The things to do in Hue (Huế) blew us away. It completely surprised us and in the few days we spent exploring, it became our favourite city.
Hue, Vietnam has a feeling that is hard to describe – it’s warm, sensory and ‘balanced’. But you’ll only get this if you allow yourself enough time to explore and step into the unique feeling that only Hue has.
Most guides we’d read before we visited suggested giving Hue two days, but we decided to give ourselves around 3.5 days as it just didn’t feel like enough time. Turns out, it was the perfect length to explore and take everything in at a relaxed pace.
Our Hue travel guide covers all of the key things you’ll want to explore in Hue as well as lots of other things that are often overlooked, but add to the incredible, cultural experience that this iconic place in central Vietnam deserves.
We guarantee you’ll find something for you below, whether you’re looking to scan and find some quick inspiration or you’re well into serious planning mode. So read on to explore the top things to do in Hue, Vietnam.
If you’re into your planning, you may also want to check out our other guides to Vietnam, which include things to do in Sapa, Hanoi, general things to do in Vietnam and more as we write them.
The Best Things to Do in Hue, Vietnam
Our guide below on the best things to do in Hue is divided into categories to make it easier for you to scan through or plan based on your main interests.
You’ll notice we’ve included the main Hue attractions that we explored as well as some more unique spots that you won’t find listed in many other guides. Within there’s, food, art and local life.
Hue is well known for its Imperial roots and the Citadel, tombs and temples are a big part of this. They without a doubt set the tone of the top things to do in Hue.
However, there are so many more things to do in Hue, Vietnam if you give yourself that little bit more time, and it’s well worth exploring with a slightly slower pace like we did. So, let’s dive into what stood out to us most (and why you’ll want to give Hue at least three days in your itinerary).
Immerse Yourself in Hue’s Incredible Historic Art & Architecture
Hue’s architecture offers so much to explore. This is by far one of the biggest draws of Hue for a lot of visitors.
Even if you’re not so into history or architecture in the widest sense, we think you’ll find yourself being swept along in awe by locations like Hue Imperial City, the Royal Tombs of Hue, Thien Mu Pagoda and even slightly more wildcard places like Cung An Dinh Palace.
Each sub section below covers these locations in more detail, as well as what to expect with a cruise of the Perfume River.
Below, you’ll also find a map with the locations of each included to give you a feel for how it all fits together.
Explore the Hue Imperial Citadel
Hue’s Imperial Citadel is one of the main, central locations that pulls this incredible city together. It’s a UNESCO site that was built in the early 1800s under Emperor Gia Long, the first emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty.
We entered for our day exploring through the main Meridian Gate. What struck us first was the sense of scale, serenity, the colours and the ornate details – like beautifully mosaiced dragons – that hinted at what was to come in the main Citadel buildings further along.
The Citadel was one of our first locations in Hue to explore and we felt completely immersed. We’d both never seen anything like it, and we found we had such an awe inspired appreciation for the artistry that was involved in all of the intricate details you’ll see as you explore this vast complex.
It’s hard not to get enthralled. Every time you look at a wall or a structure, you’ll start to home in on tiny, complex details over a vast scale that are almost incomprehensible.
We spent most of a day exploring the Citadel which allowed us time to really take everything in at a more relaxed pace. There are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the serenity offered here and we think this is a massive part of the experience it offers.
Luckily, we’d just organised our tombs tour for the next day, and our guide had told us that it would make sense to buy a combo ticket. This was available at the gate, and you can basically choose which tombs you will visit and includes entry to the Citadel as well.
At the time of publishing, it cost us 420,000 VND per person for the combo (for three attractions). It saved us over 80,000 VND each, so was well worth doing. Children’s tickets are 80,000 VND for the combo.
We’d advise you carry cash for this, as it was not possible to pay with credit card at the entry booth.
You can’t buy your tickets in advance, just at the Meridian Gate. Think in advance about which tombs you want to visit too as there are various different tickets on offer at the booth depending on that.
Tour the Perfume River & Thien Mu Pagoda (Dragon Boat Tour)
A Perfume River/Dragon Boat Tour is something that you’ll see advertised as soon as you set foot in Hue. You can get boat trips from a whole range of different companies, but after doing one, we would not recommend you only do the boat tour.
The main reason to do the Dragon Boat Tour really is to visit the Thien Mu Pagoda (Thiên Mụ Temple) which can be reached via the trip down the river. We actually thought the Perfume River cruise itself was a little underwhelming, on an old, slightly gimmicky boat.
However, Thien Mu Pagoda made it such a worthwhile experience! What makes this pagoda so special is its historical significance. At over 400 years old, it’s the oldest pagoda in Hue.
Adding to that, Thien Mu is one of the most culturally significant pieces of architecture in Hue. When you reach Thien Mu Pagoda, you have to climb up a number of steps and the grandeur of the place is incredibly obvious right in front of you.
It has this kind of shabby chic feel to it and stands with a sort of grey presence, has incredible moulded statues, and its deterioration seems part of its pattern and style. It was such a unique place, and we loved exploring all the ins and outs of the buildings.
This was the first stop along the tour we decided on through GetYourGuide (link to the exact tour we booked here). We did this because it made visiting all of the tombs we wanted to see fit together seamlessly, which otherwise would have needed organising with various taxis.
We’d really recommend this tour as it included a private driver for the half day we spent looking at the Pagoda and tombs we’ve gone into detail about below. The tour itself was actually self-guided in the sites, which allowed us to explore on our own (and what most other travelers were doing too).
However, if you do want to visit Thien Mu Pagoda on its own, entrance to this site is actually free. You can also reach the Pagoda without having to take a boat and can arrive solely by taxi instead.
We do think the full tour including the further tombs is well worth it though, as it is very affordable and a great way to see some of the main sites in a way that makes sense time wise. So you’ve got more time to explore elsewhere as well at a better pace.
Be in Awe of the Royal Tomb of Minh Mang (Minh Mạng)
When we arrived at Ming Mang Tomb, we didn’t quite know what to expect, with it being set off from the roadside. However, as soon as we started to walk through, we the calm and space that this place commands.
It was really clear to us almost straight away that this tomb, designed for Emperor Ming Mang in the 1800s met its brief. Which was to create a sense of harmony between nature and architecture.
Our experience of exploring Ming Mang Tomb felt like we were walking through art in its most expressive form. Every stairway, every entrance, every doorway framed each section of the complex in a way that gave different vignettes to consider.
Some areas were higher up, giving beautiful views of endless staircases searching toward the tomb itself. Some areas were encompassed with trees to give a sense of perspective in a way we’d never experienced before.
The tomb itself (as you can’t just go see it at the end) was actually the least important part for us experiencing this textural place. It became our favourite because it makes you feel like you’re living through the vision of its design.
We explored Ming Mang Tombs as part of a GetYourGuide tour we booked because it made it much easier to get to these areas around Hue rather than relying on taxis.
What we loved about this tour was that we were driven and dropped off with information provided in advance. This meant that at each location, we explored on our own, which we loved.
When we did our research, this just felt like the better option to utilise time to see these areas in the time we had, stress free. This is the exact tour we booked, and we’d really recommend it.
Keep in mind that you’ll still need to buy your ticket for the Imperial Citadel and the tombs you want to visit, which is why we’d advise doing the Citadel one day and the tombs the next so you can easily buy your ticket. You can’t buy your ticket from the tombs themselves.
There are a good few steep steps up and down in order to experience all of Ming Mang Tomb, and you also have to do these in reverse to get back. It can be a little demanding depending on your energy levels and there isn’t really any shade.
Get Immersed at the Royal Tomb of Khai Dinh (Khải Định)
We headed to Khai Dinh’s Tomb straight after Ming Mang on our GetYourGuide tour and it was a pretty incredible example of just how different the styles of architecture are at each location (making them both must do’s in our book).
Whilst Ming Mang is very clearly Imperially focused, Khai Dinh iconically has a blend of Vietnamese and French influences. Due to this, there is a certain bold darkness, almost gothic feel with very obvious European flourishes, making this a very unique space.
The first thing we noticed was the steep steps up to the main courtyard area, which houses the unique, dark stone honor guard that sit outside. The steps give a sense of the drama that you’re about to experience ahead of you (and get you a bit out of breath whilst you’re at it).
Khai Dinh’s Tomb feels more theatrical than peaceful, which felt very common to us from a lot of French architecture we’ve experienced. It did leave us thinking about how Hue and Vietnam must have evolved over time alongside the emperor’s legacies.
Visiting this tomb, especially in combination with Ming Mang feels really special. It gives such a sense of contrast and perspective that builds on the last and is utterly breathtaking to experience such different feels straight after each other.
There are a lot of steep steps to contend with here, but if you are up for it, it’s well worth exploring. There are also some great views from the top down onto the surrounding areas that we weren’t really expecting either.
This was part of the same GetYourGuide tour we used for Ming Mang and Thein Mu Pagoda, and we think it’s well worth it! And as before, you do still need to buy your combo ticket in advance from the Citadel in order to be able to get in.
Take in An Dinh Palace (Cung An Dinh)
For a totally different look at some of Hue’s cultural significance in terms of architecture, it’s well worth taking a short visit to An Dinh Palace. Set right off from anything else really, it’s easy to miss this place, but it is such a beautiful backdrop well worth exploring.
We loved the contrast this space gave to the Imperial Citadel that we’d explored just days before. It’s much smaller, honestly falling to pieces, but also feels beautifully curated and full of character.
As you explore, you’ll feel like you’ve been whisked off to an eccentric French château, but then moments of realisation hit you when you see little nods to Vietnamese design and symbolism.
When we visited, entrance was 50,000 VND per person and needed to be paid in cash. This neo classical relic is well worth slotting into a couple of hours (including time to get there and back). Perfect for some holiday portraits too.
Experience Hue’s Creative Side
Spend any time exploring the iconic architecture of this amazing city, and you’ll realise that some of the best local culture Hue has to offer is centred around creativity. From paper crafts to modern design, it’s everywhere once you start noticing it.
We spent a lot of our time in-between visiting temples, tombs and the Citadel exploring the local crafts, shopping, creative culture and intricate, meditative paper craft that Hue is so well known for. Both historically and in modern interpretations.
Our guide below covers some of the best things to do in Hue city that’ll give you a feel for all the creative flow on offer here.
We’ve included a map too, which pinpoints where these locations are, to make it easier for you to plan ahead.
Take Some Time at Luc Bo Culture Space (Paper Craft Village)
The Luc Bo Culture Space was somewhere we had wanted to visit since before we arrived. We actually have a friend who lives in Ho Chi Minh City, and she’d given it to us as a recommendation, so we were sure to head there.
The Luc Bo Culture Space is essentially a craft gallery that serves as a sort of museum, but with the art for sale. Pieces are created by Vietnamese artists using traditional and modern techniques important to the local style.
We loved looking around this space, which is set back in a small courtyard and has a really serene feel. We were interested to see traditional paper flower making and had intended to visit Thanh Tien.
However, after visiting Luc Bo, we didn’t think it was needed as we got a fantastic demonstration of this incredible paper craft here instead. Thanh Tien is a little out of Hue, so this is actually a great opportunity if you don’t have time to make the trip out.
Check Out Local Art Galleries in Hue
As you can imagine, there are a good few spaces that offer chances to see both traditional and modern art in Hue. GaKka Art Gallery is the first, most obvious choice and is run by an incredibly friendly husband and wife team.
Their work merges traditional technique with storytelling and it’s incredible to be in a space where the artists care so much about their work!
A quick visit to Gác Trịnh is a great way to punctuate your day too. The space is a café and gallery combination that focuses on Trịnh Công Sơn, a famous songwriter and painter from Vietnam. You don’t need long here, but it was one of the most unique creative spaces we’ve visited.
The other space we’d recommend making some time for is the Truc Chi Garden. This gallery is focused entirely on Truc Chi, (Trúc Chi) which is an important technique significant to Hue and develops on paper craft that is iconic to the area.
What we really liked about this space was you can see the craft in action, and it has such a calm, relaxed feel that you can easily get swept away into observing for hours on end. Well worth a little time to explore.
Experience Caffeine as Art
As you’ll likely know if you’ve read any of our other articles, we love anything caffeinated. Be it coffee, tea or anything in-between, we’re there for it.
After spending time in Beijing, China before visiting Vietnam, we’d already experienced what feels like a new wave of coffee happening. Experimental styles that treat caffeine-based drinks almost like cocktails.
We were very excited when we found that Hue didn’t seem to be any different. Baristas in coffee shops like TAN. are more like mixologists who experiment with textures, aroma and exquisite presentations.
There were a number of other shops we visited whilst in Hue, such as Piano Lab and ROW.Roaster and all feel more like studios with gorgeous spaces to sit and enjoy more than a coffee shop. It’s taken it to a whole new level.
It isn’t just about drinking coffee to wake up, it’s about the expression and ritual.
Then there’s the tea. We were very lucky in that there was a stunning tea shop making artisanal iced cups of Oolong with delicate floral scents just a few doors up from our hotel called P’Lao Trà Ôlong đậm vị.
We really got the feeling that this move and shift toward exceptional coffee in creative ways showed a key part of Hue’s identity as a creative city.
When you combine the idea of Hue’s paper craft, tea houses and art led details everywhere in the Citadel to the Tombs, you get a sense of the delicate and carefully considered nature of the ritual involved in drinking something caffeinated with friends.
Visit the By-Weight Book Sales Near Vincom Plaza
This was not something we were expecting to find, and yet we loved it. When walking around one night in Hue, we found the brilliant by weight book sale happening near Vincom Plaza.
After doing some further research, we found out that this is on most evenings. It was so busy with people looking for new reads and getting some inspiration at really reasonable prices.
It wasn’t just for literature alone, there were plenty of art books too. So, if you don’t read Vietnamese (like us) then there is still something for you.
The books are priced by kilo, and it’s great for rummaging and just spending some time getting into a fun activity that really seemed to be locals first focused.
This is something most travellers seem to miss in Hue, and it’s the perfect opportunity to enjoy some small, slower moments and the feeling of local connection.
Even if you don’t buy anything, it’s just a really nice event to pop by to. And a great way to pick up a memento of your time in Vietnam that’s a little different.
If you head down from about 7 or 8pm, it’s pretty hard to miss outside the Vincom Plaza. However, because it’s a pop up, the location may change slightly.
Soak Up Hue’s Food & Coffee Scene
The food and drink in Hue became the standout on our trip very quickly. In Hue, food, coffee and drinks aren’t just there to sustain you, they kind of feel like an art form.
It honestly made us a bit emotional.
In this section, we’ll cover some of the best food in Hue, some of the incredible Hue coffee shops we visited (and the clear coffee culture) as well as some of the significant dishes to look out for in Hue cuisine (like turmeric noodles and Bun Bo Hue).
We’ve also included a map with some of the spots we’d recommend checking out pinned so you can plan them into your days based on what else you’re exploring.
Experience Hue’s Food Scene First Hand
Hue food is something else. We both love Vietnamese food, but Hue was where things really reached a new level for us.
On our first day, after visiting Dong Ba Market, we headed to a family run spot we had seen in advance, and weren’t quite prepared for how that humble place would set the tone for the rest of our time in Hue.
When we arrived, we were surprised at just how very reasonable each portion was on the menu, and it was explained to us that we should get a number of dishes to share. Kind of like tapas.
The family who run Quan Chay Hong Nga seemed to love that we had so much enthusiasm for the food and we spent quite a while having broken conversations in English, a bit of French and a lot of laughing. It was all part of the experience.
When the food started to arrive, we were swept away into a mirage of strong, but grounded flavours that evoked a sense of home in a way that we’d never experienced before.
Warm turmeric noodles that almost felt like comforting pasta dishes our parents may have cooked for us in the past.
Delicate translucent tapioca dumplings wrapped in fragrant and earthy banana leaves and filled with woody mushrooms.
Crispy Banh Khoai pancake, significant to the region, which is filled with either vegetables or meat and then torn into strips and placed in rice papers to eat in a roll.
Steaming, brothy Bun Bo Hue with spice, aroma and a balance of delicate freshness that is somehow impossible to imagine how those terms fit together but do in this dish.
It just gets you. The food in Hue feels light and vibrant, with a spicy, deeper kick than you may find yourself experiencing in other areas of Vietnam. Compared to the lightness of food in Northern Vietnam, the food in central Vietnam felt much richer and deeper, but never felt heavy.
The great thing about Hue is that it’s very possible to eat vegetarian and vegan really easily too. It is a huge centre for Buddhism, and as such, there are a lot of places that are entirely vegan or offer great vegetarian options.
Likewise, food in Hue is really reasonable, so if you’re on a budget, you’ll be able to try a whole range of places and get a true feel for what food is about in Hue.
We’ve covered our favourite spots to eat in Hue in our map at the start of this section. This also allows you to take our pins and save them to your own Google Maps, so you have them on hand for when you visit.
If you enjoy food tours when visiting cities, we had this one on GetYourGuide heavily bookmarked, but just didn’t have time for it. It looked like the perfect way to experience what Hue has to offer with the cultural context of a local to explain everything in detail.
Enjoy the Coffee Culture
We’ve covered the way we found the Hue coffee culture to be like a form of art earlier on, but it’s worth covering again in terms of where to get your caffeine fix, because Hue does it so well.
The first place we’d recommend you heavily bookmark is TAN. This creative space makes more out of coffee than you can imagine. It’s more like a cocktail experience.
However, if you’re not up for mixology style coffee (think lemon espresso blends, fragranced cold brews and matcha infusions) their approach to genuinely good coffee in the form of espresso, flat white and latte will leave the more conventional coffee drinkers in your group happy and satisfied too.
There are plenty of other coffee shops worth a mention here too, and we enjoyed drinks from Piano Lab and ROW.Roaster too. Though TAN. honestly hit a little harder for us than the others.
We really felt like this scene represented Hue’s creativity really well. It also provides some creative, curated spaces to sit back and enjoy your drinks too – a rare thing to actually get right.
Of course, there’s the traditional Hue salt coffee to try too: worth experiencing, but we didn’t really love the idea. We would recommend trying it in a good shop like the locations we’ve listed though to get it in it’s best form.
Take in the Sights and Sounds at Dong Ba Market
Dong Ba Market is absolutely somewhere you should visit on your trip to Hue. Even if just for half an hour to get a feel for the hustle, bustle, sights, sounds and smells you’ll experience.
Whilst Dong Ba Market has a lot of stalls selling the same kind of items to attract tourists and it can get a bit repetitive, observing the food markets and sellers themselves is a great experience.
We would recommend heading there between 11am and noon. This is when most of the market sellers will be eating their lunch.
It can be a little bit of a sensory overload, but it’s well worth it to get a real feel for the market culture here.
At this time, you’ll get to experience some great sights, sounds and smells as groups of friends gather together to eat steaming hot bowls of broth and noodles. It’s also a great time to try a few local street foods and observe how the produce, spices and pastes change from other areas in Vietnam.
We both love food, and Hue was a bit of a heaven for us in this regard (big understatement). Having just been in Hanoi, we found that the foods on offer here became spicier, richer and brighter.
Explore the City from Day to Night
Hue has a totally different rhythm from day to night and it’s one of the really interesting things that we picked up while exploring.
In the day time, when you step away from your main exploring, and focus on some of the more locals based experiences and really get immersed into this city, there’s a sense of calm in a way that many Vietnamese cities don’t have.
At night, the city comes alive with night streets filled with bars, bright lights and loud music combined with quieter, more reflective sections which house Hue’s creative residents and visitors.
This section is more to give you a sense of what to expect from your visit than anything. We’ve broken it down into day and night to give you a feel for how things shift.
Daytime Exploration
In-between visiting the various architectural things to do in Hue city, we spent a lot of time just wandering aimlessly and getting a sense for the heartbeat of this unique place.
Scooters weaving past, friends sat deep in conversation, mealtimes huddled around steaming hot bowls of noodles, dramatic power cables cris-crossing streets in a maze.
We loved spending time exploring the streets all around the areas we were visiting and taking photographs of the vignettes that became obvious to us.
We really think that having some down time where you can just explore and wander around is one of the best ways to explore what Hue is all about. Its beauty isn’t just in its architecture, it’s in watching life unfold in the everyday that’s probably vastly different to your own.
Evening & Nightlife
As evening becomes the main character, you’ll notice it gently coming into full contrast by the heat that softens and the lights from surrounding buildings start to sparkle on the Perfume River.
If you’re heading out for dinner, there’s a very good chance you’ll experience Nguyen Dinh Chieu Walking Street and the Hue Night Walking Streets. Both are a little different from each other.
Nguyen Dinh Chieu is more focused on eating and has more tourist-oriented restaurants, but still some good gems in amongst them and is a great area to take a little bit more calm and chill.
If you want to really explore the things to do in Hue at Night, then Hue Night Walking Streets around this area are also full of bars, clubs and everything in-between. You’ll see groups of friends gathered around enjoying the atmosphere.
Honestly, the latter was a little noisy for us, and we much preferred just exploring the slightly quieter sections of the city at night. We wandered for hours after dinner finding new to us areas tucked away.
Honestly, it can be a little overwhelming at night, but if you’re more like us and like the exploration, we’d simply recommend just heading out after dinner and going in a different direction to the previous night.
Day Trips & Nature Escapes
Hue is perfectly located to get a great mix of city life, iconic imperial architecture and nature. We found that the landscapes around Hue were filled with eerie lagoons, national parks and iconic passes which connect you from Hue to Hoi An.
We’d recommend giving yourself a day to explore some of what’s on offer outside of Hue as it really allows you to see another layer of depth in Vietnam’s identity. A great way to do this is if you’re travelling on to Hoi An after visiting Hue.
We booked a tour that essentially drove us from Hue to Hoi An over the space of a day, allowing us to visit many significant sites that we wouldn’t have been able to see otherwise. This is the exact tour we booked and it was probably one of our highlights of our time in Vietnam!
Our guide below goes over some of the day trips from Hue and the things to do near Hue that are well worth fitting into your itinerary. Whether you plan them as a break in your Hue section or as part of a transition to Hoi An like us.
The map we’ve included also shows where these areas are in relation to Hue so you can get a feel for the sort of distances involved, especially helpful if you do want to plan them as a day trip.
If you want to do this, we’d recommend you also do this as a tour through GetYourGuide. There are many variations based on staying around Hue similar to the tour we did that will help you get out to see some of these stunning places.
Get Immersed in Bach Ma National Park
If you want a taster of what the mountain scenery has to offer around Hue, Bach Ma National Park is probably the most significant area to visit. A great contrast from Hue’s urban centre.
There are a number of incredible tours from Hue out there, but we would highly recommend the one we did. We felt really well looked after and the tour was absolutely incredible.
The main hike is pretty full on, with a lot of steps and ladders, but it’s achievable if you’re used to hiking. It was really hot on the day we did it, but the scenery more than made up for it on this day tour!
This is one of the best things to do near Hue if you want to get that sense of further depth on offer. Also well worth it if you get to have a swim in the waterfall along the route.
Lang Co Lagoon
On the road out of Hue (and if you’re heading on to Hoi An) is Lang Co Lagoon. This was one of our favourite stops along this route as it was a place that just looked out of this world.
The only place we can really compare it to is the Salton Sea in California. And even then, it’s completely different still.
As you pull in, the calm waters are framed by the mountains surrounding and the intense feeling of heat hits you. The fishing boats create a minimalist feeling similar to a painting and you wonder if the paint on the canvas is going to start dripping from the heat at any given moment.
This isn’t somewhere we’d recommend visiting on its own perse, but it’s a great stop, and a fairly regular one on the tour that takes you from Hue to Hoi An.
Here is the exact tour we booked that we absolutely loved. The contrast of seeing the Lang Co Lagoon amongst so many other sights has stayed with us ever since and is one not to be missed.
Our Practical Travel Advice for Visiting Hue, Vietnam
This section covers some of the things we learned while researching for our trip and what we observed on the road and while visiting Hue.
There’s lots of tips below that will make planning your time in Hue easier, but also likely a few things that you might not have thought about, so you can focus on the best parts (enjoying the place).
We’ve divided into areas like how to get to Hue, how long to spend in Hue, the best time to visit, things to be aware of, what to pack, all based on our real experiences during our trip.
How to Get to Hue
Being centrally located in Vietnam, Hue is generally a middle stop for a lot of people, and it makes it easy whether you want to travel from South to North or North to South.
Train
Whilst we didn’t travel by train, the journey is one we researched and is meant to be one of the most beautiful in Vietnam. It just didn’t work personally for us with our timings and locations.
There is an overnight train from Hanoi to Hue, which takes around twelve hours and is a sleeper. These systems are often pretty loud and rickety, and you won’t get the best sleep, but is meant to be an amazing experience.
You can also get a very scenic train from Da Nang to Hue which takes around two and a half hours and runs along the coast. This is perfect if you want to experience train travel in Vietnam and are coming from Da Nang airport.
Vietnam Railways is your best place to start when it comes to train tickets. The site is a little basic but is easy to navigate enough and has everything you need in one place.
Plane
Hue’s main and closest airport is Phu Bai International Airport and is a short 30 minute journey by taxi into the city. This is the option we went for when traveling from Hanoi and it was perfect to make the most of time.
Likewise, you can also fly from Ho Chi Minh City too. If you’re coming from slightly further afield, you may find that Da Nang Airport makes more sense and to organise a transfer from there to Hue.
We booked our flights through Trip.com and generally use this now, alongside the flight booking feature in Booking.com. We like both of these as they allow you the option to compare flight prices and times right next to each other.
Bus or Private Transfer
If you’re coming in from Da Nang or Hoi An then a transfer can be a really great way to get to Hue. It basically doubles as a site seeing tour (we’ve covered this above) and means you get to see some pretty incredible things you may otherwise miss.
We actually took this private tour the other way round from Hue to Hoi An, but the same on runs in reverse and we’d really recommend it. It’s a great cost effective way to travel and see places like Lang Co Lagoon and the Hai Van Pass.
How Long to Spend in Hue
When we did our research before our trip, we found that most articles suggested spending two full days in Hue. We like to travel a little slower, and so we usually add an extra day to what most suggest.
With Hue, we’re glad we did. We had about three and a half days in Hue, and it felt like three days was the perfect amount of time to spend here.
We think that Hue is one of the most exciting and culturally interesting places to visit in Vietnam, and two days doesn’t give you the opportunity to enjoy both the imperial architecture and the vibe of the city itself.
With three days you can easily spend most of one day getting a feel for the place and spending a few hours around the Citadel.
The second day can be spent visiting some of the tombs and doing a dragon boat tour that are a bit out of the city.
The third day is a great opportunity to visit some of the paper flower making areas, take in some of the coffee shops at a relaxed pace and just get a feel for life here.
This also gives you the chance to soak up some time at your hotel’s pool and enjoy the laid back nature of this city where you can take in day to day life.
Hue is a city that feels like it tells you to slow down a little, and we are glad we listened.
When to Visit Hue
We visited Hue in mid-April (as this made sense in terms of timing for the rest of our trip). It felt like the perfect time to visit combining it with places like Sapa, Hanoi, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh City, even though it was still exceptionally hot.
When we researched in advance, this fell right in the sweet spot, as it’s generally recommended that the best time to visit Hue is between February and April.
We did get temperatures hotter than this, but in general you can expect between about 19c and 25c. However, consider humidity as well – this really got us in central Vietnam.
Generally, this is the busiest time, so expect to see more people around. However, this doesn’t really have much of an impact on hotel costs, as Hue is pretty budget friendly already.
In June and July, the temperatures in central Vietnam are extremely hot and it would make it very difficult to go out and actually enjoy all the things to do in Hue.
One of our taxi drivers told us that in these months, it can routinely reach between 40-42c.
Later in the year, you can expect very heavy rain and even a chance of flooding, so it isn’t recommended to visit between about September and late November.
December and January can be great if you’re just looking to explore the city, but you can expect some overcast skies. If you want to make the most of the beach culture in central Vietnam, this would not be the time to do it either.
We also have a guide on the best time to visit Vietnam based on the specific seasons and would make a great read if you’re planning a longer trip like we did.
Our Recommendations for Where to Stay in Hue
The location we chose to stay in Hue wasn’t entirely cemented before we visited. We actually had a place booked and they cancelled about a week before we were due to arrive, so we had to find somewhere else.
Luckily, one of the reasons we use Booking.com is because they have a fairly simply booking system that allows you to change some (most) reservations (and even cancel them without paying) until very close to the time you’re due to check in. So we found this very handy here!
We ended up staying in the Emm Hotel Hue, and we really loved the experience. It was reasonably priced, had a great pool/garden terrace area and a great breakfast every morning.
The great thing about having booked quite last minute is that we got a really great deal, we know some travelers don’t love this and want to have everything confirmed, but this can actually be a great way of getting cheaper room stays.
This hotel was located on the South of the river, and we did need to get a taxi every time we wanted to go and explore, however these were so cheap that it was never a problem.
However, if you’re up for it, it is in walking distance of the Citadel and all of the main areas but do keep in mind that the heat makes walking distances feel so much longer.
If you like a little bit more peace and quiet, this side of the river absolutely felt like the place to stay, and we are only talking a 10-15 minute taxi ride to all the main areas.
Another hotel that we had bookmarked before we went (but when we needed to rebook was no longer available) was the Ancient Huế Garden Houses which looked absolutely stunning.
In reality, there are so many options for every budget in Hue, that we’d recommend doing an overall search too on Booking.com to find an option for your dates that makes sense within your budget. Though from experience, try to avoid anywhere in Vietnam that has under an 8.5 score.
Day to Day Costs
This will vary a lot depending on your style of travel, but we found that on average, our days in Hue were pretty reasonable.
We got breakfast in with our hotel, so day to day spending was probably somewhere in the region of about 25 USD / 18 GBP in total per day. That did vary depending on what we had planned that day of course.
Entrance to different attractions, like the Citadel or the tombs do add to that, but general spending is pretty easy to control. We could have spent way more than that, but it just wasn’t needed.
If you really wanted to keep to a budget, you could make things cheaper by sticking to only street food and much smaller family run cafes (some of which we’ve covered above).
The restaurants on some of the main Night Streets do cater more to tourist prices, but they certainly aren’t what you’d class as expensive.
We paid mostly in cash as this was more commonly accepted. Some restaurants did allow card payments. You can also pay for taxi’s either in cash or on card through the Grab app.
In terms of taxi’s, they mostly range from about 2 USD / 1.50 GBP – 4 USD / 3 GBP depending on where you’re headed.
Laundry
If like us, you’re planning a longer trip, you’ll likely be wondering what you can do about laundry in Hue. The good news is, it’s pretty easy to get your washing fully done by a laundry service.
Your hotel will likely offer a laundry service, but there are a lot of small laundry companies who will come and collect your washing from your hotel and then drop it back either later that day or the following one.
We found that doing pretty much all of our laundry (that we had for our entire five week trip) was about $8. We just found a laundry service when looking around and messaged them on WhatsApp.
It was a really good service run by a family and they even steamed and pressed all of our clothes for us. We used services like this quite a lot in Vietnam and it just made sense.
So if you’re wondering what to do about laundry in Vietnam, don’t worry as there are so many places offering this kind of service, it’s a really easy solution.
Getting a SIM for Vietnam
We both used eSIMs while in Veitnam (and it’s what we use if and when we travel anywhere that isn’t within our providers plan). This makes it easy to just use your phone on the go without having to change SIM cards and risk losing your original.
We have a full article on how to use eSIMs for travel which goes into all the specifics of this, but we would recommend getting your data from Saily as it’s reliable and works really well with good 4G and 5G coverage.
The great thing is you can choose how much data you want, and what span of time you need. Perfect whether you’re planning a shorter, or longer trip.
Is Hue Safe?
Vietnam is one of the top destinations for backpackers and we found that in general, the country is very accepting and welcoming to travelers. We always felt safe walking around, at any time of the day.
Likewise, we saw plenty of solo female travel in Hue and travelers of a whole range of ethnicities and backgrounds including openly out LGBTQIA+ people.
There are some realities to be aware of when it comes to travel safety in Hue though. There can be some hassling in tourist zones, such as in Dong Ba market, and other areas to try and encourage you to buy something.
We actually had an experience in Dong Ba where a seller wouldn’t leave us alone and followed us out of the market and onto the street. This can of course feel intimidating, but it was just a case of making it really clear we didn’t want to buy anything.
Of course, when it comes to deciding ‘is Hue safe’ for you specifically, we can only comment on our own experiences.
We can’t comment on the lived experiences of people from other demographics or ethnicities here. So you should include your own personal circumstances before deciding on this destination.
We would recommend getting travel insurance for your trip. We never skip it as it allows us to have peace of mind – because, without trying to sound doom and gloom, things can happen, and it’s about being able to respond calmly that makes all the difference.
The company we use is SafetyWing as their policies are really geared toward travelers taking longer trips and gives actually some of the most thorough coverage we’ve experienced.
Is Hue Accessible?
Here are a few of the things we noticed in Hue that you may want to consider depending on your specific needs:
Heat
It can get extremely hot in Hue. We found typically that temperatures were at around 30c in April, and were told they can reach anywhere up to 40c in May and June.
It was also extremely humid, and we both found this hard going. Many spaces are very open and there is very little respite from the sun.
Access
Hue accessibility is a little bit hit and miss.
Getting around the historic sites by wheelchair would be difficult due to steps in and out of buildings and around gardens. At some of the pagodas and tombs, there were significant, uneven steps up and down.
Likewise, there can be a lot of slippery stones at times when visiting some of the more historical areas.
In Hue itself, there are quite a few cobbled areas, uneven sections and plenty of unfinished road surfaces. This would likely be very difficult for wheelchair users.
You have to pay quite a lot of attention to where you’re walking in general and this does take some concentration. There are also a lot of narrow areas in markets and smaller streets.
Many of the bigger hotels seemed to have wheelchair accessible rooms, lifts and stair free entry. Some of the smaller homestays do not have this level of access.
Taxis like Grab are very easy to order in Hue, and it’s really easy to get around by taxi and order in advance on the app to confirm prices if you’re unable to walk between locations.
Sensory
Hue is a lot more relaxed than other areas like Hanoi. If you’re coming direct from experiencing all the things to do in Hanoi you may feel, like us, that Hue seems extremely peaceful!
It feels like it is much less ‘crammed together’ and has more of a sense of space than some areas in Vietnam. The main areas that do feel like a sensory overload are closer to Dong Ba Market.
At night, there are some Night Streets that are a lot louder and feel more touristy, but they make up such a small portion of the city that you can avoid them if you want to!
The great thing here is there are plenty of things to do in Hue for everyone.
Fatigue
Hue can be quite a tiring city, it is incredible, but there is so much to see, that you’ll need to pace yourself.
We made use of Grab rides where possible, and this helped a lot for getting between different locations. They were very cheap and made all the difference to our days!
There is so much to see in Hue and whilst we absolutely loved this city, we did feel a little like we started to get fatigue from all of the amazing locations we visited in such a short time.
This is one of the main reasons we suggest spending longer than two days in Hue, because it means you can slow down a little and actually enjoy this amazing place rather than enduring it just to tick off things.
We actually weren’t prepared for just how much seeing so many incredible imperial sights would impact us. We’d never really seen anything quite like the pagodas and tombs we visited.
Whilst it was incredible, we felt very tired from it, and needed plenty of time to chill out by our hotel pool too for a sense of balance.
Expectations for Hue, Vietnam
Vietnam is a destination that is high on a lot of people’s dream travel lists. It’s an amazing place to visit and we’ve fallen in love with this amazing country through the two times we’ve visited.
However, your expectations for a developing country should vary slightly, especially as it can be quite different to the country you’re visiting from. Particularly so if you live in a highly developed country.
We’ve heard quite a few people say they were let down by the ‘reality of Vietnam’ and that it looks different to highly curated shots on social media. So one of our biggest Vietnam travel tips (and also Hue travel tips) is to go with an open mind and an open heart.
You can expect to see some litter, different treatment of animals, different standards of living and different ways of being. We always think this is a great opportunity to stop and question why is it like that?
We believe that travelling with an open mind allows you to gain so much more from the places you visit (and put back into them too). It’s all part of growth – we experienced so much in both the way we travel, and the way we are in our day to day lives through our time in places like Vietnam.
Essential Items: What to Pack for Hue, Vietnam
Our guide below covers some of the essential items that you’ll want to consider for your Hue packing list. As always, we’ve kept it light and to a minimum!
Moisture Wicking Layers
You will be a hot, sweaty mess for a lot of your time in Hue (if you know around February to April). We made a lot of use of our moisture wicking layers and tech fabrics.
You really don’t need to spend a lot on tech layers. You may already have some moisture wicking layers if you go to the gym. If so, these are perfect.
If not, these are the tshirts we wore and generally bring from Amazon. We’ve had many more pricey ones of the years and to be honest, these work just as well – especially for travel.
Linen and Loose Layers
For exploring the tombs and days when we were active, we stuck with tech t-shirts a lot, but for the rest (and when we wanted to dress up more) we went for linens that were looser.
Linen is great for regulating your temperature and to be honest, the best clothes for Vietnam are linen ones. We both wore a lot of drawstring waisted linen trousers and Fay wore a lot of linen tops and it helped a lot.
We both absolutely love these linen pants from Amazon that are really reasonable and ended up pretty much living in them for the whole summer after getting back too.
Comfortable Shoes
We know this can sound a little frumpy, but comfortable shoes are a must when it comes to what to pack for Vietnam. You’ll be doing so much exploring that you want to be able to concentrate on the views rather than being in pain.
We both wore our hiking shoes for exploring Hue, and we’re glad we did. Fay wore her Keen Hightrail Shoes which we’ve been testing in detail. Matt wore his Danner Panorama Mid and they were perfect for the exploring we did.
You may find our guide to the best hiking shoes helpful here, as this covers in a lot more detail what works well in conditions like you’ll experience in Hue.
All of our guides are written based on extensive product testing and every single shoe we’ve included has been tested in detail for months (sometimes years) at a time.
If you need to stick to a budget, we’d also recommend reading our best affordable hiking shoes guide. Every single pair in this guide has been tested for at least 1+ years.
What’s also great about bringing hiking shoes is that it gives you a pair that’ll work for many of the different locations you’ll probably be visiting in Vietnam. For us, these shoes were ones we wore whilst trekking in Sapa too and allowed us to cut down on bulk in our luggage.
Sun Protection
Sun protection is a must in Hue! The sun is very prominent and there is very little shade in most areas, so you’ll be in direct sun pretty much most days (of course depending what time of year you visit).
We both have fairly fair complexions, so we always opt for a higher SPF than many people do. The general body sun lotion we like is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch. We love the non greasy formula which feels pretty essential for Vietnam.
We’ve also been using a powdered sunscreen for our faces and hairlines over the past year or so and absolutely rave about it now. The one we use is by Hawaiian Tropic and it provides perfect, non-greasy protection for your face and hairline (and scalp). We wouldn’t be without it now.
Why Trust Our Hue Travel Guide?
Our Hue travel guide is based on our first-hand experiences of visiting. We are always upfront about the experiences we’ve enjoyed (and ones we maybe haven’t so much).
Likewise, even when we make recommendations for things we haven’t done, they are always based on things we didn’t have time for that we had heavily bookmarked/researched. We are always really upfront about this.
Sadly, we exist in a time where some travel articles you’ll find online are based on generic lists just put there to drive traffic. Our site means a lot more to us than that, and we care about helping other people have travel experiences that feel unique to them – because it’s one of the best feelings in the world!
So, you know all the real experiences in Hue that we’ve written about in this guide are genuine and we also pride ourselves in including a lot of off the beaten path experiences that you likely won’t find elsewhere.
We don’t say any of this to brag – it’s to give you an honest look at how we write. Your trust means everything to us, and the fact that you’re reading this right now means a lot too!
Enjoy Hue, Vietnam
We had no idea how much we were going to enjoy all of the amazing things to do in Hue, Vietnam before we visited. By the end, it had become our favourite location.
The combination of the vibrant food, kind people, amazing buzzing atmosphere, artisanal focus and the out of this world imperial architecture just hit differently. It’s somewhere we’ll never forget.
In fact, we’re still day dreaming about turmeric noodles.
We think Hue would be incredible to visit on its own, but it fits in perfectly within a larger Vietnam itinerary. Wherever you are with your planning, we’d recommend checking out our Vietnam guides.
This includes all the guides we have currently written such as the things to do in Sapa, things to do in Hanoi, things to do in Hoi An and many more (with more coming as we write them!).
We really do think that Hue is worth giving three, or even more, days to on your trip to Vietnam. It creates the perfect, bold punctuation mark in the middle of the country that somehow also manages to give calm, peace and a sense of serenity and slowing down.
We’re pretty sure that if you give yourself a little bit more time in Hue that you’ll fall in love with everything this city has to offer just as much as we did.
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