Da Nang: 7-Day Itinerary
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Da Nang sits roughly midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and functions best as a launchpad for the region’s three UNESCO sites: Hoi An, My Son Sanctuary, and Hue. Seven days gives you all three without rushing any of them, including a proper overnight in Hue rather than a single exhausting round trip.
Day 1: Arrival and the Han River
Check into the My Khe/An Thuong beach strip or the Han River riverfront (mid-range rooms roughly $30-70 a night, verify). Grab from the airport, only 3-5km away, runs roughly 40,000-130,000 VND ($1.50-$5, verify), quoted upfront in the app. Spend the afternoon at My Khe Beach, then walk the river to the Dragon Bridge in the evening; on Saturday or Sunday nights it breathes fire and then water around 9pm (verify current schedule). Dinner: Mi Quang, Da Nang’s own turmeric noodle dish, from a stall near Han Market for a small sum in VND.
Tip: don’t accept a ride from anyone approaching you in the arrivals hall, walk out and book through the Grab app instead, then confirm the license plate matches before getting in.
Day 2: Marble Mountains and Son Tra Peninsula
The Marble Mountains, about 8-10km south, cost roughly 40,000 VND entry, with an elevator up Thuy Son for around 15,000-30,000 VND if you’d rather skip the 156-step staircase. Huyen Khong Cave’s natural skylight is worth timing for late morning. In the afternoon, Grab to Son Tra Peninsula for the 67m Lady Buddha at Linh Ung Pagoda, free to enter, and watch for the red-shanked douc langur along the forest road.
Tip: the langurs are most active at dawn and dusk, a late-afternoon visit beats a midday drive-through for actually spotting them.
Day 3: Ba Na Hills
Ba Na Hills, about 40 minutes west, is a SunWorld theme park and cable car resort built on the site of a 1919 French hill station, spectacular but honestly not an ancient or UNESCO site. Tickets run around 1,000,000 VND for adults, covering the record-setting cable car and the Golden Bridge. Grab to the base station costs roughly 350,000-380,000 VND ($13-$15, verify) each way. Book tickets online in advance to skip the gate queue.
Tip: bring a light layer, the altitude here, around 1,500m, runs noticeably cooler than the coast below, and thick cloud can hide the Golden Bridge view entirely, so check the forecast that morning.
Day 4: Hoi An Ancient Town
Hoi An, UNESCO-listed since 1999, sits about 28-30km south, 25-45 minutes by Grab, roughly 250,000-350,000 VND ($10-$13.50) one way. The Japanese Covered Bridge and the old merchant houses are the highlights; have cao lau for lunch, a noodle dish locals attribute to the town’s own well water. Stay past sunset if you can manage the later Grab back, the lantern-lit streets after dark are worth it.
Tip: agree on a Grab pickup point outside the pedestrian-only old town core before heading in for the evening.
Day 5: My Son Sanctuary
My Son Sanctuary, also UNESCO-listed since 1999, sits about 69km from Da Nang, roughly 1.5-2 hours by road, often paired with a Thu Bon river-boat return leg. This cluster of Cham Hindu temple ruins, built across roughly ten centuries and dedicated mainly to Shiva, pairs naturally with a stop at the Cham Museum back in Da Nang, since many of its artifacts came from this exact site. A combined day-tour with transport and a guide typically runs $25-45 per person (verify current pricing).
Tip: My Son gets hot and crowded once tour buses arrive mid-morning, an early departure from Da Nang makes a real difference to how much of the site you see comfortably.
Day 6: Over the Hai Van Pass to Hue
Hue sits roughly 100km north, about 2-2.5 hours by road over the dramatic Hai Van Pass, or by the scenic Da Nang-Hue rail line along the coast (verify current train schedules, they shift). Rather than a rushed same-day round trip, plan on an overnight here: Hue was Vietnam’s first UNESCO site, inscribed in 1993, and the former imperial capital under the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945, with the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City, and a string of royal tombs that genuinely need more than a few rushed hours. Spend the afternoon in the Imperial City and check into a hotel in Hue for the night.
Tip: if you take the train, ride it in daylight for the Hai Van Pass views, the coastal stretch is consistently rated among the world’s more scenic rail journeys.
Day 7: Hue’s royal tombs, then back to Da Nang
Spend the morning at one or two of Hue’s Nguyen Dynasty royal tombs before heading back over the Hai Van Pass or by train to Da Nang in the early afternoon. Use whatever time is left before your flight for a last Mi Quang breakfast or lunch back in Da Nang, at a street stall rather than a hotel restaurant, and head to the airport with buffer time, Da Nang’s arrivals and departures halls can back up during peak flight banks.
Tip: if renting a motorbike anywhere on this trip, photograph every scratch and dent with the rental shop present before you ride off, undocumented pre-existing damage is the most common way tourists get overcharged at return.
Read more: our best day trips guide covers Hoi An, My Son, and Hue in more depth if you want to adjust the pacing above.