Da Nang With Kids
A modern beach city on Vietnam’s central coast with a dragon shaped bridge that breathes fire on weekend nights, one of Asia’s best urban beaches running straight through town, five sacred mountains made of marble, and Ba Na Hills with the Golden Bridge held up by giant stone hands an hour into the clouds. Da Nang is the city families plan as a layover and then ask me about afterward.
Nicole Damiano, ASTA Verified Travel Advisor with FG Luxury Travel
Is Da Nang good for families?
Yes. An urban beach that runs for miles, the Dragon Bridge fire show on weekend nights, caves at the Marble Mountains, a theme park at Ba Na Hills, water parks, surfing lessons and easy Grab rides across the city. Three nights is plenty and the hotels on the beach are good value.
How many days do you need in Da Nang?
Three nights. The Dragon Bridge fire show, a beach day with the Son Tra Peninsula, the Marble Mountains and an evening at the night market. Four adds Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge.
When is the best time to visit Da Nang with kids?
February to May, dry, 80 to 85 degrees with a calm sea. June to August is hot, over 95, but the beach is still good. September to January is the rainy season, with October and November the wettest months.
When does the Dragon Bridge fire show happen?
Every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM, year round. It runs about 10 minutes. The dragon breathes fire first, then sprays water. Get to the east bank by 8.30 for a spot.
How far is Da Nang from Hoi An?
45 minutes by car or Grab, about 30 kilometers south on the coast road. Most families combine them, with Da Nang at the start or end and Hoi An for four nights.
The Beach City With The Fire Breathing Dragon
Da Nang sits on a curve of coast between the Son Tra Peninsula and the Marble Mountains, with the Han River running through the middle and My Khe Beach stretching south for miles. It was a fishing village, then a French port, then the place the first US Marines came ashore in 1965, and now it is Vietnam’s third largest city and the one that feels the most modern. The Dragon Bridge is 666 meters long and breathes fire and sprays water every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM. The Lady Buddha at the Linh Ung Pagoda on the Son Tra Peninsula is 67 meters tall with a view of the coast. The Marble Mountains are five hills of caves and pagodas 15 minutes south. And Ba Na Hills, an hour west, has the Golden Bridge held up by two giant stone hands that became one of the most photographed spots in Vietnam.
Three nights covers the Dragon Bridge fire show on a weekend evening, a beach day at My Khe with the Son Tra Peninsula in the morning, and the Marble Mountains or Ba Na Hills. Four adds the second one. Most families pair it with Hoi An, 45 minutes south, for the lantern town and the old world.
Getting Around
Grab is the move, 2 to 4 dollars across the city, on your phone in seconds. Taxis for the airport. Walking on My Khe Beach and along the Han River bridges at night. The city is spread out and the traffic is real, so bikes are for the brave.
Neighborhoods worth basing in
My Khe Beach and the riverfront
The long stretch of beach with the high rises, the Dragon Bridge at one end and the Son Tra Peninsula at the other. Walk out the hotel and the sand is there. The riverfront at night is the Dragon Bridge, the Love Lock Bridge and the APEC sculpture park lit up. The base for a family who wants beach by day and the city at night.
Son Tra Peninsula
The forested headland north of My Khe with the Lady Buddha statue, resorts tucked into the hillside and the InterContinental on its own bay. Quiet, green, and the monkeys are in the trees. The base for a family who wants the resort and the beach without the city.
Non Nuoc Beach and the Marble Mountains
The quieter beach south of My Khe, at the foot of the five marble and limestone hills with their caves and pagodas, and the Hyatt Regency on the sand. Less city, more resort, and the Marble Mountains are a 10 minute walk. The base for a family who wants the pool complex and the caves at the doorstep.
InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula
On its own bay on the Son Tra Peninsula, designed by Bill Bensley in tiers down the hillside, with four pools, a kids’ club, a private beach and a cable car between the levels. The splurge in Da Nang and one of the best resort properties in Vietnam.
Hyatt Regency Danang Resort and Spa
On Non Nuoc Beach at the foot of the Marble Mountains, with a pool village, a water slide, a kids’ club and family suites. The beach resort in Da Nang for families who want the pool and the sand and the caves 10 minutes away.
Novotel Danang Premier Han River
On the Han River downtown, with a rooftop pool, the Dragon Bridge lit up outside the window, walking distance to the night market and Grab rides to the beach in 10 minutes. Good value, great location, and the fire show from the hotel.
The Three I Build Every Da Nang Trip Around
Dragon Bridge and the Han River
The 666 meter dragon shaped bridge crosses the Han River and breathes fire and sprays water every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM. The show runs about 10 minutes, the crowd is huge, and the kids can feel the heat from 50 meters away. Get to the east bank by 8.30 for a spot. The rest of the river at night is the Love Lock Bridge, the APEC Park with its sculptures, the Han River Bridge that swings open at midnight, and the Son Tra night market for street food on the water.
My Khe Beach and the Son Tra Peninsula
One of the longest urban beaches in Vietnam, with calm water from February to May, surfing waves in winter, and the Son Tra Peninsula rising behind it. The beach runs for miles and the hotels are across the street. The Son Tra Peninsula above it is a morning Grab ride to the Lady Buddha at the Linh Ung Pagoda, 67 meters tall, with the coast spread out below, monkeys in the forest and the winding road along the ridge with the bay views. Go before 9, before the heat.
Marble Mountains
Five marble and limestone hills named for the elements, with caves, pagodas, Buddha statues inside and a view of the coast from the top. The elevator at Thuy Son, the biggest hill, takes the climb out, the Huyen Khong cave has light coming through the ceiling that the kids stand under with their mouths open, and the Am Phu cave is the Buddhist vision of heaven and hell, with dragons and colors and a cave inside a cave. An hour and a half with kids, and the stone carving village at the base has cheap souvenirs.
Family Time, Built In: Da Nang With Kids
Da Nang with kids is a dragon breathing fire over the river, a cave with light coming through the ceiling, a beach that runs straight through the city, and a bridge held up by giant stone hands in the clouds.
Caves inside the Marble Mountains
My Khe Beach and surfing lessons
Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge
Mikazuki Water Park
PARK & DOWNTIME PICK
My Khe Beach is the park, a city beach with calm water from February to May, surfing waves in winter, and a stretch of sand that runs for miles with the hotels across the street. The Son Tra Peninsula above it has the Lady Buddha and the monkeys. Mikazuki Water Park, 20 minutes south, is the rainy day and the hot afternoon, with water slides, wave pools and an onsen, and the kids burn through a full day. Art in Paradise, the 3D art museum downtown, is the quick two hours on a hot afternoon where the kids pose inside paintings and take the photos home.
Five Things To Eat In Da Nang
Mi quang, the Da Nang noodles
Grilled pork skewers with rice paper
Grilled seafood on the beach
Mango, dragon fruit and sugarcane juice
Vietnamese coffee with condensed milkNicole’s Perspective
The city that surprises families
Da Nang is the city families plan as a layover between Hanoi and Hoi An and end up asking me about afterward. The Dragon Bridge fire show is a thing you have to explain to people before they believe it. A 666 meter dragon, crossing the Han River, and on Saturday and Sunday nights it breathes actual fire and then sprays water over the crowd. The kids stand there screaming.
I route families through Da Nang at the start or end of their Vietnam trip, two or three nights, the beach as the base and the fire show as the anchor evening. The InterContinental on the Son Tra Peninsula is the resort I price first, because the bay is private and the property drops down the hill like a terraced garden, and the Hyatt on Non Nuoc Beach is the family resort with the water slide and the Marble Mountains right behind. Three nights. The Dragon Bridge on a weekend evening, a beach day, and the Marble Mountains or Ba Na Hills. It is not complicated. It is just good.
The Day Trip: Ba Na Hills And The Golden Bridge
An hour west of Da Nang, a cable car to a French colonial hill station at 1,400 meters, the Golden Bridge held up by two giant stone hands that became one of the most photographed spots in Vietnam, a medieval European fantasy village, a wax museum, an alpine coaster and gardens. It is a full day, the cable car alone is 25 minutes and one of the longest in the world, and kids from 4 up have a good time. The bridge is the photo. The rest is the theme park. Go on a weekday if you can, weekends are packed, and bring a layer because it is 10 degrees cooler at the top. The Marble Mountains are the gentler alternative, 15 minutes from the city, an hour and a half with kids.
Things I Would Tell A Friend Before They Booked
How Many Days
Three nights covers the Dragon Bridge fire show, the beach and the Marble Mountains. Four adds Ba Na Hills.
The Dragon Bridge fire show on a Saturday or Sunday evening, a beach day at My Khe with the Son Tra Peninsula and Lady Buddha in the morning, and the Marble Mountains for a half day with the caves and the view.
Add a full day at Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge, the cable car and the theme park, and a second beach afternoon to recover. Or swap Ba Na for a Mikazuki Water Park day if the kids are younger.
Three nights in Da Nang for the beach, the fire show and the mountains, then 45 minutes south for four nights in Hoi An for the lantern town, the basket boats and the tailors. The central coast in a week.
Da Nang With Kids, Answered
Is Da Nang good for families?
Yes. An urban beach that runs for miles, the Dragon Bridge fire show on weekend nights, caves at the Marble Mountains, a theme park at Ba Na Hills, water parks, surfing lessons and easy Grab rides across the city. Three nights is plenty and the hotels on the beach are good value.
How many days do you need in Da Nang?
Three nights. The Dragon Bridge fire show, a beach day with the Son Tra Peninsula, the Marble Mountains and an evening at the night market. Four adds Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge.
When is the best time to visit Da Nang with kids?
February to May, dry, 80 to 85 degrees with a calm sea. June to August is hot, over 95, but the beach is still good. September to January is the rainy season, with October and November the wettest months.
When does the Dragon Bridge fire show happen?
Every Saturday and Sunday at 9 PM, year round. It runs about 10 minutes. The dragon breathes fire first, then sprays water. Get to the east bank by 8.30 for a spot.
How far is Da Nang from Hoi An?
45 minutes by car or Grab, about 30 kilometers south on the coast road. Most families combine them, with Da Nang at the start or end and Hoi An for four nights.
Ready To Put Da Nang On The Calendar
Send me your dates and your kids’ ages and I will plan Da Nang, the beach hotel, the fire show on the right evening, the Marble Mountains, Ba Na Hills and the connection to Hoi An if you want both.
Keep exploring from Da Nang
Nearby places and the whole region.
Click any card to open that page
Zoom out
All of Asia
Vietnam