Asia - Travel around Danang, Vietnam

I recently scored a couple of cheapie tickets to Danang and am now wondering how to best make use of my three days and three nights there. I gather that Danang itself is rather blah and probably best skipped entirely, but am having trouble deciding whether to head to Hoi An, Hue, a split between both or whether there's someplace else really worth visiting. This will be my first trip to the area, although I've been to HCMC once before.

Turnons and turnoffs:
^ : Great Vietnamese food, boutique-y small hotels/resorts, natural scenery, sporty outdoor stuff, interesting shopping, nightlife
:td: : Massive chain hotels, lazing on the beach, dusty museums, overgrown ruins, touts and hassles

Any recommendations would be very welcome! @:-)

there is another thread on vietnam. But basically:

1. there is a good champa museum in danang.

2. Hoi An is about 10 miles away by cab. Stay there.

3. Then depending on time, your choice is going to Hue by either bus or train, or to na trang. Hue is the colonial capital, na trang is the beach. The other choice is to just stay in hoi an and if you're coming over and jet lagged, you might consider just doing that. it's a fun city

Stay in Hoi An...check out the Life Resort, a quiet retreat on the river but within walking distance to the center of town. Amazing pool area!

Yes, I've reviewed the other threads, but they seemed a little general -- I was hoping for specific restaurants, places to stay, that kind of thing. tmarc, thanks for the Life Resort tip; it seems a little pricy for Vietnam but not entirely unreasonable, so will keep it in mind. ^

One additional twist to the tale: this was planned as an escape from Singapore's Chinese New Year (when everything shuts down), but I slightly belatedly realized that this means we're landing smack dab in the middle of Tet, the Vietnamese New Year. :o Most guidebook warnings on the subject seem fairly apocalyptic (everything is evidently crowded/deserted, but also closed/fully booked), but just how "bad" is this? In Singapore, the first day of CNY is indeed very, very quiet, but until then and the next day too it's more or less business as usual.

Anyway, the current plan is to head straight from the airport to Hue, stay one night, and then bus it over to Hoi An for two nights. (And yes, Vietcafe's buses seem to be running even on Tet.)

If you're considering going to Nha Trang, I would suggest just flying there on VN. Buy the tix in country... it'll be cheaper. It's only a hour flight on an ATR72.

Between Da Nang and Hoi An, I would stay in Hoi An. I stayed at the recently-opened Palm Garden Resort. They had an activities office, which had bikes, kayaks, even an ATV. Also a very nice pool, good restaurant (excellent breakfast buffet), and a shuttle that runs to Hoi An itself. It's about a 45-minute ride from the DAD airport.

Da Nang was sort of just another city to me, and after being in SGN and HAN, I didn't feel like I missed much.

there are tons of places to stay in hoi an that are reasonable and the city is tiny.

i stayed at a nice place that had rooms surrounding a pool for like $24 a night and found later that i should have bargained. If i can find the place, i'll add it below.

The rough guide has all sorts of listings. Similarly while there are one or two really nice restaurants, there are a lot of very good restaurants and the bars are pretty obvious (one was ten pen or something like that).

you're talking about trying to find places in a city that is like less than a mile from the hotels to the restaurants and bars.

There really isn't any need to plan it out much.

In fact the most important thing to do --and this is from experience -- is to bring pictures of the clothes you want duplicated with you.

oh, by the way, the choice from hue is either the bus or the train.

I'm not particularly afraid that I'll starve to death (this is rarely a problem in South-East Asia ;) ), but I'm obsessive enough a gourmand to dread the thought of picking only bad restaurants at random -- after all, we're there only for a few days, so there's not much time to learn to sort out the wheat from the chaff. And as for getting clothes tailored, I do that in Bangkok...

How do the (Vietcafe) bus and the train compare as modes of transportation? I've never taken either in Vietnam yet, but Seat 61 (http://www.seat61.com/Vietnam.htm) says there's no station in Hoi An itself and it takes around 4 hours for the ride from Hue to Danang.

I always stay at Thanh Binh III. Room 311 is the best in the house and costs, more or less $25. The place is very clean, the staff is friendly and it's conveniently located. The pool is great on a hot afternoon. Food in Hoi An is decidedly chinese in style (in most places). As a working chef I've tried almost every place in town. Most are good, none are great. My friend Duc has a small, non-descript restaurant called Hoia River (44 NG.TH. HOC). His food is terrific, but you'll wait forever - very typical. In general, the food at the beach is better (and more expensive) than the food in town. Soo Long is a great bar and the food is good, but not very Vietnamese. Anh Tri is my tailor of choice. If I can help answer any questions just post in this forum or pm me.

salute - chefdg1

I always stay at Thanh Binh III. Room 311 is the best in the house and costs, more or less $25. The place is very clean, the staff is friendly and it's conveniently located. The pool is great on a hot afternoon. Food in Hoi An is decidedly chinese in style (in most places). As a working chef I've tried almost every place in town. Most are good, none are great. My friend Duc has a small, non-descript restaurant called Hoia River (44 NG.TH. HOC). His food is terrific, but you'll wait forever - very typical. In general, the food at the beach is better (and more expensive) than the food in town. Soo Long is a great bar and the food is good, but not very Vietnamese. Anh Tri is my tailor of choice. If I can help answer any questions just post in this forum or pm me.
D'oh! And the perfect reply finally comes just after I made my booking for hotels (Asia Hotel in Hue, An Phu in Hoi An). But I'll be sure to pop into Hoia River and Soo Long (if they're open during Tet?), any more recommendations would be more than welcome ^

I must say you've done well to score cheap tickets to Vietnam at Tet. I had fun getting into Saigon at short notice just prior to Tet a few years ago as they all try to get home for Tet, Viet Kieu as well as those simply working overseas. Are you flying Silkair from Changi ?

I also stayed at the Thanh Binh III and found it nice. bargain on rooms

I must say you've done well to score cheap tickets to Vietnam at Tet. I had fun getting into Saigon at short notice just prior to Tet a few years ago as they all try to get home for Tet, Viet Kieu as well as those simply working overseas. Are you flying Silkair from Changi ?
Nope: although I hate to confess that (shh!) we're not earning any miles, we're flying Tiger, who are launching their Da Nang service tomorrow. This probably also explains why not so many people have twigged onto the service yet ^

One more Q: any idea about how much we would be gouged for a direct taxi from Danang Airport to Hue? (I understand that DAD has some sort of coupon taxi system, but these tend get very pricy for longer distances.) Does it make sense to detour via Danang city, and how do we go about finding a cheap bus/taxi from there?

danang has a wonderful champa museum. The train to hue leaves from danang and takes like 3 or 4 hours to hue. i could be off slightly.

I believe the tourist bus goes from hoi an (which is about 8 miles from danang) to hue, but I'm sure there are city buses that go to hue.

I live in VietNam up in the Central Highlands in DakLak Province (when I am not travelling) and Da Nang is 'justy down the hill'.

Apart from the previously mentioned Champa Museum there is little in Da Nang. That is, apart from a few seedy hotels.

HOI AN is a retail therapy centre for clothing (you need three days for measuring, sewing and fitting clothes) and there are nice beaches. The hotels are around USD$15/20 for a double bedded room.

Take a 25 minute bus or taxi ride to Hoi An (no rail service).

HUE (pronounced HWAY not Huey or Hooo as in a US TV show) is 4 hours by the 'open bus' service or 4 hours by rail (top speed 30 MPH).

Hue is ancient monuments, palaces and graves plus a few decent restaurants. Hotels around the same price as Hoi An.

Best web site for VietNam is < www.wompom.ca/vietnam/index.htm > especially the FAQ - has the good bad and the ugly in it.

USD$ very acceptable in VietNam AND YOU WILL REQUIRE A VISA BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE COUNTRY (NO visa on arrival).

Addresses for embassies on WomPom-VietNam. NO VISA = DENIED BOARDING

USD$ very acceptable in VietNam AND YOU WILL REQUIRE A VISA BEFORE LEAVING FOR THE COUNTRY (NO visa on arrival).

Addresses for embassies on WomPom-VietNam. NO VISA = DENIED BOARDING
Not so for either of us -- nationals of most ASEAN countries, Korea, Japan, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden are granted 14 days on arrival if they possess a valid return ticket.