Note : You are on Page 2 of Da-Nang. Start with Page 1.

• Page 1- Useful Info (Hotels, Transport…)
• Page 2- What to Visit
  • Da-Nang – Maps – Orientation
  • What to Visit in Da-Nang ? 
    1. Dragon bridge
    2. City Center + Cathedral
    3. City Beaches
    4. The Marble Mountains
    5. Lady Buddha
    6. Monkey Mountain – View Point
    7. Ba Na hills
    8. Asia Park – Sun World
    9. Hai Van pass
  • Organised Excursions

Da-Nang – Orientation – Maps

Map – The Center of Da-Nang :

Look at the following Map :

And look at this interactive Google Map :

Interactive Map : Tourist attractions + Transport + Center

1. Points in Green : Airport + Train Station + Bus Central Station.
2. Points in Red : City Center + Beaches.
3. Points in Blue : Tourist Attractions.

What to Visit in Da-Nang ?

The Dragon bridge

It is 666 meter long and it exists since 2013. You will see this bridge if you want or not. After a few days in Da-Nang you will develop sentiments to this dragon. At night it is the main attraction of the city, with its lights and there are shows on the week-ends.

On week-ends, the dragon is spitting fire (Saturday and Sunday at 21:00, but inform yourself, in place). It is an happy event, also with dances sometimes :

Some prefer to see the fire from very close :

Like this :

After the fire, the dragon spits water :

From close :

The dragon also changes colours :

Take note that the dragon is also built under the bridge :

Meet also the tail of the Dragon (the tail is on the left side of the river) :

City Center + Cathedral

The city center is busy with traffic and has nothing special (if you have already seen other vietnamese cities).
There is a pink church in the main street (see location on the interactive map, above).

Which is much more quiet at night :

There is also a covered market (Han Market), on the same street of the church (see location on the interactive map, above). Very regular market (Vietnamese style, of course)

And a medium sized shopping mall, at the other side of the second bridge (see location on the interactive map, above).

City Beaches

The beaches are not at a short walking distance from the city center (they are about 3 Km away) and they are not specially beautiful. Still, it’s the sea, if you need it.

The weather in Da-Nang is not always optimal, for the beach.

How to get there ?

Taxi, Grab (car or motorbike), by foot, rented motorbike, bike or car, coco city tour.

The Marble Mountains

The main attraction of Da-Nang. There are several hills, but only one is expecting tourists. This hill has beautiful pagodas and caves and panoramic views. There is a small entrance fee (40,000 Dong) and also an elevator (15,000 Dong) in case you don’t want to climb the few steps (really not a problem). Time of visit : 1 to 2 hours.

It’s better to buy the water downstairs, it is cheaper.

The view from some points is amazing :

Pagodas and statues, all over the site :

More statues :

A plan, in order not t miss anything on the site :

Gates :

And more gates :

Several caves :

Interesting things inside the caves :

Bridges and ponds :

Dragons :

Downstairs, you can buy for your home a white statue (if you have a private yacht or airplane, to take you home)

How to get there ?

The Marble mountains site is located about 8 Km (aerial distance) from the city center (to the south). See location on the interactive map, above.

1. Option 1: Taxi, Grab (car or motorbike).
2. Option 2 : Rented motorbike, bike or car.
3. Option 3 : Bus number 1, was mentioned earlier (this bus is going between Da-Nang and Hoi An)
4. Option 4 : Coco city tour.

Lady Buddha

The site is located in the hills, north of the city. The main attraction is a tall, white statue of a woman Buddha.

And there is also a beautiful pagoda :

And gardens :

And statues :

And dogs who live there :

And beautiful panoramic views, over the bay :

How to get there ?

Located 8 Km (aerial distance) from the Dragon bridge. The site can clearly be seen from the beaches of Da-Nang. See location on the interactive map, above.

1. Option 1 : Rented motorbike. The best option, because you can visit other parts of the mountain and see monkeys (yes, there are monkeys in this mountain) and stop on the way to take photos.
2. Option 2 : Taxi or Grab (car or motorbike). It has cost me 30,000 Dong to arrive with a Grab motorbike and 60,000 Dong to return with a Grab car (there were no motorbikes available for the return).
3. Option 3 : Organized tours. You don’t need one but they exist. Ask your hotel or one of the many travel agencies in town.
4. Option 4 : Coco city tour.

Monkey Mountain – View Point

If you continue on the road of the Lady Buddha, you will arrive to a point where you will see people busy with monkeys.

There are signs asking not to feed the monkeys, but the monkeys insist…

Except the monkeys, there is an amazing view over Danang.

On the way, there are points where you can get down to beautiful beaches. some of the beaches are more deserted than others.

The first beach, is a fishing point, with the typical circle boats

How to get there ?

Same as for the Lady Buddha. You need to continue on the road about 10 Km.

See location on the interactive map, above.

1. Option 1 : Rented motorbike. The best option.
2. Option 2 : Taxi or Grab (car or motorbike). Not a common destination for taxis, but possible.

Ba Na hills – Sun World park

It is a theme park, a sort of Disneyland in the mountains.

The Park entrance :

The most famous attraction is a bridge with a huge hand holding it (very photographed).

There are several cable cars leading to the mountain and one of them holds several Guinness records.

The cable car is more than 5 Km long, it is fast and the cabins are spacious. Yes, the Swiss were involved in this.

Some cable car technical details :

Big part of the park is built like a French village and there are nice old French songs played in the background (Mike Brandt…). Historically, Ba Na was a French resort in the mountains when Vietnam was a French colony.

It is cooler in the mountains, so bring a coat (could be 10 degrees Celsius).

It is also often raining or at least there is fog. In case of rain, there is the underground entertainment park.

There are a lot of French restaurants (and other cuisines) and if you arrive with an organised tour you will eat in a good, free buffet.
There are also 2 cool toboggans, but with long queues.

Is it worth to Visit ?
Yes, it was a nice day but expect an “artificial experience”, it is a fake world. And also expect a lot of tourists (mostly Chinese and Koreans).

Entrance price to the park : 700,000 Dong. It includes the cable cars and all the attractions inside the park (if you arrive with an organised tour, then the entrance ticket is usually included in the price).

How to get there ?

Ba Na hills (Sun World park) is located 26 Km from Da-Nang and 40 Km from Hoi An (aerial distances). See location on the interactive Map, above.
Option 1 : With an organised tour:
There are several companies operating from Da-Nang or Hoi-An.
Your hotel or any travel agency in town will arrange you a ticket. The tour includes the transports from your hotel, a guide speaking english (with heavy Vietnamese accent), a very good lunch buffet and the entrance fee.

Prices are around 1,000,000 Dong from Da-Nang and 1,300,000 Dong from Hoi-An. It is a good bargain considering it includes the entrance price but the downside is that the bus spends a lot of time picking passengers from the hotels. I took such a tour from Hoi An and after 1 hour of drive we were still in Hoi An. A direct drive takes less than 1 hour from Hoi An or Danang. I also didn’t like the fact that we had to leave the place early (at 14:30 we began to get down with the cable car), it didn’t leave me time to run the attractions in the covered park nor to drink a Cappuccino (don’t worry, I drank 1 when I arrived back to Hoi An). But I did see all the park.

The positive side of an organised tour are the transports, of course.

You can book an organised trip to Ba-Na hills online.

Option 2 : Taxi, Grab
There are Taxis who will be willing to take you there. On the way back, there are also Taxis addressing tourists. Your hotel or a travel agency can arrange you a Taxi that will wait for you, all for a fixed price. You can also try your chance with Grab (car or motorbike)
Option 3 : Rent a motorbike (or car)
It is easy to drive there, the road is in very good condition and there is no climbing (the cable car do that).

Asia Park – Sun World (located in central Da-Nang)

A sort of small Disneyland, a low cost Disneyland.

I was there on a Sunday and there were almost no people.

Many of the attractions were closed or working at reduced hours.

It is still pleasant. It costs just 150,000 Dong. Functions in the afternoon.
The big wheel is cool. It is very slow (15 minutes to make a tour) and from the distance,it doesn’t seem to move (there is no need to stop the wheel in order to board passengers).

Great view from the big wheel :

The roller coaster “Queen Cobra” is fun.

And there are several more :

There is also a monorail that makes a tour in the park and when I was on it, I wondered why this monorail was not built in town center (beside the river, for example), instead of in this attraction park.

There are also some free games (included in the entrance ticket) in a covered hall.

There are not too much food options.
The park is in expansion, so expect improvements.
If you visit Ba Na hills, you don’t need to visit this place, there is such a park there.
There is also a similar park in Nha-Trang city.

How to get there ?

Before visiting : See it  on Google Maps to confirm it is open.
Very easy. It is located not too far from the city center, just 2.5 Km from the Dragon bridge, direction south. See location on the interactive Map, above.
Taxi, Grab (car or motorbike), by foot, rented motorbike, bike or car, coco city tour.

Hai Van pass

This is an out of town excursion, and probably with a motorbike. Take a look at the interactive Map, above.

If you travel in Da-Nang towards the north (direction Hue), you will arrive to a big mountain. There are 2 roads available to cross the mountain. The first road is a sort of high-way and is forbidden for motorbikes (the highway has a tunnel that goes into the mountain). The other road is a slow road, with many curves, it is closer to the sea,  and it is very scenic .

Distance to the pass, from the center of Da-Nang : about 30 Km.

Note : The road is in good condition but you need to be very careful. It is a mountain and there is often smog and rain. The road is curvy and there are heavy trucks passing there (they are not allowed on the highway).

If you will continue and descend the mountain towards the other side (Hue side), you will see a rail and if you are lucky, a train passing.

The city of Hue is too far away for a one day excursion, so you better return back to Da-Nang, from this point.

Just before the mountain (Danang side), there are nice fields.

How to get there ?

1. Option 1 : Rented motorbike. The best option.
2. Option 2 : Maybe an organized tour will take you there
3. Option 3 : A private tour with a taxi

Organised Excursions from Da-Nang

There are a lot of organised excursions from Da-Nang. There are bike tours, motorbike tours and walking tours. For example :

• Golden Bridge & Ba Na Hills Full Day Small Group From Danang City
  
• Hue City Tour from Da Nang
• Half-day Tour of My Son Sanctuary from Da Nang
  

See more tours from Da- Nang.

Return to Page 1 of Da-Nang

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