Central Vietnam

I arrived into Da Nang Airport weighed down by the chocolate and earplugs (!!!) mum had sent me for Christmas, newly refreshed to start backpacking again. Little did I know that I’d fall in love with the town, and settle back in. It was in Da Nang that I bought my motorbike, along with the help of Che, and made the terrifying decision to head to Saigon on two wheels!This blog doesn’t include a hell of a lot of central Vietnam, and I’m sad I missed the beautiful places between Ha Long Bay and Da Nang but I’ve loved what I have done.

The Route

Da Nang

This city is one that is often missed by travellers, and you can understand why when the famous town of Hoi An is 30km south, but it really isn’t one to miss. I stayed 2 weeks and made great friends, travellers, expats and locals a like, found great spots to eat, drink and see and generally kept myself well and truly occupied. I stayed near the beach rather than in the city centre, but it’s only a 10 minute drive to the huge indoor market and hundreds of local food vendors. The staff at Hi Da Nang Beach Hostel are fab, and even helped me to buy (and fix up) my bike! Make sure you take a ride up Monkey Mountain to see the Lady Buddha, which at 67 metres is very impressive, and has a great view of sunset over the city when it’s a clear day. Marble mountains are also not to be missed, for views across the ocean and tucked away pagodas.

Must see: The Dragon Bridge on a Friday and Saturday night at 9pm, for a fire and light show – but it’s beautiful any night of the week.

The beach in Da Nang

Hoi An

Hoi An used to be a port town, ideal with it’s winding canals, and location in the country, and the range of buildings reflect this. It’s supposedly one of the oldest towns in the country that is still in a brilliant condition after the American War. Famous for its lanterns, it’s an impressive town at night. For me, Hoi An is a tourist town with overpriced hotels, food, and activities. A Banh Mi from a street stall will cost you at least double what you’d pay in most other places in the country. It’s good for one day, but spend your time (and money) elsewhere.

Top Tip: They’ll try to charge you to walk down the streets in the ancient town, but keep walking and they won’t chase you.

Street Vendor in Hoi An, and Lady Buddha

Quy Nhon

To get here, we drove inland to Kon Tum, Via Kham Duc because the first day’s ride was wet and cold. Headed originally to Nha Trang, we ended up here due to a recommendation from friends. This is a small town by the beach, the perfect place to spend TET (Lunar New Year). Stay at Life’s A Beach for a private stretch of sand, comfy beds and a great happy hour! The town is known for my favourite Vietnamese food: Banh Xeo, an egg pancake filled with beansprouts and your choice of meat, which you wrap in rice paper with fresh salad.

Road Days

Nha Trang

Having arrived in Nha Trang being forewarned that everywhere was fully booked, we were surprisingly optimistic. We were wrong to think that way. We drove around the city for over 4 hours going to hotel after hotel to try and find a bed, to no avail. Eventually we drove a half hour out of the city to a place we’d seen online (fully booked, but it looked like a place that might let us camp out on the floor). Thankfully he let us sleep in a hut normally reserved for Couchsurfers, and I’m pretty sure he moved some others into the same beds so that we could stay. I say beds, they were more like tables. Not the comfiest thing in the world but we were all just glad to be off our bikes and somewhere with a roof over our heads. The second night here was much better, in a different place, but without seeing the town, we headed out – Nha Trang is not my friend.

Don’t miss: Vin Pearl Land; a waterpark, theme park, arcade and aquarium all in one! It’s expensive for 650,000 VND, but worth every penny for a great day out.

Lazy River at Vin Pearl Land