Da Nang Airport Guide
Da Nang International Airport (DAD) is a small airport in Vietnam for travellers who explore the cities of Da Nang and Hoi An and the surrounding areas and islands. It is a small but modern airport as you would expect it for a beach destination.
Location
Da Nang International Airport is located about 15 minutes from Da Nang city centre. Hoi An is a 30 to 40 minute drive.
Arrivals
Arriving in Da Nang is speedy: Even though I had to do Visa on Arrival, it took me about 30 minutes to get out of the airport. Just on a side note: check the visa requirements carefully. Even if your passport is eligible for Visa on Arrival, you might have to go through an online pre-immigration process and bring the supplied letter by the government, the visa application form filled out by you and two pictures. Furthermore, stamp fees are in USD only! Please check the website of the Vietnamese government for information on your visa requirements at least a week in advance.
Taxis are outside, the taxi apps Uber and Grab also work in Vietnam.
Departure
As DAD is a very small airport, you cannot check in whenever you arrive at the airport. Check-in only opens three hours before departure for international, two hours before departure for domestic flights. There are two bigger coffee places in the check-in area.
Even though the queues seemed to be quite long for immigration and security check, I was done in about half an hour.
Inside the gate area, there are some duty free shops with spirits, cosmetics and luggage products. The gates are located along two wings.
There are almost no common seating areas. You have to buy something at the restaurants to be able to sit down or head to your gate. Plug points are also very limited.
When you enter the right wing, there is a Burger King at the end. On the left, there is a Crystal Jade outlet (Chinese food) and a Costa Coffee (where I ended up waiting for my flight).
There are some souvenir shops – in my opinion with overpriced and not so nice products. But if you are looking for a last minute souvenir, I recommend Viet Nam’s Delights. This shop sells artisanal coffee, chocolate and handicraft. There is one shop in each wing.
If you want to relax, there is a spa offering foot massages and manicures at the end of the left wing. A manicure or pedicure was USD 10 (it also said “nail polish 20 USD”, whatever that means; maybe if you want the manicure with nail polish it is USD 20?). A 45-minute foot massage was USD 20.
All information as of the date of publishing. Information based on the airport website and information available at the airport. We cannot accept responsibility for the correctness or completeness of the data, or for ensuring that it is up to date.