Hue Transportation

There are sidewalks on Trang Tien Bridge, so you can walk across from the city centre to the market and the Citadel. Cars are not permitted on the bridge, but it is always busy with two-wheeled vehicles.

A dragon boat cruise down the Perfume River is the best way to see the imperial palaces, tombs and temples of Hue. It costs just 25,000 VND for an all-day cruise, starting at 8am and returning at 3pm.

A minibus will collect you from your hotel and take you to the landing stage. This is included in the price, as is a simple lunch and drink. Entrance fees are not included. Also, you will need to pay extra for a motorbike taxi to take you to any site that is not close to the river.

The route takes in Thien Mu Pagoda, Tu Duc Tomb, Hon Chen Temple, Khai Dinh Tomb and Minh Mang Tomb. The boat will drop you at the the Citadel at the end of the cruise, if you request it.

You can buy a ticket at any travel agency in Hue, including Sinh Cafe.

The dragon boats stop for around half an hour at each site. You will need to jump onto the river bank and then walk up to the tombs and temples. Sometimes you will have to hop on the back of a motorbike taxi.

Travel by train in Vietnam may sound like a good idea. It's slightly more expensive than buses and of course cheaper than air.

One set back is the cafe helper cannot speak English. Order food on the train is almost near to impossible since they do not have a menu (not even a Vietnamese menu). Food menu in English, you just forget about it.

Hue is another short distance, slow pace travel city just like Hoi An. Unless you’re visiting all the distance tombs and pagodas, cyclo will be the recommended choice of transport.

These riders will wait and you just take you time visit the place. I cannot remember how much I paid to hire their service, but reasonable priced.

I always thought the cyclo was a bit, well, colonial for me and after seeing about 100 German package tour peole being cycled arounf Hoi An in convoy, I was really off the idea.

But to get around Hue it is cool. The traffic is a bit less manic than elsewhere and almost enjoyable. But it comes into its own in the Citadel. A very good way to get around the outer wall. And it is cheap. For two cyclos for four hours we generously over paid at $10 USD.

Hue has two long-distance bus stations: services from the south pull into An Cuu station, 3km southeast of the centre along Highway 1, while buses from Hanoi and the north dump you at An Hoa station, 4km northwest on Highway 1. Cyclos are on hand to take you into the centre.
Sinh Cafe open-tour buses set down and depart from either of their two offices at 2 Hung Vuong (tel 054 822121), and at 7 Nguyen Tri Phuong, next to the Thuan Hoa Hotel (tel 054 845022).
Onward bus tickets, tours, internet access and information are available here. Kim Travel open-tour buses operate from Queen Cafe 3, 8 Hung Vuong (tel 054 849327). Buses bound for Laos and Savannakhet via the Lao Bao border depart daily at 6 pm, arriving the following day at 2 pm. Tickets ($18) can be purchased at Sinh Cafe.

The train station lies about 1.5km from the centre of town at the far western end of Le Loi, a boulevard running along the south bank of the Perfume River. Note that trains out of Hue get booked up quickly, so make onward travel arrangements as early as possible.
The station is in two parts: on the right is the terminus for local and Da Nang-bound trains, on the left is the larger, main terminus for trains elsewhere in Vietnam. Tickets for the main terminus can be purchased at a separate booking office on the left-hand side, inside the hall (daily 0700-1130 & 1330-1800).