Hue Transportation

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The most easy bordercrossing from Laos to Vietnam would be Savannkhet to Lao Bao (border) to Dong Ha to Hue. There is a throu bus from Savannkhet to Hue, or lokal bus to border, cab to Lao Bao busstation (2-3km), lokal bus to Dong Ha, quality of buses and roads is not the best.

Don"t pay the $12 for a taxi the hotels want to get you from the Airport.

I got the Airporter bus, cheaper again, at only 35,000dong, dropped off at your Hotel. A good service. They have a desk at the Airport, you can't miss them.

Typical rentals are $8~10 to start. License will not be checked or required, typically just show your passport. Helmets are given and recommended, but you will not incur any problems if you do not wear them. Hue is not a large city and in my opinion is easy to navigate. The hotel or wherever you book your scooter can give you a map.

I've ridden with 3 grown westerners on scooter in Quang Ngai and its not easy... its comical, but not easy or very safe. Stick to two people.

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Highway 1 runs from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City directly through Hue. This, along with the neighboring narrow-gauge single track rail line, is the most important transportation link in the country. It is said that there is no discernible method to the traffic system in Vietnam, but compared to India or Nepal things seem downright disciplined. Like most of Asia, the horn is constantly used both in warning and sometimes just for the heck of it. There are 86 million people living in Vietnam and wisely the country makes it very difficult for families to own cars. If they used cars instead of motor scooter, chaos would sink the country in lieu of a infrastructure.

Driving on Highway 1 day after day, I found it amazing that the country could function on such a small road - this is after a lot of money has been sunk into improvements - where vehicles can rarely get out of third gear. I did see new freeway construction - actually probably toll ways - in Ho Chi Minh City but the eventual reconstruction of Highway 1 will be some time in the offing.

The neighboring narrow-gauge single track line which passes for Vietnam’s rail system was also linked to upgrade stories in papers I read. One project - which cost $54 billion and/or $28 billion in the same article - is supposed to re-engineer the rail system so a trip between Hanoi and Saigon would only take five to ten - again the same article! - hours instead of the present 30-40 hours.

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Hue train station is at the south-western end of the town off Le Loi and was built by the French colonists during the French Indochina period. The station is influenced by French architecture and is today considered one of the most beautiful railway stations in Vietnam. Destinations include Ninh Binh (205,000d, 12.5 to 13.5 hours, three daily), Vinh (143,000d, up to 10 hours, seven daily), Dong Ha (25,000d, six daily) and Danang (40,000d, 2.5 to four hours, seven daily). A second-class sleeper ticket from Ho Chi Minh City on the much superior 'express' SE2-SE6 train to Hue costs between 588,000 & 740,000 dong depending on the level you're on (1,2 or 3).

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Para visitar el rio del perfume se cogen unas barcas que te hacen todo el recorrido
Tienen la caracteristica de que en ellas va toda la familia y al salir te preguntan lo que quieres comer y la señora en una parada llama a una barca de remo que la lleva al mercado , compra la comida y luego durante el viaje la prepara

%To visit the Perfume river there are some boats that you all the way
It has the characteristic that there is a whole family in the boat and after the departure , they are asking you what do you want to eat and the lady at a call goes on a rowing boat up to the market to buy food and then she prepare it in the boat during the trip

Hue is a far bigger place than Hoi An but small enough to go around by bicycle instead of by taxi or xe om, if you'll limit yourself to the vicinity of the citadel and the banks of the Perfume River. However should you wish to rent a bike, rent directly from one of the shops along the street. Hotels normally charge double the cost and they get the bikes from one of these shops anyway.

So for US$ 2, you could rent a bike for an entire day from Nam Thanh. His shop is on 48 Le Loi St. right in front of the Century Hotel.

Bicycles are readily available and cheap in Hue. You can ride your bike nearly everywhere, but be smart and lock it properly if you leave it unattended.

You cannot bring a bike into the Forbidden City. But you can bring a bike inside the Citadel. The Citadel is an open network of streets, allowing free traffic, motorized and otherwise.

I heard that the boats will allow you to bring bikes along, but you may have to negotiate so that they do not try to charge you a bit extra. Bikes are not allowed inside the temple compounds.