Da Nang City City is known as one of the five municipal cities of Vietnam and also "the most worth-living city in Vietnam" because of its hospitable people, clean and beautiful environment as well as diverse culture and cuisine. Moreover, this city is also considered "the city of bridges" because there are lots of bridges with unique and attractive designs such as Dragon Bridge, Quay Bridge, Golden Bridge, and so on. Accordingly, more and more international tourists take this city as a must-see destination whenever they visit Vietnam.
I - An overview on Danang Vietnam
During the early 18 century, this city was the biggest and flourishing trading port within the Central Vietnam region. In the French colonial period, it turned into a Western-oriented city having synchronous development in infrastructure. In 1975, in the independent time, the city was under the authority of Quang Nam province. After that, in 06/11/1996, it officially became one of the five municipalities of Vietnam, which is equivalent to the provincial level.
1 - Where is Danang City?
Located among the area of Hue citadel, Hoi An ancient town, and My Son Sanctuary, this city is called “the center of world heritages”. The city has a total area of 1284.9 square kilometers, including land and island region which includes a part of Hoang Sa archipelago- one of the two large Vietnamese archipelagos within the East Sea. It is the diversification of topography that has helped this city to develop maritime trade and tourism activities such as tourist resort, marine tourism, discovery tourism, and cultural tourism.
(Source: VR 360)
As of 2019, the total population of Danang is 1.134.310, the population density is about 883 people/ km2; in which the urban population is 990,000 people. The highest population density is 19,712 people per km2 in Hai Chau ward and the lowest one is 180 people per km2 in Hoa Vang. The entire city is located in the GMT+7 time zone.
2 - The best time to visit Danang
The best time to visit and explore this city is from April to August every year, coinciding with the summer holiday in Vietnam. It is the time when the sunny weather is extremely favorable for sightseeing as well as experiencing beach and outdoor activities. Thanks to low rainfall, sunny time during the day. The average temperature is about 22 - 33oC, relatively cool with high humidity; average monthly rainfall is from 48mm to 136mm. However, this time coincides with the peak season for domestic tourists, so you must carefully consider the following issues:
- Transportation, food, and accommodation services are usually overloaded. Therefore, tourists should book rooms, book cars, and book flight tickets in advance to avoid high prices and bad services.
- Tourist spots, sightseeing attractions, and Danang beaches are often crowded with visitors waiting in line for a long time. If you don’t like noise and crowds, you can choose to come here in March or September. That time is quite favourable, but you still have to pay attention to consider the weather forecasr to arrange the best schedule.
3 - How to travel to Danang Vietnam
Thanks to the synchronous infrastructure investment, visitors can easily go to this city in many ways:
(Source: Internet)
Aviation: The Da Nang International Airport known as the third largest airport within Vietnam is located only 3km from the city center. It is very convenient for tourists to travel to the city. Currently, there are direct international routes from Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Singapore to this airport; and domestic flights departing from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Hue, Dong Hoi, Hai Phong, Buon Ma Thuot, Phu Quoc, Thanh Hoa, Da Lat, Nha Trang, Vinh, and Van Don to this city.
- Location: Duy Tan Street, Hoa Thuan Nam, Hai Chau Ward
Railway: The Vietnamese North-South railway runs across Danang City, so you can experience an interesting form of transportation. Although traveling by train is a bit noisy, visitors have the time to enjoy the amazing scenery on the roadside with an affordable cost. The railway station was built and inaugurated in 1902 with a capacity of about 200 guests.
- Location: No. 791, Hai Phong Street, Tam Thuan ward, Thanh Khe district
Road: The Vietnamese government has built a good road network with national and inter-provincial highways. Therefore, you can choose to go by bus, limousine, taxi, and motorbike. Depending on the traveling form and distance, you will have to pay the different prices.
- City Center Bus Station: Ton Duc Thang Street, Hoa Minh Ward, Lien Chieu District; Contact: 02363 246 246
- Southern Bus Station: Intersection NH1A and Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Hoa Phuoc commune, Hoa Vang district
II - Danang travel guide
1 - The beauty of of this city
(Source: Ins @thanhtungo)
Coming here, you will have the chance to enjoy the harmonious beauty of nature, people, cuisine and artificial construction. It has been famous for the Quay Bridge on the Han River for a long time; however, nowadays, a lot of much more beautiful destinations have appeared and attracted millions of tourists such as Dragon bridge, Carp-Dragon statue, Love bridge and so on.
The city is not only well-known for unique bridges but it's cuisine also makes visitors "crazy" because of its delicious taste, fresh ingredients and special processing methods. Additionally, it also has many alluring landscapes like My Khe beach, Ba Na Hill, Son Tra Peninsula, Hoa Phu Thanh Waterfall, Ngu Hanh Son Mountain Range, and Hai Van Pass. All these things are the reason why millions of domestic and international tourists flock to this city annually.
2 - Danang transportation
The traffic infrastructure system in the city has been constantly being improved in terms of quality and quantity. By 2020, the city has constructed 2,342 roads, 72 bridges, 02 bus stations and many inter-province-city bus routes serving the need to travel. However, the speed of infrastructure development has not kept pace with the increase of vehicles in the city, so during the rush hours, traffic congestion still occurs on major streets. Specifically, by 2020, this city has about 110,000 cars, 1 million motorcycles and scooters. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the schedule and consider going out during peak hours which normally is 6:45 - 7:45; 11:00 - 12:00 and 16:30 - 18:30 daily.
(Source: Internet)
There are some means of transport which are quite suitable for traveling within the city with affordable prices:
Bus: By the beginning of 2020, the whole city has about 20 bus routes, including 6 inter-provincial routes, 12 inter-city routes, and 2 tourist routes serving the needs of visitors. To look up general information about departure point, destination, time, and ticket price, and the nearest boarding and disembarking points that match your schedule, visitors should access map.busmap.vn/dn/lookup?locale=vn
Taxis in Danang: There are currently a total of 07 taxi companies operating in passenger transport in this city. Visitors can choose this form of transportation by contacting directly via the following contacts:
Taxi VinaSun - 0236 3 68 68 68
- Airport Taxi - 0236 3 27 27 27
- Taxi Tien Sa - 0236 3 79 79 79
- Taxi Mai Linh - 0236 3 56 56 56
- Taxi Song Han - 0236 3 72 72 72
- Taxi Hai Van - 0236 3 93 93 93
- Taxi Datranco - 0236 3 83 83 83
Danang Easy-riders: This is a traveling form using scooters driven by local people. It is very suitable for those traveling alone or in small groups and like to explore beautiful streets but do not have a driver license or are not confident in driving a motorbike. You can contact some of the following address to experience easy-rider service:
- Bao Easyrider Bao: 28 Bau Nang 1 street, Hoa Minh ward, Lien Chieu district; Contact: 0905 124 971
- Quang Easyrider- day tour: 14 Nguyen Thi Thap street, Thanh Khe Tay ward, Thanh Khe district. Contact: 0903 519 094
- Vietnam Easy Rider: Building F1, Duong Van Nga Street, Nai Hien Dong ward, Son Tra district; Contact: 0914 606 440
Cyclo: For visitors who want to enjoy every moment of daily life in Danang, you can choose to travel by cyclo. Additionally, the drivers are also local “tour guides” providing you with many fascinating stories.
- Cycle rickshaw: Price 100,000 VND (~ $ 4.3) / cycle rickshaw/ hour / person; Contact: 0905 499 639. Visitors can pick up a cycle rickshaw at the gates of big hotels such as Phuong Dong, Bamboo Green, Sunriver, Song Han, Green Plaza.
- Rental service: Price 100,000 VND (~ $ 4.3)/ cycle rickshaw / hour / person; Contact: 0236.355.0111. It is easy to take a cycle rickshaw along the route of Bach Dang - Cham museum.
3 - Day trips from Danang City
As mentioned, this city is like the tourism center of many world cultural heritages, unique architectural construction and beautiful wonders. For travelers not having too much time, there are some suitable and attractive destinations for you:
(Source: Dohyung kwon)
Ba Na Hill: About 45km from the city center to the west, Ba Na Hill appears as a "wonderland" among the real world. Not only having the airy atmosphere, natural beauty, but Ba Na also owns special architectural works such as Ba Na cable car, Golden bridge, Thich Ca Mau Ni statue (Linh Ung Pagoda), European village, Sun World amusement park, and so on. Visiting Ba Na, you will have the opportunity to see a very different city and enjoy the fresh air at an altitude of 1,500 meters.
Hai Van Pass - Lang Co Beach: For visitors having limited time to travel around, Hai Van Pass - Lang Co Beach tour is a very reasonable choice. Hai Van is about 28km from Danang city center, and then you only need to move another 12km to the north to reach Lang Co beach. The pass is famous for its beautiful scenery and the fantastic curves challenge every driver. Standing on the top of the pass, you have a chance to enjoy the panoramic view over the beautiful Lang Co beach associated with the colorful and vibrant city. Lang Co Beach is one of the most beautiful beaches in Vietnam, possessing turquoise sea, white sand and calm waves, which are all suitable for relaxing, swimming, and sunbathing.
Son Tra Peninsula: Located about 8km from the city center, Son Tra peninsula is one of the most attractive destinations for nature lovers. Tourists should consider some of the outstanding tourist spots when visiting Son Tra peninsula such as Linh Ung Pagoda, Ban Co Peak, thousand-year-old Banyan tree (over 800 years old), Radar station, Helicopter airport, Tien Sa Port, Mui Nghe, Tien Sa ecotourism area, and so on. Tourists can also take part in abundant kinds of activities including snorkeling, discovering langur’s wildlife, enjoying fresh seafood and coconut wine made by indigenous people.
(Source: Lagunalangco)
To have the most convenient services, there are some Danang travel agent specializing in organizing and serving tours that you can contact:
- Vietdragon Tourism Joint Stock Company: 253 Le Thanh Nghi Street, Hoa Cuong Nam ward, Hai Chau district; Contact: 0964 39 83 45.
- Sayhi Trading and Tourism Co., Ltd: Second floor, 70 Phan Thanh street, Thac Gian ward, Thanh Khe district; Contact: 0898 200 123
- Tourist Service and Trading Company: 493, Tran Xuan Cao street, Xuan Ha ward, Thanh Ha district; Contact: 0795 550 777
Hopefully, with the provided information, visitors will have a better understanding about Danang City Vietnam. Depending on that, you can make a suitable plan and have a memorable holiday when visiting the beautiful city as well as Vietnam.