This is one of the best ways to get around and gives you lots of flexibility. Taxis are plentiful in the city of Da Nang, and therefore can be one of your best options to get around. As we mentioned, always insist on using the meter so that you will not be ripped off. Grab is a ride sharing app that is very popular in South East Asia, and much like how Uber works, you key in where you wanna go, place your order and wait for someone to pick you up. The benefit of this service is that you know upfront how much you are paying, and you can choose to pay by credit card too.
They even have a GrabBike service where a bike comes to pick you instead. This is for short distances only. Da Nang is not exactly a huge city, but there are pretty diverse accommodations here. In general, your choice will be either to stay in the city center or by the beach, where there are quite a number to choose from.
The Marble Mountains stand out on the flat Da Nang landscape, and although the word mountain is a bit of a stretch since they are not that high, they do offer an excellent day excursion from the centre of Da Nang.
The Marble Mountains are made up of 5 different limestone formations, each representing an element, Fire, Water, Metal, Earth and Wood. Back in the old days, it used to be sites of worship by the Cham people, who lived in parts of Southern and Central Vietnam. To get up there, you should start the day early before the crowd arrives, as this is a very popular spot for both locals and tourists alike.
Once you are here, get ready to traverse seemingly infinite steps as you navigate around the area. There are 2 entrances here, one of which has an elevator to take you up, while you will have to climb up steps on the other.
Frankly, it does look steep, but it is actually a pretty easy walk up. Once you are up, take your time to explore the area. Most people only visit the Thuy Son, otherwise known as the Water Mountain, but do explore as much as you can, for there are surprises waiting to be discovered at every turn.
While you are here, be sure to check out one of the viewpoints to get a nice view of the city. It is here where you can see clearly the flat plains of Da Nang and how it contrasts with its mountainous surroundings. You can take a public bus to Marble Mountains, as it is located quite close to Da Nang city.
The bus ride should not take more than 30 minutes. The only problem is figuring out where the bus stop is. There are several bus stops in the city center, and if you want to be sure, we suggest you check with your hotel. Start time: 8.
The district of Hai Chau is considered the centre of Da Nang, where there is a ton of commercial and touristy activities going on. It is located to the West of the Han River, and you should take some time to explore this area.
Walking along its busy streets, you can find lots of delicious street food, local designer shops and unique cafes. If you need a reprieve from the heat, consider popping in to the Museum of Cham Sculpture , where you can view the relics and antiques of the Cham Kingdom.
This is also the largest exhibition museum in Vietnam, so history buffs are definitely going to love this. After the museum, step outside and head towards the riverside to admire the Dragon Bridge , which is the longest in Vietnam, stretching out to metres in length. The unmistakable shape of the golden dragon bridge is a pretty special sight, and you can also find a hive of activities around this area.
If you are still around in the evening, you will be treated to a fire show, where the dragon spits fire out of its mouth! Further, if you are up for some local market exploration, head over to the Con Market. This is where locals head to for their daily necessities, from fresh vegetables to homewares. Even if you are not buying anything, it is worth a visit to learn how the locals go about their daily lives, and appreciate this unique open market.
Start time: Fee: Depends Opening hours: Daily 24 hours Time spent here: 2 — 3 hours. Most people visiting Da Nang will know about their famous beaches, and My Khe Beach is the star of the show.
During the late afternoon, the weather should have cooled down, and it is a perfect time to walk down the white sandy beach and gaze into the clear blue skies, a combination that makes My Khe famous.
The quality of the beach has been kept high despite huge numbers of tourists coming here, and along the beach front, you can find lots of luxurious resorts and excellent restaurants. Saunter down to the happening An Thurong street, where you will find one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Da Nang hidden in a quiet street.
Serving authentic local cuisine, you can consider getting a set meal if you are in a group, and we highly recommend the seafood fried rice! We are not party animals, but we do enjoy hanging out, watching the world go by and downing a few beers. Take your pick from casual to sophisticated, and certainly be free to make friends with the warm local. Da Nang is different from Saigon in this aspect, as you will hardly experience this atmosphere since most of them are drinking indoors.
You will be spoilt for choice, and we suggest you hunt down bia hoi, a very popular local brew in Vietnam. It is made fresh everyday and can be found on street corners or family style bars. Starting the day off with a visit to the Han Market , this is where you will find 2 stories of locally produced food and wares. You should also visit the snacks section and get some to bring home with you.
Moving up to the second floor, clothes merchants abound as they try to show you their latest designs, and you can even get your hands on a traditional Ao Dai, and for men, you can consider getting shirts and pants tailored here. The prices are cheaper than in Hoi An, but certainly not inferior in quality. Although this market is slightly more touristy than Con Market, it is nevertheless as local as it gets. Definitely worth a visit any day. Most of the time in Asia, temples are the commonplace religious sites, but there is a unique Church right in the heart of Da Nang, the Da Nang Cathedral.
Built almost a hundred years ago in by a French priest, its facade is painted in a shade of light pink, distinguishing itself easily from all the buildings around it. Right now, it stands as the only church in Da Nang, and earned a nickname of the Rooster Church as it has a rooster weathercock right on top of its tower. While the insides are simply designed, it does offer a peaceful hall for followers to pray and give thanks.
English sermons are held every Sunday at 9 am. Over here at Bac Hai , super fresh ingredients are used and the broth is very tasty despite looking so clear and plain, a hallmark of a good pho. There are lots of local dishes that you can order too in this fuss free pho master. Surely some of you would have heard the name Lotte, which is a conglomerate in Korea that has businesses in things like hotels to construction.
Over here in Da Nang, you can find Lotte Mart , a hypermart that has over 20, types of products on offer! Within that mall, there is a pretty good food court where you can enjoy local cuisines in comfort, or shop for local souvenirs at reasonable prices. The star of the show is the supermarket, carrying such a wide range of products that you can easily spend a couple of hours here. When you are happy with your purchases, find a cafe, sit down and enjoy a nice cup of Vietnamese coffee.
Start time: 1. Located further south of My Khe, it is an excellent alternative where you can enjoy the clean, white sandy beach with lesser crowds. While some of you might want to relax on a mat reading a book and sipping a cocktail, the active ones can take part in surfing and other water sports. Start time: 3. We head back to Da Nang city centre to find Bep Hen , one of our favourite places to have a meal.
They are a family style restaurant, specialising in home cooked Vietnamese food. It has a really cozy environment, and we would suggest taking the outdoor sitting on the wooden furniture. Nothing like a good old shack setting.
Start time: 6. For day 3 of this travel itinerary, we head out to the Son Tra Peninsula , just north of the city centre. To get there, you will really need to have a driver or rent your own vehicle. A motorbike will offer the best option since the roads are quite narrow and some parts cannot be reached by cars. If you need a private driver for the day, your best bet would be to check online, where there are several independent operators. People come here for its natural beauty and during sunset, you can get the best views of the city.
As you approach this stretch of land, a prominent statue welcomes you: the Lady Buddha at Linh Ung Pagoda. However, before you even enter the peninsula, we recommend that you make a pit stop along Man Thai Fishing Village , where you can still catch a glimpse of the lives of local fishermen and how they go about performing their craft.
Sadly, due to modernisation of the city, what remains today is only a tiny window to its past. Tens of stalls with all kinds of products, from clothes to local spices, coffee, and fruit. People wandering around looking for something in particular, tourists window shopping, shop owners playing games just to make time pass by faster. Later on, we went to see also a modern western-style shopping mall. Only because it was on our way to the hotel and we were curious about prices in comparison to the ones in Hong Kong.
This is one drink I absolutely loved and drank daily throughout our 5 days Da Nang itinerary. Once we finished our shopping session, we wandered around on some streets in the Han Market area and found a pretty little yellow traditional terrace.
This is nothing much than a traditional Vietnamese coffee which I already loved mixed iced coconut. In the right place, this drink is not extremely sweet and has a great texture because of the coconut milk. Maybe one of the most popular landmark in Da Nang, this is one of the bridges you would have crossed from the airport to the hotel when staying on the beach.
Step outside the Han Market and walk on the promenade along the river and take some great pictures. The beach stripe spreads over many kilometers. And as you would expect from a town by the sea, there is not only one beach. Check out the best beaches in Da Nang here.
We headed towards the beach from our hotel and stopped at Temple Da Nang , where we ate a seafood hot pot and sat back and relaxed on the beach.
As usual, we took a Grab and headed up the hill to see Laddy Buddha — the tallest Buddha statue in Vietnam, and the amazing view you get from up there. The distance from our hotel and from the beach was not big, thus in only 15 minutes, we were up and ready to explore the pagoda, the beautiful gardens, and see the impressive statue from close by. Below us, the Son Tra Peninsula was spreading its beauty.
The garden was filled with flowers, and the pagoda stood tall with the blue sky as a perfect background. Once we moved forward towards the statue, some cheeky monkeys were making noise in the trees around.
Thus, expect them to be running around and be careful with your belongings. One of the most popular destinations for many visiting Central Vietnam is the pretty, yet smaller Hoi An. Another option is to book a night in Hoi An and feel the city to the fullest. I always say that the best way is always the one you are the most comfortable with.
And we are all different, thus have different expectations, need something else from our vacations and day trips. The Da Nang to Hoi An distance is of only 30 km , but that trip can be enjoyable or not so much depending on what you like and how you choose to travel between the 2 destinations. However, having said all that, I will help you out with all the options of creating your Da Nang to Hoi An day trip. Once again, we wanted to do the best out of our 5 days in Da Nang itinerary, and live every second to the fullest.
We also thought the prices in Vietnam were not extremely big so that we preferred comfort over the hassle of public transportation. When you want to make the best out of the price you pay, choose linking two locations together: Marble Mountain and Hoi An in this case. Or use Bookaway. The cheapest, yet slowest and filled with hassle way of travel. Perfect for when you want to get from Da Nang to Hoi An on a budget. Bus line number 1 is the one linking Da Nang and Hoi An, which leaves every 20 minutes from the Da Nang train station.
The price for a one-way trip can be somewhere between Normally, a ride from Da Nang to Hoi An would be roughly This is the most popular means of transportation in Vietnam, but I will let you decide if you have the courage to rent one and drive on the mountain roads.
Renting a motorbike for one day can be somewhere around Hoi An is small, charming, filled with color, lanterns all over the place.
But as beautiful as it is, it is also packed with tourists. And we were visiting somehow outside of peak season. What should you absolutely not leave Hoi An without doing so that you could create your own one-day Hoi An itinerary?
That was the first thing we did. We got drawn into a leather shop and my husband got sandals, a jacket, shoes, and a bag for me custom made in only a few hours. They have great materials and colors, hundreds of models, and the best thing is everything will be your size for sure. Be prepared to fight some crowds along the way, because Hoi An is charming and because of that, it is crowded.
We walked around and over the Japanese Covered Bridge packed with people built many years ago to bring together the Japanese and Chinese populations who used to live here.
We stepped inside an old Japanese house from the Japanese quarter, strolled the Lanter Market, entered the temple, and took plenty of pictures. You can book a half-day tour of Hoi An and learn everything about its history and impressive culture. On top, learn something about Vietnamese cuisine in a Hoi An tour and cooking class. You simply cannot leave Hoi An behind without seeing it once the sun has set.
Take a Hoi a 4-hour night tour with dinner , or simply jump in one of the colorful boats and let yourself taken through the lightened lanterns. It is hard to believe this small town can get even more charming than that, but wait until you see it come to life at night. Add sprouts, herbs, lime and chilli to taste. Afternoon: Back in Da Nang, spend a relaxing afternoon enjoying a few creature comforts.
If you're up for shopping, you may be tempted by the chic boutiques sprinkled near the river and waterfront. For a bout of indulgence, book a spa treatment, or take advantage of happy hour and swim a few laps at a rooftop pool, accompanied by views of the city skyline, Han River, and Son Tra Peninsula. Dinner: Dine at the beach for a feast of fresh seafood plucked live from giant tanks.
Consider some mantis shrimp fried with garlic, grilled calamari or clams steamed with coconut milk, lime leaves and chilli. Morning: On your last morning in town, go deeper to explore Da Nang itself. Book a back-of-the-bike tour to visit the nearby fishing village, explore bustling markets, and be introduced to iconic cafes and street food stalls. The scenery is spectacular. If you prefer to lounge, grab a book and a cold coconut and watch the waves roll in on My Khe Beach. An elegant venue, this restaurant is a perfect spot to sample dishes from the region and share highlights from your visit.
Already have an account?
0コメント