Da Nang

Da Nang is the beach city with a long coast line located in the central part of Vietnam. Since it never experiences cold, it is a perfect beach destination. Filled with sky scrapers as well as wellness resorts and a spectacular view offering peninsula, it is a happening place if you know where to go. It appears more magical at night with all the city lights. You may take a flight/train/bus to reach Da Nang from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh city. We suggest take flights as it does not cost too much. According to us, hiring a motorbike is the best option for local exploration. You can cover all the places including Ba Na Hills, Hue and Hoi An on the bike as everything is within a 30km radius.

Caution: Please avoid the rainy seasons if you can. It will be all cloudy and you will not be able to enjoy the stunning hill views of this beautiful city.

Following are the most popular tourist spots of Da Nang:

My Khe beach

This is where the party is. All along it you will find high rise hotels facing the sea. My Khe beach is where most foreign tourists hang out, chill on lounge chairs of the shacks or swim in the warm waters of the East Vietnam sea. There are many food stalls lining the beach serving hot/cold beverages, snacks, seafood or Vietnamese cuisine. All the activities like swimming, para sailing, snorkeling etc. stop during rainy season. If you have a hotel near to this beach you may spend all your evenings idling by the beach.

Sea Food Restaurants

There are many dedicated seafood restaurants in Da Nang along My Khe beach. These are peculiar for the reason that the creatures are on display to choose from. You select your choice of seafood, buy them and then get them cooked and served in the restaurant. Although we did not have them but it was interesting to see it.

Dragon bridge

This is an iconic bridge built on Han river in Da Nang. A metallic golden dragon constructed as a divider on the bridge changes colours at night from blue to green to red to golden. This dragon spits fire on Saturday and Sunday at 9PM enhancing its appeal. You can take a cruise on the Han river from the point just 100m besides the starting point of the bridge. You may also still down the riverside and enjoy the city lights or the river. There is a night market that is situated just a turn before the start of the dragon bridge. You can get fairly priced souvenirs or t-shirts from here while enjoying shakes, smoothies, ice cream or fruits.

Lady Buddha/Linh Ung Pagoda

About 9km from the My Khe beach is the Son Tra peninsula in Da Nang where you will find the tallest Buddha statue in Vietnam. This Lady Buddha statue is made of all white marble and can be seen all the way from the city. It overlooks the peninsula towards the ocean with calm eyes. Open 24 hours, it glows even at night with the help of the lights decorating it. It is built in the campus of the tourist complex where you also find the Linh Ung Pagoda which is an exquisite architecture masterpiece. It is a huge complex. This is probably the holiest place in all of Da Nang.

Marble mountains

Marble mountains are an interesting set of five finger like limestone mountains about 8 km away from My Khe beach towards Hoi An. The five karsts are named after five elements of earth, fire, water, wood and metal. It is a good climb up the hill to reach some viewpoints offering excellent views of the city and the sea. The campus has several pagoda, towers and exciting caves. Huyen Khong is the largest cave. The collapsed top allows for the rays to enter the caves giving it a majestic appearance. You can start from any one and come down any other of the three gates here.

There is also an elevator if you want to skip climbing the stairs. You need a ticket for it which can be purchased at the ticket counter. If you are fit, you can avoid the elevator and enjoy your climb up as in any case you have to climb several stairs even after taking the elevator. This place is properly conserved in its originality with some modifications only for the convenience of the tourists. Definitely check out the caves and try to climb up through them. It is not very difficult as you have clamps and grooves made to help you in your climb. It will indeed add some thrill to an already interesting experience. You will find many marble shops at the bottom of the hill selling statues and showpieces that you may check out or even buy.

Places near Da Nang

There are many places around Da Nang that one can visit in a full day. Tour operators run 1-2 day tours as well. Notable ones are Ba Na Hills, Hoi An, Hue, My Son. Some places like the Paradise Caves are about 300km from Da Nang and take at least 2 days to visit. It will take a trip to Da Nang specially to cover almost all the places. Some of the major ones that can be covered in the same Vietnam trip are mentioned under.

Ba Na Hills

This is probably the most popular place and a must visit in Da Nang during summers but a must avoid place during monsoons. It is a beautiful resort recreation park by the Sun World. Strategically located on top of Ba Na hills 27 km west of Da Nang, this is a place which caters to every age. It offers cable rides, entertainment zones, game zones, themed parks, wax museum, French styled buildings, restaurants and resorts. It has some of the most stunning views in the world, therefore, avoid cloudy weather which fogs your views. Click here to read all about Ba NA Hills