Hue is the former imperial capital of Vietnam. It is located in the central region and is intimately connected to the imperial Nguyễn Dynasty. Its main landmark is the perfume river with a citadel and the old city on the north side, while the newer city is located on the south side.
Hue’s climate is usually drizzly, rainy or misty because the Truong Son Mountains bottle up the moisture. The city thrives through tourism because a couple of UNESCO designated sites can be found here, including several ancient temples and the Complex of Hué Monuments.
Hue has 27 administrative divisions, including 27 phường or urban wards. There are a couple of notable monuments found along the Perfume River, including Tu Duc, Minh Mang, and Khai Dinh, as well as the largest pagoda in Hue, the Thien Mu Pagoda. They also have a museum and offer day trips to the Demilitarized zone. Hue is vibrant with natural and historical tourist spots; that’s why both adventurers and history buffs would surely enjoy staying here for a couple of days.
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BEST TIME TO GO TO HUE
Nobody wants to go on a vacation while it is the monsoon season. That’s why people must know about the usual weather schedule of the place where they’re planning to go before going there. With that being said, we researched the average monthly weather and climate in Hue so that you don’t have to.
Hue has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification. It fell short of the tropical rainforest climate because of less than 60 mm of rain during March and April.
CHECK OUT: Best accommodations in Hue
Summertime in Hue
The dry season is from April to August, with July as the warmest month with an average temperature of 33°C (91°F) and April as the driest month.
Monsoon Season in Hue
The rainy season is from August to January, with January as the coldest month and November as the rainiest month. The average rainy season temperature is 20 degrees celsius (68 °F). Sometimes, it even reaches as low as 9 degrees celsius (48 °F). February and March is the spring season.
ALSO READ: Fun things to do in Hue
HOW TO GET TO HUE
There are loads of transportation modes on how to get to Hue, and they differ based on the place where you’re coming from. In this article, we would tackle the various ways to get to Hue if you’re coming from some of the most well-known tourist destinations in Vietnam.
By Bus
You can get to Hue from Da Nang both by bus and train, but bus fairs are slightly cheaper. Public buses from the bigger cities connect to the main bus stations, and most open tour buses include Hue in their itinerary, connecting via Da Nang or Hoi An.
- Bus fairs from Da Nang usually cost 173k VND from Vinh Trung Plaza to Duy Tan Huong Giang. It still depends on the transport companies, though. Vietnam Railways first-class sleeper costs 161k to 180k VND, HAV limousine VIP class costs 163k to 167k VND, Hoang Duc Limousine VIP-Class costs 163k VND, while Huong Giang Limousine VIP-Class costs 193k VND.
- Travel time from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha is around 50 minutes.
- The estimated travel time from Da Nang to Hue is more or less three hours.
CHECK BUS PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM DONG HOI
CHECK BUS PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM DA NANG
CHECK BUS PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM NHA TRANG
By Train
There are several train trips per day from various cities, stopping over to Hue. However, we narrowed down the most common train stops. Take note that prices vary depending on the train lines, as well as bunk positions. The lower bunk is the most expensive, while the top bunk is the cheapest.
- If you’re planning to get to Hue by train, the price from Hanoi (north) costs around 485k to 557k VND.
- If you’re coming from Nha Trang (south), the price range costs anywhere from 303k to 527k VND.
- The travel time from Hanoi to Hue ranges from 13 to 14 hours.
- Travel time from Nha Trang to Hue is 12 hours to 14 hours.
CHECK TRAIN PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM HANOI
CHECK TRAIN PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM DONG HOI
CHECK TRAIN PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM NHA TRANG
CHECK TRAIN PRICES & SCHEDULE FROM HCMC
By Plane
Hue’s international airport (Phu Bai) has daily flights to and from Ho Chi Minh and Hanoi but are often disrupted by poor weather conditions. Three airlines fly to Phu Bai airport, namely Jetstar Pacific, Vietjet, Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Airlines. The airport is 15 kilometres away from the city centre.
- Flight costs from Hanoi to Hue are around 450k to 850k VND. For roundtrips, it costs anywhere between 1mil to 1.5mil VND.
- The plane fare currently from Ho Chi Minh City is 800K VND
- The travel time from Hanoi to Hue airport is 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- The travel time from Ho Chi Minh airport to Hue airport is 1 hour and 25 minutes.
By Motorbike
Hanoi is one of the places that are located in North Vietnam. For those who want to get to Hue through motorbikes, you can take the route starting from Hanoi to Mai Chau, take a rest then proceed to Mai Chau to Tan Ky. After that, head over to Phong Nha, and once you reached Phong Nha, take a rest and go straight to Khe Sanh in Quang Tri.
Phong Nha’s trip to Khe Sanh in Quang Tri takes around seven hours as it is 250 kilometres far. Lastly, you will reach Hue in about six hours of riding as it is 200 kilometres away. We recommend you take this trip for at least 5-7 days and enjoy the ride.
Ho Chi Minh city is located in the Southern part of Vietnam. If you are coming from here and planning to get to Hue, the most straightforward way to take is along the beach. But you can also take Ho Chi Minh’s road to Dalat, which is approximately 315 kilometres, take a rest there, then proceed to Nha Trang, which is 214 kilometres away. Take a rest once again, then from Nha Trang, head straight to Danang, then Hoi An and finally, to Hue. This one takes longer.
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FINAL THOUGHTS
Now that we provided you with how to get to Hue, we hope that you would consider going here as it is a very historical place that one must visit when going to the country. Hue is regarded as the spiritual and intellectual centre of Vietnam. It has over 100 palaces, temples, tombs and pagodas, which is very interesting for those fond of preserved ancient structures that embody a place’s history and culture.
Some of the country’s most essential highlights happened there, such as the battle of Hue, which is one of the longest and deadliest battles in the country.
Currently, 340,000 people are living in Hue. It has been the source of a lot of Vietnam’s astronomy, medicine, literature and music. 1,700 of their 3,00 dishes are made in Hue. The city isn’t only limited to historical sites; they have green rice paddies and the famous Perfume River, filled with houseboats and sampans. Despite Hue’s richness in history and culture, it is a serene and meditative place where one can relax, reflect and take a trip down their memory lane in peace.