Da Nang Beaches - Pham Van Dong vs. My Khe

While we were staying in Da Nang this year, we made the majority of our beach trips to Pham Van Dong (Phạm Văn Đồng) beach, since that was the closest one to our apartment. But if you search for the most popular beach in Da Nang, you’ll find that My Khe (Mỹ Khê) beach is the one that comes up most often. So we wanted to check out My Khe at least once this trip, mostly just to see how it compared to Pham Van Dong.

I already visited My Khe beach in 2019, but as I was there in November when the weather in Da Nang starts to turn, I couldn’t really enjoy the beach and didn’t get to experience it fully. I laid on the beach for a bit, but you couldn’t swim in the water due to the high winds and waves.

Pham Van Dong Beach

Pham Van Dong beach and My Khe beach are both located on the same stretch of beach, so they’re very similar in terms of the sand and water. The main difference is that Pham Van Dong beach is a bit narrower, and the sand is a bit more coarse.

In the image above, Pham Van Dong beach runs along the coast, where the red arrows are pointing, going from the top of the map to the bottom. You can see it’s a pretty long stretch of beach, so you certainly won’t have trouble finding a spot to lay down your towel!

The sand on Pham Van Dong beach is not perfect, but it’s not bad either. It’s a beige-ish colour, and it’s quite soft. The water is quite murky here though, similar to what I’ve seen at most of the beaches I’ve been to in Vietnam.

As Pham Van Dong beach stretches so far, you’ll find that some sections are nicer, and as a result more popular, than others. The more popular sections will have beach chairs, bean bags, and umbrellas for rent, as well as a few restaurants and bars along the beach.

Where we were staying in Da Nang, Pham Van Dong beach was only about a 10 minute walk away, so it was really easy to get to on foot. The section we’d go to was also not as popular, so it wouldn’t fill up too much, which was quite nice.

That said, it would still get a decent amount of locals and tourists alike in the evenings, around 6pm or so, when the sun was starting to set.

And while Pham Van Dong isn’t as popular as My Khe beach, and so you won’t find as many restaurants and bars along the beach, there are still a few places to grab a bite to eat or a drink, including the usual assortment of street food vendors making banh xeo, banh trang nuong, and such.

And if you’re into fresh-caught seafood, one of the great things about Pham Van Dong beach is that if you’re up early enough in the morning, you can head down there to pickup some super fresh seafood - basically right off the boat!

The ladies will be there with their baskets of seafood, and you can pick out what you want from the morning’s catch.

My Khe Beach

Right below Pham Van Dong beach on the map of Da Nang, you’ll find My Khe beach. As I mentioned earlier, My Khe beach is the more popular of the two, and is the one that you’ll find most people talking about when they talk about Da Nang beaches.

You’ll also find site after site talking about its “beautiful silky white sand and crystal clear turquoise water”. Now I’m not sure what beach they’re talking about, but that certainly isn’t an accurate description of My Khe beach! 😂

Like Pham Van Dong beach, the sand here is beige-ish in colour, and while the water is clearer, it’s far from crystal clear. The sand is also a bit finer here, and the beach is a bit wider, but that’s about it.

According to basically every Vietnamese blog and tourism site I found, Forbes apparently mentioned it as one of the 6 most beautiful beaches in the world. I tried but couldn’t find any actual source for that, but I can assure you there are much better beaches in the world.

The only Forbes articles I found were The Top Ten Best Beaches In The World, where Vietnam is nowhere to be found, and The 10 Most Beautiful Beach Destinations In Vietnam, where it’s among the 10 most beautiful beaches in Vietnam, not the world.

If you know of the actual Forbes article that mentions My Khe beach as one of the 6 most beautiful beaches in the world, and have the actual source, please let me know in the comments below!

And of course, you’ll find beach chairs and bean bags to relax on, as well as umbrellas for rent, as you’d expect.

Beach chair rental: 40,000 VND

An unfortunate common theme across beaches in Vietnam, but also just Vietnam in general: The prevalence of garbage. You’ll find garbage on the beach, in the water, and just about everywhere else you look. It’s really quite sad. Case in point, the following picture of cigarette butts at My Khe beach:

My Khe beach definitely has a bit more to offer as far as action goes though. As it’s the more known beach, you’ll find all the hotels and resorts along this stretch of beach, as well as a lot more restaurants and bars. Note however that because My Khe and Pham Van Dong beach are literally right next to each other, you’ll find that some of the restaurants and bars are actually on Pham Van Dong beach, but are still considered to be part of My Khe beach.

You’ll also find a lot more people on My Khe beach, and a lot more activity. There are a lot more people swimming in the water, and a lot more people playing sports on the beach, like volleyball and soccer.

My Khe beach is also where you’re more likely to find people doing water sports, like jet skiing, parasailing, and such. But as I noted, you will find this on Pham Van Dong beach as well, just not as much.

So Which Beach Is Better?

So which beach is better? Well, it depends on what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for a more relaxing experience, then I’d say Pham Van Dong beach is the way to go. It’s a bit quieter, and a bit less crowded because it stretches out so much farther, so you’ll have a bit more space to yourself.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for a more active experience, then My Khe beach is the way to go. There’s a lot more going on, and a lot more people, so you’ll have a lot more to do and see.