Da Nang to Hoi An in 2026: Grab, Bus, Airport and the Return Trip

Da Nang to Hoi An is about 30 kilometers, and a car covers it in 35 to 60 minutes. A Grab is the easy answer, the public bus costs 35,000 dong, and a scooter lets you stop at the Marble Mountains. Here’s how to get from Da Nang to Hoi An in 2026, what it costs and how to come back, plus the old town drop-off, the 2025 merger and the autumn floods.

Da Nang to Hoi An: your options compared

Prices are one way, in Vietnamese dong, from booking sites and local guides in 2026. They disagree, so read each as a range.

How to get from Da Nang to Hoi An by Grab, taxi or private car

The coastal road runs past My Khe Beach and the Marble Mountains. Grab is the simplest way: most guides put a GrabCar between 200,000 and 350,000 dong, and two quote up to 500,000. We couldn’t find a fixed fare from Grab or Xanh SM for this route, so trust the app, where prices climb in rain and at peak hours. Our Grab in Vietnam guide covers the 4% foreign-card fee and how Xanh SM compares.

A metered taxi costs more, about 300,000 to 550,000 dong. One local guide lists Mai Linh at 10,000 dong to start and 14,000 a kilometer, around 430,000 for 30 km. Mai Linh, Vinasun and Tien Sa are the names we’d use. Check the meter is running.

A booked private car has a fixed price: about 270,000 to 500,000 dong for a four-seater and 320,000 to 600,000 for a seven-seater, with the driver waiting in arrivals. Ask whether that covers waiting time and extra stops.

Da Nang airport to Hoi An

Da Nang International Airport is 3 to 5 km from the city center and roughly 30 km from Hoi An. T1 handles domestic flights and T2 international ones, so tell Grab which terminal you’re in. Grab pickups are in Lane 1 and Lane 2 at international arrivals; match the plate before you get in. Licensed taxi stands are outside the arrivals hall. We found no airport bus to Hoi An, and the LK02 doesn’t call at the airport.

Da Nang to Hoi An bus: the LK02 line

The public bus is the cheapest option, and it’s newer than most guides say. FUTA Bus Lines, the Phuong Trang company, started the LK02 on 30 April 2024 as an unsubsidized line. Older guides describe a yellow Bus No. 1 for 20,000 to 30,000 dong. We couldn’t confirm that it still runs, so we’d plan on the LK02.

Two catches. The Da Nang end is at Viet Han University, south of the center, so you need a short Grab to reach the stop. And a route-tracking site lists the LK02 as not in service, while Hoi An guides updated in September 2026 still describe it. We couldn’t confirm the 2026 timetable with FUTA, so check on the day, carry small notes (our Vietnam currency guide explains them) and keep Grab as the fallback.

Shared vans sit between the bus and a taxi. In early October 2026 Baolau listed G8 Open Tour at 140,000 dong for about an hour, picking up in Son Tra and dropping on Ton Duc Thang street. 12Go shows about 15 departures a day, and one guide quotes a hotel-to-hotel shuttle at 150,000 dong and 90 minutes. Check the drop-off before you pay.

By scooter, with a stop at the Marble Mountains

A scooter is the most fun way and the riskiest. Rentals run 120,000 to 200,000 dong a day, usually against an ID or a deposit of 1 to 3 million dong; don’t leave your passport. You need your home motorcycle license plus a 1968-convention International Driving Permit. US and Canadian permits are usually the older 1949 type, which Vietnam doesn’t recognize, and Vietcetera reported in June 2026 that insurers can reject claims without a valid local license.

The usual route follows Vo Van Kiet to the sea, then Vo Nguyen Giap past the Marble Mountains, about 45 minutes without stops. The mountains are roughly 8 km from the city center; allow two to three hours.

If you’re not riding, do the Marble Mountains by private car and agree the waiting time and price first.

Hoi An to Da Nang: the return trip

Hoi An to Da Nang is the same list in reverse. The LK02 leaves Hoi An from about 5 am, and the last buses go at about 6 pm, while vans and Grab run later. Taxis based in Hoi An cost more than Grab: one local price list puts the trip to Da Nang or the airport at 400,000 to 600,000 dong. Cars can’t enter the pedestrian streets, so set the pickup at your hotel door or the edge of the zone.

For a flight, we’d leave Hoi An at least four hours before an international departure, because the road can close briefly at peak flood water.

Hoi An has no railway station. The nearest is Da Nang Station, about 30 km and 45 to 60 minutes away, with no direct bus. A taxi costs about 300,000 to 400,000 dong. Our Vietnam train guide covers the trains to Hue, the Hai Van Pass and the overnight run to Hanoi.

Where you get dropped off in Hoi An, and the old town ticket

Hoi An’s old town is a pedestrian zone, so the last stretch is usually on foot. Motorbikes are kept out of the pedestrian streets from 9 to 11 am and from 3 pm to about 9:30 pm, according to a September 2026 local guide that cites the city’s culture and sports center.

The old town ticket costs 120,000 dong for foreign adults and 80,000 for Vietnamese, unchanged since entry fees resumed on 15 May 2023. It’s a booklet of coupons for heritage sites, usually counted as five of about 22, including the Japanese Covered Bridge; VOV reported three to six. Booths sell it for cash from about 7 am to 9:30 pm in summer. Local guides say staff check it at the heritage buildings, not at the edge of town, though the 2023 rules say every visitor should buy one. We’d buy it and dress with care: our what to wear in Vietnam guide has the dress code for heritage sites.

Hoi An is now part of Da Nang: what the 2025 merger changed

Hoi An used to belong to Quang Nam province, so the road from Da Nang crossed a provincial line. It doesn’t any more. The National Assembly passed Resolution 202/2025/QH15 on 12 June 2025, merging Quang Nam into Da Nang, and the new city’s government started work on 1 July 2025. It covers 11,859.59 square kilometers and about 3.07 million people. Hoi An became wards, with the old town in Hoi An ward.

We found no change to the road, the LK02 or the ticket price. What changed is the labels: older maps and booking pages say Hoi An City, Quang Nam, and newer ones say Hoi An ward, Da Nang.

Flood season: October to December

Hoi An floods most years. The Thu Bon River swells in October and November, with September opening the risk window and December tapering off, according to Hoi An Local, and a typical year brings a day or two of knee-to-waist water near the river.

2025 was far worse. On 30 October the Thu Bon at Hoi An reached 5.62 meters, 14 centimeters above the 1964 mark, according to VnExpress, and ABC reported about 40,000 tourists moved to other hotels. Roads between the two cities can close briefly at peak water, so a 45-minute transfer isn’t 45 minutes that week. Check the forecast about five days out, book refundable rooms and leave a spare day before any flight or train.

Going on to Japan? See shrine etiquette in Japan and eating while walking in Japan.

Looking for the rest? Every Vietnam guide we’ve published is sorted by topic in our Vietnam travel guide.

Starting from the north? Our Hanoi to Da Nang and Hoi An guide compares the flight, the overnight train and the sleeper bus that end here, and covers the trip back to Hanoi.

Data checked: 2026-10-06