Thanh Hoa is a city in the Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is a major crossroads for buses to the Lao border at Na Meo, but otherwise the town has little of interest to the average tourist.

Get in

You can get here by bus or by train from Hanoi. The city is 153 km south of Hanoi, about 3 hours by bus or 3½ hours by train. Bus tickets are 100,000-120,000 dong for a seat on air-con bus. The road is good. Train tickets from 100,000 dong for air-con hard-seat class.

You can also get in from Xam Nua (Sam Neua), Laos for 180,000 kip via the Na Meo border crossing. It takes about 10-12 hours along winding mountain roads in a small bus with padded seats. The aisle will be full of rice bags.

Get around

Best choice in every town in Vietnam to get around is "xe ôm" (moto-taxi). Negotiate price before you ride. For a trip of 5 km, pay 50,000 dong. Meter taxis are available with the same price throughout the country, call +84 37 858585 or dial 858585 if using a land line phone in town.

There are town buses you can use to get to the bus station and other areas around town.

See

Sam Son Beach is located in Sam Son town, a small provincial town 16 km from Thanh Hoa. The beach is crowded from Apr-Sep. There are buses from Thanh Hoa to the town, departing every 30 minutes from the bus station.

Ben En National Park is a good destination for eco-tours. This park is 46 km southwest of Thanh Hoa. It is 16,000 ha of mountains and jungles with many kinds of wild animals and tropical trees. There is a big lake in the park, covering 4,000 ha containing 21 islands.

Do

Come to Thanh hoa, you can walk around and see the city, a typical city of central Vietnam with an economy growing strong.

Buy

• Souvenirs are available at supermarkets
• Big C Hypermarket
• Co-op Mart Supermarket
• Thanh Hóa Supermarket
• HC Electronics Supermarket
• Chợ Tây Thành (West Market)
• Chợ Nam Thành (South Market)
• Chợ Vườn Hoa (Flowergarden Market)

Sleep

Hotel rooms average 200,000 dong per night.

• Hoa Hung Hotel (On Hwy 1). En suite double rooms with TV. 
• Lam Kinh Hotel, Đông Hương new urban zone, Thanh Hoa City (approx. 5 km by taxi from the city centre). Four-star hotel. 1,300,000-3,000,000 dong. 
• Phù Đổng Hotel, 68 Duong Dinh Nghe street. Three-star hotel. 
• Long Anh Hotel, 05 Phố Cao Thắng, ☏ +84 237 3886 868. A modern, large three-star hotel. 500,000 dong per night. (updated Nov 2019)

Go next

• Hanoi - frequent buses from the bus station or flag one down on Hwy 1.
• Ninh Binh - a good base for visiting Tam Coc or Cuc Phuong National Park. Takes just over an hour. 40,000 dong.
• Sam Neua - daily bus to Laos leaves from the Western Bus Station. Note that according to Lao immigration officials, Laotian visas on arrival will no longer be available at Na Meo crossing after 31 December, 2019, so you must have a Laotian visa beforehand.