Da Nang International Airport (DAD): The Easy One

Da Nang International (DAD) is the easy airport of Vietnam. It sits 2 km west of the city centre — you can see the runway from the beach hotels. The transfer to your hotel will likely take longer to walk to the car than to drive. It is also the most useful entry point for the central coast, with Hoi An 45 minutes south and Hue 1.5 hours north.

Terminals

• Terminal 1 (T1) — domestic flights. Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo, Vietjet, Pacific.
• Terminal 2 (T2) — international flights. Opened 2017, modern, well laid out.

They share the same building footprint and are a 3-minute walk apart inside the concourse. Cross-terminal connections are easy.

Getting into Da Nang

Mode	Cost	Time	Notes
Grab / Xanh SM car	70k–110k VND	10–15 min	The easy default. Pickup zone outside arrivals.
Grab Bike	30k–50k VND	10 min	Fine for solo traveller, small bag.
Taxi from the rank (Mai Linh, Vinasun, Tien Sa)	100k–150k VND	10–15 min	Metered, honest.
Hotel transfer	200k–400k VND	10–15 min	Pre-booked, sign at arrivals.

There's no useful public bus from the airport into central Da Nang — distances are too short to bother. The Bus 1 route nominally serves the airport but the schedule is unreliable.

Getting to Hoi An

Hoi An is 30 km south. Three sensible ways:

Mode	Cost	Time
Grab / Xanh SM car	380k–500k VND	40–55 min
Pre-booked private transfer	400k–600k VND	40–55 min
Hoi An Express shuttle (shared van)	150k VND per person	60–70 min

Don't book a "taxi to Hoi An" at the airport counter — they'll quote 800k. Grab is half that.

Getting to Hue

Hue is 100 km north over the Hai Van Pass. Options:

• Private car — 1.4–2m VND, 1.5–2 hours direct (tunnel) or 3 hours via the pass with stops.
• Train from Da Nang station (10 min from airport) — 100,000–200,000 VND in soft seat, 2.5–3 hours, far more scenic.
• Shared bus (Hue Tourist, Camel) — 200k–300k VND, 3 hours.

The train wins on price and scenery; the car wins on convenience if you have luggage and want door-to-door.

Lounges

T2 has a single decent lounge (the CIP Lounge) accepting Priority Pass and LoungeKey. T1 domestic has a basic Bamboo lounge. Neither is a reason to arrive early.

Wifi, SIM, ATMs

Free airport wifi works fine. SIM kiosks are visible in T2 arrivals — Viettel and Vinaphone — but the prices are roughly double the in-town rate. If you can wait, walk into any Viettel shop in town; see SIM cards and mobile data. Bank ATMs (Vietcombank, BIDV, Agribank) are on arrivals level, accepting foreign cards reliably.

Food

The T2 food court has Highlands Coffee, Pho 24, and a couple of bahn mi outlets. Adequate. Better food is 10 minutes away in town.

Why this airport is the centre-trip hub

A growing number of travellers skip Hanoi and Saigon entirely and fly straight into Da Nang for a Hoi An–Hue–central coast trip. With direct international flights from Bangkok, Singapore, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur and a few European charters in winter, it's increasingly the obvious entry point. The combination of short transfer times, modern terminal, and proximity to three of the country's best destinations makes it the gentlest first impression Vietnam has on offer. See the Da Nang region guide for what to do once you've landed.