What it's like to ride The Vietage, Vietnam's most luxurious train journey

It’s the crack of dawn at Danang train station but the starting pistol has long since fired on the day’s activities. With the Reunification Express, the arthritic old tube that plies the rails between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, about to rumble into town, the plaza outside the station is abuzz with activity.

Motorbike taxis jostle with food vendors for sidewalk space while giant battered suitcases and boxes of instant noodles make the route to the ticket booth akin to an obstacle course. Out of this melee steps a sharply dressed figure, the gold brocade on his immaculate steward's uniform a flash of bling in an otherwise unpretentious scene.

"Step this way, sir," he said, guiding me into an annexe next to the ticket office with a sparkling grin and an open bottle of sparkling Aussie Pinot Meunier.

Binh, the steward, guides our group to our seats and pours us all glasses of bubbly. With the Vietage reception room doubling up as the station's main snack shop, travellers clutching potato chips and plastic bags filled with cold beers for the ride ahead shoot us curious looks. But this amiable clash of elegant and earthy embodies the charm of riding on The Vietage, the converted train carriage that is the conduit to Vietnam's most luxurious train journey.

Adventures come thick and fast in Vietnam, but few come more epic and evocative than train travel on the Reunification Express. Paraded as a sign of French colonial munificence on its inauguration in 1936, fragmented then blown to smithereens during partition and the American war, and then resurrected after reunification, the railway is tied to the country's tumultuous 20th century.

Despite its history, visitors tend not to ride the rails in Vietnam. The railway is slow – train speeds hover around 40km per hour – and domestic flights are cheap in Vietnam.

But in Central Vietnam, travellers can step up the luxury courtesy of The Vietage. The Anantara-owned and operated luxury rail car was launched during the global lockdown in July 2020 to link the brand's properties in historic Hoi An and the up-and-coming beach resort destination of Quy Nhon.

The journey was the brainchild of Bill Heinecke, the founder and chairman of Minor International PCL, which owns Anantara –  he saw a luxury train as the perfect alternative to a long car journey.  

“It has been a great addition to our offerings in Vietnam,” said Kate Jones, Anantara marketing and public relations Vietnam area director. “With The Vietage, guests can experience the unfolding landscapes of Vietnam in the lap of luxury.

Instead of disembarking at Quy Nhon or Hoi An exhausted after an uncomfortable road transfer, passengers arrive refreshed, relaxed and inspired after six fabulous hours wining, dining and soaking up the spectacular scenery."

The single converted car is a compact operation that features only six private booths (up to 12 guests total), a sit-up bar, and a bathroom and massage room, where guests can experience 20-minute head and shoulder massages.

A three-course meal – which takes in morsels including a Quy Nhon seafood salad, salmon fillet with charred asparagus and micro herbs with lemongrass and roasted chilli, and desserts such as a creme brulee made with premium Vietnamese chocolate – dovetails in among hour after hour of free-flow wines, cocktails, mocktails, beers, soft drinks, tea, and coffee. Other perks, meanwhile, include caviar and a platter of artisanal cheeses. Seats can convert to beds, and a full range of amenities is available.

Indeed, it can be tough to dislodge yourself from your private booth at the journey's end. And that's not just due to the full-fat cocktails and generous pours integral to the train's onboard experience. However, there's lots to love about the destinations at either end of the line.

Hoi An embodies Vietnamese charm, and is an essential part of any Vietnam itinerary. Convenient, compact, and charismatic, it supplies local experiences in easily digestible form. Its UNESCO-listed old centre – a colourful jumble of Japanese merchant houses, Chinese temples, and French colonial buildings – evokes its heritage as the trading centre of the Champa Kingdom. Equally compelling is the location a stone's throw from China Beach and some of Vietnam's most beguiling scenery, a patchwork of emerald paddies, coconut palms and lazy waterways.

I find it easy to while away my time in the ancient port. By day, I promenade along streets lined with yellow-hued buildings, filling up on local dishes such as cao lau (a noodle creation with pork and local greens) that traces its roots to the soba noodles the Japanese brought with them on trade missions.  

By evening, I enjoy a curated introduction to the town’s surprisingly lively bar scene courtesy of a cocktail tour by the award-winning Secret Experiences. Accompanied by Khieu Le, a local guide and raconteur, our group flits between unique venues, sampling signature drinks and snacks at each stop. At our final port of call, The Market Bar, we add some key additions to southern Vietnamese pho – fresh mint, coriander, and Thai basil – to a belt of infused gin for a showstopping liquid take on Vietnam’s nominal national dish.

My digs, too, are intoxicating. An easy walk from the old town, the Anantara Hoi An benefits from an outstanding riverside location. Rooms are set in a low-rise, two-level, colonial-style building, and have views of either the river or the resort's garden courtyard. Other draws include relaxing river cruises, exemplary service, and a sizeable outdoor pool.

Quy Nhon, the destination at the other end of the line for The Vietage, is far less trafficked (for the moment). But major changes are afoot with numerous name resort operators eyeing the string of sandy coves indenting the coastline near the city.

Anantara's sparkling property has the top end of the luxury market to itself for the moment. And a fine job it is doing.

Guest accommodations consist of one- or two-bedroom villas, which are secreted within their lush tropical gardens. These villas are situated either directly on the beach or just a short walk up the hillside. Bedrooms feature plush beds adorned with soft, high-quality cotton linens, and are illuminated by the gentle, natural light that streams in through the floor-to-ceiling French windows that open onto private plunge pool decks, offering stunning vistas of a glistening bay adorned with scattered islets.

Massages are expert, and the spa products are first class. If you choose to explore, the resort can organise everything from tours of significant Cham ruins to local market visits. Closer to home, the resort has a unique trump card in the form of Master Phuc, its resident Viet Vo Dao master. His private classes in the Vietnamese martial arts take place on the beach and are the perfect way to work up an appetite for the gourmet offerings at Sea Fire Salt, where ultra-fresh seafood is roasted on raw salt blocks for maximum flavour.

I spend my time here flitting happily between activity and glorious inertia. Finally, it's time to return to Danang for an international flight. This time, I'm on the evening journey on The Vietage. With the pitch-darkness of the Vietnam night enveloping the train, it’s a much more meditative transfer than the morning run.

As Binh pours me another glass of wine, I reflect on some key takeaways from my trip. I've learned that pho cocktails are an excellent premise, that Viet Vo Dao is an art that demands time and practice, and a luxury train carriage that plies its way up and down Vietnam's sweet centre is an extremely good idea.