What to do in Da Nang which isn't Hoi An?
March 28, 2018 8:59 PM Subscribe
I'm in Da Nang, Vietnam for a work meeting but I will have one free day just for me on Saturday. In the past, I have visited Hoi An and the Marble Mountains. Any suggestions for other nearby attractions I should not miss? I prefer nature and history to beaches. I will not drive myself, but can get a driver.
Best answer: A day trip to Mỹ Sơn is pretty reasonable.
posted by aubilenon at 10:16 PM on March 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by aubilenon at 10:16 PM on March 28, 2018 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I'm just popping in to enthusiastically second My Son - it hits both nature and (multiple eras of) history. It was my favorite place in Vietnam. I found it surreal to be wandering around the jungle (on nice paths) among ancient temples overlaid with bomb craters from my father's generation. I'd plan to spend at least 2-3 hours there; I paid a driver and he just waited in the parking lot. When I went, it wasn't very crowded, but there was evidence that it sometimes had far larger groups passing through.
posted by Metasyntactic at 11:52 PM on March 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Metasyntactic at 11:52 PM on March 28, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I was there for over at week at Christmas so I can totally answer this question!
Hire a car to take you on a drive over the Son Tra Peninsula - you can see the very rare Red-Shanked Duoc Langur monkeys there. You don't need any real expertise (I paid for a very expensive nature guide and it was a colossal waste of cash, I literally could have had a multiday tour for that much money), just go slow and keep your eyes peeled (up in the trees, obvs). The views are great too.
My Son was terrific, I thought, well worth it. It can get pretty busy but the tour groups tend to cluster together. If you time your arrival around the midday show, you can skip that and have the ruins literally to yourself while everyone is watching a show of dubious historicity.
Hue is also really nice, if you go, take a ride that goes *over* the Hai Van pass, not through the tunnel underneath - on a clear day the view is fantastic.
If you like theme parks, Asia Park in Danang is like twenty bucks and there are basically no queues. I went on the roller coaster twice in a row, it was really fun!
posted by smoke at 3:12 PM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Hire a car to take you on a drive over the Son Tra Peninsula - you can see the very rare Red-Shanked Duoc Langur monkeys there. You don't need any real expertise (I paid for a very expensive nature guide and it was a colossal waste of cash, I literally could have had a multiday tour for that much money), just go slow and keep your eyes peeled (up in the trees, obvs). The views are great too.
My Son was terrific, I thought, well worth it. It can get pretty busy but the tour groups tend to cluster together. If you time your arrival around the midday show, you can skip that and have the ruins literally to yourself while everyone is watching a show of dubious historicity.
Hue is also really nice, if you go, take a ride that goes *over* the Hai Van pass, not through the tunnel underneath - on a clear day the view is fantastic.
If you like theme parks, Asia Park in Danang is like twenty bucks and there are basically no queues. I went on the roller coaster twice in a row, it was really fun!
posted by smoke at 3:12 PM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Best answer: - the lady buddha statue to the north. couple hours, go on a nice day.
- the marble mountains. could spend a lot of time here (e.g. all day) if you like caves and hiking.
- riverside at night. i recommend the west bank. have dinner and/or a drink and just kinda walk along it. lots of people on a nice night, colors are beautiful. dragon bridge breathes fire like 8 PM saturdays or something (check time and day); but, not so impressive to warrant setting aside that timeslot for dragon bridge if it's not otherwise convenient.
- eat at Limoncello. best minestrone soup i've ever had and awesome side of grilled vegetables.
posted by 3FLryan at 4:09 PM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
- the marble mountains. could spend a lot of time here (e.g. all day) if you like caves and hiking.
- riverside at night. i recommend the west bank. have dinner and/or a drink and just kinda walk along it. lots of people on a nice night, colors are beautiful. dragon bridge breathes fire like 8 PM saturdays or something (check time and day); but, not so impressive to warrant setting aside that timeslot for dragon bridge if it's not otherwise convenient.
- eat at Limoncello. best minestrone soup i've ever had and awesome side of grilled vegetables.
posted by 3FLryan at 4:09 PM on March 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: These are all great answers. I'll save them for when I go back the next time.
I ended up choosing Mỹ Sơn. It was great, but to save someone else the same headache, I paid way too much for a car from my fancypants business hotel. I didn't feel like arguing, but given that you can't spend that much time at Mỹ Sơn (2-3 hours max) it wasn't good math. The tour groups were rather easily avoided, by the way. They basically avoided the smaller temples.
posted by frumiousb at 5:03 PM on April 1, 2018
I ended up choosing Mỹ Sơn. It was great, but to save someone else the same headache, I paid way too much for a car from my fancypants business hotel. I didn't feel like arguing, but given that you can't spend that much time at Mỹ Sơn (2-3 hours max) it wasn't good math. The tour groups were rather easily avoided, by the way. They basically avoided the smaller temples.
posted by frumiousb at 5:03 PM on April 1, 2018
I'm actually going to Da Nang this weekend, so the recs here have been great! Never been to Hoi An, but otoh I'm too preoccupied with work, so I'll just follow all the Da Nang tips here instead.
posted by cendawanita at 2:49 AM on April 4, 2018
posted by cendawanita at 2:49 AM on April 4, 2018
If you're just in danang, the Cham museum is definitely worth a visit if you like antiquities.
posted by smoke at 1:55 PM on April 4, 2018
posted by smoke at 1:55 PM on April 4, 2018
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