In addition to the familiar Da Nang – Hoi An, you can refer to Thanh Thuy’s schedule with Ly Son island and the experience of a girl afraid of water in the sea.
Ngo Thanh Thuy, born in 1999, lives in Hanoi, currently works as a freelancer and manages a small project. This summer, she decided to go to Da Nang – Hoi An – Ly Son for a while to stop being afraid of water.
Thuy once drowned when she was a child. When going to university, swimming was a physical subject, while it took only 5 minutes for them to learn, Thuy took up to 2 days and still couldn’t master it. After a month, she was still afraid of water so she couldn’t swim and failed the subject. This time, she decided to spend a lot of time in the sea, even going to the island to train herself to be bolder.
Initially, Thuy was assigned to Da Nang – Hoi An, making a popular and simple journey like many tourists. However, when the train passed the Hai Van pass, Thuy was touched when she saw the majestic natural scenery and the beautiful blue sea. She decided to go to Ly Son island to feel the beauty more clearly, change the flight ticket from Da Nang – Hanoi to Quang Ngai – Hanoi, even though the road from Hoi An to Ly Son is far, it takes many journeys and takes more time. time, effort and money.
Below is Thanh Thuy’s detailed experience of discovering Da Nang – Hoi An – Ly Son in 6 days and 5 nights with VND 7.5 million.
Schedule
The trip takes place from June 23 to 29, right on the weekend but the places are not too crowded. “Even if it’s crowded, I accept it because I’ve decided to travel, so I’m ready to accept everything and the arising.”
She and her best friend took the train from Hanoi, departing at 15:45, arriving in Da Nang around 9 am the next morning. The first day in Da Nang, Thuy visited My An market right after checking-in the hotel, ate butter cream , can cake and drank squash tea. To avoid crowds, she did not choose to swim in My Khe but chose Man Thai beach. When the sunset began to appear, Thuy went to Linh Ung Pagoda to see the whole city. It is also the place where the majestic landscape makes her answer the question “What’s the point of making money? – It’s about finding freedom from moments of sight-seeing like this.”
On the second day , Thuy returned to Man Thai beach to practice SUP rowing. If yesterday she just splashed the water to get used to it, today she decided to paddle SUP to be more daring with the water. “Even though I was very scared, I agreed to go with my friend to paddle SUP. The feeling of floating in the sea on a tiny boat was really too scary, I kept asking my friend for help to sit still to reduce the feeling of precariousness.” Thuy recounted. However, once she got used to it, she began to enjoy that fear, which sounds contradictory but is true.
In the afternoon, she explores the Asian park in Da Nang to take pictures, then stops at Dong Dinh museum. This area has many monkeys, “who like thrills can come here to play with them”. Thuy noted that visitors should hold a cane for self-defense. There is a cafe with delicious tropical juices you can try. In the evening, Thuy went to Apec Park, and watched the Dragon Bridge and Da Nang light up.
On the third day , Thuy discovered My Khe beach, got up at 4:30 in time to watch the sunrise. After that, walk around the street and have breakfast to prepare for check-out, go to Hoi An by 4-seat taxi, price 220,000 VND. In the afternoon, she went for a walk in Hoi An, drank coffee at Reaching Out Tea House , whose staff are all deaf. This is also Thuy’s most impressive experience in Hoi An. In the evening, she walks to see the sea at Cua Dai, the edge is cold because the water is cold, the waves are big, and the sand is easy to sink.
On the morning of the 4th day , Thuy experienced basket boating at Bay Mau coconut forest . To reduce her fear of water, Thuy talked to the boatman, understanding more about the hardships and difficulties of the people here. “The karaoke on the river makes me forget my fear, a very memorable experience”. At noon, she went to Ba Le market, located in Cua Dai.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, Thuy moved to Ly Son. From Hoi An to Sa Ky port, she took a 4-seat car, 300,000 VND per person, then took a boat to the island with a ticket of 210,000 VND. Visitors should find out about the right time frame and buy in advance because tickets are easily sold out. On the afternoon of the 4th day, Thuy experienced the sunset at To Vo gate . “The sunset here is very beautiful, but I’m a bit sad because I see a lot of trash,” she commented. In the evening, drive around the island, eat pickled fruits, glide through garlic fields even though it’s “dark, can’t see anything”.
On the 5th day , Thuy was “frightened to death” but listening to friends cheering, she still decided to dive and see the corals on Be Island. At Ly Son, she felt connected to the scenery, because she liked the blue color of the sea, but only saw the jade-green sea, the desire to conquer the sea emerged from there, overwhelming her fear. They depart at 7:30 from Big Island, the diving fee is 120,000 VND per person, visit Hang beach, ride around the island.
The island is quite small, if you don’t mind the sun, you can walk or rent a tuk tuk car. Thuy went with two people, so she couldn’t match the group, rented a car like a three-seater with 2 seats, 60,000 VND to go around the island. If you like a place, you can ask the driver to stop to take pictures. “An indescribably beautiful word, but it’s very strange that there is also a lot of garbage here,” Thuy commented. “I don’t go to too many famous check-in places but like that feeling, rent a car and go around to see how people live,” Thuy said.
On the afternoon of the 5th and in the morning of the 6th , they returned to the mainland, Quang Ngai city, and rented motorbikes around the city before flying back to Hanoi. Some suggested experiences are walking along the river, and eating specialties. 6 days and 5 nights with Thuy is enough time. “There are many things I haven’t discovered yet, but that will be a reason for me to have the opportunity to return to those places.”
Costs and Notes
The total cost for the trip is about 7.5 million VND, of which travel costs account for the majority, about 4.5 million VND, airfare from Quang Ngai to Hanoi takes 1.9 million VND, train ticket from Quang Ngai to Hanoi takes 1.9 million VND. From Hanoi to Da Nang costs 1.2 million VND. The cost of the hotel is about 1.5 million VND.
Renting a motorbike to experience, Thuy noted that visitors should keep the helmet in the trunk because she lost it while watching the sunrise, leaving the car on the sidewalk. If you lose your hat, you have to pay 100,000 VND each.
The central sun makes your skin significantly darker, don’t let the cool sea breeze be fooled. When going out to eat, ask local people what places they often visit, it will be better than online reviews. Visit a local market instead of a tourist market to eat and drink, which is both delicious and cheap, and better understand the local culture and people.
Among the beaches, Thuy likes the sea in Ly Son the most due to its unspoiled nature. The best travel service in Hoi An, every shop she visits is dedicated and attentive. Her memorable experiences are still associated with a fear of water. She remembers jumping into the sea from the boat to see the corals, from the extreme fear that she couldn’t control her body to calm, balance, and blend with the water to admire the brilliant coral reefs. Thuy was taught by the boatman how to stand upright in the water.
“That’s when I really enjoyed the feeling of swimming for the first time in my life, being hugged by the water. I realized, the water and the sea are not as scary as I thought,” she said.