Vietnam has two cities that work as a base for a golf holiday, and they could hardly be less alike. Da Nang is a beach resort city on the central coast with its courses close at hand. Hanoi is the capital, ringed by a larger number of courses that sit further out. Picking the wrong one for the trip in mind will not ruin a holiday, but it can add hours in a car every day. The decision rests on drive times, season and what happens once the round is over.
Da Nang: the beach resort base
Da Nang suits travellers who want golf to be one part of a beach holiday instead of the whole of it. Eight championship courses lie within reach of the city, and most are 20 to 45 minutes from a central hotel. An early tee time still leaves the afternoon free for the pool or the sand.
That short drive is what makes the city easy for families and mixed groups. Anyone who does not play has a long city beach and resort facilities on the doorstep, and the lantern-lit old town of Hoi An is about 40 minutes to the south. The airport is around 15 minutes from the beach hotels, so little of the first and last day disappears into transfers.
Most of the golf here is coastal, including links-style layouts on sandy ground where the sea wind does much of the defending. Visitors who would sooner have tee times, transfers and a hotel arranged in one booking can look at Da Nang golf packages from Go Golf Vietnam, a local operator based in the city.
Hanoi: the city base
Hanoi offers more golf and asks for more time on the road. Around twelve courses are realistically usable on a trip, set among lakes and valleys in a wide arc around the capital. The nearest is about 20 minutes from the centre; the furthest takes roughly an hour and a half.
Because the courses circle the city, the order in which they are played matters. A carelessly routed week sends golfers out in opposite directions on back-to-back mornings and piles up the hours in traffic. Grouping the distant courses on neighbouring days keeps that in check, which is how well-planned Hanoi golf itineraries tend to be put together.
The reward is the city itself. The Old Quarter, the Temple of Literature, the water puppet theatre and a serious food scene fill the hours away from the course, and Ha Long Bay is near enough to add as an overnight trip at the end.
Da Nang vs Hanoi at a glance
| Da Nang | Hanoi | |
| Courses in reach | 8 championship courses, most 20–45 minutes away | About 12 courses, from 20 to 90 minutes away |
| Style of stay | Beach resorts and seafront hotels | City hotels, plus a few resorts on the courses |
| Best months | February to May, staying dry into August | February to April and September to November |
| Months to think twice | September to November, the wettest stretch | December and January, cold with morning fog |
| Suits | First visits, families, beach-and-golf holidays | Repeat visitors, city lovers, golf-heavy trips |
The seasons are close to opposites. Autumn is the wettest time of year on the central coast and one of the most comfortable in the north, so fixed dates in October usually point to Hanoi, while spring works for either city.
Which area to book your hotel in
In Da Nang the choice is simple. The beachfront is the default: near the airport, lined with resorts and a short drive from most courses. Hoi An is the alternative for travellers who prefer evenings in a small historic town to evenings in a city, accepting that Da Nang itself is then about 40 minutes away.
In Hanoi, the Old Quarter and the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake are the usual pick. No single neighbourhood is close to every course, and the centre is the most even starting point for all of them, with restaurants and sights within walking distance each evening.
West Lake is quieter and greener and lies on the airport side of town. That helps for rounds at the courses in that direction and means crossing the city for the rest. A resort on a golf course is worth considering mainly when the same distant course is played two days running; a companion who does not play will find little to do there beyond the pool.
How many nights to plan for
Three or four nights is enough for a first visit to either base and allows three rounds without hurry. Da Nang stretches comfortably to a week, with golf on most days and the beach in between. Hanoi is at its best over five or six days, which leaves room for a day in the city.
The two can also be combined. Direct flights between them take a little over an hour, and a holiday of ten days to two weeks divides neatly into four or five nights in each. With fewer than ten days, one region is the better plan: the domestic flight and a second hotel check-in take time that a short trip cannot spare.
Neither city is the better golf destination in absolute terms. Da Nang is the easier holiday, and Hanoi the fuller one for travellers prepared to plan their mornings. The calendar and the company usually settle it.