(Check entire Vietnam Travel Guide here. To read about my experience, check my Da Nang Travel Story.)
Da Nang is one of the busiest port-towns of Central Vietnam. With an international airport, many tourists use this as a port of entry or exit. However, with a few viewpoints and the recent addition of the Instagram-breaking Golden Hand Bridge, this is more than just a gateway city.
Contents
- Things to do and Visit
- Suggestive one-day itinerary
- Travel Tips
Things to Do and What to Visit
For ease of travel and sightseeing, I group the locations into clusters, and places in a single cluster can be visited at one go.
| Cluster | Sight | Priority | Type | Rating |
| 1 | Monkey Mountain | Must | Mix | 4 |
| 1 | Lady Buddha | Must | Cultural | 4 |
| 1 | My Khe Beach | Optional | Natural | 4 |
| 1 | Dragon Bridge | Must | Cultural | 4 |
| 1 | Cham Museum | Optional | Cultural | 3.5 |
| 2 | Golden Hand Bridge | Must | Cultural | 4.5 |
| 3 | Bar Hopping | Optional | Lifestyle | 4.5 |
| 4 | Marble Mountain | Must | Mix | 4.5 |
Monkey Mountain: A hill with a coastal view of entire Da Nang city. One stops every 500 meters on the way because of the beautiful view. Linh Ung Pagoda, an old pagoda is located on the elevated slope. Also has a green lake on the way. One can go even further towards Bai Nam and Bai Da beaches if time permits, but not recommended due to already less time in the city. (Rating: 4/5, Time needed: 1 hour)
Lady Buddha: A huge 30-storey statue overlooking the city, located right next to Linh Ung Pagoda. Accessible through the pagoda itself. One can even go to the top of the statue. (Rating: 4/5, Time needed: 30 mins)
My Khe Beach: A long beach covering the entire eastern side of the city. North of the beach has coral round boats and a nice view, middle part has plenty of seafood restaurants whereas the southern part is more for relaxation and water sports. Pick you poison. (Rating: 4/5, Time needed: 30 mins – 2 hrs)
Dragon Bridge: A modern bridge that looks like a dragon. Good spot for photography, it also spits fire for 5 minutes at 7PM on weekends. Good view of the lit-up city from either side of the bridge, with reflections on the river, recommended for photography. (Rating: 4/5, Time needed: 15 minutes)
Museum of Cham Sculpture: Located right at one end of the Dragon Bridge, an optional visit to this small but interesting museum gives insight to history lovers. (Rating: 3.5/5, Time needed: 1 hour)
Golden Hand Bridge: A new addition to the glory of the city, this huge bridge is held by two giant hands and has been famous in social media. Located in Ba Na Hills, near Sun World, quite far from the city, it’ll take almost half a day to plan for the same. (Rating: 4.5/5, Time needed: 3-4 hrs)
Bar Hopping: On the stretch of the road parallel to the Han River, from Cham Museum to Golden Pine Pub, there are plenty of pubs, one after the other. At nights, especially on the weekends, the entire street is packed with people, especially the 20-29 age group. With cheap drinks and loud music, it is a nice place to let yourself loose. (Rating: 4.5/5, Time needed: 1.5-2 hrs)
Suggestive One-day Itinerary
- Leave for the Golden Hand Bridge right after breakfast at 9. View during sunset is better but is crowded. Finish by lunch time and come back to the city.
- If you’re done by 2-2.30, visit the museum of Cham sculpture, followed by chilling at the My Khe Beach; else skip the museum.
- Leave for Monkey mountain by 3.30, take stops for pictures and reach by 4.30. Visit Linh Ung Pagoda and Lady Buddha statue. Enjoy Da Nang skyline during sunset.
- Drive again along the beach, heading towards the Dragon Bridge. If it is a weekend, enjoy the dragon spitting fire at 7 PM.
- If you like seafood, head back to the beach area filled with amazing seafood places.
- Take some rest or sit by the river, go bar hopping at 10 PM for an hour or two, and come back to hotel by midnight.
Travel Tips
- If you’re entering through Da Nang airport, carry exact $ change for immigration, there won’t be any exchange counter. (Click here to get the best currency exchange)
- Uber and Grab are available to come to the city and will be much cheaper than airport taxis.
- For roaming inside the city, rent a scooter if you’re comfortable with two-wheelers, else it’ll be much costlier to come back from Golden Hand Bridge or Monkey Mountains.
- You can club Marble Mountains with Hai Van Pass tour, no need to cover in the above itinerary.
- You won’t have to deposit money or passport if you’re renting scooter from your place of stay.
- Stay near the river instead of near the beach, it’ll be easier for bar hopping.
If you like the above itinerary or found any hidden gems I might have missed, let me know in comments. Click here for guides for other cities in Vietnam. Hope you have a safe and interesting travel.