Getting Around Da Nang

The airport is 3km from the city. Your hotel on My Khe Beach is 10-15 minutes away. This is one of the easiest airports in Vietnam to leave, don't overthink it.

Use Grab. Open the app before you clear customs, set your destination, and follow signs to the Xe Công Nghệ zone outside arrivals. My Khe Beach is $4-5. Son Tra Peninsula (InterContinental, Premier Village) is $7-9. Surge at the airport is rare.

Metered taxis. If Grab isn't working, the queue outside arrivals is fine. Vinasun (white, green stripe) and Mai Linh (green) only. Rates are posted at the exit: city centre 90,000-120,000 VND, My Khe 100,000-130,000 VND. Anyone who approaches you inside the terminal is not the legitimate queue, walk past them.

Hotel shuttles. The InterContinental and Sheraton Grand both run free shuttles for guests. Confirm 24 hours before arrival. Most other resorts (Hyatt, Pullman) charge $15-25 for the same service, worth checking with your hotel before arranging one independently.

Public bus. Route 1 goes to Hàn Market for 7,000 VND. For a full cost breakdown, see the Da Nang budget guide. Takes 25-35 minutes. Only worth it if you're staying in the city centre, it doesn't reach the beach hotels.

Download Grab before you leave home. Register a card (Visa and Mastercard both work) and you're set. You don't need a Vietnamese phone number if you're paying by card.

Current fares, Grab Car. My Khe to Marble Mountains: $3-4. My Khe to Son Tra (Linh Ứng Pagoda): $5-7. My Khe to the airport: $4-5. My Khe to Hàn Market: $2-3. Saturday evenings near Dragon Bridge surge, add 30-50% and be patient. GrabBike (motorbike taxi) is about 40% cheaper for solo travellers on short trips.

Hoi An by Grab. Getting there is easy, $12-15. Getting back is where it gets unpredictable. Rain or peak hours can push the return fare to $20-25. If you're doing a full day in Hoi An, a fixed-price return through your hotel ($20-24 with waiting time) is more reliable. Grab doesn't do Grab Car to Hue, train or private driver for that.

GrabBike vs GrabCar. GrabBike is faster in traffic and about 40% cheaper. Right for any solo trip under 5km in good weather. Not the call if you have luggage or it's raining. GrabCar for airport runs, families, or anything over 5km.

Rates. Semi-automatic (Honda Wave, Yamaha Sirius): $8-10/day. Manual 125cc (Honda Winner, Yamaha Exciter): $10-14/day. Automatic scooter (Honda Air Blade, Yamaha NVX): $10-12/day. Most shops on the An Thuong strip and Võ Nguyên Giáp road. Standard deposit is your passport or $100-200 cash, passport is the norm.

Licences. Shops don't check. Traffic police do, occasionally, mainly on the road to Marble Mountains and the Son Tra summit road. An IDP cuts your risk. Fines for unlicensed riding run 400,000-600,000 VND ($15-24).

Hai Van Pass. 30km north of Da Nang. 21km of switchbacks at 496m above the South China Sea. About 90 minutes each way. There's a preserved French fort at the summit (free entry) with views over Lang Co Bay north and Da Nang Bay south. Leave by 8am, cloud sits on the pass by noon most days.

Son Tra loop. 30km around the peninsula. Three beaches (Bãi Nam, Bãi Bắc, Tiên Sa), Linh Ứng Pagoda, and the douc langur forest. Go anti-clockwise, summit road up in the morning, coastal road back. Some sections are narrow; slow down for resort transfer vehicles.

Fuel. Petrolimex and Shell stations are everywhere in Da Nang. Full tank 80,000-100,000 VND ($3-4) for a 110-125cc bike. That covers 150-180km of mixed riding.

Metered taxis are slower and marginally more expensive than Grab for most routes. The only reason to use one is if Grab is showing a long wait or you're somewhere without signal.

Legitimate operators: Vinasun (white, green stripe) and Mai Linh (green). Meter starts at 12,000 VND flag fall, then 11,000 VND/km. My Khe to Marble Mountains runs about 90,000-120,000 VND ($3.50-$5).

Avoid: Anyone who approaches you at the airport or in the street, and any cab without a clearly visible meter. The meter-is-broken line is the standard setup for overcharging. Decline and use Grab.

Hoi An (30km south, about 45 minutes). Options: Grab ($12-15 each way, return surge is unpredictable), fixed-price return through your hotel ($20-24 with waiting time, more reliable), or your hire motorbike if you have one (45 minutes via the coastal road past Marble Mountains and Non Nuoc Beach, no extra cost). Futa Bus from Da Nang bus station: 30,000 VND one way, 70-90 minutes with stops, 3-4 departures a day. Fine if time isn't tight.

For a full day in Hoi An, the fixed-price return with a waiting driver is the cleaner call. See Day 3 of the itinerary guide or the Da Nang vs Hoi An comparison for the full logistics.

Hue (100km north, 2.5-3 hours by road, 2.5 hours by train). The train is the right answer. Da Nang to Hue: hard seat 80,000-95,000 VND ($3-4), soft seat 150,000 VND ($6). Book at dsvn.vn or at the station, weekends sell out. Take the 7:30am train to get 4-5 hours in Hue before a 4pm return.

By car the Hai Van Pass coastal route is more scenic but adds fatigue to an already long day. A private driver costs $60-90 return, worth it for groups of 3-4 splitting the cost, or if you want to cover multiple Imperial Citadel sites without timing the train.

Use Grab when: you're making a single journey, carrying luggage, travelling at night, it's raining, or you're doing a restaurant circuit in the city. Grab removes parking, fuel, and navigation from the equation. The 10-15 minute wait for a car is the only friction.

Hire a motorbike when: you're doing multiple stops in a day (Marble Mountains, Non Nuoc, Son Tra loop), you want to ride the Hai Van Pass, you're comfortable in Vietnamese city traffic, and you have more than two days to make the hire cost worthwhile. The difference is being able to stop wherever you want, a beach pull-off, a roadside pho stall. That's genuinely different from watching it through a Grab window.

Book a private driver when: you're doing Hue as a day trip with a group, or you want to combine the Hai Van Pass with Hue city and need someone to wait. Budget $60-90 for a 10-hour driver. Hotels can arrange this at the concierge.

From My Khe Beach (where most visitors stay): airport 10-15 min / $4-5. Marble Mountains 20-25 min / $3-4. Linh Ứng Pagoda on Son Tra 25-30 min / $5-7. Hàn Market 10-15 min / $2-3. Dragon Bridge 10-15 min / $2-3. Hoi An 45-55 min / $12-15. Ba Na Hills cable car 35-40 min / $8-10.

From Son Tra Peninsula (InterContinental, Premier Village): airport 25-30 min / $7-9. Marble Mountains 35-40 min / $6-8. City centre 15-20 min / $3-4. Hoi An 55-65 min / $15-18.

Traffic: rush hour is 7-8:30am and 5-7pm on weekdays. The Han River bridges back up at both peaks. Airport road is clear outside rush hours. Saturday evenings near Dragon Bridge are busy 8-10pm, add buffer if Grab shows surge.

DIFF weekends: During the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (typically April/May, weekend evenings), Grab surges citywide and can double normal fares. The riverfront area becomes effectively gridlocked after the show ends around 9:30-10pm. Either walk back from the river if your hotel is close, or book your Grab well before the show finishes.