At the beginning of 2023, I traveled to Da Nang and called it my home for almost three weeks. Unconsciously, I was there around Vietnam's coldest season. I had a few sunny days at the very beginning of my trip, but most of the time it was cold and cloudy. Overall, and despite the weather fact, I had a great time, and certainly,
With this ULTIMATE DA NANG GUIDE, I'd like to share my gems with you.
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Where to stay in Da Nang
I called the Bonny Boutique Hotel my home for almost three weeks and right from the start I felt welcome and homely. The room had everything: a comfortable and huge bed, lots of storage room for my clothes and stuff, a kitchen with all essentials, a tv and high-speed internet. Further, the hotel offered a pool and a sauna as well plus wasn't too far away from the city center (around 30 minutes on foot and 15 minutes by car). The staff was always there for any questions and would also organize tours and motorcycle rentals.
The Best Cafés in Da Nang
Vietnam’s coffee culture is an absolute blessing for every coffee lover and is well-represented in every city such as Da Nang. At every corner you can find a café that is fancy looking, offering high-quality coffee beans that are rich in taste and are seeking for your visit. In terms of being spacious, having a stable internet connection, and, of course, serving good coffee, I’d found my favorites. I visited them over and over again, and would like to share my top three with you:
THE LOCAL BEANS
You can't miss the eye-catching building while walking around Da Nang's "hipster" area. The four stories building has a Brooklyn-ish appearance with lots of sitting opportunities. On the ground floor, you can sip your coffee and watch people walking by, or you can work on your laptop on the first floor.
In need of a more working-friendly environment?
The Local Beans does have a co-working space on the second and third floors. For only 50'000 Dong you have access to it and an included coffee as well - a very great deal!
43 FACTORY COFFEE ROSTER
This is a must for any coffee enthusiast. This coffee shop is specialized in serving high-quality coffee with a great selection of different coffee beans from around the world. They only serve coffee and some additional small bites.
I had the cold brew made from Ethiopian beans (unfortunately, they did not offer Vietnamese beans) and even though, I don't consider myself as a real coffee gourmet, I can tell, that it was very tasty. Additionally, the industrial interior was very inviting.
BREAD'N'SALT CAFÉ
This was one of my favorite places to work on my computer because of the spacious environment. It was never too packed and the staff was always friendly. The internet quality was good enough for having a video call and I did enjoy their Matcha Latte and Cold Brew. You can even eat a smoothie bowl or other bites, unfortunately, I always ate somewhere else, so I wasn’t able to try their food.
The Best Vegetarian Restaurants in Da Nang
As a traveling vegetarian it’s not easy to get around in Asia and doing some research is a must, wherever you are. Da Nang has, in comparison to other South East Asian cities, lots of options, and during my three-week stay there, I revisited two of them over and over again, because they were soo good and had such a wide menu. Therefore, I can’t recommend lots of different restaurants, but those two, are surely a must to visit.
iVEGAN
I do consider saying, that this restaurant is one of the best restaurants I’ve ever been to. I’m not a picky eater, but I do have some standards, such as vegetarian options, nourishing, fresh, not too pricey and it should look appealing.
Right from the start I had a good feeling about it, the interior was very welcoming, the staff greeted us and then I had my hands on the menu.
The variety of the menu is insane, from tasty smoothie bowls to burgers and sandwiches to buddha bowls, they had everything and I tried a lot, almost the entire menu. I couldn’t believe my thong while eating the Chickpea Tuna Sandwich, it tastes like a real Tuna Sandwich. The Smoothie Bowls were tasty and huge, with lots of fruits and toppings, both soups were delicious (but the lentil soup is the winner) and every Buddha Bowl is nourishing and diverse. My absolute favorite on this menu was the Tokyo Bowl. I can’t tell how much I’d reordered it and writing about it does make me hungry.
LOVING VEGAN
This was my favorite dinner place in Da Nang with one of the best vegetarian Pho and Summer Rolls I'd tried during my Vietnam trip. Unfortunately, the Summer Rolls were barely available, but if they are, you must order them. Overall the restaurant does only serve vegan meals since the owner is strictly vegan and has re-invented some typical meat-based Vietnamese dishes into tasty vegetarian ones. If you’re looking for Western food, this restaurant has it too, but I hadn’t tried it, but according to the reviews, it was also delicious.
Additionally, what also stands out are the prices for each dish, because they were unbeatable cheap. As a matter of those two facts, I did not need to look for another restaurant for dinner. Well, I made some exceptions, but not one restaurant could beat Loving Vegan.
Things to do in Da Nang
As I have already mentioned before, the weather wasn’t as nice as expected and for this reason, I enjoyed just my daily life and routines, such as working remotely, going to the gym, having my daily walks, etc. I made some time for sightseeing tours and also informed myself about, what I could do during my stay in Da Nang.
There’s one big thing to do and was one of the main reasons to visit Da Nang - the Ba Na Hills. Due to the weather conditions and the ticket price, I decided against the visit, since good weather conditions are necessary for a great view.
THE MARBLE MOUNTAINS
However, I made my way to the Marble Mountains, which is only a 20-minute drive from Da Nang apart. It’s a good trip for having some “hiking” experience. They do have nice temples out and inside the mountains and you have a great view of Da Nang as well. For me, it wasn’t a must-do thing in Da Nang, but if you’re having time, go ahead and make some steps.
MY KHE BEACH
In comparison to the other big cities in Vietnam, Da Nang offers a long sandy beach that is also good for surfing.
Well, without good weather, I only went to the My Khe Beach twice and was just there, for walking along the pier, which is a great opportunity to make some steps. The same here too, good weather conditions must be given to enjoy it.
JOLIE'S COOKING CLASS
Since I fell in love with Vietnamese cuisine, attending a cooking class was a must for me. Jolie’s Cooking Class was just perfect from the beginning. At the arranged time I got picked up by Rosie, my guide, and we, a group of six people, went to a field, where an elderly woman showed us, how some ingredients grow. We were also able to help her and experienced the hard work she does daily. Next, we tasted traditional Vietnamese coffee and get to know each other a bit better. Our tour guide gave us some introductions about the Vietnamese coffee culture and we headed next to a food market, where we bought our ingredients. Afterward, it was time to get our hands dirty and we went to Rosie’s home, where we cooked our food.
In total we cooked four different kinds of dishes:
Summer Rolls
Banh Xeo
Pho
Eggplant Stir-Fry with Rice
In the end, we received the full recipe and also a little gift. Fully stuffed I got home and was satisfied with the whole experience. I definitely can recommend booking a cooking class with them (Link) and please let me know, how your experience was!
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