Forget Bali – These 6 Da Nang Beaches Are Next-Level!

Coming up: sunshine, heavy rain, low and high temperatures, some affordable resorts, monkeys on a mountain, lots of mangos and coconuts, small wooden boats, a surprisingly hidden place to see a sunset, and the 6 best beaches in Da Nang.

Right now, I’m living in the Vietnamese city of Da Nang.

And since it’s a coastal city, a big part of living in Da Nang is…

… playing around on seas and sands.

So: I’ve sat on most Da Nang beaches, I’ve swam on most Da Nang shores, and I’ve spent way too long trying to get a tan (mainly unsuccessfully).

And in this guide, I’ve helped you do all those things and more. Here’s the Travelness guide to the 6 best beaches in Da Nang!

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1. My An Beach (also known as ‘My Khe Beach’)

Best for: being surrounded by busy bustle

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This is the city’s busiest and most popular beach…

… in the city’s busiest and most popular expat area.

Here, you’ll find a combo of foreigners and locals.

You’ll also find many rentable sun loungers, lots of little shacks offering coconuts and drinks and snacks, and people wandering by to sell you trays of fruit. It’s also home to beach bars, tiny humble cafes, food and drinks trucks, and places to rent surfboards and paddleboards. Everything here is very affordable—a drink will cost you around $1.50USD, as will a sun lounger.

I spend most Sundays lounging around here. As far as I can tell, that’s what literally everyone else in Da Nang does too.

My favorite part of this beach is the northern end, where you’ll find Dawn Beach Bar and some other little shacks.

Pro Tip: On a hot day, you won’t find any sun loungers left on My An Beach after 10am (especially if it’s a weekend). So make sure you head here early!

Note: My An Beach and My Khe Beach aren’t *strictly* the same beach. But they’re connected to each other, and no one really seems sure where one ends and the other begins. So let’s just say they’re the same beach, and move on with our lives. Broadly, in my opinion and basically everyone else’s, this one long beach stretches from its southern point at Muối Biển Seafood Restaurant to its northern point at the The Dawn Beach Bar. This measures in at around 2 km (1.3 miles).

The best accommodations near My An Beach are:

• Golden Lotus Hotel. When I first came to Da Nang, this is where I stayed. Here, you get big rooms, very comfortable beds, exceptionally-friendly staff, and one of the best buffet breakfasts I’ve ever put my mouth around.
• Minh Toan SAFI Ocean Hotel. Hotels this luxurious aren’t usually this affordable. Sitting on the northern side of My An Beach (that’s the quieter side), big perks here include ocean views, big rooms, hefty bathtubs, and even on-site penthouses.

2. Pham Van Dong Beach (marked on Google Maps as ‘Bãi tắm Phạm Văn Đồng’)

Best for: a big beach with a semi-local (and very varied) vibe

Broadly speaking, at the northern side of where My An Beach and My Khe Beach end, there’s a right-beside-the-sea events space known as ‘East Sea Park.’ Here, you’ll find regular events, food festivals, and live music.

This park sort of separates the beaches—and anything lying both north of here and south of Monkey Mountain (which we’ll come to soon!) can be broadly classified as Pham Van Dong Beach.

The southern parts of Pham Van Dong Beach are pretty similar to My An Beach, but less busy and less touristy. On this section of the beach, you get sun loungers, lots of coconuts and coffees, and some places to buy snacks.

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… and as you head further north, you’ll find a much more local vibe, with wooden boats, wrinkle-faced fisherman, people selling fish and seafood, and many stretches of sand with no loungers and very few people.

The best accommodations near Pham Van Dong Beach are:

• Radisson Hotel. Ideal for families, this Radisson has a rooftop pool and excellent breakfasts—and it’s a 1-minute walk from the coast. Because it sits right where Pham Van Dong Beach meets My An Beach, it’s perfect for hopping from beach to beach.
• Chaca Beach. Ideal if you want something a little different, these small cozy part-rustic apartments have lots of wood, lots of natural light, and big homely vibes. They’re a 5-minute walk from the beach, in a very local part of town.

3. Bounce Beach (also known as ‘Bãi Biển Tiên Sa’)

Best for: stopping for sunset

Remember when I mentioned Monkey Mountain?

Well, it’s a jungle-clad adventure-offering peninsula north of the central part of Da Nang.

… and Bounce Beach sits on its western side.

Honestly, this beach isn’t great. A private stretch of sand attached to a resort (anyone can enter, so long as you buy a drink or some snacks), it’s not as pretty or clean as many other Da Nang beaches.

But it has one big perk: because it’s western-facing (unlike any other beach in Da Nang), you can watch the sunset from here. So, come on an evening, bring a partner, grab yourself a drink, and enjoy the peace. Because it’s on a private resort, it’s always pretty quiet here.

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(In case you’re wondering, yes: there ARE monkeys on Monkey Mountain. But you’re unlikely to see any on Bounce Beach. If you do want to see those monkeys, you’re best off heading into the central parts of the peninsula).

The best accommodations near Bounce Beach are:

• Bounce Beach Resort and Spa. Quiet, peaceful, and secluded… but calling it a ‘resort’ is probably a bit optimistic. It’s not the most luxurious place on the planet, but the poolside area is cozy and relaxing, and the rooms are pretty modern. This is the hotel that ‘owns’ Bounce Beach.
• Grand Gold Beach Hotel & Spa. Sitting around 3.5 miles (6km) from Bounce Beach, Grand Gold Beach Hotel is located on the northern end of Pham Van Dong Beach (so it’s ideal for exploring both). Hosted in a hyper-modern cuboid building, it’s very fancy and elegant, and ideal for a romantic break.

4. Non Nuoc Beach (also known as ‘Bãi Biển Non Nước’)

Best for: seeing the region’s most impressive beach

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Back in 2005, Forbes nominated this beach as one of the 6 most beautiful on the planet.

(I’m not sure if I quite agree with that heavy statement, but this is definitely the most beautiful beach in Da Nang).

Sitting at the very southern end of Da Nang (parallel to the road running all the way from Da Nang to Hoi An), Non Nuoc Beach is the city’s quietest—ideal if you want to escape the seaside crowds.

Anyway, this is a beach for chilling and relaxing. You can hire sun loungers from the resorts, but otherwise you’ll have to sit on a towel. Aside from that, you’ll find no crowds, no people selling stuff, no watersports, and no little shacks to buy food or coffee (for eating and drinking, you’ll again want to head to the resorts).

The water here is a little choppier than the water further north. If it’s even slightly windy, you won’t be able to swim here.

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The best accommodations near Non Nuoc Beach are:

• Sandy Beach Non Nuoc Resort. The closest resort to Non Nuoc Beach, this accommodation is much more affordable than most others in the area. While most nearby hotels are very-high-end resorts, Sandy Beach Non Nuoc is a little more laid-back, with surprisingly-low prices. Ideal for relative luxury on a small budget.
• Melia Danang Beach Resort. Right beside Sandy Beach Non Nuoc Resort, this 5-star sleek-fest offers 7 swimming pools, rooms with big bathtubs, top-class seafood, daily activities (like yoga and tours), and an excellent on-site spa. Perfect if you want a big fat slice of luxury.

5. Bãi Ong Beach

Best for: enjoying an island escape

Situated off the coast of both Da Nang and Hoi An, the Cham Islands are a small collection of 8 shoreside escapes, with a total population of around 3,000 people.

… and this beach sits on the Cham Islands.

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Only a 5/10-minute walk from the most central part of the main island (where all the ferries arrive), Bãi Ong Beach serves up white sand, clear water, visible fish, and very few people. It’s much more quiet and laid-back than the beaches on Da Nang’s mainland.

Aside from the quiet beaches, the Cham Islands also offer cute homestays, excellent seafood, and good snorkeling and scuba diving. An official UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, it’s a pretty underrated spot (at least for now)—ideal if you want an island escape that few tourists have heard of.

Last time I checked, the schedule for the public ferry to Cham Islands was as follows: one ferry leaves per day, in each direction. The ferry leaves Hoi An Cua Dai Harbor at 8am, and leaves from the Cham Islands at 11am. Both journeys take around 1 hour each. The total journey (both there and back) currently costs the equivalent of around $12USD.

That said, you can get there privately, by asking your accommodation to book you a private ferry—but these can cost around $200USD per boat.

Pro Tip: If you want to visit the Cham Islands but don’t have much time, you can instead book day tours from both Da Nang and Hoi An. Of them all, this is the best option, featuring snorkeling, island-hopping, and a tasty local lunch.

The best accommodations near Bãi Ong Beach are:

• The Coral Homestay & Pub. Cham’s most well-known accommodation, the Coral Homestay is surprisingly fancy, but with low prices. Highlights include spacious rooms, comfy beds, excellent seafood, and a location juuuust away from the busiest part of the main island.
• Tuan Thanh Homestay. Sitting right beside the harbor, Tuan Thanh Homestay has a balcony rooftop, super-friendly hosts, rentable bicycles, and a family-home vibe. The rooms are pretty basic, but that’s part of the charm.

6. An Bang Beach

Best for: a beach escape from Hoi An

Let’s say you’re spending some of your Da Nang time in Hoi An.

(… which, by the way, I absolutely recommend doing…)

If that’s the case, you might want to do some beaching in the UNESCO-listed city of Hoi An.

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Hoi An’s beach scene is a little different to the Da Nang beach scene:

• The eastern part of Da Nang city lies right on the beach, so you get easy access…
• … but in Hoi An, the old town (and the area where most tourists spend time) lies 3 miles (4.5 km) from the beach.

In some ways, that’s bad—cos you can’t easily hop between Hoi An’s town and its beach. But in some ways, it’s great—cos you can escape most of the tourist bustle by staying on the beach here. And most of the good accommodations offer free and convenient shuttles between the old town and the beach anyway.

Anyway, An Bang Beach is the best and most popular beach near Hoi An. Relatively unbusy compared to the beaches in Da Nang, it features rentable sun loungers, places to swim, and cute little venues with food and drinks. It’s more swimmable than the waters of Da Nang, and because there are lots of fancy resorts nearby, it’s a good spot for a couple of luxurious nights.

The best accommodations near An Bang Beach are:

• Palm Garden Beach Resort & Spa. One of Da Nang’s most classy and expensive resorts, Palm Garden serves up massages, volleyball, spa treatments, a beachside location, and an outdoor pool. And they offer very-regular shuttles to central Hoi An—so it’s easy to get to the old town.
• Hoi An Garden Sea Homestay. Outrageously affordable, this cozy homestay is one of the best cut-price accommodations I’ve ever seen. Only a 5 minute-walk from the beach, highlights include a pretty garden, free-to-hire bicycles, and yoga classes. Super charming, and super recommended—but in true Vietnamese style, the beds are pretty hard.

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Best Time of Year for Hitting the Beaches in Da Nang

Da Nang has 3 different seasons:

• The warm season, typically running from January until April. During the early part of this period, temperatures average around 18°C (64°F)… and during March and April, they can hit around 30°C (86°F).
• The hot season: typically running from May until August, this is really just an extension of the warm season… except it’s even hotter. Temperatures average 30°C-35°C (86°F-95°F), but can sometimes reach over 40°C (over 104°F)
• The rainy season: typically running from September until December, Da Nang gets surprisingly wet during this period—and low-level flooding is relatively common (especially near the riverside area). October and November are the rainiest months, sometimes serving up over 500 mm (almost 20 inches) of rainfall per month. Sometimes, the rain might last a typical tropical hour—other times, it might last all day, and bring along a small typhoon.

So, overall, the best time to head to Da Nang and its beaches is between March and June, when it’s hot but not too hot. That said, any time from January until August can be good… and even the rainy season isn’t too disruptive, assuming you’re a laid-back character.

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Before You Go

And we’re done – that’s everything you need to know about the beaches in Da Nang!

To sum up:

• The most central, accessible and popular beaches are My An Beach and My Khe Beach (which basically just blur into one)
• Your only good choice for seeing a sunset is Bounce Beach
• If you want Da Nang’s prettiest beach, head to Non Nước

… and, in general, whichever beach you head to, avoid the rainy period between September and December (especially October and November).

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