Excursions to Da Nang. From Nha Trang to Da Nang and catch the train to Hanoi! Brief description of Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue

So we fulfilled our long-standing desire to go to Da Nang. The city of Da Nang is not very popular among tourists, is poorly covered on the Internet and there is much less information on it than on Nha Trang. I don’t know why, but I was only drawn to this city in Vietnam. My intuition foretold in advance that we would like Danang.

But more on that later. First, I will tell you how we got from Nha Trang to Da Nang. Having seen that air tickets from Nha Trang to Da Nang are currently being sold at some unrealistic prices, we decided to go by bus. Check flight prices.

Nha Trang - Da Nang: options for how to get there

The bus went along the coast to Vovan Street, where we had to get off, since in this area we had spotted one very decent hotel on Booking - (we recommend!).

Slava went down to the driver and motioned for him to stop. We went out into the city and were very happy that, although with nerves and adventures, we still made it to Da Nang.

Transfer Nha Trang - Da Nang

Currently, you can order a transfer from Nha Trang to Da Nang online. They will pick you up at any hotel and take you to Da Nang on the same day. If there are several of you, it would be advisable order a minibus, so that everyone can chip in and share the cost of the transfer.

You can order a taxi from Nha Trang to Da Nang follow this link.

Nha Trang - Danang taxi

Where to stay in Da Nang

Dragon Sea Hotel— stayed at this hotel. We recommend! Rating 7.9
Emily Hotel— inexpensive decent hotel with a rating of 8.5
Mango Hotel — inexpensive hotel 2 stars, rating 8.1
BeSea Hotel- the most budget hotel with good rating — 8,7

Hotels in the city center:

Louis Hotel— a very decent inexpensive hotel in the center. Rating 8.4
An Nam Hotel — a budget option with a good rating of 8.1
Fulmar Hotel- another cheap hotel with a normal rating of 7.9
Funtastic Danang Hostel- cheap decent hostel in Da Nang. Rating 8.4!
ALL HOTELS

Route on the map

Brief description of Hoi An, Da Nang, Hue

Hoi An

First main central city, which you will meet on the way from Nha Trang will be Hoi An. It is home to the old quarter, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a stunning atmosphere and spirit of old Vietnam. Here you should definitely try local dishes and cooking classes, stroll the streets of the old quarter and buy something from the many shops. Don't forget to also take a bike ride to the outskirts of Hoi An, where you'll see stunning rice paddies and colorful local life.

Danang

Danang is one of the most big cities in Vietnam. There are stunning beaches here, good hotels, a lot of interesting places nearby such as: Hoi An, Marble Mountains, national park Batma. In the city itself there are also many interesting places and the first thing you should pay attention to is its majestic bridges.

Hue

Hue was once the capital of Vietnam, the city of the emperors of Vietnam. Now, after many wars and destruction, the palaces of the last imperial dynasty of Vietnam and the extraordinary spirit of the old city remain in it. There are also many interesting pagodas that are open to the public. The most famous, perhaps, is the Thien Mu Pagoda, where the belongings of one of the famous monks are preserved, who gave his life (self-immolation) to save Buddhists throughout Vietnam from attacks from the government of South Vietnam. Near the pagoda you can take a boat. To ride along the Fragrant River, which is so called because of the herbs that grow along its banks. Not far from Hue is the city of Dong Hoi, from where the treks to the largest cave in the world – Sham Dong – start. Hue is also the starting point in the center of Vietnam, from where you can travel to Laos.

No matter which city in central Vietnam you visit, you will definitely have something to see in the cities listed. Due to the fact that they are a short distance from each other, it is highly recommended to watch them all.

How to get from Nha Trang to Hoi An - Danang - Hue

The route from Nha Trang to Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue is very simple, since these cities lie on the same line of almost all transport routes. The first one from Nha Trang is Hoi An (HoiAn) 510 km from Nha Trang to the north of the country, further north goes Danang(DaNang) 30 km from Hoi An (540 km from Nha Trang) and even further north Hue(Hue) 95 km from Da Nang (635 from Nha Trang). The path lies through very beautiful serpentines next to the sea, offering breathtaking views. Also, if you go by land, you will pass cities such as Tuy Hoa and Quy Nhon, which may also be of interest to travelers.

Bus . Every morning and every evening special tourist (recumbent!) buses depart from Nha Trang. The cost for them is approximately the same and is 10-12 USD to Hoi An, 15-17 USD to Da Nang and 20-22 USD to Hue one way per person. These buses usually go from Nha Trang to Hanoi and make stops in Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue. Estimated travel time is 8-10 hours to Hoi An and Da Nang, 12-14 hours to Hue. In the morning buses depart at 8, 9, 11, 13 o'clock, in the evening - at 19 and 20 o'clock. You may need to change buses along the way. This usually happens in Hoi An and Hue. But bus companies this moment is well organized, and you will have time to quickly explore the city and have a snack.

There are a sufficient number of bus companies, below are the names and addresses in Nha Trang of some of the best and most tested:

The Sinh Tourist – thesinhtourist.vn – 90C Hung Vuong St.,
Hanh Cafe – hanhcafe.vn – 10 Hung Vuong Street
Phuong Trang (or

The road, as you can see, is not the closest, but it’s worth it

Many tourists coming to exotic countries, do not want to stay in hotel rooms and lie on the beaches throughout their vacation, which leads to the popularity of excursions organized by tour operators or special agencies. Those who stay here for long term or are visiting the same country more than once, they often prefer independent trips on less popular routes. Thus, guests of Vietnam who have had enough of Nha Trang or Mui Ne often take a trip to the city of Da Nang.

What attracts tourists to Da Nang?

The popularity of Da Nang among travelers on vacation in Vietnam is not accidental, since this popular resort offers them a whole range of entertainment, in particular:

The immaculate beaches with clean, fine sand are among the best in the world.
A real paradise for fans of surfing and kiting.
The large number of historical sites reflecting both the ancient culture of Champa and the remnants of the French colony, and the intersection of the two cultures, fascinates tourists.
The city, located almost equidistant from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, has the unofficial status of the third capital of the state, and is the 5th metropolis in Vietnam in terms of population. The country's authorities hold international meetings here with leaders of other states, which is why the central streets are very clean, the facades of the houses are well-groomed, and the central embankment is ideal for walking.
In addition, last year a unique attraction was opened here - the sightseeing pedestrian Golden Bridge, built at an altitude of more than 1.4 km and supported by pillars stylized as huge hands, which creates a mythical effect, and this object has already attracted millions of tourists from all over the world.

Thus, although Danang cannot boast of the same developed infrastructure for Russian-speaking vacationers as Nha Trang, it is still worth visiting here once in a lifetime without regretting the trip.

Da Nang is located more than 500 km north of Nha Trang, and the journey there is a long one. Anyone who wants to visit this city while at a popular resort can get to it in one of the following ways:

For those who want to reduce travel time as much as possible, there are flights from Cam Ranh Airport regular flight airline VietJet, which for 500 - 600 thousand VND transports a traveler from Nha Trang to Da Nang, covering the entire distance in less than 1 hour (the price is valid for January 2019). So, if you book round-trip tickets on time, and know exactly what to visit on the spot, then a tourist can complete the trip in one day.
For a more leisurely holiday, lasting at least 2 days or more, travelers can take a train departing from Nha Trang Station and heading to the destination station in Da Nang. Depending on the type of carriage, a ticket will cost VND 400 thousand and above, and the travel time will be about 9 hours.
It will take almost the same amount of time to travel on the popular Vietnamese intercity transport - a “slip bus” - a bus with lie-flat seats arranged in 2 tiers, and a ticket for it will cost 300 - 350 thousand VND. However, you can always choose an evening flight and spend time sleeping comfortably without noticing the long journey.
If someone wants to take a taxi, they should be warned that the trip will not be much shorter than using a slipbus, but they will have to part with at least 10 - 12 million VND for a round trip.
Lastly, for the most desperate travelers, bike rentals are available, after which they can go on a long journey for the whole day, overcoming a difficult road along the coast, about 540 km long, without turning anywhere, and after 12 - 15 hours they will finally reach their goal. However, the road is quite dangerous, as there are heavy trucks, buses and cars that rarely respect motorcyclists and do not pay attention to their safety.

If you have already managed to visit Da Nang, please tell us about your journey from Nha Trang and share your general impressions of this trip on our website.

So, after putting my mother on the plane, we began to think about where to go next. The next stop on our Vietnam travel program was Hanoi. But before leaving the sunny coasts, we decided to visit another seaside town - just for general acquaintance. Moreover, a convenient direct train flight departed from there to Hanoi.

Therefore, having walked through the streets of Nha Trang for the last time and taxied into a cafe unknown to us heretofore, we captured a little more of the colorful local reality.

At sunset, we sat down (or rather, lay down) on our already favorite intercity bus with blue lighting and, with the rustling of tires, we moved to Da Nang.

Initially, we planned a leisurely tour of Da Nang's sights and catering establishments - for a couple of days, as happened in other settlements. But with Da Nang everything turned out differently.

Firstly, it turned out that, despite the tourist character of the town, there was absolutely nowhere to live in it. No, of course there are hotels, but for some reason they are either not in our usual price category (that is, more than 1000 rubles per day), or they are so rundown that you don’t even want to go there.

Secondly, having arrived early in the morning and having somehow decided on temporary housing, we logically went in search of our breakfast. And here the second and most severe disappointment awaited us. 70 percent of the already very few cafes serve...only drinks. The maximum that they can offer you is a boiled egg or a very small sandwich. Well, maybe some ice cream. The remaining 30 percent consists of Pho noodles, which we already quite like, in general. But here one big BUT came out in full force.

Having comfortably settled down on the veranda of a nice cafe that we had joyfully discovered, having ordered these same noodles (and not caring that it was 9 am and breakfast), we began to look forward to what we ate in Saigon and Nha Trang - an appetizing rich broth with rice noodles and meatballs. However, dreams are dreams, and they put on our table something between instant noodles like Doshirak and some Georgian, but very tasteless dish. Georgian - because the bowl of soup was almost half filled with cilantro. Either the cook was out of sorts, or this is how they greet foreigners in Da Nang, testing their strength, or local residents strong gourmets, but the result is the same. Even with the degree of hunger that we had felt since our arrival, we could not eat it.

The disappointment was strong and overwhelming. Having thus visited a couple more establishments in the ever-increasing heat, and then also taken a ride through the streets in a taxi in search of decent establishments, we were finally convinced that our relations with this city would no longer improve and it would be better for everyone if we were from here Let's leave quickly. After finally having a snack in some coffee shop with excellent coffee (oh yes, their coffee is equally wonderful everywhere and I can endlessly compose laudatory epithets for it) and an egg, we went to the station to get a ticket for the first flight to Hanoi and went to cool off to the hotel.

From the outside it may seem that we were too capricious or biased and picky (I myself, having read such a review about the city, would say the same thing). However, looking back on that day, I can’t remember anything that I liked there (well, except for the coffee, of course). I can only admit that perhaps a spoiled first impression did not give us a chance to take a better look at it. And perhaps if we had had a little more patience and a little more luck in finding breakfast, things might have turned out differently. Unfortunately, we don’t have a single clear photograph of the city, only one hotel room(amazed by the presence of a luxurious bathtub) and this roaring lion caught on the phone.

But you can’t erase the words from the song. So that evening we loaded our backpacks onto the compartment shelves with relief and looked forward with pleasure to the cooling trip to the north of Vietnam - through the mountains to Hanoi.

The compartment turned out to be exactly like our Moscow-Ufa trains or something similar. Old wooden panels, wooden window frames and exactly the same drafts. It’s very conducive to nostalgia, especially when you haven’t been back home for about six months. =)

Our neighbor turned out to be a Vietnamese man about 30 years old, constantly talking on his cell phone. Whether he was solving some problems, or explaining the principle of operation of the washing machine to his old mother - the story is not known for certain. But he spoke for a long time and very emotionally, until, probably, the money in his account ran out.

The change in climate and surrounding flora occurred abruptly and without warning. Within an hour and a half after leaving the hot and dusty Da Nang, fog appeared outside the window and a light drizzle began to fall.

We climbed high into the mountains, from where the coastal strip began to seem very narrow, and the sea opened up in all its boundless splendor. At some point, I completely stopped realizing that we were still in Vietnam - we had become so accustomed to associating this country with jungles, heat and palm trees.

Outside the window there was a view in the spirit of Norway, Ireland, or, at worst, good old England. Clouds of fog, rocky cliffs, vegetation atypical for southern latitudes and mysterious tunnels through the rocks. A stunning change of scenery.

Exactly what I wanted most after several months of incessant heat, lack of normal precipitation and endless beaches.

A dimly lit coupe, the Beatles wearing headphones, rain and fog outside the window - and who would have thought that such happiness was possible in Vietnam?;)

“There are places I remember

All my life, though some have changed

Some forever not for better

Some have gone and some remain

All these places had their moments

With lovers and friends

I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

In my life I "ve loved them all" (c)

An excursion from Nha Trang to Da Nang will allow you to take a break between trips to the beaches and reveal a new facet of the culture and history of Vietnam.

This part of the country is recognized as the most European. Excursions here are carried out in the format of complex tours, during which you will also visit other significant cities. For example, you can choose a trip to Da Nang and Hoi An, lasting from 8 hours to 2 days. Tour prices start at $345. In the list of programs you will find group as well as individual tours.

Sights of Da Nang

Bridges. After sunset, the city appears before guests in all its glory, because at this time its numerous bridges are lit with lights. You will visit with a guide the Dragon Bridge, made in the shape of a giant mythical creature. Tuan Phuoc, reminiscent of the Golden Gate in San Francisco, and the Tran Thi Ly Bridge, whose height reaches 700 meters, are considered no less grandiose.
Guanyin statue. It was this landmark that gave the city fame. Danang is home to the tallest Guanyin sculpture in Vietnam. Its height reaches 65 meters, which is equivalent to a 21-story building. The scale of the statue is emphasized by the miniature cape where it is located. There is a small monastery near Guanyin, which you will also visit with a guide
Embankments. A walk along the embankments is a must on excursions in Da Nang. They are famous beautiful views, and a huge amount marble sculptures of intricate shapes. Having seen the variety of compositions, you will understand why this city became famous for its marble carvers far beyond the borders of Vietnam.

Tours include visits to Da Nang and Hoi An for a reason. Between the cities lies one of the most significant attractions in Vietnam. These are the Marble Mountains, consisting of 5 hills. Inside you can visit caves, and around them there are Buddhist sanctuaries and temples.

You can book your trip right now online on our website. The route, ticket prices and schedule are indicated on the excursion pages. If you have any additional questions, please contact us via chat or phone.