Travel Vietnam In This Luxury Train With Fine Wine And 3-Course Meals

Train travel is all the rage, with Belmond making headlines for its luxe offerings from Scotland, Italy, to Malaysia. In Vietnam, the North-South railway line courses the entire length of the coast. In recent decades, it has become a popular option for tourists to see the country while skipping the carnage and carbon footprint of flying. Now, travelers originating in both Hoi An and Nha Trang have a premium option connecting the two cities through Quy Nhon: The Vietage by Anantara. Launched in 2020 as a way to whisk guests from Anantara’s Hoi An Resort to its newest property, Quy Nhon Villas in Binh Dinh Province, the private carriage debuted its latest route in May 2024, linking the 3 cities across the approximately 315-mile route.

The clientele includes well-heeled travelers who want to skip the airport and journey in style. Couples looking to add a smart leg of slow travel to a romantic trip for their honeymoon. And slow travelers who hate the carnage of airports, and wish to reduce their carbon footprint.

To make the trip more sustainable, Anantara, a part of the Minor hotel group, has enacted a plan that includes strict waste management programs, recycling, and community support programs. Both resorts connected by train, Anantara Hoi An and Quy Nhon Villas, have received Green Growth 2050 certification, with the former receiving Platinum status (the first and only in Vietnam) and the latter earning Gold.

The train staff source ingredients from within Vietnam, eschewing luxury imported foods except Wagyu beef and salmon. On a recent menu, the duck terrine featured a sauce with Da Lat strawberries and a cranberry jam infused with Hoi An spices. Fruit, vegetables, and herbs, along with seafood come from the local fields and waters around Quy Nhon. Teas and coffees are sourced from local, ethical brands from Vietnam, while the still and sparkling water is filtered, carbonated, and bottled at the on-site plant at Anantara Hoi An. Waste and scraps return to Hoi An in the evenings to be segregated into either recycling, compost, or general waste. Anantara’s zero single-use plastic policy applies to The Vietage, too.

Finally, the Dollars for Deeds program donates $1 per ticket to The Kianh Foundation, a not-for-profit charity providing a full-time, customized, special needs curriculum for children with disabilities in the Quang Nam Province of Central Vietnam. Of course, train travel in and of itself, limits one’s carbon footprint as compared to air travel. (Read more about sustainable travel here.)

The Vietage covers an approximately 330-mile span of Central Vietnam, connecting Hoi An, Quy Nhon, and most recently, Nha Trang. Through big picture windows, guests watch rural life unfurl as the train phases through thinning cityscapes into an emerald-hued countryside of rice fields cut by rivers and ponds. Motorbikes pile up at railroad crossings; sampans, or traditional wooden fishing boats, traverse rivers, and waterways; farmers donning conical nón lá hats made of woven leaves, work the fields planting rice–or is that the Vietnamese version of a scarecrow in a red cotton shirt and hat?

Forested mountains offer a scenic backdrop, hinting at the hinterland’s topography, while red brick towers rising from distant fields inform its history. The region, along with nearby swaths of Laos and Cambodia, was once was once the domain of the forgotten kingdom of Champa, the towers, its former citadels and temples. At its peak between the 7th and 10th centuries, the Cham controlled key routes of the spice and silk trade, eventually falling to the Vietnamese in the 1400s.

Each of the two carriages features six private compartments with two seats (or one sleeper on the night journey) to accommodate a total of 12 passengers. Gray upholstered banquettes framed in dark wood are partly shielded by rattan cane screens and thick cream-colored curtains. The elegant design pays a nod to Indochine style, thanks to Hoang Le Ha, director of ShapeUs Studio in Ho Chi Minh City. Each booth has an international electrical outlet and large picture window. The well-appointed bar car features a semi-circular stone slab framed in black leather stools.

Morning travelers heading south on the route from Hoi An to Quy Nhon enjoy a light breakfast of warm pastries including croissants and pain au chocolat served with local coffee or tea. A few hours later, staff pre a three-course menu selected in advance. Dishes take inspiration from regional flavors and ingredients such as Quy Nhon seafood salad with green papaya, carrot and mint, and a green bean and quinoa salad peppered with lemongrass, tofu, peanuts and Hoi An chili sauce.

Mains include Hoi An chicken rice, and a braised wagyu beef neck accented with local vegetables of carrots and zucchini with green tea and sesame jus. Desserts infused the flavors of Vietnamese fruits like a dragon fruit compote atop a passion fruit tart, and strawberries sourced from the famous mountain city of Da Lat, served with coconut yogurt and local basil.

Wines by the glass range from a sparkling from Australia, Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, Chardonnay from Chile, and an Italian Primitivo. Spirits enthusiasts can dive into a selection of Vietnamese gins highlighted through specialty cocktails, a gin and tonic, or simply neat to sip and explore. Guests looking to bump up their wine experience can select from a reserve bottle list featuring Champagne, white Burgundy, Barolo, and Bordeaux.

As far as amenitites, it’s a trainn car, so it’s light on extras—but a small massage room provides a moment of calm while guests receive a 15-minute shoulder and back rub in a kneeling chair. Beneath the seat is a box with blankets, a neck pillow, and slippers. Complimentary Wi-fi keeps you connected, though you’re better off living in the moment by disconnecting.

Anantara’s The Vietage makes two trips daily, a morning run, and an evening route, linking Hoi An and Nha Trang, while stopping at Dieu Tri Station outside the port town Quy Nhon, along the way.