel.

[b]Vietnam[/b]
Easy to reach the main spots by train. I posted one blog these days and will add more the following weeks: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/hanoi-sapa-train/[/u]
Hanoi [u]https://rail.cc/en/hanoi/c[/u] to Sapa [u]https://rail.cc/en/sapa/c[/u] in the North-Western mountains of Vietnam is easy by train.
From Hanoi to Ha Long Bay [u]https://rail.cc/en/ha-long/c[/u] the best is a combined tour out of a bus transfer and the ship cruise.
From Hanoi to the South, use a night train Hanoi to Hué [u]https://rail.cc/en/hue/c[/u]. The most scenic route is from Hué to Da Nang [u]https://rail.cc/en/da-nang/c[/u]. There you continue to Hoi An [u]https://rail.cc/en/hoi-an/c[/u] by bus or taxi.
Back to Da Nang, you continue by night train to Ho Chi Minh City [u]https://rail.cc/en/ho-chi-minh-city/c[/u]
From Ho Chi Minh City you continue to Cambodia by bus.
Use the website of Baolau [ux]https://rail.shop/baolau[/ux] for your bookings. Or buy train tickets at the stations directly (see information in the blog mentioned).

[b]Cambodia[/b]
Limited rail service on the route from Phnom Penh [u]https://rail.cc/en/phnom-penh/c[/u] to Sihanoukville [u]https://rail.cc/en/sihanoukville/c[/u].
Use the good bus network. It is easy to cross Cambodia from Vietnam to Thailand, having as well a stop in Siem Reap [u]https://rail.cc/en/siem-reap/c[/u]
To find schedules, connections and prices, I recommend the website of Baolau [ux]https://rail.shop/baolau[/ux] or 12go.asia [ux]https://rail.shop/12goasia[/ux].

[b]Laos[/b]
I personally never travelled for now there. But no train, only buses.

[b]Thailand[/b]
Good train connections, especially by overnight train. I always bought the tickets at the station directly or via local travel agents. Never had any troubles.
If you prefer to book it online, use 12go.asia [ux]https://rail.shop/12goasia[/ux] - also nice for schedules, ticket fares, etc.

If you have further questions, please just ask. :)

Like I said, I try to add some more blogs of my train travel experiences in South-East Asia.
Enjoy the time there!

Pete :)