Da Nang Day Trips on Your Own: Real Costs in 2026

A metered taxi in Da Nang costs about $0.50-0.70 per kilometre, and that single number decides what a self-guided day out of the city really costs. Ba Na Hills adds a $39 ticket to a round-trip ride of $24-31 per car. Hoi An runs from $14 for two people on the public bus to $37 by Grab, entry ticket included. The Hai Van Pass by scooter starts at $3.50 a day, and gets expensive only if you ride without the right papers.

How Much Does a Taxi or Grab Cost in Da Nang?

Vinasun cabs (white and green) and Mai Linh cabs (green) run on the meter at roughly 12,000-18,000 dong per kilometre, so a 5 km ride costs $2.70-3.90. Grab is usually a little cheaper. When demand surges, the gap disappears and the meter can win.

The trouble starts outside the meter. Unlicensed drivers wait at the airport and near tourist sights, quote a price above what the meter would show, and sometimes copy the Mai Linh paint job. Switch the meter on before you sit down, or book through the Grab app, where the fare is fixed before you get in. Every figure below assumes one of those two ways of paying.

How Do You Get to Hoi An: Bus or Grab?

Hoi An is about 30 km from Da Nang. A car covers it in 30-45 minutes, and the public bus takes 60-90. Bus No. 1 costs $1.20 (30,000 dong), leaves every 20-30 minutes and runs from 05:30 to 17:50. A Grab from My Khe Beach to Hoi An costs $10-14 one way.

The Old Town charges for entry. One ticket at $4.70 (120,000 dong) comes with five coupons for sites, out of roughly twenty-two on offer. Cars and motorbikes stay out of the pedestrian core during the day, though sources disagree on the exact hours, so plan to park at the edge and walk in. For two people, the day costs $14 by bus and $31-37 by Grab. For other stops worth adding, see our list of the best day trips from Da Nang .

How Much Does Ba Na Hills Cost Without a Tour?

Ba Na Hills sits 25 km from the city centre. The road takes 45-60 minutes on a weekday and up to twice that on a holiday. A foreigner’s ticket costs $39 (1,000,000 dong) and covers the cable car both ways, the Golden Bridge, the French Village and the Fantasy Park. Friday, weekends and public holidays add about $2.

A Grab costs $12-16 each way, so a round trip runs $24-31 per car. The drive alone eats 1.5-2 hours of the day. Sources put the cable car hours at roughly 08:00-17:00, and every late hour on the road comes out of time you have already paid for at the top. Ticket types, queue times and season notes are in our Ba Na Hills 2026 ticket guide .

Can You Ride a Scooter over the Hai Van Pass?

The Hai Van Pass is a 21 km mountain road between Da Nang and Hue. Without stops, the ride from Da Nang takes about 45 minutes, and with photo stops it stretches to 2-3 hours. Motorbikes may not enter the 6.2 km tunnel and must take the pass, while cars and buses go through the tunnel in 10-15 minutes.

A scooter in Da Nang rents for $3.50-8 a day, with a separate deposit. Legally you need your national licence plus an International Driving Permit under the 1968 Vienna Convention, category A. Riding without a valid licence carries a fine of $78-157 (2-4 million dong) on a scooter up to 125 cc and $235-314 (6-8 million dong) on a bigger bike, and some sources quote higher figures. We cover the route to Hue itself in the Hai Van Pass comparison .

If your accommodation in Da Nang is already booked and you would rather not work out taxis, tickets and paperwork yourself, we run excursions from Da Nang for guests who already have a place to stay, in 3-day and 5-day formats for two or more people. Message us on Telegram with your dates and we will tell you what fits.

How Do the Three Trips Compare for Two People?

The table sets road time, entry tickets for two and round-trip transport next to each other. The cheapest row is Hoi An by bus and the most expensive is Ba Na Hills by Grab. Scooter fuel and the rental deposit are not included, so read the Hai Van row as a lower bound.

Which Trip Should You Pick?

Hoi An by bus is the cheapest outing when your day has no hard schedule. Ba Na Hills costs the most without your own car and depends on the road, so leave early enough to be at the cable car when it opens. A scooter makes sense only when your licence and permit are already in hand. Without them, hire a car for the pass and agree on the price before you get in.

Our tour programmes cover the routes that are too long to do solo. When you already have travel dates, send them in a chat message and we will reply with what is realistic in those days.

Methodology: Where These Numbers Come From

All figures were collected on 24 September 2026 from operator pages and travel guides covering Ba Na Hills tickets, bus No. 1, the Hoi An Old Town ticket and scooter rental in Da Nang. Each one was checked against at least two sources. Dong amounts are converted at 25,500 dong to $1, so the total on the day depends on the exchange rate. Travel times are weekday figures with margin, and on holidays the roads to Ba Na and Hoi An slow down.

Three items did not get a second source and stay out of the totals: parking prices in Hoi An, the gap between Grab and the meter on these exact routes, and the cost of a private car for a whole day. Sources also disagree on two points. Some sites list the Ba Na ticket at 950,000 dong instead of 1,000,000, and the fine for riding without a licence runs up to about $390 in some materials and stays under $157 for a scooter in others.

Frequently asked questions