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Flying into Da Nang next month and I have 4 full days. I keep going back and forth on where to base myself and I need someone to just decide for me at this point.
Hoi An is obviously gorgeous, those lantern streets, but I worry it is a bit of a tourist bubble and everything shuts down early. Da Nang has the beach, the food scene looks better, and it seems more like a real city. But then I think, am I going to regret not waking up in the old town?
The plan is Marble Mountains, Ba Na Hills, and maybe My Son if I can fit it in. Is one city clearly better for day trips to all three? And how easy is the hop between the two, is it a cheap Grab or a whole production?
Solo traveler, I like a bit of nightlife but nothing wild. A good night market and somewhere to sit with a beer is plenty. Where would you stay?
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Team Da Nang here, sorry. I stayed a week and loved having the beach 10 minutes away every morning. Hoi An is a 45 minute Grab, like 300k, so you can still do two evenings there easily. Hotels are cheaper in Da Nang and the seafood street near the beach is unreal. Depends if you want postcard pretty or a real city with a beach.
Replying to GlobeTrotterTom
Replying to GlobeTrotterTom @GlobeTrotterTom The seafood street tip is getting me. Is the Da Nang to Hoi An Grab really only 45 minutes? I assumed the traffic would make it a whole thing. Two evenings in the old town plus beach mornings is sounding pretty ideal actually.
Replying to Emily Thornton
Replying to Emily Thornton @Emily Thornton Yeah it really is about 45 minutes, we did it twice. The road is good now, straight highway most of the way. Evening traffic out of Da Nang adds maybe fifteen minutes but nothing crazy. Two old town evenings plus beach mornings is exactly the right split, you will not regret it.
We based in Hoi An for 5 days last March and did all three day trips from there, zero regrets. Marble Mountains is 30 minutes, My Son about an hour, and Ba Na Hills we did with a driver for the day, around 1.2 million dong return. Hoi An in the evening is just magic, and honestly Da Nang felt like a city you pass through, not one you stay in. For a solo traveler the old town is way easier to meet people too.
Replying to Keira Rael Kohls
Replying to Keira Rael Kohls @Keira Rael Kohls This is pushing me toward Hoi An. Was Ba Na Hills worth the early start? I keep hearing it is either amazing or a crowded theme park depending on who you ask.
Replying to Emily Thornton
Replying to Emily Thornton @Emily Thornton Go on a weekday and get there for opening, we had the bridge almost to ourselves at 8am. By 11 it was packed with tour buses. So yes worth it, but the timing is everything.