Danang is the Ugly big city sister of HoiAn and only a half hour drive north. This town is a huge construction area, and even though there are finished buildings, the city feels like a giant building site. Closed roads and construction work makes this a noisy place to stay. I stayed at the beach side and had buildings going up on three sides, starting at 07:00 until 20:00 most days. I am up early and started every day with morning exercise at the beautiful empty beach before walking 25 minutes to the city center to work at coffee shops and coworking spaces in town. The beach is just as beautiful as in HoiAn, but even though it is close to the city center, there are no people there. The ocean is colder here than in the warm Gulf of Thailand or the Indian ocean, but it was refreshing to end the exercise and start the day with a chilled dip in the morning.
Coffee, especially cappuccino is an important start of my workday. Danang certainly fulfilled my need for coffee. There are numerous great cafés to work from in the city center. Along the river boulevard between Han River Bridge and Dragon Bridge, you will find several super places for Digital Nomads and remote workers to work from.
My two favorites along the boulevard are “Waterfront” and “Namunamu.” They both have healthy juices, great food for breakfast and lunch, good Wi-Fi and power plugs to charge your mobile and computer at some of the tables. The view from the second floor is lovely from both places, but I found it was better to work from the ground floor where the light is better when you work on a PC.
If you are outside “Namunamu” facing Dragon bridge, take the first right and stop at “Den Da Coffee” on the right side. This coffee-shop is another favorite, with a great coffee selection, and cakes for your sweet tooth and afternoon work in an inspiring environment of bookshelves, a gallery, and a big tree from floor to ceiling, and fantastic light and interior. Unfortunately I just heard it was closet. I will leave it in here just in case someone desides to reopen this gem.
“Wonderlust” is another café with excellent Wi-Fi, amazing coffee, power plugs and good cakes. I went in because my wanderlust is huge, so I loved the name. The second floor was my afternoon working hideaway every time it rained. The chairs are ideal for working, and the atmosphere is quiet and calm. You can find it on the main street, one street up from the river boulevard between the two bridges.
If you follow the riverfront road north of the Han River bridge, you will get to the “Danang souvenirs and café.” This is an open spaces souvenirs shop and café with a garden. I found a table with power plugs on the second-floor gallery on a rainy morning and ended up spending the entire day there. Historic touch to the modern environment, excellent cappuccinos, and great light. Check out the pictures from ancient times displayed on the left as you leave.
Another café worth visiting is the Moon café. They have a bar painted with graffiti, fresh interior and is on the third floor over the busy main street crossing dragon bridge east to west. The view is facing the bridge, and they have healthy smoothies and coffee. I was on the terrace on the third-floor working when the lights came on the Dragon bridge, nice. Great place to work for a couple of hours.
There are two coworking spaces in Danang. “The Hub” Danang is on the main street between the two bridges. It is on the fifth floor, and they have good office chairs and proper tables and a great view over the city center. They have what you need in an office, including Wi-Fi and printer, instant coffee and water. Their price list is affordable, and they have aircon. A great place to work, and if you like yoga, there is a yoga studio one floor down.
The other Coworking space is called “D Nest.” It is on the same street as The Hub but just north of the Han River bridge. It was closed when I was there during their Tet holiday. All in all, Danang is a good place to get work done. The constructions will be your alarm bell, the beaches are made for running, and the coffee shop culture is like in Europe, but without the large international coffee- chains like Starbucks.
