Vietnam: Da Nang Beach

Only 30km away from the old town of Hoi An is one of Vietnam's largest urban centers and port cities: Da Nang. While still staying in Hoi An, we rented a motorbike and made the beautiful hour long drive up the coast to visit Da Nang beach where Sam heard there might be some good surf. The first portion of the journey was a collection of roadside shops, homes and temples. Then some open field space quickly consumed by large, private residential complexes with English names like Ocean Villas and The Residence and at least 3 golf courses. After this, luxury seaside hotels were intermixed with cafes and restaurants as we hit the city limit.

Stop for lunch on the beach.

The water at Da Nang beach was much more clear than that at the beaches in Hoi An (see above photo), though the air was filled with a distant haze that we haven't been able to escape since we were in Nha Trang (for the second time). Spotting some decent waves, we ducked into the side streets in search of a place to rent a surfboard. A handmade sign pointed us in the direction of Gunnar's place - a German man who offers long-term home stays with he and his Vietnamese wife and rents out his own surfboard for $4/hour.

With surfboard in hand, Sam was practically running to the beach filled with excitement. There were a couple other surfers in the water along with some swimmers jumping in the waves. All of these people were blatantly ignoring the "no swimming" signs that were dotting the shoreline, though that doesn't come as a surprise considering signs are rarely taken seriously over here.

"No Swimming."

Surfing Sam on the right.

It was a beautiful afternoon at the beach and having had a great time, we headed back to Hoi An with the intention of returning to Da Nang to see what more the city had to offer.

View from the road along the beach.