Da Nang has changed a lot since I first moved here in 2018. But in many ways, it’s stayed exactly the same. It was a bit of a hidden gem back then, as most travelers my age seemed to favor Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Bali.
But as people began looking for alternatives to those popular Southeast Asia destinations, Da Nang slowly attracted more visitors in the background. People have since discovered what I discovered years ago: Da Nang is a great place for a short visit or to live long-term.
So, why is Da Nang worth visiting? If you’ve read my other Da Nang guides, you’re on your way to understanding why I love this city. It has a great blend of city life and nature, is affordable, and is still not remotely crowded, even with the rise in tourism. You don’t have to live in Da Nang to enjoy it; you can get a great taste of the city by visiting for a few days.
Like all of my articles, every photo and video that follows was taken by me in Da Nang.
Getting to (and around) Da Nang
A huge positive of Da Nang is its international airport, which is right in the city. After exiting the airport, you can be at your hotel in most areas of Da Nang within 10 to 15 minutes. It’s one of the better airports I’ve experienced living in Vietnam. It’s usually pretty smooth arriving after a flight, and just as smooth checking in and departing.
Outside the arrivals area, there is a Grab taxi tent set up. Grab is an all-in-one app with taxi booking, food delivery, and more (similar to Uber). You can use the Grab app (download here) to order your taxi, and it’ll pick you up right at the tent. You can also get a normal taxi if you choose, but I always use Grab.
Da Nang is very spread out, but it’s actually a pretty walkable city. The city and the popular areas near My Khe Beach are all walkable. But to get around and visit attractions, you’ll want to continue using the Grab app during your trip. Learn more about getting around Da Nang here.
Reasons to Visit or Skip Da Nang
Here’s an overview of what I think are fair reasons to visit Da Nang or to skip it. If you’re planning to visit Vietnam, Da Nang (and nearby Hoi An) are two cities definitely worth visiting. I’ll go into more detail about the good reasons to visit Da Nang in the next section below. To get you started, here’s my guide to things to do in Da Nang.
| Reasons to Visit Da Nang | Reasons to Skip Da Nang |
|---|---|
| My Khe Beach | If you’re not a beach person |
| Lady Buddha | If you’re after thrilling nightlife |
| The Marble Mountains | |
| Mix of city, beach, and mountains | |
| See the wild monkeys! | |
| Han River and Dragon Bridge | |
| Proximity to Hoi An | |
| Day trip to My Son Sanctuary | |
| Great coffee and food (duh) | |
| Not chaotic or overcrowded | |
| Relatively affordable |
There aren’t many reasons to skip visiting Da Nang; it ticks a lot of boxes for a short visit or a long-term stay. But if you’re not much of a beach person, or maybe you live near a beach already, you may want to skip Da Nang, seeing as My Khe Beach really is the biggest draw for visitors. There are a lot of other things to do in and around Da Nang, but the beach is the core.
Da Nang also isn’t known for its wild or thrilling nightlife. There are plenty of places to get a drink in the city or near the beach, but not on the same scale as somewhere like Ho Chi Minh City. For nightlife in Da Nang, expect it to be tame and more laid-back.
Why You Should Visit Da Nang
My Khe Beach
My Khe Beach is consistently ranked as one of the best beaches in the world. Since I moved to Da Nang in 2018, they’ve done a lot of great work to improve the beach. They’ve turned what was a pretty simple and not the cleanest beach into a pretty nice and active area. It’s really a night and day difference in cleanliness and activity from seven years ago.
The walking path along the beach is excellent and extends several kilometers up the coast toward Lady Buddha. I’m on here several times per week to walk or run. They’ve planted tons of new palm trees along the path and in the sand, added garbage cans, and lots of places to eat have sprung up. On the beach, there are several areas with sun loungers for rent, roped-off swimming areas with lifeguards, and watersports like parasailing.
Lady Buddha
The tall white Lady Buddha statue is what you’ll likely notice when standing on My Khe Beach. She sits at the foot of Son Tra Mountain and is easily accessed by hiring a Grab taxi or riding your own scooter up the coast. The Linh Ung Pagoda is part of this area as well, and the overall attraction is free to visit. It’s a peaceful area, with a lot of space to wander and relax. There are also excellent views looking back on Da Nang, so try to visit on a clear day if possible. Here’s my article on visiting Lady Buddha.
The Marble Mountains
The Marble Mountains are about 10 minutes south of My Khe Beach. The Am Phu Cave is on the lower level, and the Marble Mountains are above it. These are two separate attractions, each requiring its own ticket. This is a popular attraction, and I usually avoid overly touristy things, but I actually find the Marble Mountains pretty cool. It doesn’t look like it from the ground level, but there’s a lot going on up there.
There are many different areas and paths to wander down. Several hikes will take you up to the mountain’s viewpoints. There are also several caves to check out, if you’re so inclined. I’m personally not a mountain-cave kind of person. There are rest areas and restrooms on the Marble Mountains. I wrote a guide to visiting Am Phu Cave and the Marble Mountains. It’s important to know that these attractions are not wheelchair accessible or for anyone with mobility issues.
Mix of City, Beach, and Mountains
Da Nang has a great blend of different types of scenery. Depending on your lifestyle or travel interests, you can find something to love about Da Nang. If you want to be in the action of a city, you can spend time in Hai Chau. The riverside path on Bach Dang Street and then further inland to Tran Phu Street is a happening area in the city.
I’ve covered My Khe Beach above, but this is just the most popular and central beach in Da Nang. There are others, too, if you’re after something quieter or more private (here’s my Da Nang beach guide). Head north of My Khe Beach (towards Lady Buddha) to East Sea Park, Pham Van Dong Beach, or Man Thai Beach. Alternatively, head south of My Khe Beach (towards Hoi An) and look for Non Nuoc Beach, Son Thuy Beach, or Tan Tra Beach, where you have a good chance of having the entire beach to yourself.
The Son Tra Mountain is still mostly undeveloped. When I first came here in 2018, we were allowed to scooter all over the mountain, on any kind of bike, in whatever direction we wanted. Looking back, that was super dangerous, and I’m not surprised they’ve added some rules.
Now, they’ve restricted access to the mountain’s higher parts to semi-automatic or manual bikes only. But you can still explore a good chunk of the mountain on an automatic scooter (including visiting Lady Buddha and seeing the monkeys). You can also take a taxi to the top, Ban Co Peak, here.
The Wild Monkeys
Son Tra Mountain (also known as Monkey Mountain) is home to wild monkeys. If you’re visiting Lady Buddha on the mountain, you may see monkeys hanging around the area. But if you really want a sure-fire, 100% chance of seeing them, head past the Lady Buddha statue, further out onto the peninsula. This is a well-traveled part of the mountain, which leads directly to the InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort.
But before reaching the resort, you’ll see plenty of wild monkeys swinging from the trees, crossing the road, or just hanging around. There was an abandoned old house on the mountain that I used to visit in 2018. It was surrounded by monkeys, and we used to park there and feed them graham crackers. Here is one of the videos.
Again, I’ll say — these are wild monkeys. If you get too close, they’ll try to grab any small objects you have (phones, purses, food, water bottles). If you keep your distance, they usually mind their own business. I’ve personally never seen them physically attack or hurt anyone.
Han River, the Dragon Bridge (and other bridges)
The Han River splits Da Nang, creating both a city side and a beach side. There are currently five bridges between the two sides, plus a pedestrian-only walking bridge. The bridge all the way to the north, Thuan Phuoc, is out of the way to walk to, but it’s a great experience to cross on a scooter. You can see along the Han River toward the Dragon Bridge, plus Da Nang Bay and the mountains containing the Hai Van Pass.
The Dragon Bridge is the middle of Da Nang’s five bridges. All five bridges have raised walking sidewalks so you can walk across the river safely. This is a great and scenic way to cross between the city and the beach. You can cross over one bridge, then head north or south along the river, then cross back over another.
Proximity to Hoi An
If you’re thinking of visiting Da Nang for a few days, you’ll want to make the trip down to Hoi An to see the Old Town. I actually recommend staying there for a few days if you can. It’s pretty straightforward getting from Da Nang to Hoi An, and if you hire a Grab taxi, the trip is about 40 minutes. I’m down in Hoi An often, either checking out a new coffee shop or place to eat in Old Town, or riding through the rice fields that mostly surround Hoi An.
Day Trips from Da Nang
My Son Sanctuary is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a great half-day trip from Da Nang. Here is the location. It’ll take a little over an hour in a taxi from either Da Nang or Hoi An. You can visit the sanctuary on your own, or as part of a group or private tour.
Here’s a popular tour, and here’s another one. Note that the tours mostly originate from Hoi An, so you’ll need to choose the option to be picked up from Da Nang or make your way down to Hoi An to the meeting point.
If you decide to visit on your own, you can order a Grab taxi each way. The ruins are a popular place to visit, so there’ll likely be taxis and Grab drivers waiting outside in the parking lot. I visit the My Son Sanctuary on my own because I like to take my time and not be hurried along in a tour. The ruins are in the woods, and there are nice paths that connect everything. I’d plan to spend a leisurely two hours here. Here’s my guide to the sanctuary, which goes into a lot more detail.
Coffee Shops and Places to Eat
This isn’t unique to Da Nang, but it still applies: there are tons of great coffee shops and places to eat. Being the second-largest coffee producer in the world, Vietnam has coffee shops on every corner. It’s endless, really. And the coffee shops come in all shapes and sizes. There are open-air places with small chairs outside, air-conditioned modern shops, places hidden in alleys, and more. If you’re a fan of coffee, Vietnam is a great place to visit.
You can visit the My An Market to eat with locals and try popular Vietnamese dishes like bun bo Hue or mi Quang. I eat at this market a couple of times per week. Bowls of either cost about 25.000 VND each.
Another Vietnamese dish that I frequently eat, and is probably my favorite, is bun cha, which is grilled pork, noodles, and broth. You can get a filling meal of bun cha for around 45.000 VND to 65.000 VND. Many places have the option of ordering a small or large size, or adding extra pork (which I often do).
Here’s a list of some places that I eat at, which only grazes the surface of what’s available in Da Nang.
Still Not Very Crowded
Even though Da Nang has experienced a significant increase in tourism over the last few years, it still isn’t crowded in general. There are certain areas where it is busy, like the popular tourist areas of My An (An Thuong) and in the city, like Tran Phu Street. But overall, the city still has free-flowing traffic, making it very easy to bounce from attraction to attraction.
Affordability
The cost of living in Da Nang has remained relatively stable since I came in 2018. Rent has increased in newer units as condos have popped up, but in general, the cost of food, transportation, and other things has remained pretty consistent.
Local meals can be had for 25.000 to 50.000 VND ($1 or $2 USD). For something more Western, expect to pay closer to 200.000 to 300.000 VND. Coffee is cheap. Egg coffee, salted coffee, Americanos, etc., all can be had for 40.000+ VND.
The beaches are free to visit and swim at — lounge chairs cost about 40.000 VND to rent for the whole day. The Lady Buddha is free to visit. The Marble Mountains cost 40.000 VND and Am Phu Cave costs 20.000 VND. Visiting any of the popular local markets is free (My An Market, Han Market, Con Market) unless you buy something! I was in Con Market last week and bought “Adidas” slides (size 12 US) for 170.000 VND and four “Nike” sleeveless running shirts (size 3XL) for 100.000 VND each.
With all of the hotel development, there are good deals all over Da Nang. If you want to stay near the beach, you literally have dozens of choices. Hotels right across from My Khe Beach, like the HAIAN Beach Hotel or the Sala Danang Beach Hotel, can be had for less than $60 per night. Rooms at a 5-star beach resort like the Pullman Danang cost around $200 per night.
There are lots of other choices in all budget ranges. If you need help picking a place to stay, ask me in my free Da Nang & Hoi An travel planning group.
Where to Base Yourself in Da Nang and How Long to Stay
On a high level, you have two choices for areas to stay in Da Nang: near the beach or in the city. There are a lot of nuances with these areas and more, which I thoroughly cover in my guide to where to stay in Da Nang.
If you want to be within walking distance of My Khe Beach, you have a lot of choices up and down the coast. The My An area has exploded in popularity in recent years and has become very developed, convenient (and touristy). It’s gotten far too touristy for me, personally, but I still visit from time to time for nostalgia or to check out a new restaurant. If you want to be right in the action, look at the M Hotel Da Nang (Agoda / Booking).
If you go slightly north along the coast to an area called Son Tra, the tourism levels become more tolerable while still having plenty of places to eat and very easy beach access. This is where I would stay (and where I currently live). The Sala Danang Beach (Agoda / Booking) is a good place to start. The further north from here, the better — up to the Radisson (Agoda / Booking).
The city is also a great place to stay. You can also book a Grab taxi to visit here easily, which you should do if you stay near the beach. You’ll want to stay around the Dragon Bridge or north of it. Look at Bach Dang Street along the river, then further inland on Tran Phu Street. This is a happening and great area to be in. The Vanda Hotel (Agoda / Booking) and the HAIAN Riverfront (Agoda / Booking) are in great locations.
If you’re wondering how many days you need in Da Nang, it depends on whether you plan to visit Hoi An and/or Hue, too. If you only want to see Da Nang, then three days is a good amount of time. You’ll be able to visit My Khe Beach, spend time in the city, and also visit the Marble Mountains to the south and Lady Buddha to the north.
If you plan on visiting Hoi An, you can add another two to three days (or more). I disagree with people who say that you can see all of Hoi An Ancient Town in one day. You could rush through it. But if that’s your plan, I wouldn’t advise going at all then. Spend a few days there if you can. I still visit weekly after all these years and love wandering around the Old Town (and outside of it in lesser-visited parts of Hoi An).
The My Son Sanctuary is a half-day trip that you can make from either Da Nang or Hoi An. If you’re going to do Hue, too, then you can add another one or two days. Most visitors do Da Nang and Hoi An, with Hue being an optional add-on.
