Travel, Traffic, and Public Transport

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Buses in Da Nang (the ONLY public transport option—and basically no-one uses them)

🚍 The DanaBus network (Da Nang Urban Bus network) is pretty extensive.

It has 12 lines, it hits most major parts of the city (including the airport), and it’s regular and reliable.

The buses typically run from around 5am until around 9pm, and most fares are around 5,000VND per journey (the equivalent of only $0.19USD).

😲 … but all that said, I’ve literally never known anyone to use the bus system (and I have both local and non-local friends).

That’s most likely for two reasons (and the second is most significant):

1. I spend most of my time on the eastern side of the river (where the beaches are)—while the vast majority of the DanaBus network is on the western side of the river.
2. It’s also probably because most Da Nang residents (native Vietnamese or otherwise) get around by scooter (more on those in a second)—and public transport use in general is very low throughout all of Vietnam. I’ve never been to any other country on the planet where public transport is so neglected by its locals. It’s very very rare to use buses here.

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Other types of public transport in Da Nang

There aren’t any 😬

Apart from buses, you’ll either take Grabs or drive yourself. Which brings us to…

Grab in Da Nang

🚖 Grab is the Vietnamese version of Uber*

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(*except it’s much much better than Uber, in every possible way)

It’s very convenient, very cheap, and outrageously user-friendly.

⌚ You’ll never need to wait more than 3 or 4 minutes for a vehicle, whichever one you choose (with Grab, you can ride both cars AND scooters—and the scooter option is much more popular than the car option).

You need to download the app—but it only takes a few seconds, and it’s very easy to use.

A 10-minute journey on the back of a scooter taxi will cost you around $0.65USD, while the same journey in a car will cost you around $2.00-2.50USD.

Here’s much more about Grab in Vietnam.

Riding a scooter around Da Nang

🛵 This is how the VAST majority of people get around: Vietnam has around 11x more scooters* than it has cars!

(*and btw: when I say ‘scooters,’ I of course mean the low-powered motorbikes that are popular throughout Southeast Asia—but they’re WAY more popular in Vietnam than in the region’s other countries).

Anyway, this is the most common choice. But unless you have the right insurance (and to get the right insurance, you need the right license), I don’t recommend it. Cos if you fall off your scooter and hurt yourself, your medical bills might be expensive—and you’ll be paying for them 😬

That’s boring, I know 🤷 … but I literally know people who’ve gotten injured on scooters in Vietnam. I even know a couple of people who’ve died.

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(oh, and if you do drive without a license, there’s a chance you might be stopped and fined by the police)

All that said, if you do want to hire a scooter, ask your accommodation for a reliable option. I’ve never hired a scooter in Da Nang, so I can’t recommend anywhere personally—I know JustBikes are known for being helpful and reliable, but I’ve never actually ridden one of their scooters.

Riding a bicycle around Da Nang

This is what I do—I bought a bicycle when I first got to Da Nang, and I use it 90% of the time.

Da Nang isn’t ‘bicycle-friendly’ in the way that Western Europe is bicycle friendly—you don’t get cycle lanes, or good infrastructure, or specific signage.

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🚲 … but it’s VERY bicycle-friendly in one important way: because most people in Vietnam ride around on scooters, pedestrians and drivers are VERY used to seeing two-wheeled vehicles. So, in terms of feeling visible and ‘normal’ as a cyclist, Vietnam is one of the best nations on the planet.

Cycling in Vietnam is one of my favorite things in the world—and even though it’s chaotic and a bit overwhelming, it’s fun.

💸 To buy a bicycle, I recommend going to the official Giant store. Locally listed as ‘Xe Đạp Tốt Đà Nẵng,’ the address is 349 Phan Châu Trinh, Phước Ninh, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng. I bought my bicycle here—the staff are friendly and helpful, and they have a massive range of stuff (for all budgets).

To hire a bicycle, you have two options:

1. For a very good bicycle with a great build and a good range of gears, head to BeeBikes. These guys also offer excellent tours in the countryside surrounding Da Nang and Hoi An—I massively recommend taking one of these tours.
2. To hire a not-great-but-much-more-affordable bicycle, head to JustBikes.

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🛠️ … and if you want to get your bicycle repaired, head to LOI Chuyen, at 21 Nguyễn Duy Hiệu, An Hải Đông, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng. It’s a very basic place, but the guy who runs it is VERY friendly and helpful. He always gets the job done well, he’s very fast, and the prices are almost-unbelievably low.

Is Da Nang walkable?

🚶🚶 I guess there are two answers to this question:

1. Compared to the Western world, not at all.
2. … but compared to other parts of Vietnam (and most other parts of Southeast Asia), yes—Da Nang is walkable.

You see: running parallel to the beach, you get actual sidewalks—and vehicles are (theoretically) banned from these sidewalks.

In other parts of the city, you get some sidewalks (though not many, and the majority of them are narrow or crooked—and mainly taken up by trees, parked scooters, and construction sites).

🛣️ You can also walk on the roads (against the direction of the traffic). This is pretty normal in Vietnam—and in most of Da Nang, the roads are quiet enough that you can walk on them without feeling like you’re gonna die.

In short, my advice is: if you’ll mainly be spending time on and around the beach, I recommend doing lots of walking. But if you’ll mainly be in other parts of the city, I recommend hiring a bicycle instead.

Things to know about the traffic in Da Nang

Although Da Nang is nowhere near as chaotic as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City, the traffic here can still be a bit jarring.

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🚘 … so here are some facts to help you navigate it all:

• The roads are never VERY busy; but they’re usually at their busiest between 7am and 9am, and between 5pm and 7pm. Traffic still moves pretty quickly though.
• On the major roads in Da Nang, some of the traffic lights change infrequently; and you might have to wait a couple of minutes, or even longer. So—be patient.
• Drivers follow rules relatively well here, compared to other parts of Vietnam. But people still run through red lights, pedestrian crossings are basically invisible to drivers, lots of scooters undertake instead of overtaking, most people don’t use turn signals properly, and many people drive on the wrong side of the road. The good news, though: you get used to it very quickly—so much so that driving in the Western world then becomes comparatively boring.
• The crossroads system here is bizarre (and different to anything I’ve seen in any other part of Vietnam). At non-lit crossroads, there’s no priority system, and people almost always move into the OPPOSITE lane before turning. So when you reach a crossroads, go slow, be cautious but assertive, and expect anyone to come from anywhere 😬
• Road rage isn’t really a thing in Vietnam. Because people drive pretty recklessly, there are no real must-dos or must-don’ts on the roads here. So when people crash or get in each other’s way, local people just shrug it off and laugh. Anger is VERY rare from locals—and when foreigners get angry on the roads, Vietnamese people always just seem confused 🤷 So, my advice is: chill.

Getting from Da Nang to Hoi An

Hoi An is only around 23km (14 miles) from Da Nang—and day-tripping from Da Nang to Hoi An is very popular.

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To get there, you have 5 different options:

• Bus: these buses run from Da Nang bus station to Hoi An bus station, and the entire journey costs 15,000VND and takes 45 minutes. In theory, the buses leave every 15-30 minutes between 5am and 7pm, but I wouldn’t expect them to be so regular—buses in Southeast Asia rarely stick to their timetables. All that said, I know literally 0 people who’ve taken one of these buses from Da Nang to Hoi An.
• Shuttle bus, from accommodations: many accommodations offer regular minibuses from Da Nang to Hoi An, to a schedule. For these, you usually pay $3-$5 for a seat. Ask at your accommodation, and they’ll give you the details. If your accommodation doesn’t offer a shuttle bus, they’ll know another accommodation who will.
• Drive yourself: if you have a scooter or a bicycle, this is a simple and flexible option. The road is fast, easy to navigate, flat, and doesn’t have many traffic lights.
• Take a Grab: this is what I would do (and often do), cos it’s the most flexible option. With Grab, you’re not confined by a timetable, and you can arrive and leave whenever you want. Again, you won’t have to wait more than 3 or 4 minutes for your Grab to arrive, whether you’re in Da Nang or Hoi An. Cars cost around $12 for the one-way journey. Scooters cost around $4, but they’re not as comfortable as cars.
• Or, if you’re short on time, this quick, convenient and impressive day tour from Da Nang gives you all the Hoi An highlights in one day. You explore the most famous parts of the Old Town, you hit the unique and unusual Marble Mountains on the way, and the tour guide is super knowledgeable and friendly.

Trains in Da Nang

🚂 Da Nang is home to a train station—and after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang’s station is Vietnam’s third-busiest.

The nation’s reunification line runs through Da Nang (which basically sits in the center of the country)—and that line runs north-to-south. It connects you to places like Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh, Dong Hoi, Hue, and Nha Trang. Here’s much more information.

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In general, if you want to reach other cities from Da Nang, taking the train is the most interesting and atmospheric option—the trains are very unique and local, they’re not touristy, you’ll meet friendly Vietnamese people, and you get some nice scenery.

… but they’re VERY slow—while it only takes 45 minutes to fly from Da Nang to Hanoi, it takes 17 hours to take the same train journey 🥱

Final Thoughts

So, that’s everything you need to know about getting around in Da Nang! 🎉

To sum up, you probably won’t use any public transport within the city. Yes, there is a bus system, but few people use it, and it doesn’t cover much of the eastern side of the city—and there’s no other type of public transport.

… so, for getting around, most people ride a scooter or use Grab. I ride a bicycle everywhere—and if you won’t be traveling too far too often, that’s what I recommend.

For more on the logistics of traveling around Vietnam:

… and for more on Da Nang:

Thanks for reading, thanks for choosing Travelness, and we’ll see you again soon. Enjoy Da Nang! 🇻🇳