It isn't difficult getting from South to North Vietnam on road. Bus services are plenty and they are very affordable. You could rent a bike; rent a bike with a rider, or a car/van. The locals told us that a driver is included if you rented a 4-wheeler, and not without one. We didn't inquire further as we were set on biking it (from Da Lat) ourselves.
It's great that we have a publication like the "Lonely Planet". The research done is splendid. There's more information than you need to know (this is good!). However, I learnt (and this is not the first) that the writers tend to get personal. At times it's not intended for the masses. And I'm not sure if the writers actually inform the business owners (hotels, transport service, restaurants) if they intend to publish their services.
"Lonely Planet" does suggest some enterprises, and not all are as good as they claim to be. SINH Cafe (on right of image) is recommended by "Lonely Planet". It’s a travel and tour company in Da Lat. We were making our way back to Ho Chin Minh and bought our tickets from here. They cost us US$8.00 per person (United States Dollars Eight Only). The bus we travelled on was cramped. There was no leg room and being in that seat for a minute was torture. But we were blessed. The bus had very little passengers so we could spread out. This important detail was not highlighted in "Lonely Planet". Most of the travel and tour companies do not own these buses. The bus services work independently. You could go direct to them if you wanted. So it is not entirely SINH Cafe's fault that the bus was cramped. But they do have a choice in which bus services to be affiliated with. This is important for travellers to know, that is, the type of transport (service) you'll be getting when you patronise a travel and tour agency. The direct service (customer service) from SINH Cafe was good. And not as fantastic as the service from HCMC (TAN 58, top left image).
TAN 58 is located on Bui Vien Street, District 1, Ho Chin Minh City (HCMC). 'Bui Vien Street' is listed in "Lonely Planet" (as of 2008, VIETNAM) but not TAN 58. The bus service through TAN 58 had a lot of leg room (see bottom left picture of orange buses), the seats were comfortable and it was clean. Very important factors for a 7+ hour’s bus journey!
More on TAN 58
TAN 58 HOTEL & TRAVEL
58, Bui Vien Street
District 1
HCMC
Tel: (84 8) 9207880
Fax: (84 8) 8360537
Email: tan58travel@yahoo.com
(HOTLINE: 0907.688.549 ~ Mrs. Phuc, 0907.785.439 ~ Mr. San)
The service here is superb! I repeat, SUPERB! Mrs. Phuc, the proprietor, speaks very good English. She's really patient and takes the time to give details (despite having to repeat this all day everyday!). We bought a 1-way bust ticket to Da Lat for US$7.00/per person (United States Dollars Seven Only). They also have tours to
CUCHI TUNNELS, CAO DAI TEMPLE, MEKONG DELTA, CAI RANG FLOATING MARKET, PHNOM PENH, CAN GIO ECOLOGICAL ZONE, NAM CAT, TIEN NATIONAL PARK, VUNG TAU, NHATRANG, DANANG - HOI AN, HUE - PHONG NHA, HA NOI - HA LONG, HA NOI - SA PA, PHU QUOC ISLANDS.
They can arrange for train, bus, domestic/regional flight and boat tickets as well as arrange for visa application. Most of the travel and tour companies on this street offer similar services. And Nilesh suggested TAN 58 HOTEL & TRAVEL as he had heard good stuff about them. He heard right.
POINTS TO NOTE:
There are some pretty cool bars and eateries on Bui Vien Street (HCMC) so it'd be a nice visit even if you didn't need tour services.
Do not take “Lonely Planet” at face value. It’s a fantastic publication and I do recommend it but, not all of the information is accurate or clear. You do need to do some research or make inquiries. The web has some some great travel sites. You could also consider other publications like ROUGH GUIDES or FROMMER'S.