9 Best Sights in The Central Coast, Vietnam

The locals' favorite beach, An Bang is one of the few remaining public beaches on the long Hoi An–Danang coastline. Locals flock here for sunrise swimming and sunset family picnics, leaving this lovely stretch of beach almost deserted during the day. The beach offers stunning views of the neighboring Marble Mountains, Danang Bay, and Cham Island. A row of palm-thatched restaurants borders the clean, sandy beach, offering free use of beach loungers and umbrellas if you buy food or drinks. Competition is fierce and staff can be pushy. Development has been slow but steady, with only a few homestays and holiday cottages, but plans for large resorts at both ends of the beach are set to change this over the next few years. Amenities: food and drink; showers. Best for: swimming; sunsets; families; surfing; walking.

Bac My An is a small, gently sloping, white sandy stretch of beach located 7 km (4½ miles) east of Danang, just south of My Khe. Thanks to its pristine natural landscapes and clear water, Bac My An is a certified crowd-pleaser. Several luxury resorts have sprouted on the beach over the years. Water sports like canoeing, windsurfing, or diving are often complimentary experiences at the resorts. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: walking; swimming; solitude; sunrise.

Ten minutes from the Old Town is Hoi An's main public beach, where clear water and warm surf beckon tourists and locals alike. This 3-km (2-mile) stretch of white, powdery sand makes for a perfect place to bask under the sunshine. Though the area has been developed and resorts have been built along the shores, there are still a few quieter stretches.

The public beach area to the north has retained much of its sand and the beach is clean. It's the perfect spot to escape the sweltering humidity of Old Town during the hottest months. Walking beach vendors can be a problem, heckling people to buy fresh fruit and crafts, but most are easily rebuffed with a firm "no, thank you." Food shacks sell fresh fish, squid, and shellfish, and offer amenities. Bikes can be rented for about 20,000d per day; Jet Skis start at 1,200,000d for half an hour. Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); toilets; showers; water sports. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

If Cua Dai Beach is crowded, walk or bike 3 km (2 miles) north to An Bang beach.

This 30-km (18½-mile) stretch starts at My Khe beach, which runs from the foot of the Hai Van Pass to the north, and ends at Non Nuoc beach near the Marble Mountains to the south. In the middle, south of the Furama Resort, lies Bac My An, the R&R resort spot for U.S. soldiers during the war. Five-star resorts now line the pristine and quiet sandy stretches south of My Khe, leaving only a handful of beaches accessible to the public.

There are a lot of water sports you can try, and some of the region's freshest seafood to devour at the small restaurants that line the beach road. It's best to come between April and August, when the water is placid. Waves can be very large at other times—in fact, the first international surfing competition in Vietnam was held here, in December 1993. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; parking. Best for: swimming; surfing; walking.

A little way outside of Hoi An, this peaceful beach, located midway between the award-winning Nam Hai and Le Belhamy resorts, is the best place to head to escape the hawkers and crowds that frequent the more famous Cua Dai Beach. With just a few incredibly good seafood restaurants and a couple of loungers and umbrellas, this regularly cleaned, gently shelving beach offers great swimming conditions, a chilled-out atmosphere, and plenty of space for children to run around safely. Amenities: showers; toilets; food and drink; parking (free). Best for: swimming; walking; solitude; sunset.

A convenient stopover on the trip from Hue to Danang, Lang Co is an idyllic hamlet on a peninsula jutting out into the East Sea. Lang Co Beach is a good place to have lunch and spend the day, and for the true sun worshipper, it's absolutely worth considering if you plan a couple of nights of beach indulgence at the Banyan Tree or its budget friendly little sister, Angsana, which is about 20km away from Lang Co Township. Take the turn off Highway 1 at the sign for the Lang Co Beach Resort; this will lead you to the long, sandy beach. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: sunsets; walks; swimming.

Part of the 30 km (18½ miles) of Danang's coastline is the city's most popular beach, My Khe Beach. After the arrival of American soldiers in 1965, it became popular with GIs who came here over their holidays. Sandwiched between Monkey Mountain and the nearby Marble Mountains, My Khe Beach is home to several international resorts, including the Pullman, A La Carte, and Furama resort. It has fine white sand and warm water, and is surprisingly clean and isolated on weekdays. Beachfront vendors sell coastal specialties like shrimp, crab, and fish. There are palapa umbrellas and restrooms, and it's one of the few beaches with lifeguards on duty year-round. Rip currents and waves mean this is not a swimmer-friendly beach. Amenities: food and drink; toilets; lifeguards; water sports. Best for: surfing; walking, sunbathing.

Just 14 km (9 miles) from either Danang or Hoi An lies Non Nuoc beach, a stunning stretch of white sandy beach overlooking the Son Tra Peninsula to the north and the stately Marble Mountains to the west. Once a popular fishing beach, the area has now become the private playground of some of the finest beach resorts in the area, leaving the surrounding pockets of beach land fenced off for future development. You can see why it's such a sought-after area (it even has international golf courses)—the deserted white sand beaches seem to go on forever and the sea is clean and perfect for swimming during the long dry season that runs from April to September. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: solitude; sunrise; sunset; surfing; swimming; walking.

For now, Thuan An Beach, which lies out on a peninsula 14 km (8 miles) from central Hue, has only one beach resort, leaving an unspoiled, long, sandy stretch of coconut- and casuarina-tree-lined beach all but empty. In the summer months the tranquil turquoise sea and gentle breeze make for the most idyllic break from the city, while in winter it makes for wildly romantic walks, with scatterings of family temples, fishing villages, and Vietnam's largest lagoon to explore. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: walking; swimming; sunset.