My first trip to Vietnam 🇻🇳 - not to the main cities like Ho Chi Minh or Hanoi, but Da Nang! Being a city by the sea, it is famous for its beaches and vibrant culture 🏖️🍷
Monsoons hit Vietnam seasonally, and also during different periods of the year depending on the area. When my friend and I decided to travel to Vietnam in June, part of the reason we chose Da Nang (central Vietnam) was because it was relatively safe from the monsoons during that month. Meanwhile, at that time, there were already reports of heavy rain and flooding in Hanoi. So, always check the weather before visiting Vietnam! ☔️🌬️
Overview
Day 1: Arriving in Da Nang
After a 4-hour flight from Singapore, I arrived at the Da Nang international airport. It was a direct flight operated by Singapore Airlines (fortunately there was one), otherwise the only other option would be taking Vietjet, a budget airline which had quite mixed reviews.
The moment I exited the airport, I could feel the heat hitting me, even though Singapore was usually already quite warm and humid 🥵. Throughout the trip, our only mode of transport was Grab taxi, as there were hardly any buses in Da Nang (I spotted more bikes than anything). Moreover, the Grab prices were quite affordable! Also, Grab seemed a much safer option as there were many small alleys and streets in the city.
After arriving at our hotel (Daisy Boutique hotel), we were quickly welcomed by the friendly smiles of the receptionists 🌼. They sat us down and served us tea (Trà Đá) and snacks while they helped us check in. Even though I had not expected any communication issues, I was still pleasantly surprised that the staff could speak fluently in English the whole time!
Our hotel room was exactly what I had imagined from the online photos, with the cozy wood fittings and beautiful pool view. The entire room was not big, but it was comfortable enough.
After a short rest, we left for the Son Tra Night Market in the evening. It was already dark and the stalls have opened for business. Although this night market had many good reviews on Google maps, I don’t think it was that impressive. It was just a small clutter of stalls selling all kinds of random items (bags, hats, shoes, etc.) and even seafood. We played safe and avoided the street food even though the prices were really cheap for lobsters.
We grabbed to our dinner place (Mỳ Quảng Cô Sáu) for a rice noodle called Mì Quảng, along the Hàn River. It was quite vibey with the lit lanterns and view of the river from our seats🏮. They served Trà Đá for free and I truly underestimated the effects of the tea - thinking it tasted just like refreshing water.
After dinner, we strolled along the river and intended to cross the Dragon Bridge to the other side of the city. The Dragon Bridge is a highlight of Da Nang and on the weekend nights, there would be light show and fire being expelled from the dragon’s mouth 🐲.
Along the way, we passed by an area with many lit heart lanterns and tourists (Cầu Tình Yêu Đà Nẵng), so of course we had to stop and take photos too 😆
There were more food places on the other side of the river, and we went for a second round at a roadside ice cream stall (Kem ký Trần Quốc Toản), where we sat on low chairs and ate blocks of ice cream sprinkled with coconut shavings and peanuts. There were also several korean themed self-photo taking studios and bars!
We ended the day and returned to our hotel for rest. Unfortunately, I could not sleep on the first night, likely because of the Trà Đá, as I was quite caffeine sensitive 🥱
Day 2: Up in the Ba Na Hills
The next day, we had to set off early for Ba Na Hills. Fortunately, all the hotels we booked came with breakfast, which was very convenient for us. Despite being a boutique hotel, there was still a decent spread of breakfast. We gobbled down our food as we waited for our grab.
It was around 45-min ride to the carpark, where we then had to transfer to a shuttle bus to the main entrance of Ba Na Hills 🚌. Most of the grab drivers here were very accustomed to tourists and would directly ask whether you would like to charter their car for a ride back to the city. We were worried about not being able to get a grab when returning, so we made an arrangement with our grab driver by exchanging WhatsApp contact.
Once we reached the main entrance for Ba Na Hills, we were ushered to buy tickets. The entrance area for Ba Na Hills was huge, but it was still packed with visitors on the day we went 😳! We purchased a bundle which included a return cable car ride, entrance to the theme park and lunch buffet. However, we realised afterwards that we should have gone without the lunch buffet.
In any case, we took one of the longest cable car ride which lasted around 20min. The cable car was new and the views on it were stunning 🚡⛰️!
We arrived at the first cable car station, where the iconic bridge was. Fortunately, we had arrived early (around 9am) and it was still not too crowded. The skies were also clear, so we had unobstructed view of the entire mountain.
We proceeded with the second leg of the cable car ride to the theme park area. It was European themed, with many castles, cobblestone walkways and even a cathedral. There was also a huge pop mart store but we were drawn to the alpine coaster instead 🤩 Each ride did not cost a lot (less than S$10), so my friend and I immediately decided to take it! It was my first time on an alpine coaster, and I expected it to be going quite fast, but turns out you had to manually accelerate and brake using the hand controls.
We toured the theme park and even got on a giant swing ride, before going for lunch. When we purchased the entry package, we thought that we could choose any of the buffet restaurants. However, turns out the bundle was only for a specific buffet restaurant. In fact, there were also other food places in the theme park, so we really regretted our decision. Moreover, the buffet place we went to was just like a food court serving local dishes.
After lunch, we continued to explore the theme park, making a short climb up a temple, and also taking a train to the other section of the park.
There was a huge garden and some 4D rides here, but besides that it was just a huge empty place to roam about. By around 4pm, we were ready to leave and it was starting to rain. The entire park was shrouded in the fog, even as we took the cable car ride down.
Our grab took us back to the city, and we rested in our hotel before heading out for dinner. We decided to try a roadside stall (Hủ Tiếu Quỳnh Trang) that we chanced upon the night before (it was beside the ice cream stall). Surprisingly, it was the best noodles we had, with savoury soup and fresh squid 😋
Craving for some dessert, we crossed the road and went to a place we found on Google (mlem pudding). The dessert spot was aesthetically decorated and the food was good too! We ordered Creme brûlée milk tea pudding and molten lava cake served on a hotplate. It was so delicious~ And there was even a cute corgi 🐶!
Day 3: All the boat rides in Hoi An
Besides Da Nang, we also travelled to Hoi An, a city just 1 hour away. We grabbed early in the morning, and arrived around 10am at Hoi An Delicacy Hotel, where we left our luggages.
We headed straight to the tailor store (Milan Tailoring) as we were only staying for a night. Before going to the tailor store, we had a simple breakfast 🍳 along the street. It took us a few hours to take our measurements and choose our linen fabric. By noon, we had placed our orders and set off for the other streets of Hoi An.
The street was lined with yellow shophouses and there was even a Starbucks! We made our way towards our lunch spot (Bánh Mì Phượng), and had a simple Bánh Mì (Vietnamese sandwich). The area had many stores providing customisation services, including leather bags and shoes 💼👞. My friend ordered a pair of custom-made slippers after being recommended a place by the staff at the Bánh Mì store.
We grabbed back to hotel in the afternoon as it was blazing outside ☀️ To our surprise, we got a free upgrade to a bigger room when we were checking in. The room was spacious and clean, with beautifully decorated walls and flooring!
After resting up, we headed to our first activity of the day - coconut boat ride 🥥, which is a must do in Vietnam! We booked our ride via Klook (link), so we just had to grab to the location. It was an easy process and we were quickly directed to our boat by the staff. We started off in a small river between rows of palm trees 🌴(?) before entering an open area, where we saw many other tourists grooving to the music. The ride lasted around 45min, including time for the staff to help you take photos in some photoshoot area. The staff rowing our boat was really nice and energetic, and tried to speak to us with his limited language abilities. He even checked with us whether we wanted to try the boat spinning (which we only experienced once as I felt sick afterwards).
I got a little sick from the spinning boat, so we returned to the hotel to rest. We left again around 7pm for dinner, and headed to Hoi An Ancient Town. As it was already dark, the street was beautifully lit with colourful lanterns.
We had dinner at a restaurant (Morning Glory) and it was the best meal we had during the trip! We ordered local Vietnamese dishes like the pancake and crispy pork, along with some cocktails 🍸!
We also booked another boat ride along the river of the ancient town, where we released paper lanterns into the river (Klook link). It was bustling in the ancient town at night, but it felt so peaceful on the short boat ride.
After the short cruise on the river, we walked through the night market, where there were plenty food and live music.
Day 4: Bye Hoi An, Hello Beach!
We started the day with breakfast at our hotel, which had both local and international options.
Then, we went to collect the items we had ordered. While waiting for some of the orders to be ready, we visited a cozy cafe (Ren Rua) and enjoyed a cup of Vietnamese coffee ☕️.
We also returned to the Ancient Town, as we did not have time to shop the stores the previous night. There were many stores that were selling a variety of things, like tea and cute little souvenirs. The weather was so hot that we left immediately after collecting all our custom-made orders and returned to Da Nang.
We checked in at our last hotel (Sel de Mer Hotel) that was located along the My Khe beach 🏖️ Even though it was pricier than the other two hotels, the view was worth it! It was my first time staying in a beachfront hotel and my breath was immediately taken away the moment we stepped into the room. It had a balcony with the view of the sea and it was so calming to just sit there and hear the waves crashing 😍
We went for a dip in the swimming pool and even the view there was amazing! There was also a sauna in the toilet at the pool!
For dinner, we travelled to the further end of the beach to this Santorini look-alike restaurant (Son Tra Marina). This restaurant is a popular photo taking spot in the day because of its blue and white buildings, so it was less crowded at night. We had pasta and some skewers, as we took in the view of the sea at night.
To end our last night in Da Nang, we went to a bar in the downtown (Tê Bar). The place served unique drinks at really affordable prices, and we also had some friendly conversations with the bartender.
Day 5: Returning home
After a late night, we woke up and had breakfast in the hotel. Since it was a five star hotel, there was a greater variety of options here!
We decided to go down to the beach, which we did not have the opportunity to visit the day before. It was just across the road, but unfortunately, we did not have time to try all the water activities we wanted to do 😢
As it was the last day, we decided to take it easy and just stayed indoors. We went to the gym, packed up and had our last meal before heading to the airport.
Since it was my first time to Vietnam, I was slightly apprehensive, not really knowing what to expect. But the country was much safer than I had expected, and the people we met were all really kind. I was initially concerned about the hygiene of the street food, but it was actually fine and some were really delicious! While it was hot, I would certainly love to return to Vietnam some other day, maybe visit the other cities! Da Nang and Hoi An are both small cities, so our trip length of 5 days was just nice! Even though Hoi An is all about the tailor made clothes, it could be a hit or miss, as some of our items were not up to our expectations ☹️ Nevertheless, it was a great experience to try tailoring clothes for once!