BootsnAll Travel Community

Hi, was wondering if anybody has done this... sorry if it's been asked before but I couldn't find this topic.

I'm planning to go from Guilin to Hanoi by train. Supposedly a train from Beijing runs on Mondays and Fridays and gets to Guilin a day later. I'm guessing I can catch the train on either a Tuesday or Saturday? (for some reason I never hear of a Saturday train though).

Is it easy to buy tickets at Guilin station and would it be possible to buy a ticket only a day in advance? Worst comes to worst, is it pretty easy to get a bus?

I'm mainly asking because I want to maximize my time in China without wearing out my welcome (overstaying visa). The online timetables are all in Chinese unfortunately

I've never crossed from China to Vietnam but I have done a bit of traveling across China in trains.

Stay off and away from the long-distance buses if you can.

You should be able to buy a ticket more than one day in advance. I've bought tickets up to two weeks in advance but that was from Beijing to Hanzhou.

Give me the link to the online Chinese times tables and I'll look at them for you. Let's see how much Chinese I remember.

Also the other thing you should check is the Lonely PLanet or the Rough Guide which will give you the names of local Chinese travel agencies that will be able to buy and arrange the tickets for you for a small fee so that you don't have to spend hours trying to shove your way to the front of the non-existent line. Usually it's very convenient.