Vietnam forum

Sinh Cafe Transport

David_Flick

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Posted from within Vietnam.

Hi Everyone

Me and my GF are in Hanoi atm, and are plotting our way down 'Nam with the usual stops of Hue, Hoi An, Mui Ne and HCMC. We have been recommended the open-tour bus system, in particular, a company called Sinh Cafe Travel- they're also reviewed by Lonely Planet and Rough Guide.

Has anyone used this company, and if so, could they tell me if they are any good? Mostly I just want to know if our bags will be safe on an overnight bus, (or at least as safe as they ever can be in Asia!!) and whether the service is good for tourists?

Thanks for any suggestions

David

#1 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 01:26
busylizzy

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The 'real' Sinh Cafe renamed their organisation about 2 years ago to The Sinh Tourist: https://www.thesinhtourist.vn/default.aspx. They did this as there were so many copy-cat operators using their name and offering substandard service in many cases. (Just search on 'Sinh Cafe' on this website to see all the old back-stories!)

I used The Sinh Tourist (around the time of their name change) and found them to be fine. By that, I mean I got picked up and dropped off as expected. Me, my travelling partner and our bags made it in once piece - and that was good enough for me!

Personally, I would tend to track down their office in Hanoi (refer to https://www.thesinhtourist.vn/OfficeIMG.aspx ) to get the address and speak to them personally. I wouldn't book anything online. I would also tend to just buy one leg at a time. You are likely to change your mind as you travel - you might end up doing a motorbike tour, or visiting another city that isn't on the open-tour bus route. I'm a firm believer in keeping your options open when travelling, esp in Asia!

#2 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 01:44

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juliert87

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Posted from within Vietnam.

yes, you can go to directly their office to book Open bus or contact your hotel if it is more convenient for you. Normally taking open bus,you have to go to representation office one day before.It means that if tomorrow you want to take bus from Hoi An to Mui Ne, today you go to representative office in Hoi An that they print in your receipt to confirm.
Good luck!

#3 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 02:16

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busylizzy

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I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing it through your hotel, because you never actually know which company they have booked you with. I still think it's best to go physically visit the office of the company that you intend to use. You can hopefully very quickly get a feel for how they run their business and their operations. It's not full-proof, but it gets you a step further ahead.

#4 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 02:36

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CrankyCarrot

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I booked it through my hotel - the guys on the front desk and I got to drinking - and I get the feeling the experiences you get with these companies are all more or less the same. As long as they pick you up and drop you off, you're golden.

I have to say it was hard not to notice the staff kicking the s--- out of the big backpacks in order to fit them in to the cargo hold down below before I got in. I keep everything fragile or valuable in day pack I carry with me at all times for that very reason. Just clothes and other stuff that can take a beating in the big bag.

I just rode on a Hung Thanh open ticket from Hanoi to Hue on a colossal 14-odd hour overnighter. I have to say the experience is pretty hellish if you're my height (6'3") since the "beds" they shove you in are built for people no more than like 5 foot nothing. Sleep was impossible - a coffin would have been more comfortable - and for some reason the driver seems to bump the lights on every hour or so, just for a giggle. Also, a couple of the Vietnamese guys in neighbouring beds had no reservations about talking loudly at 4 in the morning amongst themselves or on the phone. Jeez, use your 'indoor' voices fellas.

My advice would be, if you can, to get in one of the lower bunks, which seemed to afford more headroom - or just fly. From the time of departure 'til the time of arrival - 8pm to 9am, I got precisely zero winks of sleep. I did rack up a few nice bruises on the ol' shins though.

Not looking forward to the Hoi An - Nha Trang leg of the journey, I can tell you that for free.

#5 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 08:56

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Phiddy

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Busy Lizzy have you had any experience of a company called Sinh Balo (http://sinhbalo.com/cgi-bin/app.cgi)? I was under the impression that this company was the original Sinh Cafe, do you think it is just another copy cat? I have to say I was led to it by someone on travelfish saying that it was the original (therefore reputable) but obviously now I am not sure. Ta

#6 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 09:05
busylizzy

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Phiddy - sorry, not I haven't heard of them, so can't help you out. But I'm pretty comfortable that Sinh Tourist is the original old Sinh Cafe based on discussions when I visited them in Nha Trang . That's not to say that Sinh Balo is not reputable; I just don't know. I did use other bus companies other than Sinh Tourist that were also OK, but I don't recall their names. I don't want to imply that Sinh Tourist is the ONLY decent company in Vietnam.

Cranky - you make me laugh! I did the Hoi An to Nha Trang journey and it was ... well, OK. I did manage to get a little bit of sleep. But my travelling partner, who is closer to your height didn't enjoy it so much!

I think the Hanoi - Hue leg is a bit longer than the Hue-Nha Trang leg if that consoles you in any way. (Not much shorter though!). We arrived in Nha Trang just as the sun was rising (about 5.30am maybe) which was an interesting sight as the streets were crowded with locals out for the daily exercise. It was a memory that stuck with me for some reason...

#7 Posted: 3/1/2012 - 15:38

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CrankyCarrot

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I saw a few early morning fisherman floating about at the crack of dawn when I rode, semi-crippled, into Hue . That was kinda cool.

As far as the comparative distance between Hanoi to Hue and Hoi An to Nha Trang - I was going off the cartoon map on the back of the bus ticket which in retrospect may not be to scale. I certainly hope it's a shorter journey.

#8 Posted: 4/1/2012 - 04:01

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busylizzy

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There was a typo in last paragraph of my last post. I meant to say:

"I think the Hanoi - Hue leg is a bit longer than the Hoi An - Nha Trang leg..."

Anyhow, now I need to know - I'm worried about my fading memory. So I looked it up.

Hanoi - Hue = 14 hours by bus
Hue - Hoi An = 4 hours
Hoi An - Nha Trang = = 10 hours

http://www.travelfish.org/trip_planner/vietnam-hanoi-to-saigon. Scroll down to the bottom for a chart of travel times. Not sure if this will make you feel better or not?!

#9 Posted: 4/1/2012 - 04:18

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CrankyCarrot

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4 hours less on a shin-busting nightmare bus does make me feel slightly better, yes.

#10 Posted: 5/1/2012 - 12:06

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