How to get there?

By plane

Da Nang International Airport is the smallest of Vietnam's three international airports. There are frequent flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City on both Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet and Jetstar Pacific, as well as domestic service between Buon Ma Thuot, Da Lat, Hai Phong, Nha Trang and Pleiku and internationally Guangzhou, Seoul-Incheon, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai-Pudong, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei and Tokyo-Narita.

Compared to larger Vietnamese airports, Da Nang is a little bit laid back; local travelers often arrive less than 30 minutes before their flights; there are also a couple of restaurants/coffee shops opposite the terminal, which offer more choice, if not lower prices, than inside the departure area.

The airport is located within the city, just 3 km south-west of the center of Danang, a 10-minute trip at most. Many travelers now choose to stay in Da Nang as it is considered as a gateway to Central Vietnam World Heritages Sites: Hoi An (25-30 min) or Hue (2 hours), My Son (1-1.5 hours).

By train

Da Nang train station is located on Hai Phong Street approximately five kilometres form the city centre. Soft seats are recommended for long journeys, but if you are just swinging up to Hue, go for the cheaper hard seat option, as it's far more fun. There are four trains a day that stop at Lang Co enroute to Hue for 23,000 VND (two hours). Lang Co has lots of hotels now and train is a far easier and cheaper way to get there from Da Nang than bus.

To Hue, Hanoi and Saigon

Odd-numbered trains head north, even-numbered trains head south. The TN trains are slower but still good value. The SH (shuttle trains) go between Hue and Saigon -- they're as slow as you can go, making all local stops, and not that much cheaper than a hard seat. Recommended only if you must get off the train at a stop not on the main line.

The Reunification Express makes a stop in Da Nang. If you just want to get to Hue, in addition to taking the non-stop train to Hanoi (about two hours).

By bus

Both the north and the south of the country are serviced from Da Nang bus station, and there are numerous departures for all domestic routes from very early morning until late at night. Frequent buses go between Da Nang and Hue (around 50,000 VND).

Buses leave Hanoi's Giap Bat station in the afternoon, charge 380,000d as of Oct 2012 and take around 14 to 16 hours.

Tickets to Ho Chi Minh City are around 400,000d, depending on the bus company. There are several buses to Pleiku, from where you can go on to Laos and Cambodia. Sleeper buses leave Da Nang around 20 to 20:45 and charge 220,000d to 230,000d (as of Oct 2012). Taking a bus in the morning between 06:30 and 08:00 is cheaper.

There are also direct buses to Quy Nhon (around 150,000d), Nha Trang and Da Lat.