Da Nang's summer isn't only fireworks and beaches. At "Enjoy Danang Festival 2026," held July 22–26, Man Thai beach (Bãi biển Mân Thái) — about 15 minutes by car from the city center — invites travelers into the 5 a.m. fishing scene. Haul the beach seine with the fishermen, pick fish just brought in, and slurp a squid-noodle breakfast on the spot — it's a few days to touch the working Da Nang, apart from the glamour of a tourist beach. For those who want to enjoy coastal food and town walks all together,The latest guide to a Da Nang coastal escape built around central cuisine like five-color sticky ricebuild your itinerary together with that, and you can play from morning to night without a gap.
The 'dawn fish market' has become a tourism program
One of this year's highlights is "Welcoming the Dawn Fish Market," set in the Man Thai fishing village at the foot of the Son Tra Peninsula. It runs for three days, July 23 to 25. You head to the beach before sunrise, help haul in the nets the fishermen bring back from offshore, and sort the seafood the basket boats carry in right before your eyes. After the work, you sit down on the sand and have breakfast of the local specialty squid noodles (mì tôm mực).
Man Thai was originally a working fishing village where hundreds of fishermen head out in basket boats for the early-morning catch, and the waterside morning market is local daily life itself. The festival opens that daily life as a traveler-facing experience for just three days. Not fishing as a show, but a design where travelers mix into an actually working site — that's what's new this time.
The full picture of the five days themed “back to the origins”
The Man Thai morning market is part of a large event hosted by the city's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The theme is “Da Nang – Return to Origins,” with the motto “Feel – Enjoy – Discover.” According to Vietnam's English-language outlet VOV, more than 50 programs are planned during the period.
The opening ceremony takes place on the night of July 23 at East Sea Park (Công viên Biển Đông) in the An Hai area, staged to showcase Quang Nam's culture. The night beach offers EDM events and light shows, while daytime brings SUP, a beach marathon, and beach yoga. Placing flashy night events and quiet morning experiences like Man Thai in the same run reveals this year's Da Nang trying to broaden the range of its tourism.
Nail Down What's On, Where, and When by the Schedule
To help travelers plan, here are the main confirmed programs in date order.
| Program | Itinerary | Location |
|---|---|---|
| EDM beach space | July 22–26, 18:00–22:30 | My Khe Beach |
| A Quang regional food space | July 22–26 | Around the Eastern Marine Park |
| Opening ceremony | Night of July 23 | Eastern Marine Park (An Hai district) |
| Dawn fish market (Man Thai experience) | July 23–25, early morning | Man Thai beach (Son Tra) |
| The Feast of Light and the Night of Art Kites | July 24–26, 18:00–22:00 | The northern beach area |
If beach street-food itself is your goal, a separate event where vendors parade with carrying poles was covered inA record of Da Nang's beach food festival, where over 70 stalls gatheredis also a useful reference for getting a sense of the atmosphere on the day. If Man Thai's breakfast is "food of the working site," this is "festival food," different in character even within the same Da Nang.
What the on-the-ground design tells us
Public information and local reporting reveal the aim of this program.
- This price band of 129,000 to 199,000 dong (about 760 to 1,170 yen at 10,000 dong ≈ about 59 yen) is set for paid experience programs such as seafood grills and evening feasts with light shows; the participation fee for the early-morning fish market at Man Thai beach itself is not officially stated.
- The Man Thai morning-market experience is built as participatory—travelers join in hauling nets and sorting the catch rather than watching fishing be 'shown'—and flows right through to breakfast on the beach.
- The venues are spread across My Khe Beach, the Eastern Marine Park, and Man Thai, and by staggering the time slots widely—from EDM nights to fishing-village mornings—it's arranged so travelers on longer stays can move around throughout the day.
Three ways travelers come out ahead
Here we sort out, from a practical angle, whether to work these few days into your itinerary.
First,The “extra effort of rising early” directly determines the density of the experience. Da Nang tourism tends to cluster time around daytime beaches and nighttime fireworks and EDM, and many people take it easy at their lodging in the morning. But fishing happens around sunrise, and only in this window can you see a real scene that isn't staged for tourists. On the same beach, arriving at 9 a.m. versus 5 a.m. gives you an entirely different Da Nang.
Second,High value for moneythe point. The festival's experiences sit in a roughly 760–1,170-yen price range, covering everything from a seaside breakfast to an evening feast. Compared with paid fireworks seats or nightclubs, it's easy on the wallet, and even for families the per-head cost is easy to gauge. It's a price easy to work in for solo travelers who want to keep costs down and for families with children.
Third,The fit of a trip where you switch to the “making and catching” sideis that. Experiences where travelers step into the front line of primary industry—sorting fish themselves, hauling nets—are spreading little by little across Vietnam. Reviving wooden sailing junks in Ha Long BayA tour experiencing fishermen's life and fishing-village mealsIn the same vein as that, Man Thai's morning market also resonates with those seeking travel that steps beyond "tourism that only consumes." If you're after this kind of morning experience in Da Nang, July 23 to 25 is one of the few good chances.
Getting to Man Thai beach, and what to bring
For first-time visitors, here’s a summary of the location and practical information.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Man Thai beach (Son Tra district, along Hoang Sa Street, at the foot of the Son Tra Peninsula) |
| Distance from the center | About 8 km (15–20 minutes by car or motorbike) |
| Getting there, roughly | Cross Dragon Bridge and head north on Vo Nguyen Giap and Truong Sa streets |
| Experience schedule | July 23–25, 2026, early morning (around sunrise) |
| Estimated cost | The paid evening experience programs run 129,000 to 199,000 dong (about 760 to 1,170 yen). No official fee is stated for the early-morning fish-market experience itself |
| What's good to bring | Sandals you don’t mind getting wet, a change of clothes, a waterproof phone case, and some small cash |
The beach is a working fishing village, so the ground is wet with morning work. Footwear that stands up to seawater and sand, plus small bills for paying at stalls, make it easier to get around. A motorbike from the center is the most maneuverable, but since you'll ride in the dark early hours, those unaccustomed are safer using a ride-hailing app.
Summary: keep your mornings open in Da Nang this July
Enjoy Danang Festival 2026 runs July 22 to 26, and within it the Man Thai dawn fish market is limited to the early mornings of the 23rd to 25th. For travelers, the value lies not in paid-seat fireworks or club nights but in the time spent seeing the city from the side of daily life—heading to the beach before sunrise, hauling nets with the fishermen, and eating a breakfast of squid noodles made from that catch. To plan it, first take lodging toward Son Tra or around My Khe, and keep one morning of the 23rd to 25th free. Combine it with the evening EDM or the Feast of Light, and you can taste both Da Nang's calm and its energy in the same day. The latest schedule is updated on the organizers' tourism portal just before the event, so check it once before you travel, then head to the beach.
Sources
- Về Đà Nẵng tháng 7: Cùng ngư dân kéo lưới chợ cá bình minh, ăn mì tôm mực ngay trên bãi biển（Dân Việt）
- Enjoy Danang Festival 2026 – A “Return to Origins” Journey amid a Vibrant Summer（Danang Fantasticity）
- More than 50 highlight events planned for Enjoy Danang Festival 2026（VOV）
- Man Thai Beach: A Guide To The Hidden Gem In Da Nang City（Vinpearl）
