TRANSPORT

Air

Hue’s PHU BAI AIRPORT is 15km south of the city. A shuttle makes the trip to any hotel in the center for 30,000D (US$1.90), or you can take a taxi for about US$7. Vietnam Airlines has three or four daily direct flights to Hanoi and Saigon only (each about US$50 to US$57 one way).

Bus

‘Open bus’ tickets are available from most hotels or the travel agents listed under Basics. Two south-bound buses leave daily – at 8am and 2pm going to Danang (US$2.50; 3hr) and Hoi An (US$2.50; 4hr). Saigon-bound and Nha Trang–bound buses depart from Hoi An at 7pm or 8pm. Buses to Hanoi (US$7; 13-14hr), which stop in Ninh Binh on the way, leave at 6pm.

CAMEL TRAVEL (tel 054-829-456; 15 Nguyen Thai Hoc St) sends a sleeper bus (with bunk-style, fully reclined seats) to Hanoi at 6pm nightly; a ticket is US$12.

If you’re trying to catch a bus to Dong Ha, for DIY DMZ tours to the north of town, buses stop at AN HOA STATION, 4km north of town on Hwy 1.

HCM Trail

Local Transport

Many people get around Hue by renting a bicycle (about US$1 per day from most hotels and agencies) or motorbike (US$5-8 per day).

Travel agents like Mandarin Café (see Basics/Travel Agencies) can arrange a car with driver for the day from US$25 to US$30 for trips around the Hue area, and about US$65 to US$80 if you want to be dropped off at Hoi An.

(Pictured here is the old ‘Ho Chi Minh Trail,’ north of Hue.)

Train

Hue’s TRAIN STATION (Phan Chu Trinh St, near west end of Le Loi St) sends a handful of trains north to Dong Ha, Ninh Binh and Hanoi (US$28; 21hr) and south to Danang (US$3; about 3hr), Nha Trang (US$28; 14hr) and Saigon (US$38; 21hr). The SE2, SE4 and SE8 are the best north-bound trains, SE1, SE3 and SE5 the best south-bound ones.

Warning! Most travelers let their hotel or a travel agent book their tickets, but note that some small agents occasionally sell a ‘soft sleeper’ ticket but give a cheaper ‘hard sleeper’ or ‘hard seat’ ticket instead. Agents listed here have a good reputation for giving what you pay for, but it’s worth checking before your train heads out.