Da Nang

The Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills Is Worth Knowing About and Worth Skipping

The pedestrian walkway held by giant stone hands 30 kilometres west of Da Nang in the Ba Na Hills resort has been widely photographed since 2018. It is architecturally striking. The cable car and entrance cost approximately VND 750,000 or more for adults, and the resort itself is a French-themed amusement park complex that generated the photograph and very little else of interest. This is worth knowing because the Golden Bridge is one of the first things that appears in Da Nang travel content and one of the weaker reasons to make the trip.

Da Nang itself has better arguments. It sits at the midpoint of Vietnam’s coast – 800km south of Hanoi, 960km north of Ho Chi Minh City – with an international airport connecting to Singapore, Bangkok, Seoul, and several Chinese cities. The beaches are 5km from the city centre. Hoi An is 30km south. The Marble Mountains are 8km south. It is the most logistically convenient base in central Vietnam by a clear margin.

My Khe Beach and the Beach Strip

The 30-kilometre stretch of beach north of the Marble Mountains – My Khe, Non Nuoc, My An – is where most hotels are concentrated. My Khe is the closest to the city. The beach is wide and largely uncluttered compared to Nha Trang or Mui Ne. Waves are rideable for beginner surfing in October and November. Jellyfish can be abundant in March and April. The luxury resort strip on the Son Tra Peninsula north of the city includes the InterContinental Sun Peninsula, designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte to follow the cliff contour – the most architecturally interesting property in Da Nang.

The Marble Mountains

Five marble and limestone outcrops rising from the coastal plain, 8km south of the city. Thuy Son mountain (accessible by stairway or elevator, entry VND 40,000) has interconnected cave pagodas inside the rock – some used as field hospitals by North Vietnamese forces during the war. Huyen Khong cave has a hole in the ceiling that lets light onto the altar below at certain times of day. Worth two hours.

Hoi An

Hoi An’s Ancient Town is UNESCO-listed: preserved 15th to 19th century trading port buildings along the Thu Bon river. The combination ticket (VND 120,000) covers heritage houses, assembly halls, and museums. The town is pedestrianised in the evenings and very crowded in July and August. Come in the morning for the market and the streets before the tour groups arrive. Da Nang to Hoi An by taxi costs around VND 250,000 to 350,000 (USD 10 to 14).

Eating in Da Nang

Mi Quang – yellow turmeric noodles with pork or shrimp, a small amount of broth, fresh herbs, crushed peanuts, and sesame rice crackers – is the regional speciality that is not made this well anywhere else in Vietnam. Quan Mi Quang Ba Mua on Truong Thi Street charges VND 30,000 to 50,000 per bowl. Banh xeo (sizzling rice pancake with shrimp and pork, wrapped in mustard leaf and dipped in fish sauce) from the small restaurants in the Le Duan street area costs around VND 80,000 for two.