Coming up: Uzbek food, optical illusions, tours, trips, cooking classes, a big pair of rusty hands, a reference to my son, giving yourself a massive anxiety attack, and the 17 best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors.
Right now, as I’m writing this, I’m living in Da Nang.
… and cos I hadn’t been here before (well, apart from standing in a bus station for an hour), I was a first time visitor when I got to the city.
Since arriving, I’ve spent plenty of time exploring Da Nang and its attractions. So, in this guide, I’ve put that knowledge to some use—here are the 17 best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors!
1. Head to the hands of Ba Na Hills
Best for: cable cars, a massive bridge, Southeast Asian kitsch, and seeing Vietnam’s version of Disneyland
Ever seen a golden bridge cradled in a pair of giant hands?
Didn’t think so.
Well, on this tour, you can do exactly that, by heading to the strange and surreal Ba Na Hills (also known as both ‘Ba Na Hill Station’ and ‘Sun World Ba Na Hills’).
One of central Vietnam’s most famous tourist attractions, it’s a hilly resort area sitting around 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) above sea level—and therefore the same height above Da Nang.
Sort of like a Vietnamese version of Disneyland, it’s a contrived and kooky place that sort of indulges in its own self-aware tackiness. It’s most famous for being home to its 150-meter (492-feet)-long pedestrian bridge—semi-golden, and cradled in a pair of rusty-looking hands, it sits sort of inside the amusement park here.
This amusement park also features 5 cable cars (including the world’s ‘longest non-stop single-track cable car,’ measuring in at at 5,801 metres/19,032 feet), lots of rides and viewpoints, replicas of famous buildings from around the world, and lots of French-style medieval-era architecture (but not actually hailing from that place or period, obviously). The above tour gives you all the famous stuff, along with some under-the-radar highlights. And because you’re with a local expert, you learn stuff you otherwise wouldn’t—the park has a much longer history than you’d expect.
If you don’t want to take a tour, it’s also possible to visit Ba Na Hills alone—but you’ll have to take a taxi, and it’s a bit of a hassle.
Overall: Ba Na Hills is the most famous attraction close to the city, and one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors
- Top tips for visiting Ba Na Hills: it’s hilly (and therefore sometimes windy, and colder than you might expect), so take a thin jacket. But also don’t forget your sunscreen!
- Come with an appetite: most of the restaurants here offer popular buffets. Some of the restaurants are a little pricey, but you’re not allowed to bring your own food.
2. Visit the Marble Mountains
Best for: mini hills and mini shrines very close to Da Nang
Sitting just 4 miles (6.5 km) south of central Da Nang, the Marble Mountains aren’t really mountains at all.
Instead, they’re a group of 5 little limestone peaks—the biggest measuring in at 106 meters (348 feet). One of the city’s most sacred sites, they’re home to caves, tunnels, towers, shrines, and small temples. From the outside, the place doesn’t look so big—but on the inside, you’ll find lots of hidden, tucked-away pockets to explore.
And without local knowledge, it’s hard to find all these hidden-away pockets and corners.
So we recommend this tour. On it, you explore the Marble Mountains with a local guide…
(… and see some other places…)
… in A MASSIVE JEEP!
Highlights include context and history on the Marble Mountains, a 500-year-old carving village, a local lunch, revving around in a retro vehicle, and both Monkey Mountain and Ludy Buddha (more on those last two coming up next!).
- Tour duration: around 5 hours
- Where to meet for the tour: you get picked up at (and dropped back off at) your Da Nang hotel
3. Head to Lady Buddha
Best for: seeing a big tall white lady
The tour we just mentioned above, it takes you to the big Lady Buddha.
… but if you don’t want to take a tour, it’s very easy to visit Lady Buddha yourself.
Sitting only 5.5 miles (9 km) from the city’s most central beach district, you can cycle here, walk here, or just hop on a Grab.
Lady Buddha sits at the foot of Monkey Mountain.
Also known as ‘Son Trà Mountain,’ this lumpy, hilly peninsula area measures 8 miles (13 km) by 3 miles (5 km), and its highest point sits at 693 meters (2,274 feet) above sea level.
Its southern end is where most tourists visit. Here, you’ll find busy roads, low-level hills, and the famous Lady Buddha. The biggest statue in Vietnam, this lady measures in at a hefty 67 meters (220 feet). She’s part of the bigger Linh Ung Pagoda complex, an 18th-century temple.
The north side is home to dirt roads, higher peaks, hidden-away beaches, and—as you might have guessed from the mountain’s name!—lots of monkeys. There are more than 100 other animal species living here, including snakes, birds, and reptiles.
Ride a bicycle here, or hire a driver, and explore aimlessly. An exciting but easy adventure!
4. Laze around on loads of beaches
Best for: getting a tan, playing beach volleyball, and being out nice and early
Da Nang is a beach city—and many of its restaurants, hotels and accommodations lie only a few-minute walk from the beach.
My An Beach is close to where all the foreigners live and hang out… and that’s the one we recommend. But, stretching north and south from here, you’ll find many more options (although, to be honest, all the beaches basically just merge into one).
Of course, the further north and south you go, the less busy the beaches get—well, until you reach the beaches of Hoi An, when they become busy again.
Obviously, this is one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors—and one of the best things to do no matter how long you’ve been here.
- Like beach volleyball? It’s SUPER popular in Da Nang, with nets hanging up everywhere. Usually, you can just join in and play with anyone—there’s no booking system or reservation system.
- Vietnamese people wake up VERY early: so even from 5am, you’ll find plenty of people at the beach; swimming, surfing, dancing, running, playing games. If you’re an early-morning person, you’ll love Da Nang.
- If you’ll be hitting the beach in warmer months (between March and September), get to the beach before 10am to guarantee your chances of renting a sun lounger. If you arrive any later, you’ll likely struggle to find one.
5. Sip on some jitter-inducing coffee
Best for: exploring lovely cafes, trying unique coffee, and being surrounded by Russian hipsters
We’ve already covered our 20 favorite Da Nang cafes.
But four highlights include:
- XLIII Specialty Coffee (also known as ‘43 Factory Coffee Roaster’): this place serves the very best coffee in the city (and offers decaf—a rarity in this part of the world). It’s a pretty pricey place, but each coffee comes with a tasting card about the details of what you’re slurping on, and it’s home to lots of natural light.
- Dng.coffee: my personal favorite, this open-plan place has that now-ubiquitous ‘once-was-a-warehouse’ vibe (even though I don’t think it actually once was a warehouse). The coffee is excellent, it’s right in the heart of the expat district, and their salt coffee is incredible (the creamy salty delicacy is a speciality in this part of Vietnam).
- Bamboo Bob Coffee: to support local initiatives, head here. These guys work with local farmers, serving up cheap tasty coffee, a laid-back wooden aesthetic, an open-plan seating area, very friendly staff, and a great owner. Last time I was here, the owner gave me a free frisbee. What a nice man.
- A-Kopi Coffee: the only city-center option I’ve brought you (most of Da Nang’s best cafes are in the eastern part of the city, over the river, where the majority of foreigners live and stay). Featuring excellent fruit-and-spice-infused cold brews, other highlights here include 2 balconies, a tiramisu-style coffee, and 4 floors of city views.
As you’ll soon come to learn, Vietnamese coffee is SUPER strong (they usually make it from super-caffeinated robusta beans). So don’t chug too many.
6. Take a day trip to Hoi An…
Best for: visiting one of the most loveable places you’ve ever seen
The cute and charming small city of Hoi An (population only around 120,000) is one of Vietnam’s most popular tourist destinations—around 4-5 million tourists come here every year (depending on who you ask). It sits a 20-minute drive from Da Nang.
And seeing Hoi An is ABSOLUTELY one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors—if you head to Da Nang without seeing Hoi An, you’re doing Da Nang wrong. Packed with low-level old-school colonial-style houses, Hoi An is a colorful and cozy former trading port, now home to wooden-boat trips, homely cafes, and endless camera-toting westerners.
Expect lanterns, ancient houses, little bridges, smiling locals, and to completely fall in love. The city’s old town is on the UNESCO list—which is appropriate given that it looks exactly like the sort of place the list was built to protect.
Top tip: if you have time, you should spend a night in Hoi An. Its evening atmosphere is very different to its early-morning atmosphere, and it’s good to experience both.
- When you visit Hoi An, wear relatively modest clothes—it’s still a pretty conservative city. Although it’s technically a sort-of beach town, you can’t walk around here topless like you would in Da Nang.
- Some of the very-central parts of the city have a no-traffic policy—so you’ll have to walk. Or to make things more interesting, hire a bicycle. You’ll see them EVERYWHERE—and Hoi An is perfect for leisurely exploring by bike. It’s flat and peaceful, and every 2 minutes, you’ll find somewhere you want to stop.
- If you want to explore Hoi An without all the tourists, make sure you’re sightseeing before 10am. From around 11am afterwards, Hoi An is the most tourist-dense place I’ve ever seen.
7. … or take a tour to Hoi An
Best for: really learning about Vietnam’s most charming city
Hoi An is one of the most historic cities in Southeast Asia.
… and as you’ll soon come to learn, walking around the place feels like walking around a museum. So if you see the city without getting some info and context, you’re missing out.
Which means: the best way to see Hoi An is on an organized tour.
There are LOADS of tours, and it can be hard to choose between them—but this is our top pick, featuring information and insights into history, heritage, humans, and houses. And before reaching Hoi An, you also visit both the Marble Mountains and Linh Ung Pagoda.
- Tour duration: around 8 hours
- Where to meet for the tour: you get picked up at (and dropped back off at) your Da Nang hotel
8. Munch on meals and morsels
Best for: tasting some of Vietnam’s best eats and treats
Is central Vietnamese food the best of all the Vietnamese food?
Probably.
And on this food tour, you’ll find out why.
Da Nang is FULL of eats, with meals and snacks on every corner. You can expect Vietnamese foods, local buffet joints, regional specialities, canteen-style places, and lots of international fayre (including unexpected offerings like Uzbek and Russian food).
So, in short, it’s hard to know what to eat and where to eat it from. But with a good food tour, you get taken to all the best places. And on this one, you walk around the city for three hours, visiting five different places. Treats include seafood, sweets, regional favorites, and places where only the locals go.
In short, not only one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors—but one of the tastiest treats you’ve ever had in your life.
- Tour duration: around 3 hours
- Tips for the tour: there’s plenty of food—so make sure you’re hungry
- How to get to the tour: you can meet at the super-central meeting point, or you can request to be picked up from your accommodation
- The tour company can’t make changes based upon any dietary needs, preferences, or allergies
9. Cook some classics
Best for: learning about Vietnamese food—and playing with pots and pans
As I’ve already mentioned, central Vietnamese food might just be the best Vietnamese food.
… and Vietnamese people REALLY know how to cook.
During this cooking class, you’ll see exactly what I mean. During it, you work with a friendly knowledgeable local chef, serving up four different dishes, and learning about all the ingredients you’re using.
Overall, if you’re looking for something a little unique or unusual, this is one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors. And it’s especially good for couples.
- Cooking class duration: around 2.5 hours
- Where to meet for the tour: you get picked up at (and dropped back off at) your Da Nang hotel
10. Get productive
Best for: earning money, and being antisocial
Okay, this isn’t the most exciting suggestion in the world…
… but as you’ll soon come to find out, Da Nang is FULL of digital nomads.
And lots of digital nomads means… lots of co-working spaces and laptop-friendly cafes. So: if you’re one of those irritating self-indulgent remote workers (like I am), this is for you.
(if you’re not, feel free to ignore this suggestion and move on).
Anyway, some of your best work-friendly venues include:
- HI4 Coffee & Workspace: I hate this place, but most of the city’s remote workers seem to love it. Instead of being a cozy and welcoming cafe, it’s more like a futuristic dystopian hellscape. Expect plastic cups, weird little secluded booths for hyper-introverts, the sort of architecture you’d expect from a hospital, and to be frowned at for talking. This is NOT a cafe that doubles up as a workspace; instead, it’s an office pretending to be a cafe.
- Puna Coffee & Cakes: I’m writing from Puna this very second. Lots of the work-friendly cafes in Da Nang are a bit sterile, with Russian ingrates shushing you for daring to speak in a public space. But Puna isn’t like that—it feels like a cafe where you can work; not like a cafe that’s unofficially been transformed into a library by laptop-toting digital nomads. Get a salt coffee and a tiramisu.
- Kopi Coffee & Co-Working Space: with an official coworking space on the top floor, Kopi offers ergonomic furniture, printers, laptop stands, pens and paper, and multi-day passes. If you want a ‘real’ coworking space, this is our top pick.
11. Head to Hue (and over the Hai Van Pass)
Best for: combining big history with bigger views
Along with Da Nang and Hoi An, Hue is another of central Vietnam’s most famous cities. Once the nation’s capital, it’s now most well-known for being home to a moated walled citadel, and a bunch of UNESCO monuments.
If you’re interested in history, it’s mustn’t-miss. If you aren’t, you’ll probably find the whole place a bit boring*.
(*in case you’re interested, you can place me in the second category).
Meanwhile, the Hai Van Pass (popularised by the British TV show Top Gear) is one of the nation’s most famous rides, taking you up and over a mountain road. It runs between Hue and Da Nang. The official part of the road measures in at 13 miles (21 kilometers), and its highest point sits at 496 meters (1,627 feet). Often cloaked in cloud, it features tight switchbacks, mountainous curves, world-class scenery, and endless of-the-sea viewpoints.
On this tour, you visit Hue, and ride over the Hai Van Pass. You visit (and learn loads about) Hue’s most important buildings and temples, and ride over the Hai Van Pass without worrying you’ll die (cos you’re in a minivan and not on a bike). For a combo of history, local insights and safety, this tour is unmissable.
- Tour duration: around 9 hours
- Where to meet for the tour: you get picked up at (and dropped back off at) your Da Nang hotel
12. Walk across the Dragon Bridge (especially at night)
Best for: seeing Da Nang’s most famous city-center sight
One of Vietnam’s most famous bridges, the Dragon Bridge is… as you might have guessed… in the shape of a dragon. Measuring in at a length of 666 meters (2,185 ft), it’s a pretty big boy.
It’s worth visiting any time—but there’s a show here every Saturday and Sunday at 9pm, where the dragon breathes both fire and water out of its mouth. To get the best views of the show, head to the eastern banks of the river, where you’ll be close to the dragon’s mouth.
Any other time, to get the best views of the bridge, head to Nguyen Van Troi Walking Bridge, just south of the Dragon Bridge. Or to enjoy the bridge itself, you can walk across—unlike many parts of Vietnam, it has a pedestrianized zone.
Overall, this is one of the city’s most famous attractions—and absolutely one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors.
13. Get strange and silly at the Art in Paradise 3D Museum
Best for: optical illusions, doing something silly, and getting all weird and wacky
If you’re traveling with kids, Da Nang’s 3D Museum is a must-visit.
(especially given the city isn’t home to many family-friendly attractions).
Featuring a bunch of strange paintings and optical illusions, the whole place is basically a big buffet of unique and unusual photo opportunities. Here, you can pose in a bunch of themed areas, making it look like you’re standing near some temples, or in prison, or on a surfboard, or inside a handbag or whatever.
By the way, if you’re looking for something similar but a bit more adult, head to Da Nang Fine Arts Museum, where you’ll find some surprisingly-good art. Highlights include paintings, sculptures, a very pared-back aesthetic, and a focus on local artists. Way better than most Vietnamese art galleries!
- Official website: http://artinparadise.com.vn/
- Opening hours: 8:30am until 6pm, 7 days a week
- Address: Lô 10, Trần Nhân Tông, Thọ Quang, Sơn Trà
14. See My Son
Best for: feeling like you’ve visited Cambodia’s Angkor Wat—but without all the tourists
Sitting 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Da Nang, My Son (also known as ‘My Son Sanctuary,’ and not actually one of my children) is a bunch of partially-ruined Hindu temples, all built between the 4th and 13th centuries.
(… and it’s sort of like Vietnam’s not-quite-as-good-version of Cambodia’s Angkor Wat).
Scattered among sparse jungle and low-level hills, these temples were built by the Champa people, who ruled parts of southern and central Vietnam for around 1,000 years. The original inhabitants of central Vietnam, they loved the Hindu god Shiva—and these temples were dedicated to the god.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, it was partially destroyed in the Vietnam War—but there’s still plenty to explore.
Overall, if you’re interested in history, this is one of the best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors. If you don’t like history (me too), don’t bother.
You can turn up to My Son unassisted, and pay for a ticket to enter—or you can take a tour. Of all the possible tours, this sunrise option is the best of them.
- What to wear: cos this is a sacred site, dress relatively modestly. Make sure your shoulders are covered, and don’t wear super-short shorts or skirts. Oh, and don’t wear flip flops—you’ll do more walking than you expect
- Take some water: in warm weather, it gets very hot here, and there’s not much shade
15. Wander around Bac My An Market
Best for: eating, drinking, slurping on avocado ice cream, and watching the locals shop
Vietnam is great for visiting authentic local markets.
Of all the options in Da Nang, Bac My An Market is the best, serving up a combo of many market treats. You can buy groceries (like fruit, vegetables, fish and meat), while there’s also loads of tasty low-cost food stalls (serving up tasty treats like seafood, duck porridge, and sugar cane juice).
Other oddities you’ll find at Bac My An Market include crab eggs, dried squid, live animals, ‘Abibas’ clothes, lots of opportunities to point at things while saying ‘what on earth is that?,’ and shirts with unintelligible slogans.
Best of all though, it’s chaotic in a very Vietnamese way. Expect lots of noise, lots of confusion, the occasional zooming motorbike, and maybe even a rat or two.
Top tip: most tourists know this place for its avocado ice cream. A local speciality, it’s topped with coconut flakes, and you definitely need to get your mouth around some.
- Opening hours: 6am until 7pm, 7 days a week (but it tends to get less busy after around 3pm)
- Address: 25 Nguyễn Bá Lân, Bắc Mỹ An, Ngũ Hành Sơn
16. Be surprised by a bakery
Best for: munching on some Tatar foods!
Okay, not really one of the standard best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors…
… but definitely very unique and unusual.
And if you’re interested in cramming tasty treats into your mouth (who isn’t?), you’ll love it.
In Da Nang, you’d expect to find Vietnamese food. Thai food. Malay food. Maybe even Indian and Italian and Greek food.
But Tatar stuff, from Uzbekistan and beyond? Nope.
Well, this tucked-away bakery lies just outside Bac My An Market, and does exactly that. Owned by Uzbeks, it serves up flavors you might have heard of (like samsas, kefir, and plov), along with tasty treats you might not. They also offer standard bakery fayre, like bread, brownies, and cookies.
Massively recommended, and full of great flavors.
- Address: 26 Mỹ Đa Đông 3, Bắc Mỹ An, Ngũ Hành Sơn
- Opening hours: 7am until 7pm, 7 days a week
- Top tips: get there before midday if you want the best selection of stuff—and for plov, message them in advance. They don’t make it every day!
17. Visit Da Nang Cathedral
Best for: exploring a lesser-known side to Vietnamese religious life
Surprisingly, around 10% of Vietnamese people are Christian.
… and the nation is home to more cathedrals than you’d expect.
One of them is the pastel-pink Da Nang Cathedral.
Surprisingly ornate, it has daily masses; including many masses on Sundays. Like many of Vietnam’s buildings, it’s pretty kooky—sort of like if a Disneyland castle had a baby with the Notre Dame Cathedral.
Built in 1923, it’s one of the city’s best religious buildings. And if you’re a bit tired of seeing the same old Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia, it’s a nice change of pace.
- Open to the public on: both 8am until 11:30am and 1:30pm until 4:30pm, from Monday to Saturday. Not open to the public on Sundays
- Address: 156 Trần Phú, Hải Châu 1, Hải Châu
- Note: make sure your shoulders are covered, and don’t wear short skirts or shorts
Before You Go
And that’s us done—they’re the 17 best things to do in Da Nang for first time visitors.
To sum up, the absolute must-dos are:
- Hitting up some beaches (obvs)
- Going to the strange Ba Na Hills
- Taking an organized tour to Hoi An
- Heading to all the flavor-filled world-class cafes
- Taking a food tour, or getting involved in a cooking class (cos central Vietnamese food is the best Vietnamese food)
For more on Da Nang, here’s our guide to the city’s best areas to stay.
IMPORTANT: Feel free to explore our other travel guides while you’re here – you might discover some delightful surprises! Click on our links above, every visit helps support our small business. We truly appreciate it.
