Vietnam offers some exceptionally good beaches of romantic, picture postcard quality with clean white sand and warm, pleasant water that is great for swimming. This guide will inform you all about the best Da Nang beaches you can access.

China Beach

Just 10km from the city of Da Nang is China Beach, located near a former US army base where American soldiers fighting in the Vietnam conflict would enjoy their R & R. There are two splendid restaurants: Sandy Beach Resort and Hoa's Place, where rooms are available from US$5 and the beer is cheap and cold. Backpackers often comment that Hoa's is easily the best accommodation in all of central Vietnam. Near China Beach is the impressive Marble Mountain, which makes a great half-day guided tour.

Han Nam Beach

Perhaps the most chilled out of Da Nang Beaches, this stretch of lovely sand is located conveniently close to the coast road. If solitary relaxation is your thing, then this is the place to be: you can often get 3 or 4km of beach all to yourself. The Nam Hai Resort is the standout place to stay here, with rooms ranging from the very cheap and basic to deluxe villas that cost $300 per night.

An Bahn Beach

Be prepared to travel a little further and enjoy the busier and more happening beach of An Bahn. Eat delicious Vietnamese food at the bamboo restaurants, such as Tuyet and La Plage, and check out the authenticity of a genuine traditional Vietnamese fishing village nearby. At Tuyet Resort you can use deck chairs for free and drink beer in the sun all day long. La Plage also plays movies, and has yoga and fundraising events, so you'll never get bored here. In the morning you can watch the locals enjoying a pre-work swim. In the late afternoon when the sun is going down, you can participate in a game of volleyball.

Cua Dai Beach

Another of the great Da Nang beaches; you'll need to travel 25km or so from the city centre to enjoy this one, but it's really worth the trip. This is the beach for watersports, with perfect waves and conditions for body boarding, windsurfing and just plain old surfing. Surfboards and body boards can be rented at Palm Garden Beach Resort, which also serves delicious local food such as Pho soup, the national dish.