I took a sleeping bus on my way here..Well, it was a fun experience, and I came comfortably. However, the driving time was too stuffy on the road, so I found a limousine bus. I heard that the driving time was 5 hours, but I didn't make a lot of honking sounds.. My goal is to achieve it. If it's daytime and you don't have to sleep, it's highly recommended. But the usb charging of the air conditioning/seat is random. It would be satisfactory to check that, but isn't that the same for sleeping buses:)

Hanoi to Ha Long trip. A driver contacted me through WhatsApp to coordinate my pick-up from my stay, then when we got to the office, I was transferred to the limo van and off we went, with a short 15-min roadside stop for restrooms and purchasing snacks. We left a little late but the whole trip still only took about 2 hours so I was happy with the efficiency.

At 22:00, I took the Single Cabin (2nd floor) from Hanoi directly to Sapa without going through Lao Cai. 1. I changed my reservation time over the phone 3 days before using the bus. Communication was possible in English and changing the time was also easy. If you arrive 10 minutes before the bus departure time, you can comfortably receive a paper ticket. ++ 2. They say the bus sometimes comes late, but it came on time. 3. The facility was clean and odorless. I used the 2nd floor, and although the 1st floor has a slightly higher ceiling, I definitely recommend the 2nd floor because it is twice as expensive. + 4. The seat did not fully recline, but only went to about 160 degrees (there is space behind the seat back to place shoes, etc.). The length is not generous, so if you are taller than 175cm, you may need to bend your knees slightly. - 5. There was no bathroom, but we stopped at a rest area twice during the 5 hours to Sapa and were allowed to use the restroom. 6. Hand out a bottle of water to each person. WiFi was connected well. The biggest disappointment was that while going to Sapa, the power on the bus was cut off, so it was impossible to charge my phone even though there was a USB plug. I don't know what it's like during daytime hours. There's no TV, but that's okay since I didn't plan on watching it in the first place. - 7. A guide who could speak English took the bus with us and accompanied us to the final destination. They made announcements right before departure and arrival, and especially when we first got on, they even moved our seats to a slightly larger space (but they didn't move us to the first floor, where the price was different). +++ 8. Even though I rode on the second floor, I didn't feel much of a rattle while driving and I didn't get motion sick. There was a protection device to prevent the seat from rolling over while sleeping (each seat also had a curtain for privacy). + 9. Departure at 22:00 and arrival at 03:00 the next day, but they allowed me to sleep on the bus until 06:00. ++ The service was perfect, to the point where it was very, very disappointing that this was a bus company that only operated during the day. Since the bus company (Sao Viet) returning from Sapa to Hanoi was the worst, it may look better, but if I go to Sapa in the future, I think I will check the timetable of this bus company (Sapa Express) first.