A Quick and Simple Guide to Traveling in Da Nang, Vietnam
To view my other travel guides, check out the links below:
Ha Noi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
First, a Bit About Da Nang
Da Nang is a coastal beach city about two hours south of Huế. It is the fourth largest city in Vietnam and a major port city. It’s the largest city in central Vietnam and a major hub of transportation. It is located within 100 km of multiple several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Imperial City of Huế, the Old Town of Hoi An, and the My Son ruins.
How We Got There
One of the most enjoyable journey’s Casie had during our travels in Asia was our private car ride from Hue to Da Nang.
The final day we were in Hue, we hired a private driver through our hotel to take us around to all of the tombs. His name was Sa, and he ended up being such a nice, conversational, enjoyable driver, that we asked him if he wouldn’t mind driving us to Da Nang the following day.
Sa had mentioned that he often drove to Da Nang and it’s neighboring city Hoi An, and he knew the area well, so we figured we might as well ask him. To our delight, he agreed.
What we thought would be a simple drive to Da Nang ended up being essentially a tour with our own personal guide.
About halfway through the rain-soaked drive, Sa stopped for lunch at a seafood restaurant Be Than. This hidden treasure was built on a pier right over the water and offered essentially any type of seafood you could want. With the restaurant packed with screaming locals and water tanks filled to the brim with crabs, fish, and other edible sea creatures, Be Than felt like a very local gem.
After lunch, Sa drove us to a waterfall and various lookouts over the coast, playing the role of our personal photographer in the process. It was the first private car we had taken and because it was so enjoyable, we decided to go with that mode of transportation during the rest of our time in Asia.
Where We Stayed
We stayed three nights at a two-star hotel called New Hotel. The location was good in that it was right across the street from the beach (although the weather was so bad we couldn’t really take advantage of it), and the room was very nice as well. The staff was also extremely friendly.
The free breakfast the hotel offered was ok, but overall the restaurant food wasn’t great. However, being that it was such a cheap hotel, among many in the area, it wasn’t something we cared too much about. We tried to eat out at as many restaurants as we could to get an idea of the local cuisine, so unless the hotel food was amazing, we typically left it alone anyway.
What We Did
Simply put, we did a whole lot of walking in Da Nang. We were hoping to get some quality beach time in, but it rained the entire time we were there, so that wasn’t really an option. We did walk along the beach the day we arrived, but the weather was not good enough to lay out or swim.
Da Nang is sometimes called the City of Bridges for the many bridges that cross the Han River. The first night we were in Da Nang, we walked along the enormous Han River Bridge and visited the famous Dragon River Bridge (pictured below). With an extended, curving body and an enormous dragon head, both of which changed to red, orange, green or blue at timed intervals, the bridge is quite a spectacle. and on our final night, we went to the market area across the river from our hotel to explore the shopping.
Besides going to the Marble Mountains, which we did later when staying in Hoi An, the best and perhaps most touristy thing to do in Da Nang is visit the Lady Buddha.
Situated on the Son Tra Peninsula and kept inside the beautifully manicured Linh Ung pagoda courtyard, this 220-foot (the tallest statue in Vietnam), white stone, female Buddha is the equivalent to a 30-story building. She stands tall facing the sea and overlooks the entire city of Da Nang. There was a bit of a drive up to the top of the courtyard, and even though it was raining, the view from the top was amazing. Visiting this Buddha is definitely a must-do if you visit Da Nang.
During the last day we were in Da Nang, we did another long bout of walking across the city to get a better feel of what it was like. We walked into downtown and the shopping district, ducking in and out of shops selling various items. If the weather permitted, we likely would have hung out at the beach more, or headed to one of the other touristy destinations like Ba Na Hills or Monkey Mountain.
Where We Ate
As usual, we took advantage of our hotel restaurant the first day or so, but we soon found that their food wasn’t what we were looking for and that there were better options outside of the hotel.
L’Italiano — it was a bit shocking to look on Trip Advisor and find a highly rated Italian restaurant right down the street from our hotel, but that’s what we found with L’Italiano. This bite out of Italy had everything an Italian food-lover could want: pasta, pizza, and gelato. Casie and I shared a pizza and each tried the gelato. Both were delicious. It’s the number three ranked restaurant on Trip Advisor, and I would definitely recommend it.
Burger Bros — what’s funny about my recollection of the places we ate in Da Nang, is that my two favorites places were Italian and burgers. If you’re looking for a great burger and fries, be sure to check our Burger Bros. It’s a classic burger place with solid western burger options and fries, satisfying a comfort food craving for western travelers.
Pho Viet Kieu — compared to the Pho I’m used to in Seattle, and despite the great reviews attached to this restaurant, I was a little disappointed in the Pho. It’s hard to be served Pho and not really love it, but the broth and noodles just weren’t quite what we were used to. However, if you’re looking for Pho in Da Nang, I would recommend this place based on the fact that the reviews are good, so we might have a skewed view on the place, and it’s Pho.
General Observations
As I mentioned earlier, there are other touristy things to do in Da Nang, which we didn’t partake in mainly due to weather, but overall I didn’t really think there was a lot to do in the city. It was one of the least memorable cities we visited in all of South East Asia. If the weather were better during our stay, it would have been much more enjoyable because the beaches looked really nice.
Additionally, we didn’t rent motorbikes due to the rainy weather. I met a few tourists that did rent bikes in Da Nang because the roads are open, traffic is normal, and it’s easy to drive to the neighboring city of Hoi An, and they described it in positive terms. However, we didn’t want our first time on motorbikes to be in less than ideal conditions.
Looking back, perhaps the weather made a sizable dent in our experience. Good weather would have allowed us to move about the city with greater ease, and enjoy the beaches. Although, as I write that, if I were visiting Da Nang, and you told me the weather would be spectacular, I think I would skip the trip and visit someplace else.
In my next post, I’ll be taking you further south to one of our favorites cities in all of South East Asia, Hoi An.
