Da Nang doesn't get enough credit for its drinking scene. The beach is long, the city is compact, and the gap between a 20,000 VND "bia hoi" and a 150,000 VND craft cocktail is smaller here than in Hanoi or Saigon — which means you can move between both in the same evening without it feeling like a stretch.
My Khe Beach: Where the Sun-Downers Happen
My Khe is a six-kilometre strip of sand that runs roughly parallel to Vo Nguyen Giap Street. Most of the beachfront bars sit right on that road or tucked just behind it, with plastic chairs dragged onto the sand as the sun drops.
The format here is consistent: cold beer, some cocktails, grilled seafood if you want it, and a sound system that starts politely and gets louder by 9pm. Prices are honest. A Saigon (사이공 / 西贡 / サイゴン) Beer runs 25,000–35,000 VND, and mixed drinks land around 80,000–120,000 VND depending on how close you are to a hotel.
Waterfront Bar (near the intersection of Vo Nguyen Giap and Nguyen Dinh Chieu) is the spot the expat crowd gravitates toward on weeknights. Nothing fancy — wooden tables, fairy lights, a decent rum selection. It fills up after 7pm and stays manageable until around 10.
My Khe Beach Club, further north toward the Pham Van Dong stretch, caters more to domestic tourists and weekend crowds. Go for the setting — sunbeds, direct beach access — rather than the cocktail list, which is workmanlike at best.
If you're just after a cold drink with sand between your toes, walk north past the main hotel cluster. The family-run spots with handwritten menus and blue plastic stools serve the same Huda and 333 beer for 20,000 VND and nobody rushes you.
Non Nuoc: Quieter, Softer, Better Sunsets
Non Nuoc beach sits about 8 km south of My Khe, past the Marble Mountains. The vibe is noticeably calmer — fewer party bars, more resort-adjacent lounges. If you're staying down this way or visiting the Marble Mountains during the day, it's worth timing your visit to end with a drink here.
The beach bars along Non Nuoc are attached to mid-range resorts and open to walk-ins. Expect cocktails in the 100,000–160,000 VND range. The mai tais are reliable; the wine list is not. Stick to spirits or local beer and you won't be disappointed.
The crowd skews international here — Korean and Chinese tour groups in the early evening, longer-stay expats and couples later on. It's not a scene, it's a wind-down.
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Downtown Da Nang: Actual Cocktail Bars
The city proper — particularly the grid around Bach Dang riverside and the streets behind it — has developed a small but genuine cocktail culture over the last few years.
Sky36 at the Novotel on Tran Phu is the most visible option: a rooftop bar on the 36th floor with unobstructed views of the Han River and Da Nang (다낭 / 岘港 / ダナン) Bay. The cocktails are competent, the prices are high by local standards (130,000–200,000 VND), and the dress code is enforced at the door. Worth one visit for the view. Not where the expats go twice.
For something more grounded, the strip along Bach Dang facing the river has a row of bars that get busy on weekends. Waterfront Restaurant & Bar here (different from the My Khe spot of a similar name) has a full spirits menu, live acoustic sets Thursday through Saturday, and a mixed crowd of locals, expats, and travellers. The gin and tonic is well-made; the happy hour runs 5–7pm daily with drinks at roughly 60,000–80,000 VND.
Lune Pub on Vo Van Kiet, a five-minute walk from the river, is where the younger expat and English-teaching crowd tends to end up after dinner. It's a proper dive — cheap beer, darts, sports on the screens, no pretension. A Larue costs 25,000 VND. It's not a cocktail bar, but it belongs on any honest list of where people actually drink in this city.
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Where the Expats Drink
Da Nang has a mid-sized expat population — mostly English teachers, remote workers, and retirees who ended up here for the cost of living and the beach. They don't all drink in the same places, but a few patterns hold.
Weeknight drinks tend to happen on Bach Dang or around the An Thuong neighborhood (sometimes called the expat quarter), a grid of streets about 500m back from My Khe beach. An Thuong has a dense cluster of restaurants and bars — some aimed squarely at foreigners, some genuinely mixed. Nola Bar on An Thuong 4 does decent craft cocktails and has the kind of low-key regulars crowd that's easy to fall into conversation with.
For "bia hoi (비아호이 / 鲜啤 / ビアホイ)" — the draft beer served by the glass at streetside stalls — look along the smaller streets perpendicular to Nguyen Chi Thanh. You're paying 10,000–15,000 VND per glass and sitting on a stool half a foot off the ground. It's the cheapest social drinking in Vietnam and it works.
Practical Notes
Grab or Be (ride-hail apps) are the sensible way to move between the beach and downtown after a few drinks — fares rarely exceed 40,000–60,000 VND for most of the routes above. Most beach bars close by midnight; the city bars push to 1–2am on weekends. Da Nang is not a late-night city, and that's not necessarily a complaint.
Last updated · May 26, 2026 · independently researched, never sponsored.
