Five days adds two things to the four-day version: My Son Sanctuary (06:00–18:00, 100,000₫ for Vietnamese visitors, 150,000₫ for foreign visitors) and a rest day. Put My Son on day 4 and keep day 5 nearly empty — five days of 07:00 starts is how trips fall apart.
- My Son hours
- 06:00–18:00Da Nang City Tourism Portal
- My Son tickets
- 100,000₫ / 150,000₫Vietnamese / foreign visitors
- Days that start at 07:00
- TwoBa Na and My Son — not three
Why five days is different
Four days in Da Nang is a well-paced holiday. Five days is the first length where the trip stops being about coverage: you can add My Son, and you can leave one day almost empty without feeling you wasted it. Both of those changes are worth more than a fifth attraction.
The failure mode at five days is doing five days of early starts. Ba Na and My Son both want 07:00 departures — Ba Na because cloud builds, My Son because the site is 40 km inland and the light and the heat both turn by mid-morning. Two early starts in five days is a plan; four is a forced march.
The five days
swipe →
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Land, drop bags | My Khe from 16:30 | Han Market, Dragon Bridge |
| 2 | Leave 07:00 for Ba Na | Ba Na until 15:30 | Quiet dinner |
| 3 | Marble Mountains 07:30 | Hoi An from 15:00 | Old town after dark |
| 4 | My Son at 06:30 | Back by 13:00, pool or sea | Museums are closed by now |
| 5 | Nothing scheduled | Museum or beach, your call | Last dinner on the river |
Day 4 is the one that needs care. My Son opens at 06:00, the site is exposed, and by 10:00 the tour buses arrive from Hoi An. Leaving at 06:30 gets you there before them and back in Da Nang by early afternoon, which is the difference between a good day and a long one.
My Son, and why the early start
My Son is a cluster of Cham temple towers in a valley inland from Hoi An, and it is the third UNESCO site within day-trip range of Da Nang after Hoi An and Hue. It opens at 06:00 and closes at 18:00; tickets are 100,000₫ for Vietnamese visitors and 150,000₫ for foreign visitors, bought at the entrance.
There is no shade to speak of and no indoor option, which is why this is the stop to move if the weather turns. It is also the one place on a five-day trip where an organised tour does something a taxi does not: the guides explain what you are looking at, and the site is a set of ruins rather than a restored town.
The rest day, planned on purpose
A rest day is not an empty day. Give it a shape: a late breakfast, one thing within walking distance, and an afternoon that involves sitting down. On a five-day trip the natural candidates are the Cham Museum (07:30–17:00, 60,000₫), the beach, or an hour indoors out of the heat that has nothing to do with sightseeing.
Day 5 is also the day to fix anything the weather ruined. If Ba Na was clouded out on day 2 and you took the three-day ticket upgrade at the counter — the one that requires FaceID registration before your first ride — this is when you go back up. That single decision is the reason the upgrade exists.
What to drop if a day disappears
- Drop the Marble Mountains first: two hours, 40,000₫, and the easiest thing to do on a return trip.
- Keep Hoi An and Ba Na. They are the two things people come for, and both are hard to recreate elsewhere in the region.
- Never move My Son to the same day as Ba Na. Both need 07:00 and they leave in opposite directions.
Eating, and where the fifth day goes
Five days is long enough to stop eating at the first place you see. The pattern that works: seafood on the beach side, one long lunch on the river, and one dinner you book. Da Nang's local dishes are cheap and served early — a bowl of mi quang or a plate of banh xeo is a lunch, not a dinner, and most kitchens are winding down by 21:00.
The fifth day suits this better than any attraction. Walk to breakfast, eat somewhere you have not tried, and keep the afternoon open. If you want a fixed point in the day, the Cham Museum opens at 07:30 and closes at 17:00 and costs 60,000₫ — an hour and a half indoors, then lunch.
A rest hour near the end of the day
LENA Nails & Beauty (our salon)
By late afternoon on a wet day your shoes are finished and the museums are closing. LENA is an indoor stop with fixed prices and no weather risk, and all three branches are a short Grab ride from My Khe and An Thuong.
The Deluxe Foot Spa is 300,000₫ (about 12 USD): shaping, cuticle work, heel scrub, dead skin removal, a hot towel and a cream massage, with no soak. The VIP 4-in-1 at 400,000₫ (about 16 USD) adds the soak in a single-use liner, a salt scrub, mud mask and lotion, with five scents. Staff speak English and Vietnamese; open 8:30–20:30.
- 89 Pham Tu, Son Tra
- 211/88 Nguyen Van Thoai, An Hai
- 34 An Thuong 3, An Thuong
- Open daily 8:30–20:30
Prices from the salon's menu of 1 November 2026. USD figures use 25,000₫ = 1 USD.
Questions people ask
Is five days too long for Da Nang?
Not if you use the fifth day to slow down. Five days of attractions is too long; five days with a rest day and My Son is about right for a first visit.
Should I add Hue instead of My Son?
Hue is a full day with a long drive each way — the Hai Van Pass is the scenic part, and it costs you the rest day. My Son is the shorter commitment and fits a morning.
Do I need a tour for My Son?
Not to get there — a Grab or a hired car works. A guide helps because the site is ruins with little signage, and the early tour groups arrive around 10:00.
What is the one thing people regret on a five-day trip?
Starting every day at 07:00. Two early starts are enough; the rest of the trip is better with breakfast at nine.
Sources and check dates
- Da Nang City Tourism Portal — 2026 admission prices and opening hours for museums, the Marble Mountains, Hoi An and My Son, checked 2 November 2026
- Da Nang City Tourism Portal — Dragon Bridge fire and water schedule, checked 2 November 2026
- Drive distances and times measured on OSRM (OpenStreetMap routing), 2 November 2026