How to make a short cheap trip to Vietnam from Shanghai [越南之旅]

I flew to Nanning from Shanghai and booked the trip on Ctrip app.I can recommend this app as you can buy train tickets and flights

and hotels and I have not found lower prices anywhere.

Cost:  450RMB flight

I stayed in the Yong Jiang Hotel which was marketed as 5 star! It was actually pretty good. The ‘Snack Street’ in Nanning is the best I have ever seen so if you’re there overnight it’s the best place togo. It’s located right behind the Yong Jiang Hotel.

Alternatively if you’re really tight on cash, I saw a hotel right next to the long distance bus station which charged 135RMB for 12 hours.

Cost: 198RMB hotel

Alternatively you can arrive during the afternoon and go to the train station and get an overnight train instead of hotel and bus like I did.

On arrival at Nanning airport there are buses (20 rmb queue in line 1) and taxis which will take you into town. It’s 21 miles from the airport so allow about 45 minutes in a bus.

To get to train station: Get off at the end of the journey and follow the people with the bags, you will soon see the railway station in front of you.

To get to bus station: Get off at the end of the journey and walk towards the train station but before you get there, turn right along Zhonghua Lu then turn right on You’ai Lu and it’s there on the left. You can see the location of the long distance bus station in relation to the railway station in this map.

Address is 10 You’ai Lu. It looks like this 

Cost: 20RMB bus from airport

Taxis are hard to find in Nanning so either use an app to get a taxi or take one of the many motorbike taxis.

The journey takes you up into the mountains where eventually a Chinese soldier will get on the bus and ask to see your passport. This isn’t the border – I don’t know what it is because I had fallen asleep and was awoken by a man in an army uniform holding a gun, shaking me awake!

Eventually you will arrive near the Chinese border where there are offices and buildings and a few food stalls. Here you will be surrounded by money-changers. This is also not really the border.

But it’s the place where you get off the red Chinese bus and get on a bright green Vietnamese one.

I had an enforced 50 minute break here as the bus driver hadn’t had his lunch. There is little or nothing to do here and if I had known, I would not have waited there for so long. I would have followed the locals and walked around the corner to the border.

They do the visa thing here. I just waited and they stamped my passport with a 14 day visa without any questioning or delay.

Getting out of passport control and into Vietnam there are plenty of buses waiting. I don’t know how much they charge to get to Hanoi but I am guessing the equivalent of around 100RMB. They will try to rip you off almost immediately you set foot on Vietnamese soil so be warned. Shop around for bus ticket.

On the Vietnamese bus, eventually there were only two of us left. The driver stopped on the outskirts of the city and asked us to give him 150,000 VND (45RMB) each to take us into the city. This was the first rip-off attempt. I refused to pay him – he was going to take our money and put us on a public bus! I got off the bus and got an Uber ride into the centre for a fraction of this.

Consider taking one of the black minibuses which run from Nanning to Hanoi. I don’t know where they start from but you can find them from the sign on the side and the help of a Chinese friend.They are more expensive (maybe out 200RMB or more) but quicker, have wifi and go directly into Hanoi city centre.

Cost: 170RM

Once you are in Hanoi there are countless hostels in the old townwith beds from around $5. Just get one when you turn up – there are so many you don’t need to book ahead. I did Airbnb for 80RMB a night. 

Cost: 160RMB

Beware the taxi drivers are the worst offenders – they will not use their meters and if they do theywill take you a roundabout way to bump up the prices. If/when you get scammed, this help line will come in handy.

Street food tour for $20

Trip to Ha Long Bay – many offices around the old town selling tours but many are scammers and I paid $125 for a three day tour and it was so bad, I cut it short and came back to Hanoi and got a refund. Beware there are a lot of disreputable operators in Hanoi and doing it through a hotel or hostel is much safer.

It was a bit cold and grey when I went to HA Long Bay.

Cost: $15 bus ticket

Bus to Sapa from Hanoi

I had booked a homestay in a small village called Lao Chai which his about 7km from Sapa. Many people stay in Sapa as the hotels there are more comfortable – it’s a small town and so has lots of restaurants and shops. Much development going on – new hotels etc. in Sapa.

The owner of my homestay came to collect me from the bus station and they will all do this for you if you ask them. It’s the simplest and cheapest way to get to Lao Chai.

CBT Vietnam is a project which supports villagers by putting guests directly in touch with the owner. The organisation vets the homestays and makes sure they have western toilet, hot showers, good beds etc. The website lists the members and gives their mobile phone numbers.

It’s worth noting that these although these homestay owners may speak English, they can rarely read or write it so you will have to phone them not text them.

I stayed with Mrs May who is one of the Hmong minority people and her homestay was basic but fine and the food she cooks is extremely good. She charges $12 per night for bed and breakfast and evening meal. She can also take you trekking in the mountains to other more remote villages for a set daily rate (don’t know how much). In fact there are many village women who are guides as well as homestay owners. In Lao Chai there are only a handful of homestays.

Ta Van is another village about 2.5km from Lao Chai (walk there on a concrete path). It is a different ethnic group and has around 40 homestays (some look very grand). It also has bars and cafes and is much more developed than Lao Chai. There is a lot of building going on in Ta Van.

In this area, people usually go trekking and you can do one yourself like I did, get lost, get attacked by a dog, fall over and hurt my back and end up climbing across rice fields, or you can pay and get someone to take you.

Cost: $24

Getting back to China is very easy from the north. My homestay host organised me a taxi from the village all the way to the Chinese border in the town of Lao Cai for $30. It took 1:15 at 6am. The road from Lao Chai village to Sapa is not long but it is precipitous and not for those of a nervous disposition! Four wheel drive vehicles have a distinct advantage.

This is the view from the homestay in Lao Chai village.

Cost: $30

The border opens at 7am and you pass through very quickly and easily. After the Vietnamese have stamped your passport, you walk across a bridge and enter China. Here you don’t even have to fill in one of those nasty yellow entry forms – it is all done by scanning your passport.

In this picture you can see the Vietnamese customs building in the foreground and the two tall buildings in the background are in Hekou, China. Between them is a bridge over the Red River.

Once you are through into China, take a motorbike taxi to Hekou North train station. This is about 15 – 20 minute ride and costs about 20RMB.

The first train is the 10:00 and this will get you in at 3:40pm. Use Ctrip app to find more trains. I bought first class but it was still rammed full of people by the time we arrived.

I believe there are also buses on this route. Taxi from central Kunming to the airport is reasonably cheap but takes about 50 minutes depending on time of day.

Cost: 50RMB train

Flight Kunming to Shanghai. I got the AirChina flight at 9pm as I didn’t know how long the journey would be from the village. In the end I had time for a nice meal in Kunming and a leisurely trip to the airport.

Top tip – spend 60rmb on the VIP lounge on the Ctrip app when you’re booking your flight. You get a free meal as well as nice toilets and somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit while waiting to board.

Cost: 600RMB

1. Take a small bundle of low denomination dollar bills although local currency (dong) is preferred by most.

2. Scammers everywhere, believe nobody when they quote a price, esp taxi drivers.

3. SIM card was a good purchase

4. The big bus from Nanning is cheaper than the alternatives but doesn’t get you into the centre – black minibuses are better.

5. CBT Vietnam is a top option for homestays and amazing value with the food too.

6. Use a guide for walking in the mountains. They are cheap and good.

7. Nothing needs to be booked in advance

1. Wifi is in most cafes even in the villages although homestays don’thave it. 

2. Cellphone coverage is good even on the mountains I bought a SIM card at the border for 50RMB which was more than enough for 7 days and I was uploading photos a lot.

3. Time difference is one hour between Vietnam and China – set your phone to auto update.