How to buy tickets?
It's not easy to buy train tickets at the station when you get to Vietnam.  For peak holiday periods such as Tet, it's necessary to book a soft sleeper some days in advance, but be prepared to be flexible over your exact choice of class, train number or departure date.  If you are booking for the same day or the following day, the tickets might be sold out!  Reservations were computerised in 2002, and you can buy tickets for most train journeys within Vietnam at Hanoi  and Saigon station booking offices.  So for example, you can buy both a Saigon-Hue ticket and a Hue-Hanoi ticket at Saigon station ticket office.  However, at other stations such as Hue, Danang or Nha Trang, you can only book journeys starting at the station you're at.  At ticket offices, you pay in Vietnamese Dong, US dollars are not generally accepted.  If you're sure of your itinerary and it's important to be on a specific train on a specific date in a specific class, then you should pre-book by email to info@vietnamrailways.net
Buy tickets by email through Vietnam Railways and you can pay online easily. Most of the credit cards are accepted!
After the payment is made, the tickets will be waiting for you at your hotel when you get to Vietnam.

Can I pay when I get the tickets at my hotel?
Yes, you can! But a deposit is required when you book the tickets and the rest of  the payment  you can pay in cash at your hotel in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. When you get to Vietnam, after you have checked in the hotel, you must re-confirm us so we will gurantee and deliver ticket for you.

Can I buy all 4 berths in a compartment to have a room to ourselves?
Privacy-loving westerners often ask this.  The answer is that in theory yes you can, but it can't be guaranteed that the train staff won't allocate additional passengers to the berths they know to be empty.  My advice is don't bother, just book 2 beds in a 4-berth soft class sleeper.  The Vietnamese may view it as selfish to take up 4 beds when you only need 2, given that places on their national transport system can be in short supply at times.  You'll be safe and comfortable sharing a 4-berth soft sleeper, and might actually meet some real Vietnamese people this way!
Rail-based tailor-made holidays in Vietnam...

Which class should you choose?
Air-conditioned soft sleeper is the recommended choice for most western travel.

Which trains are the best ones?
The best trains are the ones with 'SE' train numbers, equipped with modern air-conditioned coaches.  They have:
    *      soft class air-conditioned sleepers (4-berths per compartment).
    *      hard class air-conditioned sleepers (6-berths per compartment)
    *      air-conditioned soft class reclining seats.
    *      a restaurant or buffet car.
    *      in soft sleeper, simple tray meals are served in your compartment along with mineral water, not included in the fare.
   *     trains SE1 & SE2 also have privately-run 'Livitrans' 4-berth air-conditioned tourist sleepers of a higher standard attached between Hanoi, Hue & Danang.

The coaches on these 'SE' trains have large picture windows, unobstructed by the wire mesh that protects other trains' windows from stones.  Choose these trains if you can.