Hoi An to Hue: 5 ways to travel -The Best Travel Guide

Imperial Hue City is the famous city in Vietnam, was recognized as Tangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 1994 because of its special and sophisticated architectures. Moreover, Hue royal court music which was performed at annual ceremonies, also recognized as Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2003. Therefore, many travelers pay attention in this place. They want to understand, explore the Vietnamese history with many monuments, including the tombs of several emperors of Vietnam. Besides, Hue City has also many beautiful places that travelers should visit such as Thien Mu Pagoda – the symbol of the city. The desire to come to Hue has raised concern in most of the travelers that how to get there. I hope this article will help you a lot in finding the suitable way to get to Hue from Hoi An. 

I. Getting from Hoi An to Hue by taxi - The Fastest way

Travel time: approximately 2 hours

Cost: VND 1,000,000 - VND 1,500,000

With people who do not have much time, they usually choose taxi to get to Hue from Hoi An because of its mobility. 

Read more: Da Nang to Hue: 4 Ways To Travel - 2020 Travel Guide

1. How to book the taxi from Hoi An to Hue

There are many taxi brands in Hoi An that you can choose to travel to Hue. I will give you some prestigious brands you should consider

 

Note: The price can be changed depending on the time you book as well as the kind of taxi (4-seat or 7-seat)

•  Faifoo Quang Nam brand was established in 2009 by Phu Hoang Transportation and Service Joint Stock Company. Initially, there were only 10 cars, but until now, Faifoo group has up to 30 cars to serve local people as well as foreign travelers. In addition, this company is leading in the installation of free wifi in the car with the desire to serve customers as much as possible.
•  Mai Linh Taxi is a well-known taxi operator/taxi company with a slogan “Customer is everything”. With more than 20 years serving customers, Mai Linh Group always puts quality service on their top priority. Besides, Mai Linh Taxi is equipped with automatic cash count as well as GPS cruise control. Moreover, driver team is trained very well. This is the reason why many travelers choose Mai Linh Taxi to travel from Hoi An to Hue
•  Hoi An Taxi is the first private taxi brand in Hoi An ancient town. It was established in 2008. It is too difficult to compare with a huge prestigious brand like Mai Linh Taxi, but Hoi An Taxi developed in its own way. Many travelers choose this brand simply because of its name “Hoi An”. After that, they were persuaded by professional way of service, communication, and well-driven. And the thing makes this brand more close to travelers is listening to the customers' comment whether good or bad and willing to improve after.
• Sun Taxi was established in 2014 by  Sun Taxi Transportation Company Limited. This brand is well-known for the cheap price as well as modern equipment system.
•  Tien Sa Taxi, right from the start, has clear orientation that they will focus on 4-seat car development. As such, this brand bought more than 750 cars  seats with modern brands such as Toyota Vios, Kia Morning, Kia Right, etc. All of the taxis were equipped with navigation system, sound system, free wifi. This brand very suitable for travelers wanting to go to Hue from Hoi An.

2.  What are the advantages of taxi when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

The taxi driver system in Hoi An is very polite, civilized and never overcharge with foreign travelers. So you can convince in taxi system here and enjoy your trip. For some skeptical travels, you can take the city map to make sure that you will not be tricked. The maps always have hotline number of authorities, you can call conveniently if having some unexpected situation.  The biggest advantage if you choose the taxi to go to Hue from Hoi An is saving time, it just takes about 2 hours for 126 km. Besides, comparing with other vehicles, the taxi is the best choice because of its mobility. You can catch the taxi and stop everywhere you want. Especially in some day with bad weather, the taxi can protect you and give you have a safe trip.

Read more: Hanoi to Hue: 5 ways to travel - 2020 Travel Guide

3.  What are the disadvantages of the taxi when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

Among 5 ways to get to Hue from Hoi An, the taxi will be the most expensive way, it is about VND 1,000,000-1,500,000. For some travelers have not much money, the taxi will not be recommended. Besides, the language barriers will make you feel discouraged because some drivers, as well as saleman, cannot speak English or other languages. To make sure that you can have the perfect trip, you should learn just some Vietnamese sentences such as the name of the place you want to go, even bargain with the drivers. In some cases, the language barrier will create the difficulty when you communicate with the taxi driver. 

II. Getting from Hoi An to Hue by private motorbike

Travel time: approximately 2 hours

Cost: VND 250,000- VND 350,000

1.  How to rent a motorbike from Hoi An to Hue

The easiest way to rent a motorbike is asking your hotel’s reception because most of hotels in Hoi An have the motorbike rental service for travelers. If not, there are many popular motorbike rental stores you can choose as follows:

Note: The price can be changed depending the day you book and the type of cars you choose.

Some tips if you choose the motorbike for traveling from Hoi An to Hue

• You should notice other costs such as gasoline, tax, deposit, even maintenance, etc. Please contact the car owner to negotiate about this issue.
• Check your motorbike carefully before taking. Make sure that it can run well for a long distance. Even, you should confer with the motorbike owner if some unexpected cases happen.
•  You will be left one of three documents: passport, license’s drive or identity card. Please make sure that you always have other documents to prove your identity because you will use usually during your trip.

2.  What are the advantages of the motorbike when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

Many travelers choose this type of transport because of their mobility. The travelers can stop immediately if they want to take a photo or even enjoy a new place atmosphere. For some people who interest in the difficult road, the motorbike is a good choice. You can have more opportunities to explore more new places as well as yourselves. By talking with local people, you will gain more interesting experiences and broaden your knowledge. Besides, some unexpected circumstances such as out of gasoline, breaking brakes, etc. make you mature in a natural way. You will learn how to tackle difficult problems in a flexible way.  

3.  What are the disadvantages of the motorbike when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

The long-distance is a disadvantage for some visitors they don’t have enough the health to afford, especially for some team having kids or children. Besides, the driver must understand the Vietnamese road laws being different from other countries. Moreover, the procedure to rent a motorbike is sometimes sophisticated, you should notice if you don’t want to be tricked. To guarantee your right, please make a contract before taking a motorbike.

III. Getting from Hoi An to Hue by private car

Travel time: approximately 2 hours

Cost: VND 1,800,000-4,500,000

The distance from Hoi An to Hue is about 126 km, you should consider carefully before choosing the private car to travel because of its distance.

1.  How to rent a car from Hoi An to Hue

There are several brands in Hoi An you can choose from, you can see more detail below:

Note: The price above can be changed depending the time you book, you should contact and negotiate with the leader of these brands to save time of both you and the car owners.

You should consider other costs such as gasoline, tolls, even maintenance, etc.

Besides, you should notice the deposit that is different among some brands.

2.  What are the advantages of the car when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

This means of transport allow you drive more actively, you can stop wherever you want to enjoy a large number of landscapes along your road. Besides, you and your partner will have the interesting time together, more adventurous and have more unique experiences that other vehicles cannot bring for you. Especially, if your team have many people, this type should be considered, you can have the comfortable place to enjoy your trip without interrupting of other strangers.

3.  What are the disadvantages of the car when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

The biggest disadvantage of this vehicle is the price, comparing with other vehicles, this kind is the most expensive. To whose have no much money, you should consider other means of transport such as train or shuttle bus.

Moreover, the driving is not easy for foreign travelers because of the lack of knowledge about Vietnamese road laws. It seems to be dangerous if your team has children.

IV. Getting from Hoi An to Hue by shuttle bus - The cheapest way

Travel time: approximately 4 hours

Cost: VND 80.000-130.000

If you do not have much money, traveling from Hoi An to Hue by shuttle is a good idea. The price is cheapest when comparing with other vehicles. I will give you more detail about some brands of the shuttle bus below:

1. How to book the shuttle bus from Hoi An to Hue

2. What are the advantages of shuttle bus when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

When we mention about advantages of this vehicle, you have to mention about the tickets’ price. It is the cheapest way if you want to travel from Hoi An to Hue. Besides, the time start of this kind is very flexible with many turns every day from 7:00 to 16:00, so you yourselves can control the time of your trip. Moreover, you are easy to start the conversation with the local people in the car and gain a lot of knowledge such as the local characteristics, their life opinion and their thinking bringing for you unforgettable memories.

3.   What are the disadvantages of shuttle bus when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

Different from the taxi, the shuttle bus has some permanent stops, you have to go there in time to make sure that you will not miss your turn. In some cases, the travelers are overloaded, you cannot follow your schedule anymore and have to change depending on the next turn. Moreover, the language barriers will make your trip become more difficult because neither driver nor sale man can understand what you say and your purposes.

Time-consuming is another reason make many travelers do not choose the shuttle bus. It takes about 4 hours to transfer- the longest time among 5 vehicles.

4.  Some tips you should consider if you want to travel by the shuttle bus.

The first thing is the tickets booking. In normal circumstances, the shuttle bus can serve all the travelers, but in some cases, you miss your turns because of visitors overloaded. Therefore, you should book the tickets before at least 1 day by calling for the phone number of the shuttle bus management that I mentioned above.

Secondly, your luggage will be put into the specific place for the luggage, it can lead to a chaos and your luggage is easy to be lost. You should notice carefully and put the important documents such as passport, identity card, driving license, etc. into your handbag.

Thirdly, you should wear convenient and comfortable clothes because of the long distance from Hoi An to Hue, the time you transfer is relatively long, about 4 hours.

V. Getting from Hoi An to Hue by train - The traditional way

Travel time: approximately 3 hours

Cost: VND  75,000-120,000 + 25,000-220,000 transfers

Actually, there is no train going directly from Hoi An to Hue, you must divide into 2 routes, Hoi An – Da Nang and Da Nang to Hue by train.

1.  How to travel from Hoi An To Da Nang

The distance between Hoi An and Da Nang is about 40 km, it is relatively short so you can travel to Da Nang from Hoi An by several ways such as taxi, bus, private vehicle. We will give you more detail for each means of transports below:

a, How to travel from Hoi An to Da Nang by the taxi:

There are many taxi brands in Hoi An mentioned above, you can call the brands’ phone numbers directly or catch the car on the road where you in. The price for each turn is about VND 150,000-220,000 depending on your time you book or the number of travels in your group.

Some tips if you use the taxi to travel from Hoi An to Da Nang

Forgetting luggage or personal belongings such as electrical items, purses, briefcases, etc. on public vehicles such as taxis are relatively frequent.

• Be careful. When using public transport in general or taxi in particular, you should check your belongings carefully before getting off. Small personal items such as a phone or purse are the easiest to forget on a taxi.
•  You should note the taxi number that you use. Each taxi has its own taxi company code. As such, when you forget something, you can provide this information to the operator to check the taxi information and take your belongings back.

b, How to travel from Hoi An to Da Nang by bus

Many travelers choose the bus to get to Da Nang from Hoi An for several reasons: The first is the bus tickets is very cheap when comparing with other vehicles using to travel to Da Nang from Hoi An, it is about VND 25,000. Secondly, every day, there are a lot of turns from 5:30 to 17:30 with 20 minutes for each turn, the visitors can control their schedules by their own way. Thirdly, the travels are very easy to catch the bus because there are many bus stops: Hoi An bus station (Hoi An Shipping & Tourism Cooperative) - Le Van Hien - Ngu Hanh Son - Nguyen Van Troi Bridge - Bach Dang - Phan Dinh Phung - Yen Bai - Le Duan - Dien Bien Phu - Ton Duc Thang - Da Nang City Bus Station. If you feel confused and have any question, please call directly to the bus station in Hoi An: (+84) 2353 861 240

Some tips if you choose the bus to travel from Hoi An to Da Nang

• The only way to save time for both you and sale man is preparing small change.
• During peak hours, the bus may be overloaded, you must stand and remember that when standing, outstretching your legs and trying to cling to the floor.
• When you sit on the bus, please pay attention to the place you are sitting whether this is a position for priority person (pregnant women, babies, older people, people with disabilities) or not. If they get on the bus, you should stand up quickly and make room for them.
• Before using the bus for traveling, you should find the exact bus stop you want to get off. You can surf the Internet to know or ask the sale man. Do not hesitate to ask if you are unaware or unsure of the station, the sale man and the driver are there to help you.

c, Using private motorbike when traveling from Hoi An to Da Nang

Renting the private motorbike is relatively cheap, it is about VND 80,000-200,000 per day, depending on the type of motorbike you use and your negotiation. This is the best vehicle that many travelers choose to travel because of its mobility. You will have more opportunities to enjoy several landscapes along the way you drive, you can stop wherever you want to take a photo. There are many stores you can rent a motorbike, you can ask the local people to find the suitable store or consider some brands I mentioned above.   

Some tips if you want to rent a private motorbike

•  Before renting a motorbike, you should check carefully some parts in the motorbike such as handbrake, footbrake, engine, and mirror, even running in short time to double check. Besides, you should negotiate with vehicle owner if the vehicle has a problem, you will have right to change other motorbikes. In case you are not satisfied, the vehicle owner must pay the money back for you.
•  You should have 3 types of documents: driver's license, passport, and identity card. Because you must leave one of them like a deposit and you will be given back until you return the motorbike for the owner and liquidation.
•  Last but not least, it is very important to keep the receipt carefully. Many stores make the procedure quite simple. As long as you leave your identification, you can rent a motorbike. However, you should ask them to write a clear receipt with the information: Date of rental and return, license number, type of your document they hold 

2.  How to travel from Da Nang to Hue by train

The distance from Da Nang to Hue is about 103 km, and you will spend 2,5 hours to travel by train. There are many trains as well as the type of seats you can choose. The price is about VND 75,000- VND 120,000, which ischeaper than using the taxi. You can consider this means of transport to travel from Da Nang to Hue. You can get more details as follows below:

 

Note: The price can be changed depending on the day you book

To purchase the train tickets online, you can access the website dsvn.vnor you can call directly: (+84) 1900 6469  

If you want to book ticket offline, please go to the train station at 791 Hai Phong Street, Tam Thuan Ward, Thanh Khe, Da Nang.

Some tips if you choose the train to travel from Da Nang to Hue

•  Booking the train tickets isthe most important.You should book before at least 1 day to make sure that you will have enough the seat on time and your trip will follow up your schedule.
• Normally, the meals are not included in your ticket. As such, if you want to eat something, you can go to the kitchen in the last carbine. There are many kinds of food and drink can serve your demands such as fries, instant noodles, etc. For some travelers, they always care about the food security, they should prepare their own food before getting on the train.
• Buying the souvenirs is easy to understand for visitors, but you should buy some prestigious brands in the big train station to guarantee the goods’ quality.

3.  What are the advantages of the train when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

The time is very flexible, there are 6 turns every day, so you can choose the train suitable for your schedule. The average speed of the train is also an advantage, the longer the travel is, the more experience you get like several landscapes along the road. Besides, the train tickets are relatively cheap and stable. In some circumstances such as holiday, the prices may change but will return the old price when the holiday pass. Moreover, the trains are quite safe because they run on specific lines, the risk of the accident of this vehicle is almost non-existent. So you can enjoy your trip and no worries about the transfer.

4.  What are the disadvantages of the train when traveling from Hoi An to Hue

Time-consuming becomes a disadvantage of this means of transport, it will take about 2,5 hours, more than other vehicles. If you don’t have much time, the train is not considered. Besides, the trains have no flexible stop like shuttle bus and taxi, you have to go directly the train station in time if you don’t want to miss your turn. Another cost that few travelers notice is the price when you move from train station to the place you want to visit and vice-versa.

VI. How to choose suitable transportation from Hoi An to Hue

1.  What is your budget?

Finance is a key factor for every trip because all of your activities based on your money you have. In case you don’t have much money, you should consider traveling by shuttle bus instead of the taxi or the private vehicles, you should consider other activities which need more money than the transportation. If you have a lot of money, you can choose any vehicles being suitable for your demands. The taxi can be a good idea because of its mobility, you can confer with the drivers if you want to stop in many places, you can believe in the driver in Hoi An since the local people here are very friendly and truthful.

2.  Who do you go with?

The partners are also a key factor if you want to have an interesting trip, if your team like adventurous, the private vehicles are the best choice, you will have more opportunities to experience, challenge and explore your ability. On the other hand, if your team has children, using private motorbike is not considered because it is too dangerous for you-foreign travelers and your children - vulnerable people. You should consider traveling by train if your finance is limited, or by taxi if you have enough money. The size of the group also affects your decision, if you have a large group, you should consider the train or shuttle bus, in this case, you are easy to go travel together. Besides, you should notice other members’ opinion, because they are different in characteristic, financial ability and demands as well. Apparently, the unification in the big group seems to be difficult, but the decision will depend on a mass, other members should respect and have cooperative attitudes to make sure that you will have a fun and comfortable trip.

3.  How much luggage do you bring along?

The luggage seems to be not really related to your decision, but in our opinion, you should notice that before choosing any means of transport. If your luggage is big and large, the train allows you can bring 20 kg luggage should be considered. The private motorbike, in this case, is not recommended because it will be a balk for your trip. If you want to travel by private motorbike, please remember that bringing your belongings as few as possible.

VII. The brief summary of all vehicles

There are several ways to travel from Hoi An to Hue as I mentioned above, depending on your interests and demands, you can choose the suitable one. Finally, I will give you an overview of all vehicles to get Hue from Hoi An: