Not in October, the water is 28 degrees and boardshorts are fine. In January and February the sea averages 23 degrees with recorded lows near 20, air temperatures drop to 18 to 23 degrees, and it is grey and windy. Bring a 2mm shorty or a long-sleeve neoprene top for a winter trip, a 2/2 full suit if you feel the cold. Vietnam does not need neoprene year-round, but anyone telling you it never does has not surfed here in February.

Vietnam Central Coast — Da Nang, Hoi An & Hue

Q: Can I legally ride a motorbike in Vietnam on my home licence?

Only if you hold an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention alongside a home licence that carries a motorcycle entitlement. Vietnam does not recognise 1949-convention IDPs, which is what the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland issue. Rental shops will rent to you regardless, that is not permission. Riding unlicensed exposes you to fines reported at 8 to 10 million dong, impoundment, and a medical claim your insurer will almost certainly deny.

Q: How far is Hoi An from Da Nang, and where should I base myself?

28 to 30km, 45 to 60 minutes. Grab runs about 120,000 dong from the airport, the shuttle bus 130,000, and bus 16 plus a local connection is 26,000 dong. Base in the My An / An Thuong beach strip in Da Nang if the surf and the city matter, base in Hoi An if the food, the tailoring and the Ancient Town matter. Either way you will see both, and as of July 2025 they are administratively the same city.

Q: Is Hue worth adding, and how do I get there?

Yes, if you have the days. It is the Nguyen imperial capital, a UNESCO site, and 103km north of Da Nang. Take the train, about 2.5 hours, along a coastal ledge past the Hai Van Pass and Lang Co that no road can match. The bus takes 3 hours and goes through a tunnel where you see nothing. Motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians are banned from the Hai Van Tunnel entirely; there is an official shuttle at 25,000 to 30,000 dong per bike.

Da Nang is a mass beach-resort city built for Korean and domestic package tourism, Hoi An is a UNESCO heritage, food and tailoring town twenty-eight kilometres down the road, and between them they took over seventeen million visitors in 2025. There is also a real surf scene here — small, seasonal, and confined to a three-kilometre strip of one beach. We found seven surf-specific businesses for the entire hundred-kilometre coast. That is not a failure of research. That is the honest shape of the place, and we’d rather tell you on the first line than let you find out after you’ve booked a surf trip for June.

Straight talk: Some links on this page are affiliate links — if you book through them, Secrets of Surf Travel earns a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only link places and people we’d use ourselves, and coverage is never for sale. Those commissions are what keep this site running and fund the next trip.

Some vacation-rental search links on this page (marked “Search Vrbo rentals,” “Search Booking.com stays,” or “Search Agoda stays”) are affiliate links. Every vendor link below is still a plain courtesy link. As more partnerships come online, more links may earn us a commission; the promise above holds either way.

One trip, two towns, and a real add-on to the north. Da Nang and Hoi An are 28–30km apart, 45–60 minutes by road, and as of 1 July 2025 they are legally the same city — Quang Nam province, which contained Hoi An, was merged into Da Nang City. Sleep on the My An / An Thuong beach strip if the surf and the city matter, sleep in Hoi An if the food and the Ancient Town matter. Either way you will see both.

Hue is real but it is not a base. The Nguyen imperial capital sits 103km north, a genuine 2–3 night add-on for anyone with the days, reached best by the coastal train over the Hai Van Pass rather than the tunnel road. It is a history city, not a beach or surf city — we have deliberately not listed surf logistics for it.

Nha Trang and Mui Ne are off this page on purpose. Both sit hundreds of kilometres south with their own gateway airport, their own season and, in Mui Ne’s case, an entirely different sport — it is Vietnam’s kitesurfing centre, not a surf zone. Putting them on this page would be dishonest. They are candidates for a future, separate zone.

Logistics

Getting There

Da Nang International (DAD) is the airport for this zone, Vietnam’s third international gateway, about 3km from the city centre. It handled over 15.5 million passengers in 2019, and Hanoi–Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City–Da Nang are two of Vietnam’s three busiest domestic air corridors — 319 and 250 weekly flights, cheap and constant.

Almost no one flies to DAD long-haul direct. International routes actually running are dominated by Seoul (~150 weekly flights as of 2025), plus Bangkok, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Hong Kong and Taipei. From Europe, Australia or the Americas, expect one stop — via Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Hong Kong, or via a domestic leg from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.
Korea is the dominant international market, and it shows. Da Nang welcomed its one-millionth Korean visitor of 2025 on 1 August 2025; Korean flight frequency has gone from 7 to roughly 150 weekly flights. The New York Times has called Da Nang “the Miami of Vietnam,” and Wikipedia notes it is jokingly called by Korean tourists a “province of South Korea.” The beach strip is built for Korean and domestic package tourism first.
Airport to town: taxi around 70,000 dong to the city centre, Grab widely available, city buses #6 and #10 at 8,000 dong flat, shuttle to Hoi An 130,000 dong (about 45 minutes).
Surfboards: we could not confirm a first-party baggage policy for the low-cost carriers running these routes. Call ahead before you book a board bag on.

Visa — the single most common error, stated plainly. British, most Western European, Japanese, South Korean and Russian citizens enter visa-free for 45 days. The United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have no exemption at all — those travellers need an e-visa, available to every nationality since 15 August 2023, single or multiple entry up to 90 days, US$25 single / US$50 multiple. Critically, the e-visa locks you to the entry and exit points you select on the application — put Da Nang on it. Your passport must be valid 6+ months beyond arrival, have 2 blank pages, be undamaged, and be the same passport for entry and exit. Double-check the stamped date on arrival: immigration will not correct it once you have left the airport or land border. From 15 April 2026, arrivals via Tan Son Nhat (HCMC) are being encouraged, not yet required, to complete a digital arrival card online in advance — expect this to extend. The 45-day exemption list itself is under active revision, including a temporary regime for several additional European countries running 15 August 2025 to 14 August 2028 — verify your own nationality against the current Vietnam Immigration Department list before booking, not against this page.

Logistics

When to Go & What to Pack

The single most important honest finding on this page: the surf window and the beach-holiday window are opposites, and they fall inside typhoon season. Da Nang’s wet and typhoon season runs September to December, peaking October–November, with 550–1,000mm of rain a month at the peak against 23–40mm in the driest months. The swell driver is the northeast monsoon, which runs the same window — roughly late September through March, October the standout month.

	Beach holiday	Surf
Feb–Apr	Best. Driest months of the year (23–40mm), warm, calm.	Season tailing off / flat.
May–Aug	Hot (to 40°C), humid, sunny, busiest. Peak Korean and domestic season.	Effectively flat. Summer SW monsoon.
Sep–Dec	Worst. Wet season, typhoon exposure, flooding, grey skies.	The window. October the most consistent single month.
Jan–Feb	Cool, greyer, quieter, cheap.	Still workable NE swell; coolest water.

October is the best surf month and it is blown out about half the time. Surf-forecast rates My Khe and Non Nuoc “fairly consistent” on a northeast swell with west/southwest offshore wind — October produces clean surfable conditions roughly 48% of the time at My Khe and 42% at Non Nuoc, but is blown out roughly 47% and 53% of the time respectively. That is the truest single statistic about surfing here.
Typhoons run September to December, peaking October–November. Hoi An’s Ancient Town floods on a regular, recurring basis — this is normal, not exceptional, and the same mountainous terrain around the Hai Van Pass carries a landslide risk in the same window.
A contested claim, flagged honestly: some Vietnamese-language coverage gives the good surf months as August–October or March–May, which conflicts with the surf-forecast statistics and with the monsoon physics. We are publishing the northeast-monsoon framing (roughly October–March, October best) because it is the better-sourced claim, but this needs one more verification pass.

The water is not warm year-round here — that is different from most of Southeast Asia, and we are not going to publish a “never need a wetsuit” line. Da Nang’s monthly average sea temperature runs from 23.0–23.2°C in January–February up to 29.8°C in August, with a recorded annual low of 20.2°C in February. October, at 28.2°C, is genuinely boardshorts weather. January and February are not — 23°C water combined with 18–23°C air lows and a northeast wind makes for a genuinely chilling two-hour session, even though 23°C water in isolation sounds mild. Bring a 2mm shorty or a long-sleeve neoprene top for December–March, and a 2/2 full suit if you feel the cold easily.

Pack: rash vest and high-SPF reef-safe sunscreen year-round; a light rain shell and quick-dry footwear for September–December; a 2mm top or shorty December–March; long sleeves and repellent for dengue-carrying mosquitoes; a helmet-compatible mindset if you ride; modest cover for pagodas and the Imperial City.

Logistics

Good to Know

Money: Vietnamese dong (VND). The country remains substantially cash-first at the small-vendor level — street food, beach-side coffee, motorbike deposits, tailors’ balance payments. Cards work at hotels, resorts, chain restaurants and larger shops; ATMs are dense in both Da Nang and Hoi An. To calibrate: a bowl of mi quang runs 20,000–45,000 dong, banh mi 25,000–30,000 dong, the local bus a flat 8,000 dong within Da Nang, a beach shower 2,000 dong, a shaded beach chair around 40,000 dong. We are never printing a dong figure with a dollar sign.
Connectivity: Viettel, Vinaphone and Mobifone are the three networks; Viettel has the widest coverage, including the Hai Van Pass and rural Quang Nam. Tourist data SIMs are sold at DAD arrivals and everywhere in town, and all three now support eSIM. We could not fetch Viettel’s own site to confirm current package prices — we are not publishing one. Expect coverage gaps on the upper pass road and in the My Son valley.

The motorbike-licence reality — the most consequential practical fact on this page. Vietnam recognises International Driving Permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention only. An IDP issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention is not valid here, whatever the booklet says, and your home licence must itself carry a motorcycle entitlement. The United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland issue 1949-convention IDPs — for a large share of this site’s audience, there is simply no paperwork route to riding legally on a short visit. Rental shops will rent to you regardless; that is not a legal opinion, it is a business model. Ride unlicensed and your insurer will almost certainly deny a medical claim after a crash — travel and medical policies near-universally require a licence valid in-country. Reported penalties run 8–10 million dong plus impoundment, and Vietnamese traffic-accident investigations can carry criminal charges, compensation demands and a travel ban while they run. If you cannot get a 1968 IDP with a motorcycle entitlement, do not rent a motorbike here. Grab, Xanh SM, Mai Linh, Vinasun and the 8,000-dong city buses cover everything a visitor needs, and the Hai Van Pass is better enjoyed from the back of an experienced local rider’s bike than from the front of your own.

Road safety and scams: bag-snatching by thieves on motorcycles is common — hold bags in front of you or on the side away from traffic. Never hand your passport to a rental shop or an employer as a deposit — standard practice at bike shops, and one to refuse; offer cash or a photocopy instead. For taxis, stick to Grab, Xanh SM, Mai Linh (green with white lettering) and Vinasun (white with green/red lettering) — look-alike liveries with near-identical names are the classic Vietnam taxi scam, and meters should start after roughly 5 metres of travel.
Health and water: do not drink the tap water; bottled and filtered water is universal and cheap. Mosquito-borne disease is the real risk — dengue, Zika, malaria and Japanese encephalitis are all present, and Da Nang’s wet season is dengue season. Check vaccines at least 8 weeks out. Ambulance: 115. Comprehensive insurance covering evacuation is essential — there is no repatriation-grade care between Da Nang and Bangkok or Singapore.
Beach safety: Da Nang’s beaches run a red/yellow flag system during daylight lifeguard hours (roughly 05:00–20:00 in season): red means closed to swimming, yellow means stay close to shore. My Khe generates strong rip currents, and the hazard is worst in exactly the months this page sends surfers — October through February sees the larger, more powerful surf and the strongest rips, and Non Nuoc carries the same warning when the swell is up. If caught in a rip, stay calm and swim parallel to the beach until you’re out of the pull, then come in. Public showers cost 2,000 dong.

The Zone

Surf — the whole bench, and it is small on purpose to report honestly

Seven surf-specific businesses, all on the same three-kilometre stretch of My Khe / My An. That is the entire verified surf scene for a hundred-kilometre coastline serving a city of 1.27 million and seventeen million annual visitors — there is no surf shop, school or rental in Hoi An or Hue that we could verify, no shaper, no repair service, no surf-specific accommodation. Vietnam’s official Da Nang tourism portal names Danang Surf School as the first in the country with ISA-certified instructors — that a country of 100 million only recently got its first ISA school tells you the scale. This is a place to surf for the food, the heritage, the cheap living and the winter novelty of a soft, uncrowded beach break, not a place anyone flies here for waves.

Surf schools & board rental — My Khe / My An, Da Nang

Epic Surf School Da NangMy Khe, Da NangMid-rangeLesson-led school on My Khe. Group lesson 900,000 dong, private 1,800,000, split lesson for two 2,500,000, line-up coaching 2,400,000, surf-skate 600,000, board rental from 250,000 for two hours. Board, rashguard, sunscreen and photos included.
Coco Surf Danang282 Vo Nguyen Giap, Da NangBudget–midPrivate, semi-private and group lessons plus kids’ and seniors’ lessons; rentals around 7 euro for two hours; arranges accommodation. Multilingual (KakaoTalk, LINE, WeChat all listed) — a tell about the Korean and Chinese market. Phone/WhatsApp/Zalo +84 928 000 333.
Dana Surf RentalOpposite 268B Vo Nguyen Giap, My An, Da NangBudgetHourly and daily board rental and lessons, plus kayaking, SUP, canoeing, diving and coastal camping — a general watersports outfit, not surf-only. Phone +84 83 328 9111.
Surf FeelingVuong Thua Vu, Son Tra, Da NangMid-rangeOn the beach opposite the Hilton Garden Inn, founded 2024. Group, private, kids’ and multi-lesson courses; rental quiver spans soft-tops through shortboards. 07:00–17:00 daily. Phone +84 79 238 0198.
Danang Surf SchoolVo Nguyen Giap, inside Temple Danang Resort, Da NangMid-rangeListed by Da Nang’s official city tourism portal as the first school in Vietnam with ISA-certified instructors. Roughly two-hour lessons including gear; also runs SUP. 08:00–17:00.
Surf Shack Da NangDa NangMid-rangeEnglish-speaking instructors, changing rooms, showers and lockers. Sells through Klook as well as direct — we could not confirm a first-party site.
LST Surf~100m from My Khe, Da NangBudget–midSurf shop with showers, changing area and lockers. Its site returned a connection reset on our fetch — confirm current details directly before booking.

Board repair: an honest gap. We found no dedicated ding-repair business anywhere on this coast. Rental is bundled into the schools above — if you snap or ding a board, ask your school first, and the sensible move is to bring a repair kit with you.

The Zone

Stays

Da Nang’s stay inventory on the beach strip is enormous in reality and thin in this bench — a browser sweep of the An Thuong / My An grid would add thirty-plus verified entries; that is the single biggest gap in this page. Hoi An’s bench is deeper because more properties publish first-party rates.

Da Nang

Furama Resort Danang103–105 Vo Nguyen Giap, Ngu Hanh SonLuxuryVietnam’s original international beach resort, directly on the sand on the My Khe/Non Nuoc strip. Phone +84 236 3847 333/888.
TIA Wellness Resort109 Vo Nguyen Giap, Ngu Hanh SonLuxuryAll-pool-villa wellness property, spa-inclusive model, immediate neighbour to Furama. Phone +84 2363 967 999.
City Hostel Da NangDowntown Da NangBudgetDowntown backpacker hostel; rents pedal bikes at 30,000 dong a day.

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Hoi An

Melody Boutique VillaNW of the centre, Hoi AnBudgetAbout 15 minutes by bike to the Ancient Town. Dorms from 90,000 dong. Phone +84 973 771 325.
Hoang Trinh Hotel45 Le Quy Don, Hoi AnBudgetAround 500,000 dong. Phone +84 510 3916579.
Quynh Long Villa28 Nguyen Cong Tru, Hoi AnBudget400,000–500,000 dong. Phone +84 235 392 1262.
Betel Garden Homestay161 Tran Nhan Tong, Hoi AnMid-rangePhone +84 510 3924165.
Hoi An Pho Library Hotel96 Ba Trieu, Hoi AnMid-rangeAround 700,000 dong.
Nhi Nhi Hotel60 Hung Vuong, Hoi AnMid-range680,000–2,540,000 dong. Phone +84 510 916718.
Villa Orchid Garden Riverside382 Cua Dai, on the road to the beach, Hoi AnMid-rangePhone +84 510 3863720.
Palm Garden Beach Resort & SpaLac Long Quan, Cua Dai beach, Hoi AnLuxuryFrom around US$180. Phone +84 235 392 7927.
Vinh Hung Riverside Resort & Spa111 Ngo Quyen, Hoi AnMid–luxRoughly US$70–110.
Hotel Royal Hoi An39 Dao Duy Tu, Hoi AnLuxuryAround US$127–220. Phone +84 510 3950 777.
Anantara Hoi An Resort1 Pham Hong Thai, on the Thu Bon, Hoi AnLuxuryPhone +84 235 391 4555.
Victoria Hoi An Beach Resort & SpaCua Dai Beach, Hoi AnLuxuryUS$125–300. Phone +84 510 927040.

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The Zone

Eat & Drink

Da Nang and Hoi An each have their own dish canon and neither is generic. Da Nang: mi quang (turmeric noodles, the signature dish of Quang Nam), bun cha ca (fish-cake noodle soup), banh xeo, com ga and bun mam. Hoi An: cao lau (only made here, traditionally with water from one local well), white rose dumplings, its own com ga, and the banh mi Anthony Bourdain made famous.

Da Nang

Mi Quang 1A1 Hai Phong, Hai Chau 1, Da NangBudgetThe reference mi quang house in the city centre. 30,000–45,000 dong. Phone +84 236 3827936.
Quan Dung My Quang99 Nguyen Thi Dinh, An Hai Bac, Da NangBudgetNeighbourhood mi quang across the river, around 20,000 dong. Phone +84 122 727 4421.
Banh Mi Ba Lan62 Trung Nu Vuong, Binh Hien, Da NangBudgetOne of the best-known sandwich carts in Da Nang. Phone +84 93 564 6286.
Com Ga A.Hai100 Thai Phien, Phuoc Ninh, Da NangBudgetCentral com ga (chicken rice) specialist.
Bun Mam Van23/14 Tran Ke Xuong, Hai Chau 2, Da NangBudgetLocal fermented-fish-noodle fixture — the smell is the point. Phone +84 236 3818009.
Bun mam Be Ha130 Bui Huu Nghia, Da NangBudgetBeach-district version of the same dish.
Pho 29 – Pho Ha Noi1A Tran Quoc Toan, Hai Chau 1, Da NangBudgetHan Market area; also does bun cha, banh xeo and fried rice.
Quan Thao135 Duong Tri Trach, An Hai Bac, Da NangBudgetLocal breakfast noodles, around 20,000 dong.
Thia Go Restaurant Da Nang53 Phan Thuc Duyen, Da NangBudgetStreet-food style sit-down in the beach district.
Com Nha Linh35 An Thuong 26, Da NangBudgetTable-grill in the An Thuong grid, walkable from the surf shops.
Kenta Vietnamese Cuisine & Coffee39 An Thuong 3, Da NangBudgetPho and vegetarian options — useful for surfers based on the beach.
Pho Viet Kieu65 Phan Tu, Da NangBudgetBeach-district pho with a broad menu.
Taco NGON83 Hoang Ke Viem, An Thuong, Da NangBudgetFresh tacos, the expat-beach-strip category.
H Coffee89 Hoang Ke Viem, An Thuong, Da NangBudgetAn Thuong café doing “bo ne” Vietnamese steak breakfast.
Kangaroo Bar and Burger229 Ho Nghinh, Phuoc My, Da NangBudget–midBrunch and pancakes, expat-oriented.
Hai san Moc quan26 To Hien Thanh, Da NangMid-rangeSeafood spot busy with locals rather than tour groups — the useful signal.
Ngoc Huong9 Vo Nguyen Giap, My Khe, Da NangLuxuryBeachfront live-seafood restaurant on the My Khe strip.
Com Nieu Nha Do176 Nguyen Tri Phuong, Da NangMid-range“Com nieu” clay-pot rice, 10:00–22:00. Phone +84 511 3990086.
Pizza 4P’s8 Hoang Van Thu, Da NangMid-rangeVietnam’s homegrown artisan-pizza chain, house-made cheese, Da Nang branch. The brand’s own site failed a TLS check on our fetch — the restaurant is real, confirm the current URL directly.
Torino Restaurant & Bakery164 Chau Thi Vinh Te, Da NangMid-rangePizza and bakery.
Red Sky Bar and Restaurant248 Tran Phu, Da NangMid-rangeLong-running expat-run Western restaurant downtown. Phone +84 511 3894895.
Happy Heart Cafe57 Ngo Thi Si, Bac My An, Da NangBudget–midCafé / Vietnamese.
Bambino122 Quang Trung, Da NangLuxuryFrench-run, Australian steak.
Limoncello187 Tran Phu, Da NangLuxuryDowntown Italian with house limoncello.
Memory Lounge7 Bach Dang, Da NangLuxuryRiverfront modern Vietnamese with an organic/sustainable positioning. Phone +84 511 3575899.
Ca Fe 4949 Loseby, Phuoc My, Son Tra, Da NangBudgetFamily-run outdoor café, 06:00–15:00. Phone +84 236 3932995.
Long Coffee123 Le Loi, corner Quang Trung, Da NangBudgetClassic “cà phê cóc” pavement-stool coffee — busy, noisy, smoky, authentic.
Bamboo Bar 2Corner Bach Dang & Thai Phien, Da NangBudgetLong-standing expat bar. Mon–Fri 13:00–02:00, Sat–Sun 11:00–03:00. Phone +84 905 544 769.
Green Town Bar50 Bach Dang, Da NangBudgetRiverside bar with pool tables, open past midnight.
Golden PineOpposite Memory Lounge, Bach Dang, Da NangBudgetRiverside late bar, open to 04:00.
New Phuong Dong Disco20 Dong Da, Da NangMid-rangeLong-running Da Nang nightclub.

Hoi An

Morning GloryNguyen Thai Hoc, Ancient Town, Hoi AnMid-rangeMs Vy’s flagship — the best-known restaurant in Hoi An, the Vietnamese street-food canon done properly. Phone +84 235 2241555.
Morning Glory SignatureHoi AnMid–luxUpmarket sibling of Morning Glory, same group. Phone +84 235 2241555.
Vy’s Market RestaurantHoi AnMid-rangeOpen-kitchen market-hall format, same group. Phone +84 235 3926926.
Cargo Club Cafe & RestaurantHoi AnMid-rangeRiverside café and patisserie, same group. Phone +84 235 3911227.
The WaterfrontHoi AnMid-rangeRiverfront venue in the Taste Vietnam group.
Madam Khanh — The Banh Mi Queen115 Tran Cao Van, Hoi AnBudget25,000–30,000 dong. One of the two famous banh mi counters in town.
Cao lau Khong Gian Xanh687 Hai Ba Trung, Hoi AnBudgetCao lau, wontons and white rose, around 40,000 dong.
White Rose533 Hai Ba Trung, Hoi AnBudgetThe family workshop behind the town’s signature dumpling, around 40,000 dong.
Quan MuoiNorthern Hoi AnBudgetMi quang and cao lau, around 30,000 dong.
Quan Co MaiNorthern Hoi AnBudgetLocal mi quang, 20,000–30,000 dong.
Thien Bao Quan68B Hong Phong, Hoi AnBudgetBanh xeo from 6,000 dong.
Ba Dam Vegetarian71 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoi AnBudgetThe reliable vegan option in the Ancient Town.
Pho Tung51/7 Phan Chu Trinh, Hoi AnBudgetDown an alley off Phan Chu Trinh.
Bale Well45–51 Tran Cao Van, Hoi AnMid-rangeDown an alley; one fixed set menu of grilled pork, banh xeo and rolls, 50,000–110,000 dong. Phone +84 510 650 6979.
Thanh Nam Quan60D Tran Cao Van, Hoi AnMid-range50,000–80,000 dong. Phone +84 901 733228.
Thanh Restaurant76 Bach Dang, Hoi AnMid-rangeRiverfront Vietnamese/Western. Phone +84 510 3861366.
Bazar Cafe & Restaurant36 Tran Phu, Hoi AnMid-rangeVietnamese/Mediterranean. Phone +84 510 3911229.
Dingo Deli463 Cua Dai, Hoi AnMid-rangeThe go-to for Western groceries and deli food, a family-friendly stop out on the Cua Dai road. Phone +84 906 552824.
Red Bridge Restaurant & Cooking SchoolThon 4, Cam Thanh, Hoi AnMid-rangeBoat transfer plus market visit is the standard format. Phone +84 510 933222.
Son Hoian232 Cua Dai, Hoi AnMid-rangeOn the Cua Dai road toward the beach.
Temari02/22 Le Loi, Kobe area, Hoi AnMid-rangeJapanese restaurant. Phone +84 934 948017.
Madam Kieu43 Nguyen Phuc Chu, Hoi AnLuxuryRiverside; set menu for two around 500,000 dong. Phone +84 98 627 1804.
Reaching Out TeahouseHoi AnMid-rangeSilent teahouse staffed by deaf and disabled artisans — orders placed on wooden blocks. Part of Reaching Out Vietnam, operating since 2001.
Dive Bar88 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi AnBudget–mid20,000–150,000 dong. Phone +84 510 391 0782.
BB Lounge13 Nguyen Hoang, An Hoi islet, Hoi AnMid-range30,000–120,000 dong. Phone +84 510 392 5000.
Rosie’s Cafe8/6 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Hoi AnBudget20,000–70,000 dong.
Why Not Bar10B Pham Hong Thai, Hoi AnBudgetLate bar with all-you-can-drink deals.

The Zone

Tailors, Shopping & Sights

Hoi An tailoring is a genuine, deep, economically significant category — dozens of houses, and Yaly Couture alone states 300 in-house artisans. It deserves real space, not a footnote next to a thin surf section.

Tailors — Hoi An

Yaly CoutureHoi An (multiple branches)Mid–luxuryThe largest and best-known tailoring house in Hoi An — states 300 skilled artisans with in-house training. Ready-made US$45–279; wedding and event pieces by quote, bespoke from around US$150+ per directory listings.
Nathan Tailors127 Tran Hung Dao, Hoi AnMid-rangeUS$49–129+. Phone +84 905 311 273.
Vanda Tailors631 Hai Ba Trung, Hoi AnMid-rangePhone +84 984 488 811.
Song Trang “Moon River”166 Nguyen Truong To, Hoi AnMid–luxFrom around US$100. Phone +84 510 3936937.
Mr. Xe71 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Hoi AnMid-rangeAround US$120. Long-standing menswear tailor. Phone +84 235 3910388.
Len Silk74 Tran Phu, Hoi AnMid-rangeHand-worked silk.
Hoi An Silk Village28 Nguyen Tat Thanh, Hoi AnMid-rangeWorking silk village with half-day tours covering the whole process, plus a shop. Phone +84 510 3921144.
Reaching Out Arts & CraftsHoi AnMid-rangeFair-trade shop staffed by disabled artisans since 2001 — jewellery, homeware, textiles, tea accessories, plus lantern-making workshops. The ethical-shopping answer in a town full of tourist tat.

Sights & markets

Marble Mountains (Ngu Hanh Son)9km south of Da NangBudgetFive limestone hills with cave temples including Am Phu. 40,000 dong entry, free before 08:00, when it is also the only time it isn’t packed. Lift 15,000 dong separately. Phone +84 511 961114.
Museum of Cham SculptureDa NangBudgetFounded 1915, the world’s best collection of Cham sculpture. 60,000 dong, 07:30–11:00 and 13:30–17:00.
Linh Ung Pagoda, Son TraSon Tra peninsula, Da NangFreeA 67m Guanyin statue built 2010, the natural halfway stop on the Monkey Mountain loop.
Ba Na Hills / Sun World40km inland, Da NangLuxuryAt 1,487m, weather there is routinely nothing like the weather at the beach — the Golden Bridge with its 150m hand-supported span. 900,000 dong adult entry (2024), non-refundable if you arrive in cloud. Phone +84 236 3791999.
Hoi An Basket Boat (Cam Thanh)Cam Thanh, Hoi AnBudgetBasket-boat trips through the water-coconut palms, from 90,000 dong. Phone +84 986 605 612.
Hoi An Lantern BoatThu Bon River, Hoi AnBudgetLantern boats after dark, from about US$6. Phone +84 986 605 612.
Hoi An Impressions Theme ParkHoi AnMid–luxLarge-scale outdoor show on an island in the river. 600,000–1,200,000 dong.
Lune Production Bamboo Circus01A Nguyen Phuc Chu, Hoi AnLuxury700,000–1,600,000 dong.
Son Tra Night MarketRiverside near the Dragon Bridge, Da NangBudgetAround 150 stalls.
Helio Night MarketBy the sports hall, Da NangBudgetThe largest night market in the city.
Han Market119 Tran Phu, Da NangBudget06:00–21:00, food below, clothing above.
Hoi An Central Market19 Tran Phu, Hoi AnBudgetProduce and textiles, plus an adjoining textile market and a separate morning fish market north of the centre.

The Hoi An Ancient Town ticket is a coupon book, not an entry pass. The town itself is free to walk. The ticket is a booklet of coupons, each redeemed at one of the listed heritage sites — old houses, assembly halls, the Japanese Covered Bridge, the museums — and a single ticket covers five of them, not all. Price was 120,000 dong at the time of our source and the official heritage site could not be reached to confirm a current figure — verify the price, the coupon mechanism itself is the durable fact. And the Dragon Bridge in Da Nang breathes fire and water, but only on Saturdays and Sundays at 21:00 — midweek visitors see an ordinary bridge.

The Zone

Transport

Given the IDP problem above, most visitors here are better served by ride-hail, taxis, buses and drivers than by their own throttle. Here is the honest bench for all of them.

Motorbike & car hire, drivers

Tigit Motorbikes113 Le Van Duyet, Son Tra, Da Nang — plus Hoi An & Hue service pointsMid-rangeThe most professionalised long-distance rental operation in Vietnam — 400+ bikes, scooters through big bikes, breakdown support, damage waivers, and one-way rentals returned in a different city. Full offices in HCMC, Da Nang, Hanoi and Da Lat. Phone +84 962 603 603.
Hoi An Express TravelHoi An / Da Nang, hubs across Vietnam and neighbouring countriesMid-rangeAirport and city transfers, shuttle buses, car hire with driver, day tours, private shore excursions, scooter tours. The obvious answer for anyone who correctly decides not to ride themselves.
GrabDa Nang & Hoi AnBudgetThe dominant ride-hail app, cars and motorbike taxis. Da Nang airport to Hoi An around 120,000 dong; Da Nang city to Hoi An 300,000–400,000 dong.
Xanh SM (GreenSM)Da Nang & Hoi AnBudget–midVinFast’s all-electric taxi and bike-hail fleet, app-based, also runs a hotline. Its domain redirects xanhsm.com to greensm.com — confirm the current regional URL before publishing a link.
Mai Linh TaxiDa NangBudgetReliable metered taxi, mostly green with white lettering — beware look-alike liveries. Phone +84 511 3565656.
Vinasun TaxiDa NangBudgetWhite with green and red lettering, reliable and metered. Phone +84 511 3686868.
DanaBus / danangbus.vnDa NangBudget19 air-conditioned city lines, a flat 8,000 dong within city limits, official app on Android and iOS. Bus 1 runs to Hoi An; buses 6 and 10 serve the airport.
BeeBikeHubRiverfront, Da NangBudgetBicycle tours and rentals near the riverfront.
LOI ChuyenDa NangBudgetLocal bicycle repair shop — useful for anyone touring on a bicycle.
Hai Van Tunnel motorcycle shuttleDa Nang ↔ Lang CoBudgetThe official shuttle for vehicles banned from the 6,280m tunnel — motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians included. Runs continuously with reduced overnight service: 25,000–30,000 dong per motorcycle, 15,000 per bicycle, 10,000 per person. Car tolls 110,000 dong (160,000 for larger vehicles) as of May 2021.

The train beats the bus over Hai Van, and almost nobody books it. Da Nang–Hue is 103km of rail, station to station, in about 2.5 hours, versus roughly 3 hours by bus through the tunnel. The tunnel bus sees nothing; the train runs along the Hai Van and Lang Co coast with dedicated stations at Hai Van Bac, Hai Van and Hai Van Nam. This is the single best travel recommendation on this page — book a hard-seat or soft-seat day train and sit on the sea side. There is no station at Hoi An; Da Nang is the railhead for both towns.

The Zone

Practicalities & Medical

Supermarkets & practical shopping

Big C / GO! Da Nang255 Hung Vuong, Da NangMid-rangeSupermarket, mall, food court and CGV cinema.
Lotte Mart Da NangDa NangMid-rangeKorean-owned mall with cinema — a signal of the Korean market’s weight here.
MM Mega Market Da NangCach Mang Thang Tam, Da NangMid-rangeWholesale supermarket, 06:00–22:30. Phone +84 511 3644933.
Oceans Western Goods (Blue Ocean Market)30/7 Tran Phu, Hai Chau, Da NangMid-rangeSpices, oats, imported goods. Phone +84 905 605050.
MoonMilk SupermarketDa Nang & Hoi AnMid-rangeMultiple outlets; health foods and imported items.
Dac San Lam Qua Da Nang23 An Thuong 26, Da NangBudgetGift shop near the beach, 08:00–22:30. Phone +84 935 122 618.

Medical & emergency

Hoan My Da Nang General Hospital291 Nguyen Van Linh, Thanh Khe, Da NangPrivateEstablished 2002, internationally accredited private hospital. 24/7 emergency with rapid-response ambulances, 256-slice CT and DSA imaging, cardiology, orthopaedic surgery, neurology, respiratory, gastro and paediatrics. Partners with 30+ insurers — the practical point for a foreign patient. Phone +84 236 365 0676.
Hospital 199 (Bệnh viện 199)216 Nguyen Cong Tru, An Hai, Da NangPublic/ministryMinistry of Public Security hospital with 22+ specialties including emergency, orthopaedics and neurology. Hotline 1900 986 868; emergency 0236 3986881.
Ambulance / emergencyAnywhere in VietnamEmergency115 for an ambulance. Police 113, fire 114.

Where we are deliberately silent. We could not confirm a functioning hyperbaric recompression chamber anywhere in Da Nang, and are not going to publish a wrong one — a bad chamber location in an emergency is worse than none. This matters more for the Cham Islands dive trade out of Hoi An than for surfing. Family Medical Practice runs a Da Nang branch of Vietnam’s long-established expat clinic group, but its site failed an SSL check on our fetch and we could not verify an address or phone — confirm directly before relying on it. We also could not verify massage/spa operators, pharmacy chains, laundry or named ATM branches first-party; those categories need a browser pass.

The signature list

Local Secrets

Ten things about this coast that change how your trip actually runs — a tunnel ban, a train nobody books, a free hour at the Marble Mountains, and the administrative merger that makes half the internet’s Hoi An addresses slightly wrong.

Motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians are banned from the Hai Van Tunnel — and there is an official shuttle Runs continuously, reduced overnight service
The 6,280m tunnel opened 5 June 2005; a second tube completed in 2021 is used only for maintenance and emergencies. Banned vehicles have been carried through by shuttle since November 2006: 25,000–30,000 dong per motorcycle, 15,000 per bicycle, 10,000 per person. Riders hoping to duck bad weather by taking the tunnel cannot — the choice is the pass or the shuttle.
The train beats the bus over Hai Van and nobody books it 2.5 hours versus 3 hours through a tunnel that shows you nothing
Da Nang–Hue is 103km of rail (station km 791 to km 688). The train runs along the Hai Van and Lang Co coast with dedicated stations at Hai Van Bac, Hai Van and Hai Van Nam — scenery no road matches, for about the same time as the bus.
The Marble Mountains are free before 08:00 Also the only time it isn’t packed
Entry is 40,000 dong, but the site is free before eight in the morning, which is also the only time the limestone stairs aren’t punishing. Elevator tickets are 15,000 dong separately, 9km south of the city, directly behind the Non Nuoc beach strip.
The Hoi An Ancient Town ticket is a coupon book, not an entry pass One ticket covers five sites, not all of them
The town itself is free to walk. The ticket is a booklet of coupons, each redeemed at one of the listed heritage sites — old houses, assembly halls, the Japanese Covered Bridge, the museums. Price was 120,000 dong at the time of our source and needs verifying.
The Dragon Bridge breathes fire and water — but only Saturdays and Sundays at 21:00 Midweek visitors see an ordinary bridge
Time your visit around the weekend show, or you’ll wonder what the fuss is about.
Da Nang’s city buses are a flat 8,000 dong anywhere in city limits 19 air-conditioned lines, an official app, almost no foreign visitor uses them
Bus 16 plus a local connection gets you Da Nang–Hoi An for 26,000 dong total, against 300,000–500,000 dong for a taxi.
Ba Na Hills sits at 1,487m, and the weather up there has nothing to do with the beach 900,000 dong entry (2024), non-refundable
40km inland and well over a kilometre up — a clear beach day can mean cloud at the Golden Bridge, and the ticket doesn’t care.
My Son is best reached as a half-day from Hoi An, and the return can be done by boat Wet-season trails are slippery and the site is at its most atmospheric
The Cham ruins reward the awkward season as much as the easy one.
Da Nang and Hoi An became the same city on 1 July 2025 Quang Nam province merged into Da Nang City
Addresses, ward names and administrative references published before that date are now partly obsolete — worth a caution if you’re cross-checking a vendor address against an older source.
The surf window is the wet window October is the best surf month and the wettest one
October is statistically the most consistent surf month at both My Khe and Non Nuoc, and it can also deliver 550–1,000mm of rain inside the September–December typhoon season. Anyone planning a surf trip here should hear this before they book, not after.
The vendor bench on this page is honestly incomplete, and we’d rather say so than pad it Roughly a third needs a Maps/Facebook confirmation pass
This research was done without browser access to Google Maps, Facebook or Cốc Cốc — precisely where much of the Vietnamese small-vendor economy lives. Where a listing is directory-sourced rather than confirmed first-party, we’ve tried to say so in the text rather than presenting it with false confidence.

Logistics FAQ

Questions people actually ask.

Do I need a visa for Vietnam?

It depends entirely on your passport. British, most Western European, Japanese, South Korean and Russian citizens enter visa-free for 45 days. Americans, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders do not have an exemption and must apply for an e-visa — available to every nationality since 15 August 2023, up to 90 days, single or multiple entry, US$25 or US$50. Your e-visa locks you to the entry and exit points you nominate, so put Da Nang on the form. Passport must be valid 6 months past arrival with two blank pages.

Can I legally ride a motorbike in Vietnam on my home licence?

Only if you hold an International Driving Permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention alongside a home licence that carries a motorcycle entitlement. Vietnam does not recognise 1949-convention IDPs, which is what the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland issue. Rental shops will rent to you regardless — that is not permission. Riding unlicensed exposes you to fines reported at 8–10 million dong, impoundment, and, far more seriously, an insurer who will not pay a medical claim.

When is the surf season on the central coast?

The swell is driven by the northeast monsoon, roughly October through March, with October the most consistent single month at both My Khe and Non Nuoc. Be realistic about it: clean rideable conditions run about 48% of the time in October at My Khe, and it is blown out about 47% of the time. This is a small, soft, wind-dependent beach-break scene, not a destination swell window — and some Vietnamese-language sources give a wider or different window, which we flag rather than resolve.

Do I need a wetsuit?

Not in October — the water is 28°C and boardshorts are fine. In January and February the sea averages 23°C with recorded lows near 20°C, air temperatures drop to 18–23°C, and it is grey and windy. Bring a 2mm shorty or a long-sleeve neoprene top for a winter trip, a 2/2 full suit if you feel the cold. Anyone telling you Vietnam never needs neoprene has not surfed here in February.

How far is Hoi An from Da Nang, and where should I base myself?

28–30km, 45–60 minutes. Grab runs about 120,000 dong from the airport, the shuttle bus 130,000, and bus 16 plus a local connection is 26,000 dong. Base in the My An / An Thuong beach strip if the surf and the city matter; base in Hoi An if the food, the tailoring and the Ancient Town matter. Either way you’ll see both — and as of July 2025 they are administratively the same city.

Is Hue worth adding, and how do I get there?

Yes, if you have the days. It’s the Nguyen imperial capital, a UNESCO site, and 103km north of Da Nang. Take the train — about 2.5 hours, along a coastal ledge past the Hai Van Pass and Lang Co that no road can match. The bus takes 3 hours and goes through a tunnel where you see nothing. Motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians are banned from the Hai Van Tunnel entirely; there’s an official shuttle at 25,000–30,000 dong per bike.

The fine print

Disclosure & how this page works.

Today, the “Search Vrbo rentals” and “Search Booking.com stays” links on this page are affiliate links — every vendor listing link is still a plain courtesy link. Agoda links for Da Nang and Hoi An are pending a confirmed partner ID and are not yet live. As more partnerships come online, more links may earn us a commission, and this page will keep saying so plainly. Coverage is never for sale: nobody on this page paid to be here, and nobody can.

Where this page is deliberately silent. We are not publishing a resolved surf-season date range where Vietnamese- and English-language sources conflict — we’ve given the better-sourced northeast-monsoon framing and flagged the dispute. We are not publishing a current Hoi An Ancient Town ticket price, only the 2016-dated figure we could source, because the official heritage site’s certificate has expired. We are not publishing a hyperbaric chamber location, a Viettel data package price, an airline surfboard baggage policy, or Family Medical Practice’s address and phone, because none of these could be confirmed first-party. And we are not naming a board-repair shop on this coast, because we could not find one. Where we could not source it, it is not here.

Every listing was researched in 2026 and is being verified in person. Roughly two-thirds of the vendor bench above is directory-sourced rather than confirmed first-party — a consequence of this research pass running without browser access to Google Maps, Facebook or Cốc Cốc, which is precisely where much of Vietnam’s small-vendor economy lives. Where a listing is unconfirmed we’ve tried to say so in the text. Prices will move, especially visa fees and anything tied to the 1 July 2025 Da Nang–Quang Nam administrative merger. And per the No-Reveal Code: you will find no surf spots on this page, ever. Towns and hubs by name is where it stops.