6 Days in Da Nang: Plus Hue's Citadel
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Six days adds Hue, Vietnam’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, to the 5-day plan , the full Central Vietnam loop most travelers are actually chasing. See the full Da Nang guide for the wider context, or the 7-day itinerary for a less rushed version of the same loop.
Book these before you go
- Vietnam’s e-visa , $25-50, apply 3-5 business days ahead
- Ba Na Hills cable car tickets, roughly 1,000,000 VND/adult
- A Da Nang-Hue train ticket if riding the coastal line, book ahead in peak season
Day 1: My Khe Beach and the Marble Mountains
Check in on the beach strip, spend the morning at My Khe Beach, then Grab to the Marble Mountains (about 15-20 minutes, entrance roughly 40,000 VND) for Huyen Khong Cave. If it’s Friday through Sunday, catch the Dragon Bridge’s fire show around 9-9:30pm.
Day 2: Hoi An Ancient Town
Grab or private car (roughly 250,000-350,000 VND, 45-60 minutes) to Hoi An Ancient Town, UNESCO-listed since 1999. Spend the day in the lantern-lit streets and old merchant houses before the drive back.
Day 3: Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge
Grab to the cable car base station (roughly 350,000-380,000 VND, 45 minutes), ride the record-setting cable car up to SunWorld Ba Na Hills, and cross the Golden Bridge. Budget the whole day, it’s a built 2018 theme park, genuinely spectacular and genuinely crowded.
Day 4: My Son Sanctuary
About 1-1.5 hours southwest, My Son Sanctuary holds roughly 71 standing Cham Hindu temple structures spanning the 4th to 14th centuries, UNESCO-listed since 1999. Book a combined tour with transport included to avoid burning most of the day on the drive alone.
Day 5: Hue, over the Hai Van Pass
Take the scenic Da Nang-Hue coastal train (roughly 3 hours, ride northbound in daylight for the pass views) or drive the Hai Van Pass itself (about 2-2.5 hours). Hue’s Complex of Hue Monuments, the Imperial City and royal tombs of the Nguyen Dynasty, became Vietnam’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993, ahead of both Hoi An and My Son. This is a full day trip, return to Da Nang in the evening or book a Hue hotel if you’d rather not do the round trip in one day.
Day 6: Son Tra Peninsula and departure
Grab up to Son Tra Peninsula (about 20-30 minutes) for Linh Ung Pagoda’s 67m Lady Buddha statue and coastline views. Have a final seafood lunch before heading to the airport, about 10-20 minutes from the beach strip.
Is Hue doable as a day trip, or does it need an overnight?
A day trip works if you take the early train or leave by mid-morning, but an overnight gives you an evening on the Perfume River without a late drive back. See our day trips guide for the full transport comparison.
One concrete tip: book the Da Nang-Hue train seat on the side facing the coast, not the mountain, for the best Hai Van Pass views, and confirm the current timetable before you lock in an early departure.