Hoi An is one of Vietnam’s most enchanting cities. Visitors from all over the world flock to soak up Hoi An’s charming mustard yellow ancient town each year, but getting there isn’t easy. However, we think Da Nang is a great choice for travelers or backpackers traversing the beautiful country with the intention of visiting Hoi An.
In this guide we show you the best travel options for getting from Da Nang to Hoi An. We also include tips to help you have the smoothest trip possible.
Our Experience
We drove the Hai Van Pass on motorbikes from Hue to Hoi An and we passed through Da Nang on this trip. Unfortunately, we arrived into Da Nang around rush hour (5:00pm) and the roads were absolutely chaotic. We were tired from driving all day and it took a lot out of us to concentrate in the hectic traffic all the way to Hoi An.
After spending almost 30 days in Vietnam, we met a lot of people who traveled through Da Nang in various ways which inspired us to write this guide. Not only is Da Nang a popular tourist destination with beautiful coastlines and pristine beaches, but it’s a great place to transition through if you want to visit Hoi An’s Ancient Town. Our goal is to help you travel the best way possible. Read more about us.
How Far Is Da Nang From Hoi An?
Vietnam is a long and narrow country shaped like an S. As you can see on the interactive map above, Hoi An is almost exactly in the middle of Vietnam. To its left is the border with Laos around 150km away. To the immediate right is the South China Sea. But most importantly for tourists, Da Nang City is located just a short distance away to the north. It played a significant role in Vietnam’s history as a major French colonial port and the city has grown into a busy tourist destination.
With a journey time of about 45 minutes by car, Da Nang to Hoi An is a relatively easy route by Vietnam’s standards. Driving alongside the coast is lovely and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Da Nang’s architecture. But the road can be extremely busy and there are a lot of traffic stops along the way.
Despite its obvious popularity, getting to Hoi An will require organizing transportation from much larger Da Nang. This is because Hoi An does not have an airport or a train station. However, Da Nang is Vietnam’s third largest city with both an international airport and a train station on the main line between Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Both the Da Nang airport and train station are about 30km (about 19 miles) from Hoi An. So your first port of call should be heading to Da Nang.
READ: Best things to do in Hoi An
How To Get To Da Nang, Vietnam
You can use a bus, fly or train to De Nang. For the bus, you can check 12Go Asia for schedules from anywhere in Vietnam.
But if you’re traveling from afar to Da Nang International Airport (DAD), it will require a change in either Hanoi Noi Bai (HAN) or Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat airport (SGN). However, if you’re flying in from another Asian country, check first to see if there are direct flights available. New routes are added each year.
Keep in mind that it could be cheaper to change in either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh. We always like to use Skyscanner for best user interface and value, but you can also book flights with 12Go Asia. Flying internally in Vietnam is typically incredibly cheap. As an example, flights from Hanoi to Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang are about 1 hour and 20 minutes and the cost is about US$ 50-100. You’ll find multiple flights per day with Vietjet, Vietnam Airlines and Bamboo Airways.
Traveling by train is a wonderful way to see Vietnam’s beautiful countryside you’d otherwise miss by bus or plane. And with a little extra outlay, you can book a whole first class sleeper cabin or simply keep it cheap by booking a second class seat. However, train journey times can be long which can put some people off.
Vietnam’s train network runs from north to south encompassing the whole country, but there can be fairly large distances between each major station. You can check train times and book with 12Go Asia (sort by transportation type).
As an example, there are about 10 trains a day from Hanoi to Da Nang. The trip is around 16 hours and it costs about US$ 30-80 depending on seat, cabin or train type. While the train from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang is about 18 hours. There are roughly 5 trains per day and they cost US$ 30-80 depending on seat, cabin and train type.
Once in Da Nang, Hoi An is ideally located for easy access. Traffic is usually a little hectic with motorbikes relentlessly honking their horns so if this is your first stop in Vietnam, it’s probably not the best idea to try a motorbike just yet. But now that you’ve made it to Da Nang, let’s see how to get to Hoi An:
1. Private Transfer
Private car is the most comfortable way to travel between the Da Nang airport or train station and Hoi An. From the airport, there are several companies who offer private car transfers from about US$ 15-20. It’s by far the best option for comfort from Da Nang airport. You can book this one or check out the options below:
Unfortunately, the same does not apply to a train station pickup. Alternatively, you can communicate with your hotel in Hoi An to arrange a private car pickup service. A hotel provided private car should cost somewhere in the region of US$ 20 per vehicle and serves both the airport and train station.
2. Traditional Taxi
Taking a taxi was once the only way to get from an airport or train station into town. But now, thanks to tour operators and modern services like Grab, we think taking a taxi seems a little outdated. Especially in Vietnam and on this particular route where there have been complaints of tourists being scammed.
But there are taxi firms who are known to be above board such as Vinasun and Mai Linh taxis. However, recent visitors have experienced both good and bad rides. You should have your Hoi An hotel address written in English and Vietnamese, plus have google maps open with the route and destination.
If you’re planning on using a taxi, contact one of the services listed above or use Grab (listed below) so you can confirm a price before you ride. You can also pre-book a taxi with 12Go Asia. The benefit to a taxi is no arrangements are required, you can be completely flexible and not worry about flight delays. But you should know the price before you ride or you will get scammed.
3. Grab
Grab is a Singaporean Uber-style taxi service that’s operational all over Vietnam and Asia. Personally, we think it’s better than Uber and it’s more readily available. This would have been our choice had we not traveled by motorbike.
We think a GrabCar is more affordable than a traditional taxi with fares averaging around 250,000 VND to 350,000 VND (US $10 to $14) from Da Nang to Hoi An. But just like Uber, prices will depend on availability and popular times.
We also like that the app provides transparent pricing so you know exactly what you’ll pay before you ride. One of the biggest scams in Southeast Asia is to take longer routes and overcharge fares. This way you don’t have to worry about a fare problem which is definitely worth the piece of mind. And just like Uber, you can pick your preferred type of vehicle.
If you’re a light traveler, you can also search for a GrabBike and have someone drive you on a motorbike. We “grabbed” two bikes in Kuala Lumpur and it was a really fun way to get around. No worries if you don’t have a helmet because it will be provided by the driver.
When using Grab, you’ll need a local sim or have global roaming on your phone. Another option is the wifi at the Da Nang airport, but you might loose connection when waiting for your driver outside. We highly recommend downloading the Grab App (iPhone or Android) before you get to Vietnam. You can choose to add your credit card details or pay cash for each ride.
Travel Tip: On the app, you’ll choose between a GrabCar (private car) or a GrabTaxi (metered taxi). We always go for the GrabCar.
4. Da Nang Airport Express Shuttle
Another option but only for the airport is the Da Nang airport to Hoi An shuttle. It’s available on a first-come-first-served basis. Tickets cost US$ 4.00 and it runs about every 30 minutes from Da Nang. You’ll find the bus near the Ground Transport desk in the arrival hall.
However, sometimes the bus leaves from the bus station instead of the airport and you may need to take a Grab the short distance. You can visit the official website here for more information. This service will also take you to Da Nang City, Hue and Ba Na.
5. Public Bus
For backpackers and those on a tight budget, you can leave the train station and hop on a local bus. The yellow bus (#1) used to run between Da Nang city and Hoi every 20 minutes and it cost about US$ 1.00. Unfortunately, this bus is no longer in service after the pandemic. So don’t try to find it.
Now there is another bus, the LK-02 line which is run by Futa Bus. It now services the Da Nang Bus Station and the Hoi An Bus Station (Nguyen Tat Thanh). Along the route, it will make a stop at Vietnam/Korea University. This option costs 35,000 VND (about US$ 1.50) and can be paid in cash on the bus.
Buses along this route will depart every 15-30 minutes from 5:45 am to 6:00pm everyday. You can expect the ride to take around 45 minutes to an hour. This seems better than the old public bus because they are new buses with both air conditioning and wifi. See the official article here. If you’re arriving into Da Nang by train or plane, you can take a Grab to the bus station if you want to use this option.
6. Shared Mini-Bus
You’ve probably heard of the notorious Vietnam sleeper bus by now. Personally, we traveled by sleeper bus on 5 separate occasions during our time in Vietnam. And honestly, they look so much better than they did just a few years ago. They are one of the cheapest and quickest ways to reach Hoi An from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh. You also won’t have to worry about transfers.
But there technically isn’t a sleeper bus for Hoi An to Da Nang because it’s such a short distance. So in this case, you can book a shared bus. The Sinh Tourist Bus used to run from Da Nang To Hoi An with typical lie-down seats, but it’s no longer running after the pandemic. They still run other routes and recent reviews aren’t great so we’d avoid this company all together.
So if you don’t want to pay for a private bus, a shared bus is another great option. You can book online with 12Go Asia (search by transportation type). Usually it will give you over 1,000 bus choices so pick a bus that looks great to you and make sure you read some of the reviews. Prices run from US$ 6-15 and it should take about 45 minutes to an hour.
READ: Tips for taking a sleeper bus in Vietnam
7. One Way Motorbike
This is an option for the most adventurous of travelers. You can hire a motorbike and make the journey yourself. But depending on where you arrive in town, you might need to take a Grab to get to the rental location.
We highly recommend doing your own research, but popular motorbike hire places in Da Nang include:
The benefits to hiring a motorbike include complete flexibility and independence. Plus, you can take all the best day trips close to Hoi An and Da Nang without requiring a tour. A typical rental will set you back around US $6-7 per day but you’ll need to provide and/or leave some form of ID as collateral. Copies of passports sometimes suffice but not always.
Travel Tip: Be very diligent when hiring motorbikes, check everything to make sure it all works firstly for you safety and secondly to avoid being ripped off at the end. Take pictures of any scratches or damage before you ride.
8. Book A Tour
Last but not least, if you’re really short on time you can book a tour to maximize your day. We like Klook because they offer some of the best prices in Asia and we’ve always had a great experience with their tours. Check out the popular options below which include day trips to Hoi An:
Klook.comMake sure you read the descriptions before booking so you know exactly what’s included in each option.
More From Vietnam
- Best places visit in Vietnam
- How to spend your time in Hanoi
- Things you can’t miss in Sapa
- How to get from Hanoi to Halong Bay
- Our honest Halong bay cruise review
- A 3 week north and central Vietnam itinerary
- Different ways to spend 10 days in Vietnam
- Best things to see in Ninh Binh
- Unique activities in Phong Nha
- Amazing things to do in Hoi An
- Things to know about Vietnam before visiting
Want more Vietnam content? Head over to our Vietnam Travel Guides to see example itineraries, tips and popular city guides.
We hope our Da Nang To Hoi An transport guide helps you plan your trip to Vietnam!
Please let us know if you have any questions about traveling through Vietnam in the comments below.
Happy Travels,
Mark and Kristen
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Mark and Kristen Morgan are travel, hiking and photography experts. Over the last 6 years traveling full time, they have explored more than 40 countries and 30 US states.
Where Are Those Morgans has been featured in USA Today, Gestalten, Get Your Guide, CityPASS and Condé Nast Traveler along with various other publications. Read more about us.