Renting guides
Da Nang or Hoi An: Where Should You Live?
Rent, floods, beaches, schools and hospitals, compared for anyone choosing between the city and the old town.
Bài viết này hiện chỉ có bản tiếng Anh. Menu và phần điều hướng đã chuyển sang tiếng Việt. Alice nói tiếng Việt và tiếng Anh, nhắn tin cho cô nếu bạn cần giải thích bằng tiếng Việt.
Key takeaways
- Hoi An has been part of Da Nang city since the 1 July 2025 merger. The old town is about 35 to 40 minutes by motorbike from My An.
- Houses cost less in Hoi An. 2026 guides put a two bedroom house with a garden at $475 to $630 a month. In my listings on 19 October 2026, a two or three bedroom house in Da Nang had a median rent of $1,830.
- Apartments are a Da Nang product. Hoi An has few modern apartment buildings. A one bedroom apartment in my listings had a median rent of $688.
- Hoi An floods harder. In late October 2025 the water in Hoi An reached 3.4 metres, level with the 1964 record, and the old town flooded again in November.
- The beaches near Hoi An are eroding. About 3.5 km of Hoi An's coast had eroded by late 2025, including An Bang and Cua Dai. My Khe in Da Nang is inside the city.
Should you live in Da Nang or Hoi An?
Choose Hoi An if you want a house with a garden, a small town and quiet evenings, and you can live with floods in the rainy season. Choose Da Nang if you want an apartment, a wide beach, international schools and hospitals close by, and an airport twenty minutes away.
I rent homes in Da Nang, and many of the families I work with spend a weekend in Hoi An before they decide. Most pick Da Nang for daily life and keep Hoi An for evenings out. The table shows why.
| Da Nang | Hoi An | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Apartment life, schools, work, frequent flyers | Houses with gardens, small-town life, cycling |
| Typical home | Apartment in a tower, or a villa in Ngu Hanh Son | House, often in rice fields or a village lane |
| Two bedroom house | $1,830 median for two or three bedrooms | $475 to $630 with a garden |
| One bedroom apartment | $688 median | $275 to $435, few buildings to choose from |
| Flooding | A few storm floods, mostly October and November | River floods in the old town most rainy seasons |
| Beach | My Khe, wide and inside the city | An Bang and Cua Dai, both eroding |
| Airport | About 20 minutes from most areas | About 45 minutes by car |
Hoi An is cheaper for a house. Da Nang is easier for a life.
How far is Hoi An from Da Nang?
Close enough to visit any evening. Hoi An's old town is about 35 to 40 minutes by motorbike from My An, and about 25 minutes from southern Ngu Hanh Son. Da Nang airport is about 45 minutes from Hoi An by car.
Since the 1 July 2025 merger of Da Nang and Quang Nam, Hoi An is a set of wards inside Da Nang city. Your lease, your police registration and your visa extension go through the same city offices either way. Our guide to where to live in Da Nang explains the new ward names you will see on a contract.
Is rent cheaper in Hoi An?
Yes for houses, and by a wide margin. A 2026 Vietnam Tourism guide puts a two bedroom house with a garden in Hoi An at 12,000,000 to 16,000,000 dong a month, about $475 to $630. In my listings on 19 October 2026, a two or three bedroom house in Da Nang had a median rent of $1,830 across 10 homes, from $950.
| Home | Da Nang | Hoi An |
|---|---|---|
| One bedroom apartment | $688 median, from $380 (30 homes) | $275 to $435 |
| Two bedroom apartment | $1,385 median, from $760 (34 homes) | $435 to $710 |
| Two or three bedroom house | $1,830 median, from $950 (10 homes) | $475 to $630 for two bedrooms with a garden |
| Villa or large house | $3,605 median in Ngu Hanh Son, from $1,740 (14 homes) | About $1,150 to $1,540 for a modern house with a garden or pool |
The two Hoi An guides do not agree on the low end. Good Morning Hoi An, written by a long-term resident, says decent housing under 15,000,000 dong a month, about $580, is becoming hard to find, and that a comfortable home costs 15,000,000 to 25,000,000 dong. Budget on that higher range if you want a modern kitchen, good air conditioning and a reliable landlord.
Da Nang costs more for the same space because much of what foreigners rent here is in towers with pools, gyms, lifts and security, and the villas sit near the beach in Ngu Hanh Son.
What kind of home can you rent in each?
In Hoi An you rent a house. The town has few modern apartment buildings, and most long-term rentals are two or three bedroom houses in Cam Chau, Cam Thanh and the lanes between the old town and An Bang beach. Many come with a garden and bicycles, and some with a pool.
In Da Nang you choose. My An and the My Khe beachfront are mostly apartments, Hai Chau has the riverside towers, Son Tra has the cheapest standalone houses, and southern Ngu Hanh Son has most of the villas and houses with gardens. A house in Hoi An gives you more space for the money. An apartment in Da Nang gives you a building manager, a pool you do not maintain and someone at the desk when a parcel arrives.
Does Hoi An flood more than Da Nang?
Yes. The old town sits on the Thu Bon and Hoai rivers, and it floods in most rainy seasons when heavy rain meets water released from dams upstream. In late October 2025, record rain flooded more than 75,000 households across Da Nang, and the water in Hoi An reached 3.4 metres, level with the 1964 record. The old town flooded again in November 2025.
If you rent in Hoi An, avoid An Hoi, Cam Nam island and the streets along the Thu Bon, which take the water first. Ask the landlord how high the water reached in October 2025 and check the walls for a tide mark. For Da Nang, our area guide covers which areas flood.
Ask every Hoi An landlord one question: how high did the water come in October 2025?
Which has the better beach?
Da Nang, today. My Khe runs for kilometres along the east side of the city, with a wide strip of sand inside the city. Hoi An's beaches are smaller and eroding. By late 2025, storms and high tides had eaten into about 3.5 km of coast in the Hoi An Dong and Hoi An Tay wards, with the sea pushing 7 to 10 metres inland in places. An Bang, Cua Dai and Tan Thanh were all hit, and November waves broke temporary sea walls at Cua Dai.
A coastal protection project funded by the French Development Agency was due to finish in 2026. If a beach house near Hoi An is the reason you are moving, see it after the rainy season, not from last year's photos.
Which is better for schools and hospitals?
Da Nang, for both. Da Nang has five international schools, with fees from about $6,500 to $25,500 a year. Hoi An has Hoi An International School, which follows a British curriculum and lists fees of about $8,465 to $20,079 a year for 2025 to 2026, plus a few smaller schools. Families in Hoi An with children at a Da Nang school face a school run of about 40 minutes or more each way.
For hospitals, expats in Hoi An drive to Da Nang for anything serious. Vinmec Da Nang International Hospital and the city's private clinics have English-speaking doctors. Hoi An's public hospital handles everyday care, but it is often crowded and few staff speak English. Our guide to living in Da Nang with kids covers the schools and children's doctors in detail.
How different is daily life?
Hoi An is a small town that fills with visitors every evening. The old town is lovely before 9 in the morning and busy from late afternoon, and foreigners pay 120,000 dong for the ticket that covers its heritage houses. Outside the centre, life slows to bicycles, rice fields and early nights.
Da Nang is a city of about 3 million people. You get supermarkets, gyms, coworking spaces, international restaurants and a nightlife that runs past midnight, and you get traffic with them. Remote workers tend to find Da Nang easier: our coworking guide lists the spaces and their monthly prices.
Can you have Da Nang and Hoi An?
Yes, in southern Ngu Hanh Son. The coast south of the Marble Mountains, through Hoa Hai and FPT City, is about 25 minutes from Hoi An and 20 minutes from the centre of Da Nang. Most of my villas and houses with gardens are there, and so is Singapore International School.
In my listings on 19 October 2026, a one bedroom apartment in Ngu Hanh Son had a median rent of $722 across 14 homes, from $380, and a two bedroom $1,080 across 10. You keep Da Nang's beach, hospitals and airport, and Hoi An becomes your Friday night.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hoi An cheaper than Da Nang?
Yes for houses. 2026 guides put a two bedroom house with a garden in Hoi An at about $475 to $630 a month. In Alice Rentals listings on 19 October 2026, a two or three bedroom house in Da Nang had a median rent of $1,830. Hoi An has few modern apartment buildings, so apartments are mostly a Da Nang choice.
Is Hoi An part of Da Nang?
Yes. Da Nang city merged with Quang Nam province on 1 July 2025, and Hoi An is now a set of wards inside Da Nang. Leases, police registration and visa extensions go through the same city offices.
How far is Hoi An from Da Nang?
Hoi An's old town is about 35 to 40 minutes by motorbike from My An, about 25 minutes from southern Ngu Hanh Son, and about 45 minutes by car from Da Nang airport.
Does Hoi An flood?
Yes. The old town floods in most rainy seasons, when heavy rain meets water released from dams on the Thu Bon River. In late October 2025 the water in Hoi An reached 3.4 metres, level with the 1964 record, and the old town flooded again in November. An Hoi, Cam Nam island and the riverside streets flood first.
Is there an international school in Hoi An?
Yes. Hoi An International School follows a British curriculum and lists fees of about $8,465 to $20,079 a year for 2025 to 2026. Da Nang has five international schools, with fees from about $6,500 to $25,500 a year.
Is Hoi An or Da Nang better for families?
Da Nang suits most families: it has more international schools, English-speaking hospitals, apartments with pools and security, and a wide beach. Hoi An suits families who want a house with a garden at a lower rent and can manage the flood season and a longer school run.
Zalo