SandyD1

Hello,
I am traveling to Vietnam, and unfortunately have only about 9 days to do so. I plan on concentrating on Hanoi and day trips from Hanoi. I am also trying to decide between Hue and Hoi An. I prefer strolling through cities, shopping (such as local farmers markets and traditional shops with local crafts), seeing local sites, sitting at cafes watching the world go by, and taking in a museum (but only for a little while). From experience, I prefer Florence to Rome, and Cuzco to Lima. Please let me know which you preferred and why if you can. Thanks in advance

christo

I think you would prefer Hoi An from what you say. Having said that I just returned and I loved Hué for its Imperial Palaces, the wide Perfume River and boulevards. I did not look about the city itself too much. Our hotel the Saigon Morin had wonderfull rooms and advantageous position by the bridge and river.
Maybe you can see both as the flight from Hanoi lands in Hué. You could take an early flight, take a tour of the palaces, overnight then get a drive to Hoi An the next morning. It takes about 2-3 hours and is lovely passing through the mountains and along the ocean.
Hoi An is smaller,with a nice market and compact streets with many shops and restaurants.
The guide I used is great, Nguyen Anh Co,email is [email protected] He can arrange the tours and a driver and car.
Bon Voyage

SandyD1

Christo,
Thanks so much for the info! Sandy

shooshy

Having just been to Hue and Hoi An in January I feel I can comment on the 2 cities.Hue in itself is not a particularly interesting city but the touring from there is great as the previous poster mentioned.We ate our worst meal in Vietnam in Hue and we may have missed them but certainly did not see interesting cafes or restaurants there.We also stayed at the saigon Morin hotel and found it quite acceptable-very large rooms but a strong musty smell.
Hoi An on the other hand is a charming small town with wonderful cafes and restaurants positioned on a river and very near the beach.We stayed at the Victoria Hoi an Resort which is right on the beach{Japanese style beachfront rooms are nice}.It is 5 mins by motorbike or shuttle into town where it is great fun to have inexpensive clothes tailor made.We also attended a cooking course at the Lotus restaurant{I think thats what it was called} which we all thoroughly enjoyed.If I had to choose between the 2 towns I would probably vote for Hoi An.Happy Travels!

pat_woolford

Have also been to both Hue and Hoi An quite recently, and think from what you say, you'd prefer Hoi An. Also stayed in Morin at Hue - a nice colonial feel to it but if that's where shooshy had the worst meal in Vietnam, would have to agree. This was in the "French" restaurant in the hotel, greasy duck was truly awful. The Hoi An Life Resort is a lovely, quiet place to stay, by the river and only a few minutes walk into town - good restaurant and only a couple of minutes walk into some amazing little eateries with wonderful, inexpensive dishes.

travelersusan

One more vote for Hoi An. We spent one day in Hue, and 3 in Hoi An, and could have lingered in Hoi An even longer. Absolutely charming city!

Neil_Oz

I vote for Hoi An too. It's a great place to just walk around the old town, the markets, the shops and galleries. Hai's Scout Cafe also does (or did) cooking lessons. I believe someone runs a more elaborate half-day cooking class which includes buying ingredients at the markets - this may have been in a previous thread, so it would be worth running a search on this board.

butch

We have been to both Hue and Hoi An and we would vote for Hoi An. We have been there two years in a row and will return next year when we head back to Vietnam.

We stayed at the Hoi An Riveside Resort which is right on the river. It is a smaller more intimate setting - lovely rooms, an excellent restaurant for peaceful breakfast and dinner and a small but relaxing pool area. The staff there are very friendly and one of the reasons we stayed there the second visit.
The town is very charming - great shopping, especially for clothes and some fabulous art work at excellent prices.
The market is one of the best. I went early (6AM) with the head chef from the hotel when I took a cooking class and he walked me through and gave me a great tour, explaining all the different foods.

There are some wonderful restaurants in town as well.

Enjoy!

SidB

Another vote for Hoi An. Hue was OK, but I'm not a great culture vulture.

The shopping is amazing, as are the food, and the people. There is some history too.

Strangely, the only bad meal I had in two weeks was at Hue.