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Da Nang/ Hue/ Hoi An: Time split and where to stay.

Da Nang/ Hue/ Hoi An: Time split and where to stay.

Old May 7, 2019, 12:00 pm
  #1  
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Da Nang/ Hue/ Hoi An: Time split and where to stay.

Hi,

We are looking to spend 6 days in this area next month.

Can anyone recommend how to split our time between the places? Ideally, we'd like to stay in one hotel - but two might be manageable.

We're not really beach people and prefer activities, history, culture and sightseeing.

Thanks, TD.
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Old May 7, 2019, 1:21 pm
  #2  
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2 days in Hue and 4 days in Hoi An. No reason to stay in Da Nang with your interests - you can visit on a day trip from Hoi An if you really want.
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Old May 7, 2019, 9:37 pm
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Agree with post #1 !
If you want to stay in Danang, one night is max.
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Old May 7, 2019, 10:05 pm
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Hue to Hoi An or vice-versa is a bit of haul. Spend a day in Hue and 30 minutes in Hoi An, which IMHO is a total tourist trap. If you're interested in history read a book. If you're interested in culture go to HCMC or Hanoi.
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Old May 7, 2019, 11:05 pm
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Originally Posted by SK AAR
2 days in Hue and 4 days in Hoi An. No reason to stay in Da Nang with your interests - you can visit on a day trip from Hoi An if you really want.
3 and 3 I'd say. Hue was surprisingly good last year. You can easily spend two days around the city and for the last day you can go here
https://news.yahoo.com/vietnams-city...amp;soc_trk=ma

And there is no need to spend all three days in Hoi An. One day is sufficient and you can spend two days booking tours like boat tours and exploring Marble Mountains.

Last advice - book a train ticket from Hue to Hoi An. It is one of the best/memorable train rides, track follows the coastline.
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Old May 7, 2019, 11:11 pm
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We spent just under a month in Vietnam recently.

Overall we found it just ok. The worst, for us, is the noise. Particularly the Viet obsession with scooter horns. And the cities in Vietnam are not particularly walkable because moving (and constantly beeping) scooters fill the streets and parked scooters fill the sidewalks leaving nowhere to actually walk.

We really did NOT love Hanoi and only spent a few days there. So loud. So unwalkable. Our views on Hanoi: https://readyjetroam.com/2019/03/12/...ot-love-hanoi/

We were in Da Nang for about 3 weeks. But we were there on slow travel working on our business, not touring. It's an interesting city to get to know...but in the way, say, Pittsburgh is an interesting city: it's really just a city...not much to 'see.' The beach is ok, but we only ever went to it once...and we lived 4 blocks from it! It's not really set up for spending a lot of time on. But it's a cheap place to be so I understand your desire to base out of there. My advice is: don't. Stay where you want to be. Lodging is cheap all over Vietnam if you are willing to leave western hotels behind. Take advantage of it!

We spent a couple days in Hoi An. I agree with the assessment that it's a tourist town...then again, we were there as tourists so it made for a lovely couple of day despite the throngs of tourists (of which we were two!). The restaurants were awesome. The beach at An Bang was an added bonus. Our report on two days in Hoi An: https://readyjetroam.com/2019/03/20/two-days-in-hoi-an/

Have fun! We didn't love Vietnam the way we love Thailand and parts of Malaysia, but it's an experience we'll never forget!
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Old May 8, 2019, 11:28 am
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When I was there several years ago I did 2 nights Hue and 2 nights Hoi An and stopped in DaNang on the drive from Hue to Hoi An to see the Cham museum which was a nice break to the drive.

I liked Hue quite a bit. The imperial tombs are quite interesting and the citadel is big. Weather was not great for my time in Hoi An but it was worth spending a day walking around the town. I stayed at the old Art Deco hotel in Hue (can't recall the same off the top of my head) which was very nice.
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Old May 8, 2019, 10:26 pm
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Thanks for all the great advice and ideas.

I've actually been to Vietnam several times before including to HCMC and Hanoi. I actually love the hustle and bustle of the cities there. It'll be my first time in this area though.

What makes it a bit more difficult is that there are a few of us and backpacks are out of the question (not for me - but for some of the others!) which makes traveling around more difficult.

Looking at the distance from Da Nang to Hue (2.5-3 hours by train), we were thinking of splitting our time with three nights at Da Nang and three at Hoi An with a daytrip to Hue. We might need to reconsider as so many are against Da Nang.
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Old May 9, 2019, 12:26 pm
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Da Nang is a big 'real' city with not much on offer for the casual tourist. I'd skip it.
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Old May 9, 2019, 5:46 pm
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you should be able to hire a car/van relatively easily to take you between places. I liked the drive from Hue to Hoi An. We took a route that went up through the mountains. I don't remember how long it took
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Old May 9, 2019, 8:35 pm
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Originally Posted by glennaa11
you should be able to hire a car/van relatively easily to take you between places. I liked the drive from Hue to Hoi An. We took a route that went up through the mountains. I don't remember how long it took
There are two ways - one goes via mountains and takes about 5h and second - via tunnel. Unless specifically agreed in advance, tunnel route is default and you won't see much.

I still suggest to take train - quite a good experience, and even for four people it will cost less than hiring a car. Just make sure that you don't book 'private car' which is not much difference than VN Railways cars.
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Old May 10, 2019, 7:26 am
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Originally Posted by invisible
There are two ways - one goes via mountains and takes about 5h and second - via tunnel. Unless specifically agreed in advance, tunnel route is default and you won't see much.

I still suggest to take train - quite a good experience, and even for four people it will cost less than hiring a car. Just make sure that you don't book 'private car' which is not much difference than VN Railways cars.
I had a private driver to Hue and after I mentioned how I wanted to take the train , he took a way that didnt include the tunnel and we went along the coast for much of the way and passed by where there was a US Observation post. Best of all it didnt take 5 hours more like 2 and I was able to view at several points the beautiful coast line, best of both worlds
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Old May 11, 2019, 6:40 am
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I think it's decided that we are going to split it between Hoi An and Hue either 3/3 or 4/3. Thanks for the advice above.

We would really need a taxi/ car to take us between the places. Any recommendations of somewhere to book that with a good price?
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Old May 11, 2019, 7:41 am
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I spent a week in Hoi An in April. Yes the centre (with walking streets) is very touristy but you don't have to venture far from those streets to avoid "Massage, sir, madam". Also the centre is totally different during the day and at night. It is a must to see at night - at least once.

A few streets from the walking streets are some pleasant riverside cafes with reasonable prices (eg. River View Restaurant).

I'll put in a plug for the boutique hotel we stayed at - Hoi An Estuary Villa. It's in a quiet suburban street facing the river. Good breakfasts, refreshing pool, easy walk to the beach - and even if you aren't a beach person they really are quiet nice and there are good family restaurants nearby (eg. Co Hong), and they have a shuttle bus every night into Hoi An centre. We found it a good balance and would easily spend 4 or 5 days there again.
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Old May 17, 2019, 12:18 am
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Originally Posted by TravelDream
We would really need a taxi/ car to take us between the places. Any recommendations of somewhere to book that with a good price?
No reason to book this is advance; most likely you will be charged much more than if you book when you get there. Literally, you can book a transfer between Hue - Hoi An anytime and everywhere; any tourist information desk, travel agency etc will do this for you; they are everywhere! The easiest solution is to ask you hotel to book it for you; may not be as cheap as if you inquire around and book yourself, but it will give you the comfort that the taxi will show up at your hotel, with a good driver, reasonable car etc. I can't remember the price level for this trip (I did Hue to Hoi-An on the back of a motor bike for around USD 50 with a lot of sights en route; awesome trip! but just ask a couple of places when you get there and you will have a good idea of what to expect in terms of price
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