Da Nang Travel Guide 2026: Why It’s Vietnam’s Most Underrated City

Everyone rushes through Da Nang. They use it as a transit point between Hoi An and Hue, spend a night or two, tick the Golden Bridge off their Instagram list, and move on. We stayed for two and a half weeks — and left convinced that Da Nang is one of the most underrated cities in all of Southeast Asia.

We arrived from Ha Long Bay via Phu Bai Airport, slightly tired from weeks of moving fast across northern Vietnam, and what we found in Da Nang was exactly what we needed: a city with a beach, great food, fast wifi, a genuine local life, and just enough to explore without feeling overwhelming.

Here’s everything we discovered.

Why Da Nang Deserves More Than a Night or Two

Da Nang hits a rare sweet spot that few Vietnamese cities manage. It’s big enough to have real infrastructure — good hospitals, fast internet, international restaurants, proper supermarkets — but it doesn’t have the chaotic sensory overload of Ho Chi Minh City or the relentless tourist density of Hanoi’s Old Quarter.

The city sits on a long stretch of coastline with My Khe Beach running right through it. The Han River divides the city down the middle with a walkable waterfront on both sides. And within easy reach you have the Marble Mountains, Ba Na Hills, and Hoi An — a full week of day trips without even trying.

For slow travellers, couples, and digital nomads especially, Da Nang is a revelation.

Where We Stayed

We found accommodation in Da Nang in the $50–$100 USD per night range, which gets you a very comfortable hotel with a pool in a good location — genuinely excellent value compared to equivalent pricing in Bangkok or Bali.

The best areas to stay are near My Khe Beach for that classic beach-town feel, or closer to the Han River if you prefer city walkability and easy access to restaurants and cafes. We’d recommend searching on Agoda — the selection in Da Nang is excellent and you can filter by proximity to the beach or city centre depending on your priorities.

My Khe Beach: Your Backyard

My Khe Beach is one of Da Nang’s greatest assets and one of its best-kept secrets from the international crowd. It’s a long, wide, clean stretch of coastline that runs for kilometres along the city’s eastern edge — and unlike the beaches in tourist-saturated areas of Thailand or Bali, it still feels like a place where real life happens alongside the tourism.

Early mornings are the best time to be there. Local Vietnamese families swim at dawn, vendors set up along the promenade, and the light on the water is soft and golden. By mid-morning the beach fills up but never feels overcrowded. By afternoon the waves pick up and it gets genuinely fun for swimming.

After weeks of mountain trekking in Sapa and boat cruises in Ha Long Bay, having a beach we could walk to in five minutes felt like an extraordinary luxury.

Marble Mountains: Genuinely Worth It

The Marble Mountains are a cluster of five marble and limestone hills about 9km south of Da Nang city centre, riddled with caves, Buddhist sanctuaries, and pagodas. They’re one of those attractions that could easily be a tourist trap but somehow aren’t — the scale and atmosphere of the place is genuinely impressive.

The climb to the top involves some steep steps but the views over Da Nang and the coastline are worth every one of them. Inside the mountains, cave shrines lit by shafts of natural light filtering through openings in the rock are among the most atmospheric spaces we encountered in all of Vietnam.

Entry is very affordable — well under $5 USD per person — and you can easily spend two to three hours exploring. Book your entry and transport through Klook if you want a guided experience with context.

Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge: Beautiful, Overpriced, and Where We Found Our Labubus

Let’s be real about Ba Na Hills: it is stunning, it is overhyped, and it is expensive.

Entry costs $30–$60 USD per person, which includes the cable car ride up — one of the longest in the world, and genuinely spectacular as it carries you above the clouds into the French colonial fantasy village at the summit. The Golden Bridge, held aloft by two giant stone hands, is every bit as photogenic as it looks online.

But once you’re up there, the experience quickly reveals itself as a theme park more than a cultural destination. The French village is essentially a collection of restaurants, souvenir shops, and carnival rides sitting incongruously above the Vietnamese jungle. The crowds are significant, the food is mediocre, and the prices reflect a captive audience.

That said — the views are extraordinary on a clear day. The cable car ride alone is worth experiencing. And if you time your visit for early morning before the tour groups arrive, you’ll get far more out of it.

Oh, and there’s a Pop Mart store at the top. We went to Ba Na Hills, ascended to 1,487 metres above sea level, floated above the clouds in a cable car, crossed the Golden Bridge — and then spent twenty minutes at a Pop Mart. That’s where we bought our first Labubus. We regret nothing.

You can book Ba Na Hills tickets and transport from Da Nang through Klook.

Hoi An Day Trip: Go, But Not in Rain Season

Hoi An is only about 30km south of Da Nang and is one of the most beautiful towns in Vietnam — a UNESCO World Heritage listed ancient town of lantern-lit streets, tailor shops, and riverside restaurants that genuinely deserves its reputation.

We stayed one night in a local homestay, which we’d recommend over a day trip if your schedule allows. Hoi An at night, when the lanterns are lit and the river glows, is a different experience entirely from the daytime crowds.

One critical warning: avoid Hoi An in flood season. We cannot stress this enough. Hoi An sits in a flood-prone area and during heavy rain season (typically October to November, sometimes into December) the Ancient Town floods — sometimes significantly. Streets become rivers, ground floor businesses close, and the romantic atmosphere is replaced by sandbags and mud. Check the seasonal conditions carefully before planning your visit and factor this into your Da Nang timing.

The rest of the year, a day trip or overnight to Hoi An from Da Nang is one of the best value excursions in Vietnam. Book transport and tours through Klook.

The Food Scene: Quietly Exceptional

Da Nang’s food scene is one of its most underappreciated qualities. Central Vietnam has its own distinct culinary identity — different from the pho-heavy north and the sweeter flavours of the south — and Da Nang is a perfect place to explore it.

Com Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Rice) — Da Nang’s version of chicken rice is exceptional. The chicken is poached until silky, served over turmeric-tinted rice with fresh herbs and a punchy dipping sauce. Find it at local lunch spots away from the tourist waterfront and you’ll pay next to nothing for one of the best meals of your trip.

Banh Xeo (Sizzling Pancakes) — These crispy, turmeric-yellow crepes stuffed with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts are a central Vietnamese speciality. You wrap pieces in rice paper with fresh herbs and dip in a sweet-sour sauce. Order one and you’ll immediately order another.

Fresh Seafood — Being a coastal city, Da Nang’s seafood is exceptional and affordable. The local markets and seafood restaurants near the beach serve grilled prawns, clams, crab, and fish at prices that feel almost impossibly low compared to what you’d pay for equivalent quality elsewhere.

Local Coffee Shops — Vietnamese coffee culture is extraordinary everywhere in the country, but Da Nang’s café scene has developed a distinct character. Expect beautifully designed spaces, excellent egg coffee and coconut coffee alongside the classic ca phe sua da (iced milk coffee), and a relaxed atmosphere that makes lingering for hours feel entirely natural.

Da Nang for Digital Nomads and Remote Workers

We came to Da Nang partly to rest and get some work done after weeks of heavy travel, and the city delivered completely on that front.

The café culture here is genuinely remote-work friendly in a way that not every Southeast Asian city manages. We tried several different spots across our two and a half weeks and consistently found great coffee, fast and reliable wifi, affordable prices, and the kind of relaxed atmosphere where nobody blinks at a laptop staying open for three hours.

Da Nang’s cafes tend toward beautiful, Instagram-worthy interiors — think plants, warm lighting, exposed brick, carefully curated playlists — which makes working from them feel considerably less like work than it probably should. You can easily spend a full working day at a single café for the price of two or three coffees.

Beyond cafes, the city has good coworking spaces if you need a more structured environment, and accommodation in the $50–$100 range typically comes with reliable in-room wifi suitable for video calls and remote work.

Make sure you have a solid data backup — we use Airalo for e-SIMs across all our Asia travels and it works seamlessly in Vietnam. Get 10% off with our link.

Han River and City Life

The Han River waterfront is one of Da Nang’s most pleasant spaces for just wandering. The riverside promenade is clean, well-maintained, and dotted with cafes and restaurants. In the evenings, locals come out in force — families cycling along the river path, groups of friends eating street food, the Dragon Bridge lit up in colour over the water.

The Dragon Bridge breathes fire on weekend nights, which is exactly as dramatic as it sounds and completely free to watch. Position yourself on the riverbank on a Saturday or Sunday evening and you’ll have one of Da Nang’s most memorable experiences for zero cost.

Practical Information for Da Nang

Getting there: Da Nang International Airport (DAD) has direct connections from across Vietnam and many regional Asian cities. From Ha Long Bay we flew via Phu Bai Airport — domestic flights in Vietnam are affordable and frequent, making Da Nang easy to reach from anywhere in the country.

Getting around: Grab (Southeast Asia’s Uber equivalent) works well throughout Da Nang and is the easiest way to get around. Renting a motorbike is also popular and gives you more flexibility for beach exploring and day trips.

Accommodation: We paid $50–$100 USD per night and found excellent options in that range. Search on Agoda for the best selection — filter by My Khe Beach area for beach access or Han River area for city walkability.

Connectivity: Vietnamese SIMs are cheap and available at the airport. Alternatively, set up an e-SIM before you land through Airalo — use our link for 10% off.

Best time to visit: February to August offers the best weather — warm, mostly dry, and ideal for beach days. September to January brings the wet season and the flooding risk that affects Hoi An in particular. If you’re visiting October to December, check current conditions carefully before booking.

How long to spend: Two to three days is the minimum to cover the highlights. A week lets you do everything comfortably including day trips. Two weeks or more — as we did — is ideal if you want to slow down, work remotely, and actually feel like you’ve lived somewhere rather than just passed through.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Da Nang worth visiting? Absolutely — and more than most people give it credit for. Da Nang combines beach, city life, great food, excellent remote work infrastructure, and easy access to Hoi An and the Marble Mountains. It’s one of Vietnam’s most liveable cities for travellers.

How far is Da Nang from Hoi An? About 30km, or roughly 45 minutes by taxi or Grab. Easy day trip distance, or stay overnight to experience Hoi An’s famous lantern-lit evenings.

Is Da Nang good for digital nomads? Yes — one of the best in Vietnam. Great café culture, reliable wifi, affordable accommodation, a beach, and a relaxed pace make it ideal for working remotely while actually enjoying where you are.

Is Ba Na Hills worth visiting from Da Nang? It’s worth experiencing once — the cable car and Golden Bridge views are genuinely spectacular. But go in with honest expectations: it’s a theme park at the top, not an authentic cultural experience, and the entry fee is steep. Early morning visits on weekdays offer the best experience.

What is the best beach in Da Nang? My Khe Beach is the main beach and it’s excellent — long, clean, and far less crowded than comparable beaches in Phuket or Bali. Non Nuoc Beach further south is quieter if you prefer more space.

Final Thoughts

Da Nang gave us something we didn’t know we needed after weeks of hard travel: a place that felt like somewhere to actually live, not just pass through. The beach, the food, the cafes, the easy day trips, the surprisingly vibrant local life — it all added up to one of our favourite stops of the entire 100-day journey.

If your Vietnam itinerary currently has Da Nang as a one-night stopover, seriously consider giving it more time. It will reward you for it.

This was part of our 100-day Asia adventure. For more Vietnam content check out our Sapa trekking guide, our Lan Ha Bay honest review, and our complete Vietnam visa guide for Canadians.