Vagrant is a useful way to very quickly get a Docker capable host. You wouldn't use it for production, no.
For development, if you're running on OS X or Windows (in which case, my condolences), you basically have to use a VM. If developing on Linux, it's a tossup; the complexity and overhead of Vagrant versus the pain and annoyance of fooling around with kernels and dependencies.
I use a Mac for day-to-day development, so a simple Vagrant VM is a no-brainer. :)
