In 2019 I visited Vietnam for the 1st time, and Da Nang was an obvious choice for my list of place to see while there. I only stayed in Da Nang for 3 days back in 2019, but it was enough to know that I liked the city, and wanted to return for a longer stay if possible in the future.

Well, that time came this year, when we decided to stay in Da Nang for a month. We rented an apartment not far from the beach from mid-June to mid-July, and just took it easy, enjoying the city and the beach.

Da Nang Info

• Official government tourism site: tourism.danang.vn

  Note: Appears to be in Vietnamese only

• Geographical location: Central Vietnam
• Average temperature: 23 to 29 degrees Celsius
• Current weather:
  Current Weather in Đà Nẵng
• Dry season: January to August
• Best time to visit:
  • January to May if warm to hot weather is your preference
  • June to August if hot, mid to high 30’s Celsius weather is your preference
• Peak travel season: June to August - mainly domestic Vietnamese tourists
• Main economy: Textiles, aquatic products, and tourism

Brief History of Da Nang

Đa Nẵng dates back to the 2nd century, when it was part of the Champa Kingdom. The name “Đà Nẵng” is a Vietnamese adaptation of the Cham word “Da Nak”, which means “opening of a large river”. The Cham, a Malay-Polynesian people who formed their own kingdom in the 2nd century, and who inhabited various parts of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, were the original inhabitants of the region.

The Cham people were eventually conquered by the Vietnamese, starting in the north, and expanding southward for several centuries, until the entire region was under Vietnamese control in the 1800’s. The Cham people were eventually assimilated into the Vietnamese culture, and their language and culture were mostly lost.

Despite the loss of the Cham language and culture, the Cham people left behind many artifacts, including temples, statues, and other structures, which are still visible today. The most famous of these is the My Son Sanctuary, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Quang Nam Province, about 40 km southwest of Da Nang. You can also find many Cham artifacts in the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture, which is located in Da Nang.

Things to be Aware of

Da Nang has a monsoon-influenced tropical climate, with chances of flooding during the rainy season in October and November.

The city is also prone to typhoons, from October to December, which cause heavy winds, sometimes knocking down trees and power lines, and damaging hotels and homes near the coast.

Da Nang

Da Nang is definitely one of my favourite, if not my #1 favourite, cities in Vietnam. It’s a big city, but not too big, and it’s got a great mix of city life, and nature. It’s got a nice beach and coastline, the weather is pretty decent year round (with the exception of the typhoons and monsoons of course), and it’s close to the mountains, so you can get a good mix of activities in.

The Summit at Son Tra Ocean View

Since we were staying in Da Nang for a month, getting a hotel room didn’t make much sense, so we rented a full apartment instead. My wife found the Summit at Son Tra Ocean View apartments, which are located on the Son Tra peninsula, about 10 minutes from the city center, and the pics and view from the balcony looked really good, so we booked it.

The apartment was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, with a kitchen, living room, washer, dryer, and a small-ish balcony.

The master bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, which was nice, but also quite common in Vietnam, and then the second bathroom was right outside our master bedroom, across from the 2nd bedroom.

The apartment was really quite nice, and quite bright and modern. The view from the balcony was amazing though, and was the main reason we rented the place.

From the balcony, as well as from both rooms, you have an amazing view of the ocean, the mountains, and a good portion of the city.

On the roof, which was one floor above us, there’s a pretty decent infinity pool, which has the same beautiful views. I’d say the only drawback to the pool is that during the day, the sun is directly above, with no shade, so it can get really hot up there.

There’s also a good size gym, although oddly they shut it down in July for maintenance, so I didn’t have a chance to use it. It looked pretty fully stocked though, with a good variety of equipment including a proper (non-Smith) squat rack, leg press machine, benches, dumbbells, and a few machines.

The main beach in Da Nang that spans most of the coastline, which is Son Tra beach, was about a 10-minute walk away. So not exactly steps away, but being a bit further ended up being a good thing, as it was much quieter than right along the beach.

My Verdict of the Apartment Complex

All in all, I’d say it’s a nice place to stay. Not 5-star, as ants were a constant issue in the kitchen, and the finishing of the apartment was a bit rough in some places, which I’ve noticed is common even in hotels and apartments throughout Vietnam. But we still really enjoyed the place, and the proximity to the beach and local markets was great.

Seafood Markets

One of the benefits of being near the beach in Vietnam is that you can get fresh seafood right on the beach, first thing in the morning. The vendors have their stalls set up along the beach, and you can get a good variety of seafood, including shrimp, squid, fish, and crab.

You’ve also got the typical fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as other produce vendors right across the street as well, so you can get everything you need for your meals for the day.

But make sure you go to the beach first thing in the morning or you’ll miss the best catches of the day!

The City

As I noted above, we came to Da Nang for a month, to relax as well, but also for sightseeing. So in the coming weeks/months, I’ll be posting about the various places we visited, and the things we did while here.

I already posted about the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival, which had already started before we arrived in June. We made it for the last few weeks and mostly caught it from one of the rooftop penthouses at our apartment complex, but we watched the finale from a bit of a better vantage point, which I’ve covered in that post. So check it out if you’re interested in seeing some of the fireworks and what my thoughts on it were!

Otherwise, stay tuned for my upcoming posts on the rest of our time in Da Nang!