am i insane for even entertaining thoughts of hiring a driver to take me up to and around Hue for a day then head back to Hoi an the same night?
i'm thinking it could be done in a looooonng day.
if you're wondering why i'm even proposing something so ridiculous - i like Hoi An, want to spend a few days and nights here, have a good hotel that will discount my room if i stay for a full week and i do intend to remain for the full moon festival which is about a week from now. after that, time-wise, i'll have to head straight to Hanoi. the open bus tours to Hue leave Hoi An too late in the day to make something like this feasible. it's apparently a 3 hour drive.
am i crazy or does someone else out there reckon i can pull it off (and gracefully)?
thanks
y
I wouldn't bother unless you could spend the night - or two. Hue's quite a big town, it takes a bit of time to appreciate - even its best attractions, the tombs and the Citadel, take a fair bit of time to see properly. I suppose you could leave at five in the morning, check in for a city tour at eight, and be on your way back home at four or five: but that doesn't sound very graceful to me! It's always better to leave a country thinking that there's a lot of things left to do if you come back another time!
If you consider spending just one night in Hue, you’ll breathe easier. If leaving Hoian Hoian early in the morning, you’ll get to Hue at about 12 am and have half day for sight seeing, walking around the city, sample some foods … up to 8 pm. Hue goes sleep early, after 8 pm, almost no more activities for visitors do to.
It’s a bit rush, but why not do it while you can and not wonder about it when you get home !!!
Hue is worth a couple of days at least.
If you intend to see the tombs and temples, go to the Citadel, walk up the riverside and walk further inland to the less visited areas, then three days would be more like it.
We spent one night in Hue last week. Not really that exciting a place but we really enjoyed the Citadel and inner city area a lot. People were great but we felt one day was plenty for us. If you have your own driver/car, you can probably drive it in less than 2/ 1/2 hrs ea way, so not really that bad as a day trip.
<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Not really that exciting a place ...<hr></blockquote>
In some thread a while back, a poster referred to Danang as a town that just went on about its own business, without worrying too much about the tourism industry. Well, Hue obviously DOES have something of a tourism industry, but it's really only a very small part of the town - most of which goes on about its own business ... It's really got the best of both worlds - there are enough English speaking service providers not to make it all too challenging, but it's very nice to see and meet so many Vietnamese who have nothing to do with the tourism industry, too - and occupying the middle of town and the best real estate, not pushed to the fringes like in some more obviously "exciting" tourist destinations - and I'd have to include Hoi An in that group, much as I liked the place. And Hue is smaller and less chaotic than Hanoi, so it's easier to get your head around it. If I was setting up a college "semester abroad" program or something like that, I'd say that Hue would be one of the best places to base it in. I'd vote it one of the best places to see a bit of ordinary Vietnamese urban life without too much difficulty.
But not on a day tour.
One night in Hue is not enough. People who don't like Hue have usually only spent one or 2 nights (only one day? what for?). Hue is a place that is better for having time spent in it and I agree, the non tourist parts are best (like most places probably). Hue is a beautiful city and my favourite but I think it's a waste of energy just dropping in.
trusted partner
