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Practicalities
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Da Nang's
airport
is 3km southwest of the city and served by taxis ($5) and Honda om ($1-2). The
train station
lies 2km west of town at 122 Hai Phong. Long-distance
buses
arrive 1km further out at Lien Tinh bus station, 33 Dien Bien Phu. To get into town take a cyclo or a xe om (less than $1). Most hotels and tour agents offer
bicycle
rental ($1),
car
rental ($20-30) and self-drive
motorbikes
($5-7).
For tours and information , contact Danatours at 95 Hung Vuong (tel 0511/823993), Danang Tourist, at 92a Phan Chu Trinh (tel 0511/821423) or Vietnamtourism at 274 Phan Chu Trinh (tel 0511/822990). More reliable is the branch of Hanoi's Buffalo Tours at 103a Trung Nu Vuong (tel 0511/872909). Exchange facilities are available at Vietcombank, 104 Le Loi, including credit-card transactions and travellers' cheques. The main post office is at 60 Bach Dang, but cross the Le Duan junction to find poste restante (6.30am-9.30pm) at no. 62. Vietnam Airlines is at 35 Tran Phu (tel 0511/821130), the immigration police are at 78 Le Loi, and the city hospital is at Benh Vien C, 76 Hai Phong, opposite the Cao Dai Temple (tel 0511/821118). You can get tourist visas for Laos at the Lao Consulate, 12 Tran Quy Cap (tel 0511/821208; Mon-Fri 8-11.30am & 2-4.30pm), in two days for $50 . Internet access is expensive in Da Nang; try the Bamboo CafAŠ at 5 Bach Dang (1000d per min). Da Nang has plenty of hotels , but you'll still find better value and choice in Hoi An. The best of the cheapies is probably Thuan An (tel 0511/820527; under $5), at 14 Bach Dang, which has en-suite though rather dark rooms on the riverfront. The Tien Thinh, 310 Hoang Dieu (tel 0511/834566; $10-20), is a good-value mini-hotel with twenty clean rooms offering satellite TV, private bathroom and IDD telephone as standard. Transport and ticketing can be arranged via the reception. Thanh Thanh (tel 0511/830684; $5-15), 50 Phan Chu Trinh, has reasonable rates for the city centre. Rooms are clean while the bathrooms are run-down but adequate. The Bamboo Green (tel 0511/822996; $25-80), 158 Phan Chu Trinh, caters mainly for tour groups and businessmen, but does have some cheaper rooms.
Fruitful hunting grounds for local
restaurants
and foodstalls are along Ly Tu Trong, the southern end of Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, and streets around the
Phuong Dong Hotel
crossroads.
Ngoc Anh,
at 30 Tran Phu, serves generous portions of seafood dishes in a charming garden setting.
Phi Lu,
225 Nguyen Chi Thanh, is a Chinese eatery popular with locals; try and get there around 8pm. The street kitchen at 42 Phan Dinh Phung is actually set in a garden and has excellent food at cheap prices, while the
Kem Tu Do
at 20 Quang Trung is the place for ice creams. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Viet Nam,
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