Monday 20 March 2017

Da Nang trip – Prologue

Da Nang is the largest city in Central Vietnam and is the gateway to UNESCO sites: Hoi An, My Son and Hue. Silkair is the sole airline which flies direct from Singapore to Da Nang until Jetstar starts serving Da Nang in Nov 2015.
Map of Vietnam (extracted from Lonely Planet)

Jetstar was having the Fly and return for free promotion and return ticket without baggage cost S$122 which is very cheap. I asked my sis if she is interested and we booked the airtix without any hesitation. I chose the Singpost payment option which allows payment to be make within the next 48hrs. This option used to be free but there is a processing fee of $4 per pax now.

The best period to visit Da Nang is Feb and Mar as there is less rain and lower temperature compared to the other months. One of my colleague visited Da Nang in Aug and she told me that the weather is as hot as Bangkok.

Jetstar flies to Da Nang thrice a week i.e. Tue, Thu and Sun. We wanted to spend a week there but there was no promo fare for Tue return flight so we will be returning on Sun night. Technically, we have 5 full days as the arrival flight and departure flight are at night. We decided to drop Hue from the itinerary as we do not want a hectic trip and there is limited intercity bus timing per day by Sinh Tourist. As there are only 2 of us, we do not want to book private tour hence we will booking day tour and intercity bus with Sinh Tourist.

We will be staying at Happy Day Hotel Da Nang which is located along the Han's river. The standard double room cost S$24 per night without breakfast. I booked through Agoda as it slightly cheaper than booking directly from hotel website. In Hoi An, we will be staying at Vinh Hung Library Hotel which is within 10min walk from Hoi An Ancient town. The superior room with no windows cost VND678,000 ~ S$42 per night and is inclusive of breakfast. These 2 hotels are also within walking distance from Sinh Tourist.

Itinerary for this trip:

Day 1: Reach Da Nang at 8.05pm (GMT +7)
Day 2: Marble Mountain, Han Market, Da Nang Cathedral
Day 3: Hoi An ancient town
Day 4: My Son
Day 5: Ba Na Hill
Day 6: Linh Ung Pagoda Da Nang, Depart Da Nang at 8.20pm (GMT +7)

Budget for this trip is $400:
- S$80 for accommodation
- S$60 for transport
- S$60 for admission and tour 
- S$100 for meals
- S$100 for shopping

>>Day 1: 21 Mar 17

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