Tips when traveling to Hue

Hue - an ancient capital of Vietnam, a city of dream. It has a magical beauty, a beauty of a bygone era. Today, Aroundvn will share experiences which helps you have a perfect trip to this city of dream.

The first thing you must think about, it is time. So, what appropriate time do you come to Hue?
         Hue has two main seasons: Dry season is from March to August, the weather is hot, the temperature can be up to 39,9 Celsius degree. Rainy season is from August to January, the weather can rain all day or week-long, the temperature can be down to 8,8 Celsius degree. If you want to travel this destination, you should choose dry season. Because you can visit many places. Of course, "your trip your decide", you can choose rainy season. Rain in Hue will give you many recollections, after raining, the sky will be blue. I am sure you will love it.

How do you come to Hue?
         It is 654 kilometers from Hanoi, 1.051 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh city, 85 kilometers from Da Nang. It has an airport which is located next to 1A Highway and trans-Vietnam railway From 3/20 to 11/20/2013, the Phu Bai airport will be closed to repair. So, you can't come to Hue by airline.

 From Hanoi to Hue
          1. Passenger car or open tour car
 a, Open bus: - starting from 6:00pm, 8:00 am the next morning in Hue, also like that from Hue. Car companies: Camel(at 461 Tran Khat Chan street), Trekking, Thesinhtourist, An Phu, etc.
 b, Passenger car: - At Luong Yen car terminal and Nuoc Ngam car terminal, there are many trips to Hue của Hoang Long, Hung Thanh company,etc. Starting daily, price from 280.000 VND/sit ~ 14 USD Note: You should the evening post to come Hue in the next morning.
          2. Train On the route from Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh, there are many train stopping at Hue, the cheapest ticket is 136.000VND/person ~ 7 USD
          3. Airplane Because Phu Bai airport temporarily shut down, you can choose the flight to Da Nang airport, then coming to Hue by car. Route Hanoi - Da Nang has many trips with companies: VietJetAir, Vietnamairlines, Jestar.

From Ho Chi Minh city to Hue
          1. Passenger car or open tour car
 a, Open bus: - Phi Long – starting from Mien Dong car terminal, ticket counter 55. Tel: 0914 031 156 - Ngọc Sanh – Mien Dong car terminal, ticket counter 51. Tel: 08 3511 8380 - Thuan Thao – Mien Dong car terminal. Tel: 08 3511 2957
 b, Passenger car: - At Mien Dong car terminal, many routes from Ho Chi Minh - Hanoi stopping at Hue of many companies such as: Hoang Long, Thanh Long, Phuong Hoang, etc. Starting daily.
          2. Train: On the route Ho Chi Minh - Sai Gon, there are many routes stopping at Hue train station, the cheapest ticket is 388.000VND/person~19USD. 1 day 1 night for the distance 1088 kilometers.
          3. Airplane: - The destination is Da Nang airport. Route from Ho Chi Minh - Da Nang has many routes with airlines: VietJetAir, Vietnamairlines, Jestar.

From Da Nang to Hue
          1. Passenger car: From the Da Nang airport, you can hire taxi or motorcycle taxi to come to Hue. The car terminal is about 5 kilometers from the Da Nang airport. The ticket price of route from Da Nang - Hue: 45.000VND~3USD/ticket/person. Time: 2-3hours. (Address of Da Nang car terminal: 201 Ton Duc Thang, Hoa Minh ward, Lien Chieu district. Tel: 05113 786 786
          2. Train: From the Da Nang airport, you can hire taxi or motorcycle taxi to train station. The Da Nang train station is about 3 kilometers from the Da Nang airport. The ticket price: 40.000VND~ 3USD/ticket/ person. Time: about 3 hours. Address: 202 Hai Phong street, Thanh Khe district. Tel: 05113 823 810.

Note: you should book ticket before coming to Da Nang because ticket is not often available. If you want to come to other destinations in the city, you can buy ticket at the Dong Ba car terminal(Address: No 6 Tran Hung Dao street. Tel: 054 3523055)

 Accommodation
         In Hue, you can come to the regions such as: Le Loi street, Ngo Quyen street, Ly Thuong Kiet street, Nguyen Tri Phuong street, Hung Vuong street. They are central streets to find accommodation There are some of cheap motels for you, rates range from 150.000(~8USD) - 300.000(~16USD)/night, depending on each motel. - Phuong Hoang I and II Hotel in Le Loi street, reasonable price and quality for family. There are some motels which are opposite the hotel, they also have reasonable price and car rental service. - Bao Minh Hotel : located in the alley in Le Loi street, near Trang Tien bridge. You can hire right in the hotel. .

Eating and drinking
         Visitors to Hue often wonder that they should come to where to enjoy delicious dishes. Here are some well-known addresses that have attracted many diners in Hue.
- Hang Me Restaurant at 45 Vo Thi Sau(30.000VND~3USD-40.000VND~5USD/person)
- Ba Do at 71 Nguyen Binh Khiem street, especially with shrimp rolls)
- Tranh restaurant at 232 Chi Lang street
- Bun bo Hue( beef and vermicelli)
- Tai Phu restaurant (in the top of Dien Bien Phu street)
- Bun bo Gia Hoi in Bach Dang street.
- Bun ba Rot in Thuong Bac park(selling in the afternoon and evening)
- Nam Pho Rice spaghetti(cooked with shrimp, crab or meat), selling in Pham Hong Thai street(from 2-5pm)
- Delicious rice with reasonable price in Con Hen area and Han Mac Tu street.
- Mussel Restaurant at 2 Truong Dinh street.
- Bun hen Hong Thuy in Han Thuyen street.
- Loving Hut Vegetarian Restaurant at 128 An Duong Vuong street.
- Che Cung Dinh at 31 Nguyen Hue street.
- Che Hem at 17 Hung Vuong street.
- Che me Ton Dich in Thuong Bac park.
- Bo De Vegetarian Restaurant at 11 Le Loi street.
- Lien Hoa Vegetarian Restaurant at 3 Le Quy Don street.
- Tinh Tam Vegetarian Restaurant at 12 Chu Van An street.
- Grilled meat and vermicelli, Rolled boiled pork: Huyen Anh at 207 Kim Long street.
- Che Sao in Phan Chu Trinh street.
- Khong Gian Xua Restaurant at 205 Dien Bien Phu street.

 After taking care of your stomach, you can visit beautiful places of this land
           Hue imperial city was planned from 1803 - 1804, in the Gia Long king and was build in 3 decades later. The imperial city is almost square, the front is as a bow for bending to the shape of Huong river. Over 200 years, the imperial city is virtually intact with nearly 140 works, it has become the innovative architecture of Vietnam people. It was recognized as a historic site of Vietnam in 1998 and world cultural heritage by UNESCO. It is located in the north bank of Huong River.


          Tombs of the Nguyen kings are also interesting places for you. Typically, tomb of the Gia Long king, the Minh Mang king, the Thieu Tri king, Tu Duc king and Khai Dinh king. These works are considered as the achievements of Vietnam ancient architecture. The tombs are located in the hills in the south southwest of the city. Because they are located is quite far apart each other so you should hire taxi or self-driving car to save your money.
                                                              Tomb of Tu Duc king

         Thien Mu Pagoda was built in 1601, in the Tien Nguyen Hoang lord, it was opened larger in the Nguyen Phuc Chu lord. Notably, Dai Hong Chung Bell with a weight of 2 tons, was built in 1710 and Phuoc Duyen Tower with a height of 21 meters, was built in 1844. It is located in Ha Khe Hill, the heart of the city.


          Vong Canh Hill stands next to Huong River. From here, in the early morning or in the late of the afternoon, you will see the poetic beauty of the city, a corner of the city, a part of the river, especially Tombs of the Nguyen kings. It belongs to Thuy Bieu ward.


          Ngu Binh Mountain is also called Bang Son or Binh Son, it has a height of 105 meters. When Nguyen dynasty decided to build Hue imperial city, they saw Bang Son which has a good strategic position so they built a criminal defense system and changed the name into Ngu Binh(meaning "good defense"). Standing here, you can see the entire city with pagodas, Huong river, magnificent palace. It is 4 kilometers to the south of the city.

          Western street in Hue is unlike any western street of the tourist cities of Vietnam. It is not bustling and vibrant, it has still kept the stillness of the old capital although many people come here much more everyday. There are souvenir shops with many traditional items, restaurants, hotels and tourist offices. The main road of Hue's the western street also has the name " Pham Ngu Lao", which is the same as the western street of Ho Chi Minh city. It is located right in the southern bank of Huong River.


          Pha Tam Giang Lagoon has a length of 24kilometers, an area of 52 square kilometers. It is one of the biggest lagoon in the Southeast Asia. If you like animal, especially bird, this lagoon will be the ideal place for you. Besides, you can visit the old fishing village - Thai Duong Ha, enjoy delicious specialties, it is 15 kilometers from Hue, go down from Thuan An beach to Quang Tri city.


          Huong River is a big river which runs through the heart of Hue city. It is famous because of its poetic beauty. Huong River runs winding between mountain and forest, it brings the aroma of herbs of tropical forest. You can enjoy the beauty by boat with the voice of songs at night.

          Thuan An beach is a pristine beach, you can choose resorts or hire tent to stay right on beach. Walking on beach at night, drinking the flavor of sticky rice wine of Chuon village, eating fresh seafood on charcoal stove. It is not bad, right?. If you want to come there, you can hire motorcycle taxi with price is 30.000VND~3USD or bus with price is 6.000VND~half of 1USD to near the beach, then walking about 10 minutes, you will come to Thuan An beach.


           Lang Co Bay is considered as the most beautiful bay in the world. This beautiful place is located between a branch of Truong Son Moutain Range to the sea, between Hai Van Pass and Phu Gia Pass. With the white sand and blue water, Lang Co Bay is beautiful picture of nature. Lang Co Bay is 70 kilometers from Hue city to the north. You can go by passenger car with price is 35.000VND~3USD/ ticket or An Phu bus with price is 45.000VND~5USD/ticket. On the way to Bach Ma, there are two awesome places that you shouldn't ignore, they are Vung Voi with beautiful waterfall and Canh Van beach.


           Bach Ma National Park is one of the most pleasant climates in the mountains of Indochina. The mountain peak is 1.450 meters, clouds cover all year round. From here, you can see a larger sky, mountain by mountain. Bach Ma National Park is also a place which has retained largely intact vegetation, fauna and immense primeval forest. Bach Ma belongs to Phu Loc district and Nam Dong district. From Hue city to the south 40 kilometers, along with 1A Highway to Cau Hai town(Phu Loc district), turn right, keep going 19 kilometers you will come to Bach Ma National Park. You can go by passenger car or bus to Bach Ma, then hire specialized vehicle to go to the mountain top with price from 400.000VND~24USD - 450.000VND~28USD. You can also hire package car service with price 750.000VND~45USD. Ticket price to visit Bach Ma is :10.500VND~2USD/person.


 Moving
            Passenger car services in Hue have kinds of car such as: 4 seats, 12 seats, 24 seats, 45 seats,etc with reasonable prices. Besides, you can have open air with cyclo in hotels such as: Huong Giang, Century, Hoa Hong, Sai Gon Morin, 2 Le Loi, 5 Le Loi, etc. Moreover, you can hire in Hung Vuong street, distance from Truong Tien Bridge to intersection Hung Vuong street with Nguyen Tri Phuong ( near Hem sweet porridge restaurant). The second place is Le Loi street, Western street is opposite Huong Giang Hotel, the streets such as: Pham Ngu Lao, Chu Van An. The common price for this service is 20.000VND~2USD/hour and about 100.000VND~5USD - 150.000VND~8USD/day.

 Shopping
            Dong Ba market is diversity and abundance, especially for girls. You can buy many gifts such as: royal tea in Le Huan street, kinds of cookie, candy. - Walking to Huong river at night or coming to Nguyen Dinh Chieu walking street. You can buy souvenirs, clothes, jewelry,etc. - fashion shops, souvenir shops, galleries, art studio,etc. All are focus on some large streets such as: Tran Hung Dao, Hung Vuong, Phan Dan Luu, Le Loi, Mai Thuc Loan. Necessary telephone numbers: Police in Hue: 054. 889 300 Postal Service: 054. 3821220 Hue Central Hospital: 054.3822325 Mai Linh Taxi: 054.3898989

 Other notes
 - At night, you can buy ticket to listen to Hue music on boat and drop flower garlands and coloured lanterns on the Huong river. Each ticket ranges from 80.000VND(~5USD) - 120.000 VND(~7USD).
- There are many famous "ao dai" shops, you can come to buy fabric and have a "ao dai" in one day.
- Festival Hue is a cultural, art and tourism festival which is a national and international scale festival. It is held every 2 years on even numbered years.