7 Days Travel Itinerary in Vietnam. Danang, the City of Lights in 3 Days

Day 1: 27 September 2018 (Thursday)  ● PENANG – KUALA LUMPUR - DANANG   
Penang (PEN - Penang Intl) → Kuala Lumpur (KUL – KLIA2) via AirAsia  AK6111
Kuala Lumpur (KUL – KLIA2) → DaNang (DAD) via AirAsia AK648
PM: Arrive DaNang International Airport
PM: Take Grab Taxi to Green House Hotel and check-in
PM: Walk to  My Khe Beach and dinner at Be Anh 2 Seafood Restaurant   
PM: Take Grab Taxi to Chè Thái Liên for local dessert 

Day 2: 28 September 2018 (Friday)  ● HUE 
AM: Depart from hotel to Hue (distance 2.5 hours journey)
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Green House Hotel
AM: Minh Mang Tomb
AM: Khai Dinh Tomb
PM: Thien Mu Pagoda
PM: Imperial City (The Citadel)
PM: River Cruise at Perfume River
PM: Return to DaNang
PM: Dinner at Be Anh Seafood Restaurant    
PM: Enjoy Dragon Bridge View at night followed by supper (local dessert) at 196 Bạch Đằng, Quận Hải Châu, , DaNang, 550000 

Day 3: 29 September 2018 (Saturday)  ● DANANG 
AM: My Khe Beach
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Green House Hotel
AM: Take Coco Bus Tour N2 at East Sea Park
AM: Linh Ung Pagoda (Lady Buddha of DaNang)
AM: Marble Mountain
PM: Roman Catholic Diocese of DaNang
PM: Han Market
PM: Shopping at Big C Hypermarket, DaNang
PM: Dinner at Lotteria at Parkson, DaNang    

Day 4: 30 September 2018 (Sunday)  ● BANA HILLS 
AM: Visit Man Thai Fishing Village
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Green House Hotel
AM: Depart from DaNang to Bana Hills (journey to BaNa Hills is around 45minutes)
AM: Arrive at BaNa Hill Gateway. Took hotel to Hoi An Station → walk to Bordeaux Station
 → Louvre Station  
AM: Check-in Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills
PM: Visit French Village
PM: Fantasy Park
PM: Visit Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple, Ba Shrine, Tombstone Temple, Spiritual Zone 
PM: Take the Funicular to Flower Garden
PM: Visit Le Jardin d’Amour Flower Garden
PM: Visit Linh Ung Pagoda
PM: Visit Golden Bridge
PM: Fantasy Park 

Day 5: 1 October 2018 (Monday)  ● HOI AN 
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills
AM: Walk along French Village
AM: Check-out from hotel
AM: Take cable car from L’indochine Station to Toc Tien Station
AM: Take Grab Taxi to Hoi An (distance 1.5 hours journey)
AM: Check-in River Suites Hoi An and refresh
PM: Visit Japanese Bridge (Chua Cau)
PM: Visit Trung Hoa Assembly Hall
PM: Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall
PM: Visit Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien)
PM: Dinner at Old Garden Restaurant
PM: Hoi An Night Market  

Day 6: 2 October 2018 (Tuesday)  ● HOI AN 
AM: Breakfast at hotel, River Suites Hoi An
AM: Visit Old House of Tan Ky
AM: Watch Art Performance at Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House and play Bai
Choi (Vietnamese Bingo Game) 
AM: Visit Hoi An Market
PM: Visit Japanese Town and Phung Hung Ancient House
PM: Stroll around Hoi An Ancient Town and watch sunset along the river banks
PM: Put paper lanterns on the river (at night)
PM: Dinner at Nha Hang Vi Que Vietnamese Restaurant
PM: Hoi An Night Market
PM: Supper at CocoBox Hoi An 

Day 7: 3 October 2018 (Wednesday)  ● HOI AN - KUALA LUMPUR – PENANG 
AM: Breakfast at hotel, River Suites Hoi An
AM: Hoi An Ancient Town and Cau An Hoi (Bridge)
AM: Hoi An Japanese Bridge
AM: Check-out from hotel and depart to DaNang (distance approx. 45minutes journey)
AM: Depart from DaNang (DAD) International Airport via AirAsia AK649 - Kuala Lumpur
International Airport (KUL – KLIA2) via AirAsia AK6138 - Penang (PEN - Penang Intl Airport) 

The Lady Buddha statue, a 67-meter tall marble statue of Guanyin

It was my second trip to Vietnam and this round we made this trip for 7 days. Out of the 7 days in Vietnam, we spent 4 days in DaNang. On 27 September 2018, I touched down DaNang ahead of Camel and headed straight to our hotel in DaNang. I booked my one-way flight ticket via VietJetAir from Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) when they ran a promo and the ticket cost me around USD39.95 with 20kgs baggage allowance. 

I arrived DaNang around noon, but Camel’s flight from Kuala Lumpur – DaNang got delayed and he arrived around 4.00pm. I managed to book a Grab Taxi for my transfer from the airport to the hotel which cost me around 78,000 VND for a one-way transfer. And so for that day, we only managed to check-in to our hotel and have dinner before calling it a day! Our dinner was at Be Anh 2 Seafood Restaurant near to My Khe Beach, delicious dinner with fresh quality seafood with reasonable price.

The following day, we made a one-day trip to Hue, Vietnam’s ancient capital city. Hue is 100
kilometers from the DaNang city center. Follow our travel adventures in Hue here.

After a good night rest and breakfast at our hotel, we set off for our day of exploring
DaNang! We took Coco Bus around because it is cheaper than hailing a taxi / Grab there.
The buses run in a circuit around the city. The on board tour guide and bus driver were all very friendly and speak good English.  They have three routes in total, we took the N1 and
N2 routes and our tickets allow us to swap between the two. All you need is simply hop on,
tell the on-board tour guide where you want to go, and they will tell you when to hop off while giving you information about your destination and any interesting sites you may pass
along the way. We boarded our bus at East Sea Park, which was just 5 minutes’ walk from our hotel. 

Stunning statue of the "Lady Buddha"

The "Lady Buddha"

Surrounding of Linh Ung Pagoda

One for the album

A lotus flower in full bloom

Our first stop was Linh Ung Pagoda (the giant Lady Buddha) the highest statue in Vietnam located on the Son Tra Peninsula.

The three entrance gate

Buddha statues in the surrounding garden

Buddha statues in the surrounding garden

One for the album

Linh Ung pagoda is located on the hill. Enjoy the view of Son Tra Peninsula

It was 10am when we arrived Linh Ung Pagoda, and thankfully the weather was a bit milder but still comfortable.  The Lady Buddha statue was really enormous. Inside the Lady Buddha statue, 21 small Buddha sculptures are arranged across 17 floors, from which visitors can look over to the boundless sea and primitive forest surrounding the pagoda. We spent about an hour there, walking around the entire temple grounds and the surrounding pagodas and temples next to the statue. From there, you could also get a nice panoramic view of the entire city and sea.

The Cocobus we took in DaNang

The stone steps we took to marble mountain

Marble statues of dragons along the way to marble mountains

One for our album

Buddha statues in the cave

Entrance to a cave

After visiting the Linh Ung Pagoda, we hop on Coco Bus and continued our journey to the Marble Mountains. The Marble Mountains or Ngu Hanh Son is a cluster of five marble and limestone hills in the south of DaNang, the marble mountains have several tunnels and caves inside it with Buddha sanctuaries located inside. The heat plus the uneven stair heights and step widths were challenging for me. To look closer, the steps were actually made etched of marble. There is a lift to the first level of shrines (which we decided to skip) but then you need to walk to explore any further.

The marble mountains consist of five mountains, each named for an element: Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth

Lavish temple and pavilion in the cave

Lavish temple and pavilion in the cave

The Sacred Huyen Khong Cave with the great value of spirit

Sunlight streaming in through gaps in the rock ceiling

The Sacred Huyen Khong Cave with the great value of spirit

A sneak peak of what’s inside Marble Mountains

The Statue of Bodhisattva. So peaceful

We spent around 2hours wandering around Marble Mountains and managed to explore the

little altars hidden in caves.  We wish we could stay longer but we still have other places to

explore. The place and the surrounding view surprised us with their beauty and size.

Next, we head back to DaNang city and walked around a bunch and visited Roman Catholic
Diocese of DaNang and Han Market.  After a short break at one of the café near to Han
Market, we decided to check out the Roman Catholic Diocese of DaNang which is open to
the public for visiting from 10am to 5pm.  The Han Market, a significant landmark in
DaNang is only 5 minutes’ walk from the Roman Catholic Diocese of DaNang.  This local
market is set within a two-storey building, and it’s quite similar to Ben Thanh Market in Ho
Chi Minh City and here you can find some great bargains on souvenirs, clothes and fresh
produce. This is also a great place to get quality yet affordable custom made suits and
dresses. We bought a set of Vietnamese traditional outfit for Hang Hang at VND120,000.

The lit up dragon bridge in DaNang and the Han River

We spent the remaining of our time walking along the roads of the city, before we head over to Big C Hypermarket to buy some local products at the lowest price and had our dinner at Lotteria. We then head back to our hotel to get a good night sleep for our next day adventure in BaNa Hills the next day!

Stunning coastline

Early catch before the sun rises

The many fishing boats along Son Tra Peninsula

Man Thai fishing village is only busy in the early morning

Man Thai fishing village is only busy in the early morning

My Khe Beach is famous for its white sands, smooth and mild waves and is an ideal place for fishing

Many shrimp, fish, crab and squid are caught and sold here at Man Thai from as early as 5am

The basket boat at Man Thai Fishing Village

The lives of fisherman is hard  but honest work

The next morning, we took Grab taxi to Man Thai fishing village.  As we wander the beach front, we saw fisher folk use traditional methods and rattan round basket boats to make their catch. We were told by the local that the fishing village is one of the oldest fish markets of the local people. Tourist can also buy fresh fish and seafood direct from the fisherman at inexpensive prices. The view around Man Thai fishing village was stunning and peaceful. And that’s all for DaNang. Stay tuned for my next post on BaNa Hills! 

Follow our travel adventures in Hue, Vietnam here: http://bit.ly/smallworldtravels_hue

Accommodation(s): 
DANANG 
Green House Hotel (27 – 30 Sept 2018)
Address: 22-24 Ha Chuong, Son Tra District, Da Nang Vietnam
Tel: 84 (236) 3939868
Room price: MYR287.37 /3 nights for 2 adults booked via Expedia
Room type: Deluxe Room (Partial Sea View) inclusive of breakfast 

Air Itinerary Details: 
AirAsia: Penang (PEN) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – DaNang (DAD)/ DaNang (DAD)– Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Penang (PEN) 
From             To                 Flight        Date                    Dep     Arr 
PEN                KUL               AK6111        27 Sept 2018       07:10    08:10
KUL                DAD              AK648         27 Sept 2018       10:30    12:05
DAD               KUL               AK649         3 Oct 2018          12:35      16:20
KUL                PEN               AK6138       3 Oct 2018          17:55      18:55
Return ticket fare/person: MYR473 (KUL-DAD-KUL) + MYR178.48 (PEN-KUL-PEN) 
MYR651.48 (Economy Class)

VietJetAir : Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to DaNang (DAD) 
From         To             Flight           Date                  Dep      Arr 
SGN            DAD           VJ628            27 Sept 2018     09:00   10:20
One-way ticket fare/person (inclusive of 20kgs baggage allowance): USD39.95
VietJetAir Booking Website: https://vietjetair.com/Sites/Web/en-US/Home 

CocoBus DaNang (Hop On Hop Off) 
Fares: 170,000 VND/ ticket
Validity: 24 hours (Daily departure every 30 minutes, depart from Cocobay 8:00 – 20:00,
depart from Danang Airport 8:15 – 20:45)
Route(s): N1 (CocoBay Beach Tour), N2 (DaNang City Tour) and N3 (Hoi An Tour)
Website: http://cococitytour.vn/en/ 

Entrance Fee(s): 
Linh Ung Pagoda (the Lady Buddha) – Free
Marble Mountains - VND 40,000 
Han Market – Free
Roman Catholic Diocese of DaNang – Free   

What to Eat?  

Quán Bé Anh 2 (DaNang) 
Address: Võ Nguyên Giáp, Phước Mỹ, Sơn Trà, Đà Nẵng
Opening hour(s): 07:00 – 23:00
What to order: Chili Crab, Grilled Oysters, Garlic Butter Prawns, Seafood noodles, Steamed Fish 

Seafood galore at Be Anh just right opposite My Khe Beach

Chè Thái Liên (DaNang) 
Address: 189 Hoàng Diệu, Nam Dương, Hải Châu, Đà Nẵng
Opening hour(s): 08:00 – 22:00
What to order: Ice Tofu + Durian, Milk Tofu, Coconut Graciralia, Milk + Durian 

DaNang's must-try dessert

Dừa Bến Tre 196 Bạch Đằng (DaNang) 
Address: 196 Bạch Đằng, Quận Hải Châu, , DaNang, 550000
Opening hour(s): 08:00 – 23:00
What to order: coconut jelly, coconut ice-cream, plain coconut juice

The coconut jelly is a must-try

Note: All entrance / transportation fees and accommodation rates/charges listed on this

post are based on our (chengywong.blogspot.com) travel dates (2018) and therefore subject

to change(s). ©chengywong.blogspot.com is not responsible for content on external web

sites.  

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson 

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