Thanh Hóa travel guide
Nem chua, a stone citadel and the road to Pu Luong
A provincial city on the Ma River, three hours south of Hanoi, used as a base for Sam Son beach, the Ho Dynasty Citadel and Pu Luong. April to June is warm and before the main rains. A night or two is enough. Prices are low, and many passports enter visa-free.
Thanh Hoa sits on the Ma River about 150 km south of Hanoi, roughly three hours by bus or a little longer by train. The city itself has little to hold a visitor, but it is the obvious base for a cluster of places that do: Sam Son beach, the Ho Dynasty Citadel and the hill country of Pu Luong.
Sam Son, 16 km away with buses every half hour, is a big domestic beach resort that heaves from April to September. The Ho Dynasty Citadel, a UNESCO site, is a late 14th-century fortress of huge cut stone blocks now standing among rice fields. Ben En National Park, 46 km south-west, has a large lake dotted with islands and forest around it.
Before leaving, buy nem chua, the tangy fermented pork rolls sold in leaf parcels all over town. Overland travellers can also cross into Laos from here via the Na Meo border, a 10 to 12 hour ride on winding mountain roads to Sam Neua.
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A beach, a UNESCO stone citadel, a lake park and hill villages within reach.
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Best time to visit Thanh Hóa
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Highs of 27-33C with rain still moderate; beach season at Sam Son and green fields in the hills.
Rain builds to about 394 mm in September, with typhoon risk on the coast.
Highs around 20-22C and under 30 mm of rain a month; fine for the citadel, too cold for swimming.
Sam Son is at its most crowded on summer weekends, when Hanoi families pour in; visit midweek.
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Getting there
Ga Thanh Hoa trains, Hanoi buses and the Na Meo road from Laos
Thanh Hóa is simple to reach because it lies on both the north–south railway and the main highway, about 150 km south of Hanoi. Air-conditioned buses take about three hours to the city bus station; trains are slower, about three and a half hours to Ga Thanh Hoa, but more comfortable. Tho Xuan Airport (THD), inland to the west, has domestic flights from Ho Chi Minh City and other southern cities, handy if you are coming from the far south. Overland travellers from Laos can come in from Sam Neua via the Na Meo border crossing, a long 10 to 12 hours on winding mountain roads in a small bus, often with sacks of rice filling the aisle.
- Bus from Hanoi
- About 3 hours on an air-conditioned bus
- Train
- About 3.5 hours from Hanoi to Ga Thanh Hoa
- Tho Xuan Airport (THD)
- Domestic flights, inland west of the city
- From Laos
- Bus from Sam Neua via Na Meo, 10 to 12 hours
- On the Na Meo route, carry snacks and water; stops are few on the mountain roads.
Where to stay
Duong Dinh Nghe hotels, Dong Huong or the Sam Son seafront
Thanh Hóa sees few foreign tourists, and its hotels mainly serve business travellers and Vietnamese families heading for the coast. Base yourself near Duong Dinh Nghe for trains and the citadel, in the newer Dong Huong district for a quieter, larger hotel, or on the Sam Son seafront if the beach is the point.
- City centre
- Three-star hotels such as Phu Dong on Duong Dinh Nghe and Long Anh on Cao Thang; close to restaurants and transport, busy traffic
- Dong Huong new urban zone
- The four-star Lam Kinh Hotel, about 5 km from the centre; calmer and more spacious, but you need taxis
- Highway 1
- Simple roadside hotels such as Hoa Hung; handy for drivers, nothing nearby
- Sam Son
- Beach hotels 16 km away; lively from April to September, many closed in winter
- Avoid Sam Son on summer weekends unless you enjoy crowds; midweek rooms are easier and cheaper.
Getting around
Xe om bargaining and the half-hourly Sam Son bus
Getting around Thanh Hóa is straightforward. Xe om (motorbike taxis) are the fastest way across town if you agree the price first, while metered taxis and ride-hailing apps remove the haggling. For Sam Son, 16 km away on the coast, a public bus leaves every half hour from the city. Town buses link the centre with the bus station and outlying districts, and buses to Sam Son beach leave the bus station every 30 minutes for the 16 km run. For the Ho Dynasty Citadel and Ben En National Park, each roughly an hour's drive, hire a car with driver or book a ride-hailing car for the day and ask it to wait. Pu Luong needs a longer transfer into the hills, usually arranged through your homestay.
- Xe om
- Quickest for short hops; fix the fare first
- Bus to Sam Son
- Every 30 minutes from the bus station
- Car with driver
- Ho Dynasty Citadel, Ben En and Pu Luong transfers
- Metered taxi or app
- Around town and to the station
- Ask your Pu Luong homestay to arrange the pick-up from Thanh Hoa; public transport into the reserve is thin.
Know before you go
What makes Thanh Hóa worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- The Ho Dynasty Citadel, its massive stone gates standing alone among the fields.
- Pu Luong's terraced valleys, with homestays in stilt houses.
- Nem chua bought by the bag for the road.
Good to know
- Sam Son is a domestic resort, loud and crowded in season; do not expect a quiet beach.
- Agree xe om fares first, or use a meter taxi.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Thanh Hóa, month by month
Thanh Hóa has a hot, humid summer, when Sam Son's sea is warm from April onwards, and a cool, damp winter. Tap a month to see averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Thanh Hóa (Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology, via Wikipedia).
Tay Do's stone gates, Ben En Lake and a Sam Son evening
Start a Thanh Hóa visit at the Ho Dynasty Citadel, known locally as Tay Do, about an hour's drive north-west of the city. Built in the late 14th century and listed by UNESCO in 2011, it is a rare stone fortress in a country of earth ramparts, with four gates of huge limestone blocks fitted without mortar.
The walls stand among rice fields with few other visitors, which is part of the appeal. Allow a couple of hours, including the small exhibition, then return to the city for a lunch of nem chua and rice.
Spend the late afternoon at Sam Son, 16 km away by the half-hourly bus. This is a Vietnamese resort through and through, with crowded sand, seafood restaurants and karaoke, but the beach is long and the sea is warm from April onwards. Watch the fishing boats come in and eat grilled squid at a beachfront stall before heading back.
On day two, choose between the lake and the hills. Ben En National Park, 46 km south-west, wraps forest around a large reservoir dotted with 21 islands; boats cross the lake and trails lead into the woods. Pu Luong, further west, rewards a longer transfer with terraced valleys and Thai stilt-house homestays, best given at least one night.
Nem chua, cha tom and banh gai Tu Tru
Thanh Hóa is the home of nem chua, the sour fermented pork roll every Vietnamese traveller buys here. Lean pork is minced with pork skin, garlic and chilli, wrapped in guava leaves and left for a few days until tangy. Bunches of the parcels are sold everywhere, and fried or grilled nem chua is a favourite beer snack.
The second local favourite is cha tom, shrimp cakes grilled over charcoal in a bamboo clamp, then wrapped in rice paper with herbs, green banana and pickled papaya and dipped in a sweet and sour sauce. Small street eateries in the centre specialise in it, and the smoke drifting from their grills is the best signpost.
For something to carry home, look for banh gai Tu Tru, a dark sticky rice cake coloured with ramie leaves, filled with mung bean, coconut and pork fat and wrapped in banana leaf. It comes from the village of Tu Tru in Tho Xuan district and is sold across the province.
Sam Son adds seafood to the list. Beachfront restaurants steam crab, grill squid and serve clams with lemongrass, and the market near the beach sells dried squid and fish sauce. Agree prices before you order any seafood sold by weight.
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How we research our Thanh Hóa travel guide
Thanh Hóa's citadel, beach buses and Laos border road are checked against the official Thanh Hóa website, the city's Wikipedia entry and Vietnam Travel; visa rules come from Vietnam's e-Visa portal.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of Thanh HóaVietnam official e-VisaVietnam Travel
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Thanh Hóa.
Getting there
The bus, at about three hours. The train takes around three and a half hours to Ga Thanh Hoa but is more comfortable.
Buses leave the bus station every 30 minutes for the 16 km trip. A taxi or xe om is quicker.
By car, usually a transfer arranged by your homestay, as public transport into the reserve is limited.
General
Yes, if you like history. It is a UNESCO-listed stone fortress from the late 14th century and far quieter than Vietnam's better-known sites.
From shops and stalls all over the city, sold in bunches of leaf-wrapped parcels. It travels well for a day or two.
Yes, by bus to Sam Neua via the Na Meo border crossing, a 10 to 12 hour ride on mountain roads.
Take a boat across the large reservoir with its 21 islands and walk forest trails, about 46 km south-west of the city.
Thanh Hoa's grilled shrimp cake, cooked in a bamboo clamp and wrapped in rice paper with herbs and green banana.
Getting around Thanh Hóa is straightforward. Xe om (motorbike taxis) are the fastest way across town if you agree the price first, while metered taxis and ride-hailing apps remove the haggling. For Sam Son, 16 km away on the coast, a public bus leaves every half hour from the city.
Timing & weather
From April to September, especially on summer weekends when families from Hanoi arrive.
September, with around 394 mm of rain. December to February are the driest months.
The best time to visit Thanh Hóa is Apr to Jun. Warm enough for Sam Son, and ahead of the heaviest late-summer rain.
- Best overall: April - June (Highs of 27-33C with rain still moderate; beach season at Sam Son and green fields in the hills)
- Wet season: July - October (Rain builds to about 394 mm in September, with typhoon risk on the coast)
- Cool and dry: December - February (Highs around 20-22C and under 30 mm of rain a month; fine for the citadel, too cold for swimming)
June is the warmest month in Thanh Hóa, with average highs of 33°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 15°C. September is the wettest month, at about 394 mm of rain; February is the driest. Thanh Hóa has a hot, humid summer, when Sam Son's sea is warm from April onwards, and a cool, damp winter.
Visa & documents
Citizens of a number of countries, including the UK and many EU states, can visit Vietnam visa-free for up to 45 days. All nationalities can apply for a single or multiple-entry e-Visa valid for up to 90 days on the official portal.
Health & safety
Vietnam is generally safe. Traffic is the main hazard, and bag snatching from motorbikes occurs in cities.
