Central Vietnam Right,
Now.
Hoi An, Vietnam · Da Nang, Vietnam
old towns, street food, beaches, history
Itinerary
6 chaptersDa Nang by the sea, dragon fire after dark
Da Nang
The shape of the day
Landing at eleven leaves the afternoon soft and unhurried. Lunch on the riverfront at Madame Lan, a quick look at the pink cathedral on Tran Phu, then straight onto My Khe for the rest of the daylight. Seafood at Be Man in the evening, picked live from the tanks. If it is a Saturday or Sunday, the Dragon Bridge finishes the day at nine with fire and water.
Practical bits
Pack swimwear in your hand luggage so the beach can happen before the bags are unpacked. July here runs hot and humid, mid thirties by early afternoon, with a short shower most days that clears fast. Carry some dong in small notes, since the seafood houses and market stalls are cash first. Agree the weight and the price at the tank before anything goes on the grill. The cathedral is a working church, so keep your shoulders covered if you step inside.
Getting between the stops
The airport is roughly 3 km from the river, about fifteen minutes to the beach side by car. Grab is what everyone uses and the fare is fixed in the app; the green Mai Linh taxis are the reliable metered alternative. Madame Lan to the cathedral is a five minute hop or a fifteen minute walk along Bach Dang. From there to My Khe you cross the Han River on the Dragon Bridge or the Tran Thi Ly. For the fire show, get dropped on the east bank and walk in, because the bridge deck closes to traffic beforehand.
Local notes
Da Nang eats early. Restaurants fill from six and thin out by nine, which is nothing like Hanoi or Saigon. On the beach, a lounger usually comes with the price of a drink at the clubs along Vo Nguyen Giap. At the bridge, the dragon breathes fire first and then sprays water down the deck, so anyone standing on it gets properly soaked. Locals watch from the banks for exactly that reason.
- 0111:00 · 45m
Da Nang International Airport
Grab shares and the metered green Mai Linh taxis both queue outside arrivals, and the beach and riverfront are a flat quarter hour east. Book a Grab from inside the hall rather than taking the first offer at the kerb. There are SIM counters landside if you want a local number.About this place↗ Open in MapsVietnam's third busiest international airport, sitting inside the city about 3 km west of the Han River.
HistoryIt began as a French colonial airfield and was expanded enormously as an American air base during the war, before returning to civil use and picking up new terminals as Da Nang grew.Why it's famousIt is the practical way into central Vietnam, and unusually close to town. Hoi An, Ba Na Hills and the Marble Mountains are all inside an hour of the kerb.Did you knowThe ground beside the runway was one of the most dioxin-contaminated sites in the country, a legacy of Agent Orange stored there during the war. A joint Vietnamese and American clean-up of the soil finished in 2018. - 0212:30 · 75m
Madame Lan Restaurant
A large yellow colonial-style place on Bach Dang with several floors and a long menu. After a flight, the clay-pot fish and the banh xeo are the safe first orders. Sit upstairs for the river. It gets busy from noon with tour groups, so slightly early or slightly late is better.About this place↗ Open in MapsOne of Da Nang's best-known restaurants, on the river at Bach Dang, serving dishes from all three regions of Vietnam.
HistoryIt grew from a family business into a multi-storey operation, taking its name from the founder's mother and its look from the shuttered colonial houses of Hue and Hoi An.Why it's famousThe size of it and the breadth of the menu. For most visitors it is the first proper Vietnamese meal of the trip.Did you knowThe ochre walls and wooden shutters are pure pastiche. The building is modern, copying a style that belongs to older towns further down the coast. - 0314:15 · 30m
Da Nang Cathedral (Con Ga Church)
Ten minutes is enough unless a service is on. The best angle is from across Tran Phu, where you can fit the whole spire in. Inside, the stained glass is worth a look. It stays open through the day but closes to visitors during Mass, and shoulders should be covered.About this place↗ Open in MapsA pink Catholic cathedral of 1923 on Tran Phu, known to everyone as Con Ga, the rooster church.
HistoryFather Louis Vallet built it for the French residents of Tourane, as Da Nang was then called, and it remains the seat of the local diocese.Why it's famousThe candy pink walls and the rooster weathervane on the spire, which gave the church its nickname and make it the most photographed building in the city.Did you knowThe stained glass came from the French workshop of Louis Balmet, who also made the windows for the cathedrals at Da Lat and Nha Trang. - 0415:30 · 90m
My Khe Beach
Rent a lounger from one of the beach clubs along Vo Nguyen Giap, where a drink usually covers the chair. The water is calmest and clearest before the afternoon wind gets up. Lifeguards patrol the marked swimming zones in summer, and the rip currents outside them are real.About this place↗ Open in MapsA long stretch of white sand on Da Nang's eastern shore, running for kilometres below the towers of Vo Nguyen Giap.
HistoryIt was fishing coast until American servicemen used it for rest leave during the war, which is when the English name attached itself to the sand.Why it's famousThe length and the quality of the sand, plus its old nickname China Beach, which put it into American popular memory long before Vietnamese tourism arrived.Did you knowThe 1980s television series named after China Beach was never filmed here. Production used locations in California instead. - 0518:30 · 90m
Be Man Seafood
Choose your fish, prawns or scallops live from the tanks and pay by weight. Ask for them grilled with salt and chilli. Confirm the weight and the price per unit before anything goes near the fire, and check whether the number on the board is per kilo or per hundred grams.About this place↗ Open in MapsA plain, busy seafood house on the eastern side of the Han, where you pick from the tanks and the kitchen cooks it however you ask.
HistoryIt belongs to the tank-and-grill tradition that has fed this coast for generations, in a city whose fishing fleet lands its catch a few kilometres away.Why it's famousIt is where Da Nang families go for live seafood at weight prices rather than off a tourist menu, and it has kept that reputation as the city has grown.Did you knowVietnamese seafood is often priced by the lang, a unit of 100 g, rather than the kilogram. A figure that looks startlingly cheap on the board is a tenth of what you assumed. - 0621:00 · 30m
Dragon Bridge fire show
The dragon breathes real fire and then water on Saturday and Sunday nights at nine, for about fifteen minutes. Stand on the east bank near the head. Get there by half eight for a spot at the railing, and stay off the bridge deck itself unless you want soaking.About this place↗ Open in MapsA 666 metre steel bridge across the Han River, built in the shape of a dragon and lit in colour after dark.
HistoryIt opened in March 2013 on the anniversary of the city's liberation, designed by an American engineering firm and built to carry six lanes of traffic.Why it's famousThe weekend show. Gas jets in the head throw flame down the river, followed by jets of water, and the whole east bank turns out to watch.Did you knowThe dragon is modelled on the Ly dynasty form found in Vietnam's oldest imperial carvings, long and serpentine, rather than on the Chinese dragon most visitors picture.
Hoi An old town, on foot and by lantern
Hoi An
The shape of the day
Coffee on a rooftop at opening, while the old town is still mostly deliveries and cats. The Japanese Bridge next, before the coaches from Da Nang land. Get measured at the tailor before noon so a fitting is possible the same evening, then cao lau for lunch. The middle of the afternoon belongs to a fan and a lie down. Dinner over the Thu Bon, and after dark the lanterns and a candle boat.
Practical bits
The old town runs on a single heritage ticket, sold at booths around the edge, which covers entry to a set number of houses, guild halls and the bridge. Wear something you can walk a few kilometres in, because the streets are old brick and uneven. Tailors want at least a day for anything complicated, so do the measuring on your first morning rather than your last. Bring cash and a hat.
Getting between the stops
Everything here is within fifteen minutes on foot, which is rather the point of the place. Cars are banned from the old town and motorbikes are barred for much of the day and all evening. Most hotels lend out bicycles and the ride to the beach is flat the whole way. From Da Nang it is around 30 km, roughly 45 minutes by car.
Local notes
The guild halls are working temples rather than exhibits, so cover your shoulders and step over the raised thresholds instead of onto them. Haggle in the market, never in a restaurant. Candle boats are sold at the water and one each is plenty, whatever the vendors say. On the fourteenth night of the lunar month the town cuts its electric lights and runs on lanterns alone, which is worth checking the calendar for.
- 0108:00 · 45m
Faifo Coffee
Climb to the rooftop for coffee level with the old town's tiled roofs. Arrive at opening to claim a railing seat before the tour groups. Order a ca phe sua da or the egg coffee. Drinks are priced for the view rather than the cup, and one round is about the right stay.About this place↗ Open in MapsA coffee house on Tran Phu with a rooftop terrace that looks straight across the old town's roof tiles.
HistoryIt occupies one of the old shophouses on the main street and took its name from Faifo, the name European traders used for Hoi An in the port's trading years.Why it's famousThe rooftop view, which has become one of the most reproduced photographs of Hoi An.Did you knowNobody is certain where the word Faifo came from. The likeliest explanation is that it grew out of Hai Pho, an older Vietnamese name for the settlement. - 0209:15 · 45m
Japanese Covered Bridge
The covered bridge printed on the 20,000 dong note, and small enough to cross in a minute. The little temple built into one side is quietest right at opening. Your old town ticket covers going inside. Photographs from the riverbank a few metres away are better than from the bridge itself.About this place↗ Open in MapsA short roofed bridge with a temple built into one flank, and the emblem of Hoi An.
HistoryJapanese merchants built it around the turn of the seventeenth century to link their quarter to the Chinese one across a creek. It has been rebuilt many times since, most recently in a full restoration completed in 2024.Why it's famousIt appears on the 20,000 dong note and on every photograph of the town, and it is the piece of Hoi An that UNESCO listing is usually hung on.Did you knowA pair of stone dogs guards one end and a pair of monkeys the other, said to mark the years in which construction began and finished. - 0311:00 · 75m
Yaly Couture tailor fitting
Get measured before noon and Yaly can usually manage a first fitting the same evening. Bring a photograph of what you want copied, or a garment that already fits you well. Expect two fittings for anything tailored, so this really has to happen early in the trip rather than late.About this place↗ Open in MapsOne of the largest tailoring houses in Hoi An, spread over several floors, making clothes to measure in a day or two.
HistoryHoi An traded cloth for centuries as a port, but the made-to-measure trade you see now is modern, growing quickly after Vietnam opened to tourism in the 1990s.Why it's famousHoi An is the place people come to have clothes made, and Yaly is among the biggest and most organised of the several hundred shops doing it.Did you knowSilk from the Quang Nam countryside was one of the goods that made this port rich in the 1600s, when Japanese ships arrived with silver to trade for it. - 0412:45 · 75m
Cao Lau lunch, Morning Glory
Order cao lau, the pork and noodle dish made properly only here. The white rose dumplings are worth adding. It is a restaurant rather than a stall, so it costs more than the market, and it fills up at one o'clock. Booking a table is sensible in high season.About this place↗ Open in MapsA street-food restaurant in a restored shophouse on Nguyen Thai Hoc, serving Hoi An home cooking at a table rather than a plastic stool.
HistoryThe chef Trinh Diem Vy grew up in her family's food business in the town and opened Morning Glory to put local street dishes into a sit-down setting. She also runs a cookery school.Why it's famousIt is the best-known restaurant in the old town and the usual introduction to cao lau, white rose dumplings and the rest of the Hoi An repertoire.Did you knowReal cao lau depends on water from the old Ba Le well and lye made from ash, which is why the dish is claimed by this town alone and travels so badly. - 0518:30 · 75m
The Cargo Club riverside dinner
Book an upstairs terrace table over the Thu Bon for the lantern-lit view, ideally a day ahead in season. Save room for the patisserie counter downstairs, which is the real reason to come. Ask for the river side when you book, since the inner tables miss the whole point.About this place↗ Open in MapsA riverside restaurant and patisserie on Nguyen Thai Hoc, with a first-floor terrace over the Thu Bon.
HistoryIt comes from the same Hoi An family business as Morning Glory, pairing a European bakery counter with a Vietnamese and Western menu upstairs.Why it's famousThe terrace, which looks down on the lantern boats, and the pastry counter, which is unusually good for a small town.Did you knowThe Thu Bon floods these streets most autumns. Several old houses along the riverfront have the high-water marks of past floods painted on their inside walls. - 0620:00 · 60m
Lantern night & boat
After dusk the riverbanks fill with silk lanterns. Buy a paper candle boat from a vendor at the water and release it from a sampan on the Thu Bon. Agree the boat fare before you step in, and one candle each is plenty. The far bank is calmer if the main quay is crowded.About this place↗ Open in MapsThe nightly lantern lighting along the Thu Bon, with paper candle boats set adrift on the water.
HistoryLanterns arrived with the Chinese and Japanese merchant communities. The modern lantern nights were revived in 1998 as a monthly festival and have since spread to most evenings of the year.Why it's famousIt is the image of Hoi An that travels furthest, and the reason the old town is busier after dark than at midday.Did you knowOn the fourteenth night of the lunar month the town switches off its electric street lighting entirely and runs on lantern and candlelight.
The Golden Bridge, above the cloud line
Ba Na Hills
The shape of the day
An early start pays for itself here. Take one of the first cable cars up and walk the Golden Bridge before ten, while the light is clean and the coaches are still on the road. After that the hill fills up, so give the rest of the morning to the French gardens and lunch in the mock village square, and use the wine tunnel to escape the worst of the sun. Down by mid afternoon, and dinner back at sea level in a teak villa near the beach.
Practical bits
One ticket covers the cable cars and everything on the hill except food and drink. Take a light layer and something waterproof. The summit sits near 1,400 m and can be ten degrees cooler than the coast, wrapped in cloud even when the morning looks clear from below. Shoes with grip matter, since the stone paths turn slick in mist. Weekdays are noticeably calmer than weekends and Vietnamese public holidays.
Getting between the stops
Ba Na is about 35 km west of Da Nang, roughly 45 minutes by car. Grab will take you out there, but picking one up again at the base station is patchy, so either book a return car or keep your driver waiting. On the hill itself you move by a second cable line, a small funicular and a fair amount of walking, all of it included in the ticket.
Local notes
This is a Vietnamese family day out before it is anything else, so expect long queues at weekends, around Tet and through the summer holidays. Nobody is pretending the French Village is old, and it is a good deal more enjoyable once you stop expecting it to be. The Linh Ung pagoda on the hill is a real temple with monks in residence, so shoulders and knees covered there.
- 0107:45 · 30m
Ba Na Hills cable car
Buy the all-inclusive ticket at the Suoi Mo base station, which covers the cable cars and everything on the hill except food. The climb is close to 1,400 metres and often breaks through the cloud line halfway up. Be there for the first cars, since the queue builds fast after nine.About this place↗ Open in MapsThe cable car system that lifts you from the foot of Ba Na to the resort on the summit, in roughly twenty minutes.
HistoryIt opened in 2013 as part of the Sun World development, replacing the winding road that had been the only way up to the old French hill station.Why it's famousThe scale of the ride, and the moment the cabin comes up through the cloud into sunlight with the forest below still grey.Did you knowOn opening it took several Guinness World Records at once, including the longest non-stop single-track cable car and the greatest vertical distance between terminals. - 0208:45 · 75m
Golden Bridge (Cau Vang)
The gold walkway held up by two vast weathered hands. Walk it before ten, when the coach crowds and the midday haze arrive together. It is 150 metres long and takes minutes, so the queue is for photographs rather than the crossing. Come back later if the cloud has closed in.About this place↗ Open in MapsA 150 metre gold-coloured footbridge curving out from the hillside at around 1,400 metres, carried by two giant stone hands.
HistoryIt opened in June 2018 to a design by the Vietnamese studio TA Landscape Architecture, built to give walkers a view out over the valley from the summit gardens.Why it's famousPhotographs of it went round the world within days of opening and pulled a large share of Da Nang's visitors up the mountain.Did you knowThe hands are only a few years old. They are steel mesh and fibreglass, deliberately aged with cracks and moss so they read as ancient stone. - 0310:15 · 45m
Le Jardin d'Amour gardens
Nine themed formal gardens with topiary, flower beds and a small chapel. Three quarters of an hour is plenty. It also makes a good place to wait out the mist if the Golden Bridge was clouded in, since you can see the bridge start to clear from the upper terraces.About this place↗ Open in MapsA set of nine linked gardens laid out in French formal style near the top station at Ba Na.
HistoryThe gardens were built as part of the modern resort, borrowing from the hill station the French established here in 1919 as an escape from the coastal heat.Why it's famousThe topiary, the flower beds and the little chapel, which together are the most photographed corner of the hill after the bridge.Did you knowThe original hill station had a couple of hundred villas at its peak. War left almost nothing standing, so everything here is a modern reconstruction rather than a restoration. - 0411:30 · 75m
French Village lunch
Eat in the mock Alpine square. The buffet at the Beer Plaza is the simple choice with a group, or take a crepe and a coffee at one of the terraces. Everything on the hill is priced for a resort, so treat the meal as part of the ticket rather than a bargain.About this place↗ Open in MapsA recreated French village on the summit, with a cobbled square, hotel, church tower and a row of restaurants.
HistoryThe French built a hill station at Ba Na from 1919 to escape the summer heat on the coast. It was abandoned and wrecked over decades of war, and the site was rebuilt from 2009 as a resort in the French style rather than restored.Why it's famousThe square is the centre of the whole hill, where the parades happen and where almost everyone eats.Did you knowFoundations and broken walls of the original French villas still lie in the forest on the slopes below, unrestored and largely unvisited. - 0513:30 · 30m
Debay Wine Cellar
A cool tunnel about 100 metres long bored straight into the mountain, with a tasting bar at the far end. Half an hour is enough and it is the best escape from the sun on the hill. The temperature drops sharply as you walk in, so bring the layer you packed for the summit.About this place↗ Open in MapsA wine cellar cut into the rock at Ba Na, running roughly 100 metres into the hillside with a bar at the end.
HistoryFrench engineers dug it in 1923 to store wine for the hill station above, taking advantage of rock that holds a steady cool temperature all year.Why it's famousIt is the one genuinely old thing left on the summit, and the coolest place on the hill in every sense.Did you knowThe tunnel sits at roughly 16 to 20 degrees the year round with no cooling of any kind, which is precisely why the French chose to dig rather than build. - 0619:00 · 90m
Lam Vien Restaurant dinner
Back at sea level, a teak garden villa near the beach doing refined versions of Vietnamese classics. Book ahead for a table by the lotus pond. Portions are restaurant-sized rather than street-sized and the prices follow, so this is the evening to make a proper meal of it.About this place↗ Open in MapsA Vietnamese restaurant near My Khe, set in a timber villa with gardens and a lotus pond.
HistoryThe building was put up in the form of a traditional central Vietnamese wooden house, the style associated with the garden houses of Hue rather than with modern Da Nang.Why it's famousThe setting, and a kitchen that plates familiar dishes with more care than the beachfront average.Did you knowTraditional timber houses of this region are pegged and jointed rather than nailed, so the frame holds itself together and can in principle be dismantled and moved.
Marble Mountains, then the Lady Buddha
Da Nang
The shape of the day
Proper coffee first, then the short run south to the Marble Mountains while the stone is still cool. You climb Thuy Son, drop into Huyen Khong Cave where daylight falls through a hole in the roof onto the shrines, and take the darker walk through Am Phu afterwards. Mi quang for lunch. The afternoon crosses town to the Son Tra peninsula and the Lady Buddha, and dinner is rice paper you roll yourself.
Practical bits
Wear trainers. The steps are steep, worn smooth and slippery when damp, and the glass lift only saves you the first ascent. Your phone torch is enough for Am Phu, which has its own small ticket. Take water, because there is very little shade up top. Both the mountain shrines and the pagoda are active places of worship, so shoulders and knees covered. Go before ten if you can, since the bare rock throws the heat back at you.
Getting between the stops
The Marble Mountains sit about 8 km south of My Khe on the road to Hoi An, fifteen minutes by car. Son Tra is the other way, half an hour north through town, and the last stretch is a climb with a couple of viewpoints worth pulling over for. Grab covers all of it, though hiring a car and driver for the day costs little more and saves you waiting in the sun.
Local notes
Non Nuoc, the stone carving village at the foot of the hills, has worked marble for around four centuries. Quarrying the mountains themselves was stopped to protect them, so most of the stone in the workshops now comes from elsewhere. In the caves, people are praying rather than sightseeing. Keep your voice down, do not point your feet at an altar, and only take incense if you mean to use it.
- 0108:00 · 45m
43 Factory Coffee Roaster
Da Nang's serious speciality roaster, in a glass-walled warehouse in the An Thuong area. Order a batch brew of the single origin and the burnt honey cake. It is quiet before nine. If you only know Vietnamese coffee as sweet and iced, ask them for the filter instead.About this place↗ Open in MapsA speciality coffee roastery and cafe near the beach in An Thuong, with the roaster on show behind glass.
HistoryIt opened as part of the wave of Vietnamese speciality roasters that began sourcing single-origin beans and grading them properly, rather than blending and buttering as the old trade did.Why it's famousIt was among the first places in Da Nang to serve coffee brewed for clarity rather than strength, and it still sets the standard locally.Did you knowVietnam is the world's second largest coffee producer and easily the largest for robusta, yet nearly all of its speciality arabica comes from a handful of highland districts around Da Lat. - 0209:00 · 90m
Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son)
Take the glass lift up Thuy Son to skip the first climb, then walk down through Huyen Khong Cave, where daylight pours through the roof onto the shrines. Ninety minutes covers the main circuit. The steps beyond the lift are steep and slippery, so this is a trainers rather than sandals morning.About this place↗ Open in MapsFive hills of marble and limestone rising out of flat sand south of Da Nang, named after the five elements and riddled with caves and shrines.
HistoryThe Cham worshipped here long before the Vietnamese arrived. The emperor Minh Mang gave the hills their element names in the 1830s and had pagodas built on Thuy Son, the largest.Why it's famousThe caves. Shafts of daylight fall through holes in the rock onto Buddhist altars, and the summit gives a clear view down the coast to Hoi An.Did you knowDuring the war a Viet Cong field hospital operated inside these caves, within sight of the American airbase at Da Nang. - 0310:45 · 45m
Am Phu Cave
The hell cave, staged with carved tableaux of Buddhist purgatory. Follow the dark stairway down, then take the steep climb up towards the heaven exit. It has a separate small ticket and a phone torch is plenty. Not the one for anyone unsteady on stairs or unhappy in tight spaces.About this place↗ Open in MapsA cave on Thuy Son laid out as a walk through Buddhist hell and up to heaven, populated with carved figures.
HistoryThe cavern is natural, but the statues and tableaux are modern additions that turned it into a moral journey you walk rather than a shrine you visit.Why it's famousThe theatre of it. Few Buddhist sites anywhere stage the afterlife this literally, and Vietnamese families bring children through it.Did you knowThe eighteen levels of hell depicted here come from a blend of Buddhist and Taoist tradition, each level assigned to a specific sin and its punishment. - 0412:15 · 60m
Mi Quang Ba Mua lunch
The regional dish done properly: turmeric-yellow noodles with pork and prawn under a splash of broth, with a sesame rice cracker and a heap of herbs. Crumble the cracker in and toss it all together rather than eating it like a soup. An hour is more than enough.About this place↗ Open in MapsA Da Nang restaurant specialising in mi quang, the noodle dish of Quang Nam province.
HistoryMi quang is home cooking rather than a restaurant invention, made across the province for family meals and festivals long before anyone sold it to visitors.Why it's famousIt is one of the reliable addresses in the city for a dish that varies wildly from kitchen to kitchen.Did you knowMi quang is served with barely any broth, a few spoonfuls at the bottom rather than a bowlful, which is what separates it from pho and why you toss it instead of sipping. - 0515:00 · 90m
Lady Buddha, Linh Ung Pagoda
Vietnam's tallest Buddha, 67 metres, standing over the bay on the Son Tra peninsula. The temple courtyard frames a long view back to My Khe. Late afternoon light is best. It is a working pagoda, so shoulders and knees covered, and the drive up is worth a stop at the viewpoints.About this place↗ Open in MapsA hillside pagoda complex on Son Tra, dominated by a white statue of Quan Am, the bodhisattva of compassion, facing out to sea.
HistoryThe complex was built in the 2000s and opened in 2010, one of three Linh Ung pagodas around Da Nang. It sits on the forested peninsula that shelters the bay.Why it's famousAt 67 metres the statue is the tallest Buddhist figure in Vietnam, visible from the beach several kilometres away.Did you knowThe statue is hollow and has seventeen floors inside it, each with its own altar. Fishermen along this coast regard her as a protector against storms. - 0619:00 · 90m
Quan Tran dinner
Da Nang's own dish, banh trang cuon thit heo. You roll the boiled pork, herbs and green banana in rice paper yourself and dip it in mam nem. Ask for a demonstration on the first roll. The sauce is strong, so start with less than you think you want.About this place↗ Open in MapsA long-standing Da Nang restaurant built around one dish, boiled pork rolled at the table in rice paper with herbs.
HistoryBanh trang cuon thit heo belongs to Da Nang and Quang Nam rather than to Vietnam at large, and restaurants here compete on the cut of pork and the quality of the sauce.Why it's famousThe pork, sliced so each piece carries a band of fat and skin, and the mam nem that goes with it.Did you knowMam nem is anchovy fermented whole rather than drained off like fish sauce, so it is far stronger. The pineapple stirred into it is what keeps it drinkable for the uninitiated.
Hai Van Pass and imperial Hue
Hue
The shape of the day
A long day with an early alarm. You climb the Hai Van Pass at first light for the view over Lang Co Bay, then drop into Hue for the citadel, which takes a full two hours and deserves rather more. Royal snacks for lunch, Thien Mu on the river in the afternoon, and Khai Dinh's tomb last, when the low sun catches the mosaics. Dinner is over the lagoon on the way back.
Practical bits
This is roughly 200 km there and back, so a car with a driver is the sensible way to do it. Take a layer for the pass, which stays cooler and is often wet even when the coast is baking. The Imperial City has almost no shade, so hat, water and sunscreen. Tickets are sold separately for the citadel and for each tomb, with a combined ticket if you are doing several. Thien Mu is free. Shoulders and knees covered everywhere.
Getting between the stops
From Da Nang you either take the old pass road or the tunnel underneath it. The tunnel is quicker and always open, and the pass is the reason you came. If cloud has closed the top in, drop down and use the tunnel without regret. Hue is about 100 km away, two and a half hours with the pass in the middle. Thien Mu and the tombs are scattered 5 to 10 km outside the centre, so keep the car for the day. The coastal train between the two cities is a lovely ride if you would rather not drive, but it will not get you to the tombs.
Local notes
Hue food is saltier, hotter and served in far smaller portions than anywhere else in Vietnam, a habit inherited from a court that wanted many dishes rather than large ones. The citadel is still being rebuilt after the fighting of 1968, so you will see scaffolding and bare platforms where palaces stood. The tombs are graves as much as monuments, and Vietnamese visitors treat them that way.
- 0107:30 · 60m
Hai Van Pass (Hai Van Quan)
Stop at the hilltop gate and its old bunkers for the panorama over Lang Co Bay. An hour covers the walk and the photographs. If the top is fogged in, drop back down and take the Hai Van tunnel instead, which is quicker anyway. Take a layer, it is cool and windy up there.About this place↗ Open in MapsA coastal mountain pass at around 500 metres between Da Nang and Hue, with a fortified gate and old bunkers at the summit.
HistoryThe pass was the frontier between Dai Viet and the Cham kingdoms. The gate, Hai Van Quan, was built in 1826 under the emperor Minh Mang, and the French and later the Americans added bunkers around it. A joint restoration of the gate was completed in 2024.Why it's famousThe view down over Lang Co Bay, and a reputation as one of the great coastal drives in Asia.Did you knowSince the 6.3 km tunnel opened underneath in 2005, most traffic goes through the mountain rather than over it, which is exactly why the old road is now pleasant to drive. - 0210:30 · 120m
Imperial City of Hue (Dai Noi)
Enter through Ngo Mon Gate. Beyond the restored Thai Hoa Palace lie the ruins of the Forbidden Purple City, mostly lost in the fighting of 1968. Two hours is the minimum. There is almost no shade inside the walls, so go with water and start at the far end while it is cooler.About this place↗ Open in MapsThe walled and moated citadel on the Perfume River that was the seat of the Nguyen emperors, with a second inner enclosure for the court.
HistoryGia Long began building in 1804 and Hue served as Vietnam's capital until 1945. The complex was damaged in 1947 and then badly during the Battle of Hue in 1968. UNESCO listed it in 1993 and restoration has continued ever since.Why it's famousNgo Mon Gate, the Thai Hoa Palace with its lacquered columns, and the emptiness of the Forbidden Purple City behind them.Did you knowOnly a handful of the major buildings inside the walls came through the twentieth century intact. Much of what you walk across is bare platform where a palace once stood. - 0313:00 · 75m
Hanh Restaurant lunch
Order the set of Hue royal snacks in one go: banh beo, banh nam and banh loc, plus nem lui pork skewers you wrap at the table. It arrives as a parade of small plates, which is the point. Portions are tiny, so order the set rather than dishes one at a time.About this place↗ Open in MapsA small Hue restaurant serving the city's steamed rice cakes and grilled skewers as a fixed run of small plates.
HistoryHue's snack tradition comes down from the court kitchens, where meals were built from many small dishes rather than a few large ones, and the habit outlived the dynasty.Why it's famousIt is the easiest place to try the whole Hue repertoire in one sitting without ordering blind from a long menu.Did you knowThe three steamed cakes are all rice or tapioca flour with dried shrimp. What differs is the wrapping: banh beo in little saucers, banh nam flattened in banana leaf, banh loc translucent and chewy. - 0415:00 · 60m
Thien Mu Pagoda
The seven-tier Phuoc Duyen tower is Hue's emblem, on a bluff above the Perfume River. Behind it sits the blue Austin that carried Thich Quang Duc to Saigon in 1963. Entry is free, an hour is enough, and it is a working monastery so keep to the paths and cover up.About this place↗ Open in MapsA hilltop Buddhist monastery above the Perfume River, marked by an octagonal seven-storey tower.
HistoryIt was founded in 1601 by Nguyen Hoang, the lord who first established his family in this region. The tower, Phuoc Duyen, was added in 1844 under the emperor Thieu Tri.Why it's famousThe tower is the symbol of Hue. The monastery is also remembered as a centre of Buddhist opposition to the Diem government in the early 1960s.Did you knowThe pale blue Austin parked behind the pagoda is the actual car that drove the monk Thich Quang Duc to the Saigon crossroads where he burned himself in June 1963. - 0516:45 · 75m
Tomb of Khai Dinh
A blackened concrete tomb on terraces up a hillside, hiding an interior of glass and porcelain mosaic. Climb the dragon staircases to the sanctuary at the top. Give it an hour. Late afternoon light on the mosaics is the best of the day, and the ticket is separate from the citadel.About this place↗ Open in MapsThe hillside tomb of the emperor Khai Dinh, built of dark concrete on rising terraces, and the most European of the royal tombs at Hue.
HistoryKhai Dinh reigned from 1916 to 1925 under French protection. Work on the tomb began in 1920 and finished in 1931, well after his death, mixing Vietnamese form with European materials and detail.Why it's famousThe interior. Every surface of the burial chamber is covered in mosaic made from broken glass and porcelain, in complete contrast to the grim exterior.Did you knowThe tomb took eleven years to build, longer than the nine years he sat on the throne, and the taxes raised to pay for it did nothing for his standing. - 0619:00 · 90m
Lang Co seafood dinner, Be Than
Break the drive home at a stilted seafood house over the Lang Co lagoon. The oysters and the steamed lagoon prawns come out of the water below you. Ask what was landed today rather than working through the menu, and time it for sunset with the mountains behind.About this place↗ Open in MapsA seafood restaurant on stilts over the Lap An lagoon at Lang Co, between the Hai Van Pass and the sea.
HistoryLang Co has fished and farmed this lagoon for generations, and the stilt houses along the shore grew out of that trade rather than out of tourism.Why it's famousOysters and prawns straight from the water, eaten with the mountains going dark on the far side of the lagoon.Did you knowThe oysters here are grown on old tyres and stacks of stone set out in the shallows, and at low tide you can see the whole farm laid out below the tables.
An Bang, one last swim before the flight
Da Nang
The shape of the day
Nothing rushed. An early swim at An Bang while the sand is still cool, brunch above the beach, and then the slow drift towards the airport. A banh mi from Phan Chau Trinh for the road, a last half hour in Han Market for lanterns and coffee, and a half past two arrival at the terminal.
Practical bits
Check out first and take the bags with you, or agree a pickup time so you are not doubling back across town. Swim before nine, because by ten the sun is genuinely unpleasant. Banh Mi Phuong builds a queue at lunchtime, so order it to take away. Han Market is cash, and the haggling there is gentle rather than sport. Eat the banh mi before security. If you are buying ground coffee, put it in the hold bag, since the weight adds up faster than you expect.
Getting between the stops
An Bang is about 4 km from Hoi An old town, ten minutes by taxi or twenty on a bicycle. Hoi An to the airport is roughly 30 km and 45 minutes, though the Da Nang end can be slow in the middle of the day. Han Market is a ten minute hop from the terminal, which is why it works as the final stop.
Local notes
An Bang keeps a different rhythm from the Da Nang strip: low buildings, foreign-run beach bars and nothing resort-sized on the sand. Silk lanterns fold flat, so they survive a suitcase far better than they look as though they will. Dried mango and Trung Nguyen coffee are the standard things to take home, and the upstairs of Han Market is where the fabric and tailoring stalls are if you want one last thing made.
- 0107:30 · 90m
Morning at An Bang Beach
Calmer and far less built up than the Da Nang strip. Take a lounger at one of the beach bars for a last swim before the sun turns fierce, which is around ten. The bars ask for a drink rather than a rental fee. Watch the flags, since the currents pick up outside the marked zone.About this place↗ Open in MapsHoi An's main beach, roughly 4 km from the old town, low-rise and lined with independent bars rather than resorts.
HistoryAn Bang was a fishing hamlet and stayed quiet while Cua Dai, further south, took the hotel development. It became the town's main beach once Cua Dai's sand began to disappear.Why it's famousWide sand, no towers behind it, and a row of beach bars that give the place a different character from Da Nang.Did you knowCua Dai beach, just down the coast, has lost most of its sand to erosion since around 2010 and now sits behind long walls of sandbags. - 0209:30 · 75m
Soul Kitchen brunch
A grassy beachfront bar and restaurant, the An Bang classic. Take a garden table over the sand for eggs, a smoothie and a last iced Vietnamese coffee. It fills from about ten at weekends. Service runs at beach speed, so this is not the stop to rush before a flight.About this place↗ Open in MapsA beachfront bar and restaurant on An Bang, with tables spread across a lawn just above the sand.
HistoryIt is one of the longest-running places on this beach and part of the small cluster of independent bars that gave An Bang its reputation as tourism moved north from Cua Dai.Why it's famousThe garden setting, the live music at weekends, and a menu that stretches from Vietnamese breakfasts to European comfort food.Did you knowStorm season and erosion mean the bars along An Bang are regularly rebuilt or shifted back from the water, so the layout of the beach is never permanent. - 0311:15 · 30m
Banh Mi Phuong
The banh mi Anthony Bourdain made famous, on Phan Chau Trinh. Order the special with pate, cold cuts and herbs, and take it away for the drive north. The queue is worst between noon and two. Eat it before the airport, since it will not survive security or an hour in a bag.About this place↗ Open in MapsA small banh mi counter on Phan Chau Trinh in Hoi An, selling filled baguettes to a permanent queue.
HistoryIt was a family shop serving locals for years before Anthony Bourdain filmed there in 2009 and called it the best sandwich he had eaten, after which the queue never really went away.Why it's famousThe Bourdain endorsement, and a house pate and sauce that most imitators do not manage to match.Did you knowVietnamese banh mi is the French baguette rebuilt with rice flour in the dough, which is what gives the loaf its brittle shell and its almost hollow crumb. - 0412:30 · 45m
Han Market souvenirs
Central Da Nang's old market, good for last-minute lanterns, dried mango and Trung Nguyen coffee. Haggle gently, and pay in cash. Food and produce downstairs, fabric and souvenirs upstairs. Forty five minutes is plenty, and the airport is only a short hop from the door.About this place↗ Open in MapsA two-storey covered market on the corner of Bach Dang and Tran Phu, and the oldest trading hall still working in central Da Nang.
HistoryThe market dates from the French period and has been rebuilt and extended several times since. It was the city's main marketplace long before any of the malls appeared.Why it's famousIt is where Da Nang still shops for food, cloth and household goods, and where most visitors do their last half hour of buying.Did you knowThe fabric stalls upstairs will make an ao dai to measure in a day or two, generally for less than the tailors in Hoi An charge. - 0514:30 · 45m
Da Nang Airport, fly out
The international terminal is compact but fills fast at peak. Clear security early. There is decent pho and coffee airside, and the shops are limited, so do any buying at the market instead. Two hours before departure is comfortable, three if you are flying on a weekend evening.About this place↗ Open in MapsDa Nang's international terminal, opened in 2017 alongside the older domestic building, a few kilometres west of the city centre.
HistoryDa Nang was handling international flights from an increasingly stretched terminal until the new one was built ahead of the APEC summit the city hosted in November 2017.Why it's famousIt put central Vietnam within direct reach of Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok, which is what turned Da Nang from a stopover into a destination.Did you knowThe international terminal was financed and is run by a private company rather than the state airports operator, which is still rare in Vietnam.
Plan your own.
Create a free Travolp account and we'll drop a copy of this trip into your atlas. Edit it, expand it, make it yours.
One image of the whole trip, a card for every day, ready to print or drop in the group chat.
- All daysDownload plannerPreview
- Days 1 to 4Download plannerPreview
- Days 5 to 6Download plannerPreview