Da Nang Guide: 13+ Best Things to Do [2-Day Itinerary & Day Trip Ideas]

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Da Nang, Vietnam is an amazing city that’s often overlooked. Nearby Hoi An gets almost all the love but Da Nang is awesome and worth a visit.

Don’t just pass through Da Nang, stop and enjoy these awesome things to do.

13+ Things to do in Da Nang, Vietnam

Check out the top 13+ things to do in Da Nang.

Asia Park – Sun World Da Nang

Asia Park Sun World is an amusement park in the middle of the city.

It’s not a very large amusement park. The highlight is the Sun Wheel (the Ferris wheel).

The park is rarely (if ever) busy and it’s totally normal to wait less than 10 minutes in line for the Sun Wheel and 0 minutes for everything else.

Time Needed: 2 to 3 hours (or longer if you have children)
Price: 150,000₫

Visitor Tips:

• Open daily from 3-9 or 10pm
• Go after dark when the Sun Wheel is beautifully lit up.

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Con Market

The con market is an indoor, very busy market. It has a large variety of items: clothing, cookware, shoes, gifts, a food court area, and a wet market.

The Con Market is primarily a local market, not a tourist one. Most vendors speak little to no English.

Time Needed: 45 minutes
Price: free

Visitor Tips:

• Be prepared to haggle (often with a calculator) because initial prices are significantly increased.

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Da Nang Museum

The Da Nang Museum is dedicated to the history of Da Nang.

This is a small museum focused on LOCAL history and culture. There is a section dedicated to the Vietnam War with some chilling photos but it’s not the focus of this museum (the Fifth Military Museum will have more on that).

Time Needed: 60 minutes
Price: 20,000₫

Visitor Tips:

• The museum is closed on Mondays.
• The museum closes daily for 2 hours for lunch. Operating hours are 7:30-11:30am and 1:30-4:30pm.

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Dragon Bridge

The Dragon Bridge is a bridge with a very dragon running along the side.

Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays the dragon breathes fire and water at 9pm.

Time Needed: 30 to 60 minutes
Price: free

Visitor Tips:

• Check out the bridge during the day to see the beautiful dragon. Then, visit again at night to see how it lights up and changes color.
• Look under the bridge, you’ll find the dragon body flows through.
• Don’t get to close during the fire/water show. You won’t get burned, but you could get wet.

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The Fifth Military Zone Museum

The Fifth Military Zone Museum shows Vietnam’s struggle towards independence from foreign invaders. This includes tanks, aircraft, weapons, and thousands of photos.

Time Needed: 1 to 2 hours
Price: 50,000₫ (40 for entrance, 10 to take pictures)

Visitor Tips:

• Only open on weekends from 7:30-11:00am and 1:30-4:00pm.
• There’s also the Ho Chi Minh Museum that you can visit. It’s 3 rooms dedicated to the life of “Uncle Ho.”

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Han Market

The Han Market is a indoor market that sells clothes, cookware, housewares, food, and more.

This is more of a tourist market, not a local market.

Time Needed: 60 minutes
Price: free

Visitor Tips:

• Haggle, a lot. As a tourist market prices are WAY increased!

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Han River Bridge

The Han River Bridge is a cable swing bridge.

Every night at 1am, the bridge swings around to allow large ships to pass along the river. It’s worth staying up late and watching!

Time Needed: 15 minutes
Price: free

Visitor Tips:

• Check this bridge out during the day to see the cable and design. Then, visit again at night to see the impressive lights.

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Lady Buddha

The Lady Buddha is an interesting statue for many reasons. It’s a lady buddha (which is uncommon enough) but it’s also the tallest Buddha statue in Vietnam.

Lady Buddha is located on the highest terrain of the Son Train peninsula. You can see the Lady Buddha from most of the city (including the beaches) and you can see the city (including the beaches) from the Lady Buddha.

Time Needed: 60 minutes
Price: free

Visitor Tips:

• If you’re planning on doing a day trip to the Son Tra Peninsula, you can do Lady Buddha then.
• You can get to the buddha by car, motorbike, or as part of a city tour.

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Marble Mountains

The Marble Mountains are a group of 5 limestone and marble hills. Only one, Mt. Thuy, is accessible to tourists.

The mountains are no longer used as a source of limestone or marble in order to prevent them from disintegrating. They’re now a popular tourist destination (and for good reason).

Time Needed: 90 minutes
Price: 40,000₫

Visitor Tips:

• The Marble Mountains are packed with tour buses from about 9am to 4pm. Arrive before or after them for a significantly less crowded experience.
• General operating hours are 7am to 5:30pm.
• The marble statues for sale at the base are NOT made of marble from the Marble Mountains. Most marble is imported from China now.
• There are A LOT of marble stairs to climb. It’s not overly difficult but they can be very slippery. Wear your grippiest shoes and take your time.

How to Get There:

• Organized Tour: most hotels can arrange for you to join a tour group. This will be the most expensive, most crowded, and easiest to implement option.
• Taxi: book a taxi (arrange a round-trip one before you go). Again, this is something your hotel can easily help you do.
• Public Bus: The #1 bus (which travels between Da Nang and Hoi An) stops near the Marble Mountain entrance.
• Own Transport: if you have access to your own transport (such as a motorbike), you can easily drive yourself to the Marble Mountains. There’s a designated parking area (for a very small fee).

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Museum of Cham Sculpture

The Museum of Cham Sculpture in Da Nang displays a beautiful Cham Civilization collection of artifacts and statues.

Time Needed: 60 minutes
Price: 40,000₫

Visitor Tips:

• The museum has a free app that provides detailed explanations in English.

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My Khe Beach

My The Beach is a stretch of 10km of beautiful beach.

There’s not much (or any) shade along the beach. Luckily, you can rent a sun lounger for only 40,000₫ a day.

The current can be strong in some areas. There are posted signs where swimming is safe!

Time Needed: your call!
Price: free

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Non Nuoc Beach

Non Nuoc Beach is a 5km stretch of beach just north of Danang.

You can walk here from the Marble Mountains in just 10 minutes.

This is a very quiet beach with few amenities. It’s great if you really want to get away from town but not so great if you want food and beach chairs.

Time Needed: your call
Price: free

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Son Tra Night Market

The Son Tra Night Market is an extremely large night market. If you’re looking to buy something, you can probably find it here.

This market is close to the Dragon Bridge making it a popular pre and post-fire show dinner spot on weekends.

Time Needed: 1 to 2 hours
Price: free

Visitor Tips:

• Open from 6pm to midnight every day.

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Suggested Itineraries for Da Nang

How many days should you spend in Da Nang? That’s up to you. I suggest at least 2 days so you can relax on the beach and see some things.

Be sure to add on some of the awesome day trips from Da Nang to nearby areas of interest, too.

2-Days in Da Nang Itinerary

If you only have one day, you can just do Day 1. If you want to spend more time on the beach, add a third day and split it up more!

Price: 290,000₫ in entry fees

Day 1 (Purple):

• The Marble Mountains
• Non Nuoc Beach
• Han Market (or Con Market)
• Da Nang Museum
• Museum of Cham Sculpture
• Dragon Bridge
• Son Tea Night Market
• Han River Bridge

Day 2 (Yellow):

• My Khe Beach
• Lady Buddha
• Con Market (or Han Market)
• The Fifth Military Zone Museum
• Asia Park

Have More Than 2 Days?

If you have more than 3 days in Da Nang, here are some more (time-consuming) things to do and great day trips out of the city:

Ba Na Hills

Ba Na Hills is famed for the Golden Bridge (pictured), but that’s not what it is. Ba Na Hills a resort with a small theme park above the clouds.

There are many things to do in Ba Na Hills including:

• Cable Car (up, around, down)
• Golden Bridge
• Indoor & Outdoor Rides
• Carnival & Arcade Games
• French Village
• Rock Climbing
• Interactive Shows (3D, 4D, 5D, & 360°)
• Flower Gardens
• Funicular
• Linh Ung Pagoda

Time Needed: half to full day
Price: 700,000₫ (includes everything listed)

Visitor Tips:

• Overcast days can be very foggy at the top and severely limit the views you’ll get.
• You don’t have to take the cable car up (or down), driving (yourself or via taxi) is possible.
• Opens daily from 7:30am to 9:30pm.

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Cham Islands

The Cham Islands are located about 15km off the coast. There are seven islands, with Lao being the most visited.

There are several things to do on the Cham islands: visit the town, relax on the beaches, go snorkelling, or go scuba diving.

Time Needed: full day
Price: varies

You can get yourself to the Cham Islands by private boat (8,000,000+₫), group boat (~300,000₫), or public boat (~50,000₫) and then organize your own time there (with whatever additional costs you want).

Or, you can organize a tour before you go. Cham Island Diving offers a Snorkelling Day Drip for 1,200,000₫. They also offer overnight trips and scuba diving.

Visitor Tips:

• There are accommodations available on the island if you want to stay overnight (you’ll want to organize this in advance).
• Most tours to the Cham Islands leave from the nearby town of Hoi An, however, it is possible to organize them departing from Danang (or book a taxi to take you to Hoi An Harbour).

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Hai Van Pass

The Hai Van Pass is a stunningly beautiful 20km stretch of road. It’s about an hour outside of Da Nang.

Time Needed: full day
Price: varies

Visitor Tips:

• The road can be a touch dangerous in parts so if you’re driving, stay alert.
• If you’re planning on traveling to Hue, you can take this route!

How to Get There:

• Drive Yourself: if you’re experienced on a motorbike, then you can rent one and drive yourself.
• Jeep Tour: you get a jeep with a driver to take you up (plus sit comfortably).
• Motorbike Tour: this is basically hiring a motorbike taxi guide.

I would recommend a tour option just because you’ll get to focus on the sights instead of on driving.

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Hoi An

Hoi An is a popular town for tourism. In fact, it’s WAY MORE popular than Da Nang (even though IMO Da Nang is better).

Most people, skip Da Nang and head straight to Hoi An. But not you!

You could spend a lot more than 1 day in Hoi An… but you can also see the major things in just one day!

Time Needed: at least one day
Price: varies

Visitor Tips:

• you can take the public bus or arrange a taxi to get from Da Nang to Hoi An.

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My Son Sanctuary

My Son is a complex of Hindu Temples (17 remain) constructed by the Chams. Very little is known about the Chams or the temples.

Time Needed: half day
Price: 150,000₫

Visitor Tips:

• Tours all visit in the morning. If you’re not taking a tour, visit in the afternoon to avoid the crowds.
• Don’t venture into the forest. You’ll probably be safe but there may still be active mines (the de-mining is ongoing).

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Son Tra Peninsula

The Son Tra Peninsula is also known as Monkey Mountain. There are many things to do in the Son Tea Peninsula including:

• The Lady Buddha
• Giant Banyan Tree Trek
• Dong Dinh Museum
• Explore the Trails (in search of the Brown-Legged Langur and other monkeys)
• The View Tower & Army Radar Station
• Beaches!

You could easily spend multiple days exploring the Son Tra Peninsula!

Time Needed: full day
Price: varies

Visitor Tips:

• The Lady Buddha is located at the edge of the Son Tra Peninsula. If you’re planning this day trip, you can see her at the same time!

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Things to Know About Da Nang, Vietnam

Da Nang, Vietnam is a small beach city. Here are the practical details you should know before you arrive.

Money in Da Nang

Vietnam uses the Vietnamese Dong (₫).

US dollars are commonly accepted by hotels, large restaurants, and major shops.

Special Note: when you arrive in Vietnam, you’ll need to pay your visa on arrival fee in US$.

Tipping is not common in Vietnam. You don’t need to tip!

Language in Da Nang

The official language of Vietnam is Vietnamese.

English is spoken anywhere that tourism exists. If you venture away from more touristy areas, the level of spoken English will decrease.

Note: Korean is increasingly common in touristy areas of Da Nang as Korean tourism is high.

How to Get Around Da Nang

Da Nang is a pretty walkable city. The things to do in the city are reasonably close together.

Public transit is only buses but the system is easy to use and cheap if necessary.

Taxis are questionable. While you can hail a taxi anywhere, prices are inflated and a bit scammy.

Grab is like Uber/Lyft and easily available in Da Nang. Download the app and you can order a car of motorbike easily.

Group tours can be easily arranged by your hotel.

SIM Cards in Vietnam

You can purchase a SIM card at the airport when you arrive.

A SIM card will cost you a few dollars and you’ll be able to get a data package to fit your timeframe (as a reference, you should be able to get 3gb for 70,000₫).

IMO Viettel offers the best pricing, service, and availability.

Plugging in Your Devices

Vietnam uses plug type A, type C, and type F with 220 volts at 50Hz.

Things to Eat in Da Nang

Vietnamese food is DELICIOUS. Being a coastal city, Da Nang offers some great seafood. Here are two tasty items that you should definitely try in Da Nang.

Bun Cha Ca (Fish Cake Noodle Soup)

Bun Cha Ca is a Da Nang specialty. It’s a limey broth with noodles, pineapple, tomato, and fish cakes.

Noodle soups are really common in Vietnam and there are so many of them. This is a great local option to try!

Mi Quang (Quang-Style Noodles)

Mi Quang is a flat rice noodle soup/salad dish. It does not contain a lot of broth so it’s not really a soup and underneath the noodles, you’ll find a bed of vegetables so it’s kind of salad-like.

Anyways, it’s delicious. Try it!

Enjoy Da Nang!

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