Da Nang vs Nha Trang: Which is Better for Digital Nomads?
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Struggling to decided between Da Nang and Nha Trang for your Vietnam beach trip? On the surface both of them seem very similar. They both are large beach towns, lined with skyscrapers and surrounded by beautiful mountainous landscapes.
But they both offer different things depending on what type of traveller you are. So you do not want to choose the wrong one and waste any travel days.
Da Nang has become a bit of a hotspot for digital nomads. While Nha Trang gets a bit of a bad rap. Every says that it is just full of Russians on holiday.
We decided to spend a week in both locations during our 3 months in Vietnam. During this time I can definitely see why Da Nang has become a digital nomad hotspot. As it has great cafes, easy access to Hoi An and a great beach.
But I also saw reasons why you might like Nha Trang more. It has the same amazing beach but is a bit tidier because it has been an established tourist destination for longer.
So lets get into all the reasons why Da Nang or Nha Trang could be the Vietnam beach destination for you.
1) Nha Trang Vs Da Nang Beaches: Activities vs Chilling
When deciding whether to go to Da Nang or Nha Trang the beach is a crucial factor.
Both beaches are similar because they are long sandy beaches surrounded by a mountainous landscape. But there are some key differences.
Whether Nha Trang or Da Nang beach suits you better depends if you are an active beach goer or you just like to relax with a drink.
Da Nang: Activities and Wide Open Spaces
What I liked about Da Nang beach was that it was very wide. Which means there is plenty of space to go for a walk or run.
In the morning at sunrise the beach is absolutely packed with locals exercising, playing badminton and swimming. When I first went to the beach at sunrise I could not believe it.
I was expecting just a few other early risers. But there were thousands of people! It was the amount of people I would expect to be there at midday on the weekend.
If you are an early riser I recommend heading to the beach at this time. There is such a nice atmosphere and it is a great way to start the day.
During the day there are also more activities such as beach volleyball. So if you like to be active at the beach Da Nang is the place for you.
Nha Trang Beach Clearer Water, Steeper Shore
Nha Trang Beach on the other hand is much narrower, steeper beach. Meaning that there is not as much space for activities and walking on the beach.
When the weather is calm the waters at Nha Trang are clearer than Da Nang. So it is a better beach if you want to relax by the water and do nothing.
Because it is narrower your beach chair will be closer to the water if that is your style. There are also many more beach bars along the beach. So it is much more of a holiday beach than Da Nang.
But when there are waves the beach at Nha Trang can be quite dangerous to swim in because the waves smash onto the shore.
When we visited it was quite stormy in Nha Trang so waves were constantly pounding the shore. So I would recommend not visiting in November if you want perfect conditions.
Both beaches also have excellent promenades that are great for going for walks in the evening.
Conclusion: Da Nang 🏆 is the better overall beach if you want to be active
2) Da Nang Vs Nha Trang Cost Of Living:
Vietnam is one of the best places in the world to travel cheap. It is the cheapest place I have travelled in recent years.
So if you are looking for a super cheap beach town to set up camp it is hard to beat Da Nang or Nha Trang.
I found most costs in Da Nang and Nha Trang to be fairly similar.
| Expense | Approx Cost In Da Nang and Nha Trang USD |
| Cheap Hotel Per Night | About $15 |
| Cheap Hotel Per Month | Around $300 |
| Street Food Meal | $1-2 |
| Mid Range Restaurant | $5-12 |
Accommodation
I found the accommodation in Nha Trang and Da Nang to be similar pin price. In both locations you can get hotels for around 15 USD per night.
These are of course basic hotels and you would want to pay around 30-50 USD for a nicer hotel.
If you are a digital nomad both Da Nang and Nha Trang are affordable places for long term stays. You can get a room for as low as 350 USD per month in both cities.
Warning ⚠️ be very careful when booking your hotels! In both Da Nang and Nha Trang we found hotels that looked incredible, had amazing reviews and were super cheap. But then we looked at the lowest reviews and there were tonnes of 1 stars saying the hotel was horrible. This is because the owners put fake reviews on Booking.com.
One tactic to avoid being tricked by fake reviews is to look up hotels and homestays on Airbnb. There are far fewer fake reviews on Airbnb so I find you can trust the reviews more.
That is how we found the Robin Hotel in Da Nang. It only costs 8 USD per night and was a nice solid basic hotel that we really enjoyed staying in.
Food Prices
Your other main expense will be food and I did not find the food prices much different in either city.
As with all of Vietnam the food is dirt cheap with meals as low as 1-2 USD, for a bowl of Pho.
For a more mid-range restaurant expect to pay input 5-12 USD per meal.
Dental Work In Da Nang
Another bonus of visiting Da Nang is that it is super cheap to get dental work done. We got our teeth cleaned for about 15 USD!
The dental offices are super clean, modern and the staff were all insanely friendly.
Da Nang is well known for cheap and high quality dental work. So if you need to get something done it is a great place to save some money.
We went to Lotus Smile Dental and they did a decent job for the price.
Conclusion: For me this is a tie. Both Da Nang and Nha Trang offer very similar prices for accommodation. Food is also very similarly price. Unless you want some dental work done then Da Nang comes out on top.
3) Food Quality And Diversity
Because of their location on the ocean Da Nang and Nha Trang are both great places to eat seafood.
Our first meal in Da Nang was seafood and it was delicious. We had an awesome experience because a local lady we bought our breakfast from in Hoi An invited us to Da Nang to eat at her favorite seafood restaurant.
I am not a huge seafood fan but the restaurant we went to was delicious! The flavors were very interesting and much different to seafood in other parts of the world.
The restaurant we went to was Hải sản tươi sống Bà Rô if you feel like visiting.
Just be warned that they do not speak English so get your google translate ready.
We did not eat seafood in Nha Trang but it is also known for having high quality seafood.
So I think in terms of seafood it may be a tie between the two.
Overall though I think that if you are a foodie Da Nang comes out on top. Because it is a much larger city there is a much more diverse range of food available.
Whether you want Vietnamese, Italian or French food you can find it in Da Nang.
In Nha Trang we found the selection to be much more limited. This is because it is a much smaller town with more of a focus on serving tourists.
In both towns you can get a good bowl of Pho as you can anywhere in Vietnam. Just do not expect the Banh Mi to be as good as they are in Hoi An!
Conclusion: Da Nang 🏆 wins for food quality because there is a much diverse selection of food available
4) Atmosphere: Holiday vs Big City Vibe
In terms of the overall atmosphere of Nha Trang and Da Nang. I would say that Nha Trang feels a bit more like a resort/holiday destination.
While Da Nang has more of a cosmopolitan feel because it is a much larger city. So there is a lot more going on in that does not involve just lounging around at the beach.
So if you want more of a big city feel and not to feel like you are just around holidaymakers. Then Da Nang is the place for you.
One thing that many people complain about Nha Trang is that it is full of Russians. I had heard that before we arrived but I was still blown away by how many Russians were there!
Even in Vietnamese shop owners would sometimes says words to us in Russian. Which really confused us because we could tell they weren’t speaking Vietnamese but we had no idea what language it was!.
Even other shoppers in supermarkets would try to speak to us in Russian. Which was always super funny.
The amount of Russians for sure changes the atmosphere in Nha Trang. You almost feel like a bit of an outsider because so many businesses only have signs in Russian so you have no idea what they sell.
Overall we had no problem with all the Russian tourists in Nha Trang. The few that we ran into seemed friendly but there is of course a language barrier.
Da Nang on the other hand attracts a much more international crowd. Because it has become a bit more of a digital nomad hotpot.
So you will hear many different languages. I did prefer this atmosphere because you felt like less of an outsider when things were not catered towards Russian speakers.
This also means that if you are planning on staying in either town longer term then Da Nang is for sure the better option. You will be able to meet other digital nomads much easier.
Unless you are a Russian digital nomad, then Nha Trang may be a great place for you!
One major drawback for Da Nang is the poorly managed development of the city. There are many half finished hotels and messy sidewalks covered in construction material.
Whereas Nha Trang felt a lot more organized with less empty buildings and blocked sidewalks.
Conclusion: Da Nang 🏆 wins for atmosphere and community. More international crowd of ex-pats and digital nomads in Da Nang while Nah Trang is full of Russian holiday makers.
5) The Cafe Scene
As a coffee lover and digital nomad I am always on the lookout for great cafes while traveling.
In this competition between Da Nang and Nha Trang I think that Da Nang wins easy in terms of cafes.
Because of the influx of digital nomads to Da Nang I think that they have really stepped up their cafe game.
We visited a few while we were in Da Nang and all the cafes were great for working and had fantastic coffee.
There was a great range of different styles. With some large open industrial style cafes. While others were small neighbourhood cafes covered in very eclectics decorations.
It really reminded me of all the different styles of cafes in Hoi An. Which is no surprise because they are only 45 minutes drive away.
I just think that this region of Vietnam really knows how to do cafes well.
While in Nha Trang we found that there were much fewer nice cafes. Obviously there are less digital nomads so I think there is less motivation to open cafes.
The cafes we visited were ok but just were not up to the quality of the cafes in Da Nang.
Conclusion: Da Nang 🏆 is the easy winner for cafes. Much more variety and better for working online
6) Digital Nomad Life: A Clear Winner
If you have read the rest of the article you will be able to guess who the winner is in this category.
Da Nang has become a digital nomad hotspots and I can see why. It is cheap, on the beach, has fast wifi and is well connected to the rest of south east Asia.
Nha Trang arguably has all of these qualities as well except for quality cafes. But it just has not attracted as many digital nomads.
So the main thing that Nha Trang is lacking is a community of ex-pats and digital nomads.
This is crucial because as I mentioned earlier you do feel like a bit of an outsider in Nha Trang because everyone is speaking Russian.
In Da Nang there are multiple ex-pat and digital nomad Facebook groups that hosts events regularly. So it is much easier to make connections there.
Conclusion: Da Nang🏆 is the clear winner in terms of all the things a Digital Nomad needs like great cafes and a digital nomad community
7) Things To Do: Cultural Activities vs Lounging On The Beach
In terms of things to do I think that Da Nang easily wins this category.
There are a few things to visit within Da Nang such as the Lady Buddha statue, Marble Mountain and the Dragon Bridge.
Then Da Nang is just a 45 minute drive away from Hoi An and there are tonnes of things to do there. We spent a month in Hoi An and it is one of our favorite places in Vietnam.
If you want to travel further you can also visit the historic city of Hue.
It is a 2 hour drive away and I really enjoyed visiting the old fortress there. Hue is also the home of Bun Bo which is my favorite dish in Vietnam.
Basically Da Nang is a great hub to visit many attractions in the surrounding areas.
In Nha Trang your options are much more limited. It is an ok place to go scuba diving and island hopping. But it is not the best place in the world to do either.
Then apart from the beach the only other place of interest nearby is Dalat. But that is 4 hours away.
Nha Trang is truly a place to just relax at the beach. While Da Nang has many more interesting cultural attractions within a 2 hour drive.
Conclusion: Da Nang 🏆 is the clear winner for things to do. Many more interesting cultural destinations within driving distance
8) Accessibility and Airport Convenience
If you want to have a super relaxed arrival it is always nice if the airport is not too far from the city center.
Da Nang (The Winner): The airport (DAD) is right in the city center. You can be at your hotel within 10–15 minutes of leaving the terminal. There are also more international flights going into Da Nang.
Nha Trang: The airport (Cam Ranh, CXR) is about 35–45 minutes outside the city. If you have a long flight the bus into the city can feel like a drag. We caught the bus and it felt like a long drive after the flight.
Da Nang also has a train so you can travel from Da Nang to Hue if you would like to. It is a popular ride but our trip on the train was not the most relaxing.
Conclusions: Da Nang 🏆 is the best for accessibility. Airport is in the city center and you can leave the city by train to other destinations.
9) Da Nang Vs Nha Trang Weather
Weather is a rare section where Nha Trang will come out on top!
Over the course of the year Nha Trang has 400 more Hours of sunshine than Da Nang.
There is also a longer dry season in Nha Trang with Da Nang having a much more intense wet season.
If you visit Da Nang from September to December there is a chance of Typhoons and intense rainfall. While the wet season in Nha Trang from October to December is much less intense.
In December and January there is also very little sunshine in Da Nang and cooler temperatures.
We visited Da Nang in October and Nha Trang in November. So we picked the worst times of year weather wise!
I would not advise doing what we did because we did have rainy and stormy days. But we also had some sunshine too. So if you can only go in the rainy season you will still have the chance to see the sun.
Conclusion: Nha Trang 🏆 wins because it has longer periods of dry weather and a less intense wet season
Wrapping Up: Is Da Nang or Nha Trang The Beachtown In Vietnam For You?
As you can see from the article Da Nang won almost every category that I judged the two towns on. So it is clearly the winner.
In summing up I think the choice between Da Nang and Nha Trang can be simplified to the following.
If you want to stay at a beach long term or you can only pick one beach destination I would go with Da Nang. There is so much more to do around there and it is much better for long term traveller.
But if you are looking for a beach town to stop in at while traveling up the coast. Nha Trang is a great place for a pitstop. Its not as bad as some people make it out to be.
I just would not go out of my way to visit Nha Trang.
