Come along and explore Da Nang and let me be your tour guide! From bustling markets, iconic bridges to hidden bars, beaches and relaxing spas. This is your ultimate Da Nang Vietnam guide.
1 - Visit One of Da Nang's Markets
Da Nang has no shortage of markets and which one you visit depends on what you are after.
Han Market
Han Market is a centrally located market within walking distance of many restaurants. There is everything from clothing, jewellery, shoes and food. This is a market that is popular with tourists so vendors are friendly and welcoming.
Try the fish cakes or the avocado ice cream, avocado coffee or avocado shakes. They're all delicious and the creamy avocado has a creamy, milky texture but with the mild flavour of avocado.
Con Market
Con Market is more of a local's market so the clothing may not be as current as in the Han Market and there is less signage in English. However vendors are very friendly and there is a lot you can do with google translate.
Here you can find almost all of the local Da Nang foods like snails cooked in lemongrass and chilli, banh beo, Mi Quang noodles, durian sweet soup and Banh Trang Thit Hei or pork belly wrapped in rice paper.
We had an avocado smoothie which is a very mildly sweetened avocado puree that tastes of pure avocado. We also try the avocado ice cream with the avocado puree at the bottom with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and crispy caramelised coconut for texture.
This is where you want to go if you want to buy kitchenware with everything from plates, cutlery, trays and even really lovely lanterns and woven basket lights. We even found these red persimmons that looked like red capsicums and bought some. A kilo was 50,000VND/$2.70AUD/$1.90USD and they were delicious, like soft, jammy persimmons with slightly more stringiness in appearance to them (although the strings were soft when eating).
Bach My An Market
Bach My An Market is a real local's market mainly selling apparel with tailoring services. Food wise there is a large seafood section. We are the only tourists here apart from another couple. The food section is very close to the fresh seafood section so they smell does waft into this area.
We try a few dishes here for lunch. Banh it ram beo is a delicious sticky chewy rice cake with fried golden fritters fish sausage pork sausage with green mango shreds and crispy shallots from Central Vietnam and Da Nang.
We also try the banh can or crispy mini pancakes with an egg in the centre and served with green mango salad, lettuce, bean sprouts, pickled carrot and a delicious dipping sauce.
Another stalls sells che (sweet soups) and Kem (ice cream). You can of course get the famous avocado ice cream with one stall selling this treat since 1990. It is here that we try the durian sweet soup that Mr. NQN loves so much and for me the che troi nuoc or mung bean balls with crispy caramelised coconut.
Son Tra Night Market
Son Tra Night Market is located at one end of the Dragon Bridge and is open from 5:30pm every night. It is very much a tourist market selling souveniers as well as designer inspired items.
While we enjoyed walking around there for a little bit, there is a lot of hassling when you come to the food area. Also the food is the same at every stall and consists of a lot of kebabs and seafood. We didn't actually eat here so I can't comment on the food.
2 - Visit the Golden Hand Bridge
I had to see the Golden Hand bridge in real life. It wasn't open the last time I was in Da Nang (it opened in 2018) and it is located at Ba Na Hills, at the Sun World resort. To get there, get a car to take you there. It is around 27kms or 45 minutes away. From there you take a cable car from the base of the mountain to the bridge (around 950,000VND). See this detailed story on Ba Na Hills.
3 - See the Dragon Bridge
The Dragon Bridge is the world's largest steel dragon shaped bridge and stretches across the River Han. Tip: plan your visit for a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night where they have a fireworks display.
4 - Visit a Hidden Bar
Da Nang's worst kept secret is the hidden bar on Nguyễn Chí Thanh. Look for the Banh Mi stand (it's easy to spot if you know what you're looking for) and swing it open to reveal a gorgeous and friendly little speakeasy. The cocktail menu features ingredients like black sticky rice, yogurt, chicken sauce and green chilli but you can also get classic cocktails as well.
There are 5 signature cocktails and the top seller is the Banh Mi cocktail made with vodka, green chilli syrup, fresh lime and cucumber juice with coriander. This cocktail is gorgeous in its complexity and has a pronounced savouriness to it. We also try the Oi Xi Muoi made with rum, guava, Xi Moui (salty preserved plums) and tonic water.
Tip: the bar opens at 6:30pm every night
5 - Get a Massage or Spa Treatment
There is no shortage of spas in Da Nang and some are even open 24 hours! The only problem is trying to figure out which one to go to. Just be aware that some of them offer customers gifts to leave them a review (we found our first spa experience very underwhelming even though it was rated 5 stars and we realised that it was because they offered us a gift if we would review them favourably). On the second day we found THE spa, Queen Spa. I wanted somewhere nice and clean but not a hotel spa because they're priced similarly to Australia (aka $150AUD and above for a massage). Queen Spa is around $35AUD for a 1 hour massage or facial.
Their treatment rooms are also stunning - they have a gorgeous Egyptian room and a Middle Eastern themed room. Everything is very clean and spotless and my massage undid 2 months of chronic pain from using my phone.
They do things smartly here too - to avoid any communication issues they show me a simple guide on how to let the masseuse know to go softer or harder and at the end, they served panna cotta, tea and cookies. And when I got up to wait outside from my car, they told me to sit tight, they would look out for the car for me and then called me when the car was there. It was 5 star service from beginning to end. Tip: you can whatspp or facebook messenger them to book. Also you can shower after your treatment in case you have a late flight.
6 - Get a Mani Pedi
There are no shortage of places to get your nails done in Da Nang and many of these are concentrated around Han Market near the Han River. I went to Dragon Spa&Nail located at 04 Hùng Vương right along Han River. Prices are reasonable - for builder gel nails it was 420,00VND/$26AUD/$16USD and includes a 30 minute foot massage. To get a specific design it is 660,000VND/$35AUD/25USD.
They have the latest tech and did an amazing job with my nails. The 30 minute foot massage was no afterthought either and it was lovely relaxing with a direct view of the Han River outside. The staff are super sweet and thoughtful and want you to enjoy your time there and there was no hassling to leave them a review or anything.
7 - Head to the Beach
We were lucky enough to stay at the Radisson Red Hotel on My Ke Bach, a white sand beach that stretches for almost a kilometre. It was typhoon season so we didn't spend a lot of time there but if you visit outside of typhoon season, it's a nice beach.
8 - Visit Hoi An or Hue
One of the many reasons for Da Nang's popularity as a destination is its proximity to Hoi An and Hue. Hoi An is known for its gorgeous lantern-lit ancient town that is around 1 hour or 40kms away from Da Nang. Hue was the former imperial city with lots of monuments and is 2 hours or 106kms away. Sadly both were experiencing major floods during our visit so check the weather if you are going during typhoon season.
9 - Visit Marble Mountain
We didn't visit Marble Mountain during this recent trip but I did visit in 2012 - see my post on the Marble Mountain visit here.
10 - See The Pink Church
Da Nang's pink church or Da Nang Cathedral is centrally located so you're likely to bump into it if you're walking around the main tourist area near Han Market. This pretty pink church has Gothic style architecture and is the only French built Catholic church in Da Nang. Look closer and you'll see pretty stained glass and rose windows and a swivelling metal rooster at the top of the 80 metre tower.
Tips for Da Nang
Getting around is easy. Download the Grab app and add your credit card (do it before you leave) and off you go! There are always plenty of cars and it is well priced and I always felt safe (it's also owned by Uber so it's basically a similar service but also includes food delivery). From our hotel the Radisson Red Da Nang on My Ke Beach to the markets it was around 30000VND or around $1.70AUD. For an longer drive like to Ba Na Hills which takes around 45 minutes to 1 hour it was 334,00VND or around $20AUD.
Money Some restaurants like Michelin favourite Bep Hen are cash only so make sure to have VND with you. There are international cash machines (the one outside our hotel was not an international cash machine).
Weather If you're visiting during typhoon season (late August-November) bring an umbrella. You can buy raincoats too and be prepared for a wash out of a day. On these days, we went to the spa and visited markets.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever been to Da Nang before? What were your highlights?
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