What the town is
A fifteenth-century trading port that stopped trading when the river silted up, and so never got rebuilt. Japanese, Chinese and Vietnamese merchant architecture stands where it was left, now mostly full of shops.
How many nights
Two if you are looking. Three if you are having clothes made — a fitting and an alteration cannot be done in a day, whatever the shop tells you.
Getting the tailoring right
Bring a photograph of what you want and a garment that already fits. Expect one fitting the next morning and one alteration after that. Anything promised in six hours will show it.
When not to come
October and November are the flood months. The old town has taken water above waist height in bad years, and the shops move their stock upstairs and carry on.
What sits near it
- Da Nang airport is forty-five minutes away and is the practical way in and out.
- My Son, the Cham sanctuary, is an hour inland and makes a half-day.
- Hue is three hours north over the Hai Van Pass, which is worth driving rather than tunnelling.
Every route we run is private, so any of these can be added or dropped before we book anything.