Da Nang is a city you can find the nature resting so close to the residential area, traffic flowing not too heavy, plus the air quality is considered the best among big cities in Viet Nam. Thus, the choices for running routes are ranging from city view, beachside to more challenging mountain trail routes.
Health-conscious locals and visitors love to get their hearts pumping with the following running paths:
The 29/3 Park Lake loop
At over 20ha, 29/3 Park (29 March is the Da Nang Independent Day), is the largest park in Da Nang and is the green jewel of the Da Nang city. It's also the oldest park in the city, restructured from an old landfill in 1975 after the city was liberated. Visitors can park their motorbike in the parking lot on Dien Bien Phu street.
The Park has one of the most pleasant inner-city runs in Da Nang - the Lake loop, which is an easy, dog-friendly trail that offers good shade and several offshoot paths to push-up bars and other outdoor fitness facilities. One interesting thing about the Park is that it is more to the local residential side of the city, so you will see most visitors are local people, exercising all kinds of morning dance, yoga, dog walking, tai chi...
Small downside: The loop might not big enough for experienced runners.
The beachside route
An early morning 5k run along the beach followed by a dip in the cool saltwater sounds like a perfect way to start your day in Da Nang?
You can start anywhere along the beach, but for easier estimation, from The NAVIS for a fun 5k run, the starting point is at My Khe beach (opposite Muong Thanh Hotel), the 2.5k route ends at the Bien Dong sea Park (where you will see many white statues) then you head back to the starting point. You can barefoot run on the sand which is soft, but generally firm enough for running, especially near the water. I often run on the cement sidewalk paralleling the main road.
For a longer run, just keep running toward the north of the city, on Hoang Sa street, connecting to the next route I will mention below - the Son Tra route, or from My Khe run towards the south of the city (head to Hoi An ancient town), however, the beach view will be hidden behind hotels and golf course on the way.
Time to start: Early morning (5 am) to enjoy the sunrise sparkling on the turquoise waters of the sea; afternoon (around 4 pm - when it's not too hot and traffic is not too heavy). The route will be quite dark after 6 pm.
Small downside: the sidewalk is wide enough but quite frequently disturbed by changing in road transitions from pavement to road cement to pavement decorations...
The Son Tra hilly route
This route is absolutely my favorite one! You can park your motorbike at Man Thai Beach, the route starts with Hoang Sa Street. the beach view here is not totally the same with My An area, you will instead see a quiet fishing village, local fishermen come back to land at sunrise and sell seafood right on the street.
The 3km flat route leads to the mountain foot when the route will get slightly steeper. The Monkey pass has a spectacular view, verdant path, bird singing along the running route, and if you are lucky enough, you can see a joyful monkey family jumping from branch to branch. Things will be more challenging after you reach the Linh Ung pagoda featuring a 67m tall Lady Buddha. I often head back to the starting point here to complete my approx.12k run and in time for breakfast.
The Han river bridges loop
This is a simple route that takes in the Han River and showcases Da Nang’s modern and colorful bridges along the way, including the fancy Dragon Bridge that offers the famous fire-water light show every Sat-Sun at 9 pm and the Han River Bridge can be rotated 90 degrees at 11 pm to liberate the space on both sides of the bridge. You can either run on the walkway on both sides of the river (the west side path is 5 km and the east side is 3 km) or start out by Tran Thi Ly Bridge and loop back and forth on the other bridges. By the end of this run, you’ll feel like you know the Han River like the back of your hand!