Three days covers Ba Na Hills, Hoi An and one beach morning if Ba Na takes day 2 and Hoi An takes day 3. Do not put both on the same day: Ba Na alone is 07:00 to mid-afternoon, and Hoi An is 32 km in the other direction.
- Full days needed
- TwoBa Na and Hoi An each want one
- Ba Na hours
- 08:00–22:00Sun World, checked 2 Nov 2026
- Hoi An entry
- 80,000₫ / 120,000₫Depends how many houses you enter
The shape of three days
Three days is the first length where Da Nang stops feeling like a transfer. You get one mountain, one old town and one morning that belongs to nobody, and the order matters more than the content: Ba Na first, while you still have energy for a 07:00 start, and Hoi An last, because it is the only one that is better after dark.
swipe →
| Day | Morning | Afternoon | Evening |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Land, drop bags | My Khe from 16:30 | Han Market, Dragon Bridge 21:00 |
| 2 | Leave 07:00 for Ba Na | Ba Na until 15:30 | Quiet dinner near An Thuong |
| 3 | Marble Mountains 07:30 | Hoi An from 15:00 | Old town after dark |
Day 1 — land and settle
Nothing here needs a booking except dinner. The airport is 6 km from An Thuong, ten minutes; the beach road is where you should be by 16:30. If you land in the morning, add the Cham Museum (07:30–17:00, 60,000₫) instead of sitting in a cafe waiting for check-in.
Keep the evening loose. The Dragon Bridge show runs at 21:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and on major holidays — two minutes of fire and three of water — so if your arrival night is a Tuesday, do not walk there expecting anything.
Day 2 — Ba Na Hills
Leave at 07:00. The base station is 31.8 km away, about 29 minutes, and the first cable cars are the least crowded of the day. The adult ticket for a visitor from outside Da Nang is 1,000,000₫; children from 100 cm to 140 cm and visitors aged 70 and over pay 800,000₫; children under 100 cm enter at no charge.
If you are 18 to 25, check the FIRST 18-25 rate before paying: from 1 September to 31 December 2026 the cable car is 500,000₫ for anyone born between 2001 and 2008, with a national ID, passport or VNeID at the gate. Ask at the counter whether it can be combined with the three-day upgrade — as far as the published terms go, they are separate offers.
Day 3 — the Marble Mountains, then Hoi An
Start early: the Marble Mountains are 9.7 km from the centre, 14 minutes, and open 07:00–17:00. Thuy Son costs 40,000₫, the Am Phu cave 20,000₫, and the lift is 15,000₫ one way or 30,000₫ return. Two hours is enough if you take the lift; three if you climb.
Then go back, shower, and leave for Hoi An at 15:00. The old town is 32.2 km south — about 30 minutes with clear roads, closer to an hour in rain. The ticket is bought at the gate and covers a set number of houses: 80,000₫ for the basic version, 120,000₫ for the wider one.
If a flight is late, cut in this order
- Cut the Marble Mountains first. They are the easiest thing to do on a return trip.
- Keep Hoi An. It is the only evening on the itinerary that cannot be recreated elsewhere.
- Never cut Ba Na to day 3 if your flight leaves on day 4: the mountain needs a full morning and a buffer, and cloud does not care about your schedule.
Where to stay, and why it changes day 2
Stay on the beach side — An Thuong or My Khe — and day 1 ends with a swim instead of a taxi. The cost is that the river, the museums and the bridge are a 10-minute ride away. Stay on the river side and the trade reverses: you can walk to the Cham Museum and the Dragon Bridge, but the beach becomes a trip.
For three days the beach side wins, because two of your three mornings start early and the road to Ba Na and the road to Hoi An both leave faster from the south and west of the centre. The one exception is a trip built around food and the river at night.
Wherever you stay, confirm two things when you book: that the room has air conditioning that actually runs at night, and that the hotel will hold bags after check-out. Both matter more than the view on a three-day trip that starts at 07:00 twice.
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 three days enough for Da Nang and Hoi An?
Yes, with one big outing per day. Three days fits Ba Na, Hoi An and one beach morning; it does not fit My Son or Hue as well without cutting something.
Should I stay in Hoi An for one night?
Only if your flight home leaves from Da Nang in the late afternoon. Moving hotels for one night costs you a morning, and the drive back is 32 km.
Is Ba Na worth it if I only have three days?
If the forecast is clear, yes — it is the one thing in the area you cannot see anywhere else. If it is not, spend the 1,000,000₫ on a dry day elsewhere and keep Hoi An.
Can I do Ba Na and Hoi An in one day?
No. Ba Na takes 07:00 to mid-afternoon and Hoi An is 32 km south. You would arrive at dusk with no time to walk the old town before the houses close.
Sources and check dates
- Da Nang City Tourism Portal — 2026 admission prices and opening hours, 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
- Sun World Ba Na Hills — opening hours and the one-ticket, three-day policy, checked 2 November 2026