Begin your journey to Hue, traveling along the northern coast of Da Nang and making a stop at the top of Hai Van Pass to explore the remnants of war bunkers.
Upon arrival in Hue, we will visit the Citadel, the city's prime attraction, which encompasses the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City, and the Emperor's Private Residence. Built from 1804 to 1833 during the Nguyen Dynasty - the last feudal kingdom in Vietnam - the Citadel is fortified by 2-kilometer ramparts and surrounded by a tranquil moat. Inside the Citadel, you can explore a variety of structures, including the Imperial City Gates, the Purple Forbidden City, as well as temples, pavilions, and beautifully landscaped gardens. Caution: Visitors are required to wear shirts with sleeves and pants covering knees when visiting the Hue Citadel.
After a short break for lunch, we will embark on a boat trip along the picturesque Perfume River, making a stop at Thien Mu Pagoda.
Thien Mu Pagoda, This active Buddhist monastery, dating back to 1601, houses poignant historical displays, including a car belonging to a former monk who set himself alight in 1963 to protest against the South Vietnamese regime's treatment of Buddhists.
Finally, we will visit the serene Khai Dinh Royal Tomb, designed to blend harmoniously with its natural surroundings and built according to feng shui principles.
Great tour but a little pricey at $200 USD each, 3 person private tour. Consider group tour if you would like to do cheaper. Very hot also, lucky we had very good air conditioning.
I booked the tour from Danang to Hue with Hoi An Express and had the chance to visit the magnificent Imperial City, the Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh, and the Thien Mu Pagoda. The tour was fantastic and I have to give a special shoutout to our excellent guide Tom and driver Nam. Tom, also known as Mot, was knowledgeable and friendly, providing me with a wealth of information about the history and culture of the area. Nam was a professional and excellent driver, who ensured our safety and comfort throughout the journey. He was driving super safely, which is outstanding in the sometimes chaotic traffic in Vietnam. The tour started on time and I was picked up from my hotel. Despite being the only one who booked the tour, it still took place and I was treated like a VIP. I never felt rushed and all of my questions were thoroughly answered by Tom. We had a delicious lunch, a seven-course meal, served in a nice atmosphere. The car we traveled in was new, had excellent AC, and was super comfortable. We took a scenic route to Hue, which added to the overall experience. The Imperial City of Hue was the highlight of the tour, with its stunning architecture and rich history. The attention to detail in the restoration of the buildings was evident and added to the overall experience. While visiting the Thien Mu Pagoda, I also learned about the religions in Vietnam and the life of the monks. The Mausoleum of Emperor Khai Dinh was also a fascinating visit, showcasing the unique blend of traditional Vietnamese and European architectural styles. I can recommend this tour to anyone visiting the area. The combination of scenic drives, historical sightseeing, and an attentive guide and driver made for a truly memorable experience.
We had an impeccable your. Our tour guide, Mr. Mot, ensured that we had a fun time. Would recommend taking this tour of you are in Hoi An.
We really enjoyed our day out in Hue, thanks to Eric and our driver. We had a great time exploring the forbidden city and really appreciated the insight that Eric gave us at the monastery. The lunch was nice.. but probably nicer than it needed to be. We should have been happy to have paid a little less for the tour (it is quite expensive, comparatively) and enjoyed some street food somewhere. Seeing the throne room was amazing, and Eric's descriptions allowed us to really visualise what things would have been like. We were worried that we were stretching things a bit, by doing a day trip here from Hoi An... but it was entirely worth it. Would recommend this to people that have a day to spare. Thank you Eric!
My friend and I were extremely impressed with this tour. Our tour guide Sang was exceptional in all areas. He was helpful, kind, knowledgeable and great at his job. Sang was so nice he even generously paid for my coffee. We also felt safe with our driver at all times even though the traffic was very busy he managed to get us there and back with great ease. Sang has made our trip even better than it already was. I will recommend this tour to all my friends because of the great experience he gave us. Thank you so much Hoi an express. Could not be happier. A special thank you to sang for being such a welcoming and amazing person to have as our guide!
Just finished a Hue day tour today with our great knowledgeable English guide Sang. I am a travel agent visiting from Australia and will be sure to recommend Sang and Hoi An express to my clients as Sang did such a great job. Thank you for your time and expertise. Hoi An express should promote Sang for his great job skills !!! Thank you for a great day.
Great day visiting the heritage sites in Hue. Boat trip on the river was pleasant but nothing special. Very informative guide although we struggled to understand him at times as his English wasn't that great but he certainly tried and he was very knowledgeable. The Palace and tomb were very interesting.
Was very disappointed by this tour, which we took from Hoi An to Hue on 26 June. The tour guide was really not that good, he seemed more interested in getting us back to Hoi An in record time. As a result he rushed the visits to the Pagoda, the Palace and the Imperial Tomb, giving us very little time to read the information on display. The 6 course restaurant meal was very nice but we would rather have had less time sitting down and more time actually viewing the sights. We had been told by Hoi An Express office that we would leave Hue about 3 pm (we reached Hue at 10.00 as it was a 3 hour journey from Hoi An) but we were in the mini bus and on the return trip by 13.45 - and the guide fell asleep on the way back!!! To be honest we felt we had wasted our money and a day of our holiday.
the description sounds great, so we booked this tour, but what a disappointment: the tour started with a visit to a "marble shop" where you were invited to buy stuff...the stop on the mountains for the view was mainly a view on bunkers, but not a good point to see the coast...then came a longer break at a lake (with not much to see), where driver and guide took about an hour to eat...on the boat trip to the pagoda you were again invited to buy stuff nobody needs...the pagoda sightseeing was finished in less than ten minutes (the guide racing ahead all the time), the tour through the imperial palace took about 20 minutes, visits only to the main hall and one other building, no exploring of the huge area (it might have been even shorter if we wouldn't have stopped for taking pictures), one hour lunch, the mausoleum within 10 minutes and then back... I'm aware that it was quite warm that day and the main goal of the guide was obviously to spend as much time as possible in the car with AC my suggestion: book a private car+driver for one day and buy a good guide book instead of spending money on this tour
The tour guide was only polite but failed to present the day tour from Hoi An to Hue in greater details with history and stories, which he committed at the beginning. Instead he left us unattended at most of the sites including the marble carving stores (wasted some time there), while rushing the tours in the palace, pagoda and the imperial tomb. Part of the reasons perhaps was due to his English presentation skills. Nothing much heard but only “ladies and gentlemen”. However we were grateful as he took our advice to stop over at Dam Lap An for a quick visit after we made our request.
I didn't have a clue what the day would hold but was pleasantly surprised when we were promptly picked up in a very nice, air-conditioned passenger van outside our hotel. We stopped at a marble statue-making store and felt pressured to buy something. Yeah, we could've said "no" but we it was awkward and we felt trapped. Next time, I'll tell them to keep driving. After having to return to the DaNang because other passengers had gotten on the wrong bus, we finally made our way up the mountain and stopped at another "pressure to buy" spot across from a bunker on top of a hill. Another unnecessary stop unless you just like climbing. The rest of the day went smoothly and the tour guide was very nice and polite. He handled the passenger debacle well, but it put us behind the well-planned schedule, so I felt rushed throughout the walk through the attractions. The lunch stop was at a fantastic restaurant, apparently #1 in Hue. The food was really good and the bathrooms were clean. The attractions were interesting and I'm glad we took the time to see them.
<p>Transportation was timely and comfortable, but the tour guide was terrible. We received very little information about the place we were going or the itinerary since he didn't talk much while on bus on the way to Hue or once we got there: total of perhaps less than 30 minutes all day for the 12 hours trip. He told us he was 77 years old and he had hearing problem. Combined with his poor English, it was hard to communicate with him and understand what he said. We had to tap on his shoulder to ask him questions each time to avoid yelling at him. He had no time schedule to follow for the tour and told us we would move to the next place whenever the last person was done and came back to the bus. Consequently, we were late to the restaurant for our lunch and had to wait for our food to be the last group to finish the lunch around 3pm, and cut short on the afternoon visits. It was the most disappointing tour experience for us, especially after reading previous reviews about other good tour guides for this tour.</p>
<p>Nice to stop by hai-can pass. The trip is quite rush, only touch-and-go, not recommended for those who wish to spend more time on the visit places. Tour guide did not explain much on the sites as well and english command is not very good, just for basic communications.</p>
This is an excellent day trip, picked up bang on time in brand new vehicle, both the driver and guide were very good. Lunch included and was a very high standard. Also top marks to the company itself, great communication from them. Would definately use again.
<p>Tour guide was great. I was born in Vietnam but had left the country over 30 years ago. He gave me great history and information about Vietnam that I don't know. Thanks it was a beautiful day despite the fact it was raining but it worth it</p>
<p>Great tour of the palace. Long drive and hot but well worth it. Very informative. The pagoda and the Emporers burial site was also good.<br/> Our guide was very knowledgable and spoke very good English. A very friendly person.<br/> The meal at the restaurant was first class as was the service.<br/> The driver was also accomodating and was prepared to stop if you wished to take photos. He also did a nice tour of Danang as an extra.<br/> Value for money and highly recommended, especially for history of which I know very little of.<br/> Ray and Barb.</p>
<p>Splendid as excursion but super because driver and guide took us via the Hai Van Pass as a plus <br/> Guide was very knowledgable and commented very well Diner was 5 stars as was the location of the diner <br/> The whole trip was a hightlight 5 stars for this one and 10 for driver and guide Martine - Belgium</p>
<p>This was a day trip from Hoi An 6 of us plus two other couples, so a nice small tour group, we were warned about the long drive there and back, but, with an excellent air conditioned minibus, very good driver, really jolly and pleasant guide who gave information and tales about the places we were travelling through, and discussed the local culture and ways of life and a couple scenic stops meant that drive became an enjoyable part of the tour itself. We had enough time to visit the places in Hue and have lunch at a relaxed pace without having to rush.<br/> We first took the dragon boat on the perfume river to visit the Buddhist Temple/ Pagoda, then visited the Palace/ Forbidden City although bombed extensively during the war, there is still quite a lot there to see and get a very good idea about the Palace in its heyday. We then had an excellent multi course lunch at the well set out Thao restaurant Vietnamese food, very well presented we had seen and selected the menu before leaving UK. After lunch, we visited the Tomb of the emperors of the Nguyen Dynasty.<br/> We visited in early May and it was very hot walking around the sites, so need to be prepared for this with shades/ hats, water, right clothing and sun cream!<br/> Excellent tour overall, very good value for money, we managed to see the key things we wanted to.</p>
<p>All in all, the tour was nice, and well worth the long trip from Hoi An. Personally, it would have been nice to spend more time in the Forbidden City, but there's only so much that can be packed into a single day's tour. Speaking of which, the tour was supposed to be approximately 8 hours, but we were picked up at our hotel at 7am and returned to Hoi An ancient town at 8pm! There was no complaining from any of us, though, as there was no rush-rush to end the tour on time. The only real downside to the tour was that our guide could have been a bit more well-informed and proficient in English to answer the many questions we had. In the end, I just gave up asking any questions at all.</p>
<p>Traditional Vietnam. History told like a storybook, loved it.</p>
<p>This tour was amazing. Good guide and best restaurant ever in a tour!</p>
Tivemos a sorte de ter esse tour só pra nós, um casal apenas, foi muito interessante, o guia Eric é muito profissional, recomendo!
They picked us up at 7 o’clock complied with the agreement, they give you water for the journey and during, the guide super correct and polite and our driver super groomed and polite, had no complaint, thank you!
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