Son Tra Night Market Da Nang: Hours, Food & Dragon Bridge Plan

Son Tra Night Market is most useful when your evening is already built around Dragon Bridge and the Han River. The important update is location: Da Nang Tourism now lists the market on Vo Van Kiet, An Hai, under the Dragon Bridge area, with a reference operating window of 17:00–23:00. Older guides and listings can still point to the former Mai Hac De–Ly Nam De site, so use the current Vo Van Kiet location when navigating.

Where is Son Tra Night Market now?

The current tourism guidance places the market on Vo Van Kiet, An Hai, below the Dragon Bridge area. That matters because many older travel pages still show the former market around Mai Hac De and Ly Nam De. The old site stopped operating from July 2024 while the market was reorganised. If a map pin, blog or review sends you to the old intersection, check the current Son Tra Night Market listing before leaving your hotel.

Current tourism reference	Vo Van Kiet, An Hai, below Dragon Bridge
Reference hours	17:00–23:00
Best reason to choose it	Food and a short market walk before or after a Dragon Bridge / Han River evening
Time we would allow	About 60–90 minutes for the market; longer when staying for the bridge show
Entry	No separate market entry ticket is normally needed

For comparing Son Tra with Han, Con, Bac My An and other markets, use our Da Nang markets guide.

When should you go?

Da Nang Tourism currently gives 17:00–23:00 as the reference window and suggests roughly 19:00–21:00 for the liveliest atmosphere. We would choose the time based on whether the Dragon Bridge show is part of the plan.

On a normal weekday

If the market is the main purpose, arriving in the early evening gives you more room to browse and eat without a 21:00 deadline. This is the easier version for families, older travellers or anyone who does not want to deal with the bridge-show crowd.

Friday, Saturday or Sunday

The regular Dragon Bridge fire-and-water show begins at 21:00 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. If you want both, we would normally reach the market around 19:00–20:00, eat first, then move toward the bridge before the crowd becomes dense. Da Nang also runs the show on some major public holidays, so check the city schedule for special dates. For viewing positions and the actual fire/water sequence, use the separate Dragon Bridge guide rather than making this market page duplicate it.

How much time do you need?

For most travellers, Son Tra Night Market does not need to become the whole evening.

45–60 minutes	Quick food stop or browse before another riverfront plan
60–90 minutes	Comfortable market visit with food and some shopping
About 2 hours	Market plus enough buffer to move toward Dragon Bridge before the 21:00 show

The practical mistake is arriving too late, ordering a full seafood meal at 20:45 and then trying to secure a bridge-show position at the same time.

What should you expect for food?

Street food and seafood are major reasons people stop here. The exact vendors can change, so we would not plan around a fixed stall list from an old review. You may see Central Vietnamese dishes such as mi Quang, banh xeo and banh trang cuon thit heo, together with grilled seafood, snacks, fruit drinks and desserts. Treat these as examples rather than a guaranteed menu.

For seafood, confirm the pricing unit first

Before agreeing to a seafood order, confirm the item, quantity, unit used for pricing and expected total. This matters more than memorising a price from someone else’s visit because seafood size, portion and stall pricing vary. Da Nang authorities were still carrying out checks around Son Tra Night Market in 2026 covering price display, food origin, food handling and sanitation. That is useful context, but it is not a reason to stop checking the individual stall yourself. Look for displayed prices, watch how raw and cooked food are separated and prefer food cooked to order.

Vegetarian and Jain travellers

A vegetable-looking dish can still contain fish sauce, shrimp paste, meat stock or lard. Jain travellers also need to confirm onion and garlic. For strict dietary requirements, choose dishes where ingredients are easy to explain and verify rather than relying only on the word “vegetarian”. If food restrictions affect the whole trip rather than this one evening, use our Indian and vegetarian food planning guide for Da Nang.

Is Son Tra Night Market good for shopping?

You can browse clothing, accessories, small handicrafts and souvenirs, but we would treat shopping as a secondary benefit. If you have a specific gift list or need to think about packing products back to India, use the Da Nang souvenirs guide instead. Ask the price before buying when it is not clearly displayed. Carry Vietnamese dong as a fallback because vendor payment methods can vary.

Who is this market a good fit for?

Son Tra is strongest when the location solves part of the evening.

First-time visitors	Good when you want one straightforward night-market stop plus Dragon Bridge
Couples / small groups	Easy to combine with the riverfront and Love Bridge
Families	Arrive earlier if children are uncomfortable with dense crowds
Older travellers	Keep the market portion compact and avoid relying on a pickup point inside the densest show-night crowd
Travellers wanting a working daytime market	Choose Han, Con or Bac My An instead

Son Tra Night Market or Helio B.Fair?

Choose by the anchor of the evening rather than by which market sounds bigger.

Decision	Son Tra Night Market	Helio – B.Fair
Choose when	Dragon Bridge / Han River is already in the plan	The venue itself is the evening plan
Main strength	Food + short browse + riverfront landmark in one cluster	Food + shopping + art/entertainment in one contained complex
Typical visit	About 60–90 minutes, longer with the bridge show	About 90–120 minutes
Main trade-off	Crowded around bridge-show time	Less connected to the riverfront sightseeing cluster

If the bridge is not part of your plan and your group wants a more contained food-and-entertainment evening, compare the current Helio B.Fair guide.

How should you get there and leave?

Grab or a metered taxi is usually the simplest option from a hotel. On Friday-to-Sunday show nights, traffic builds around the eastern end of Dragon Bridge and the riverfront. After the show, we would avoid expecting a car to reach the densest pedestrian area immediately. A short walk to a clearer pickup point can be easier than waiting inside the crowd. Rain also changes the value of this stop quickly because the market and riverfront plan are largely outdoors. If the weather is poor, shorten the market visit rather than forcing a long outdoor evening just because it was on the original list.

Two evening plans that work

Weekend: market + Dragon Bridge

Arrive around 19:00–20:00, make one pass through the market, eat, then move toward the bridge before 21:00. After the show, either return for dessert or leave the riverfront. There is little value in adding another distant night market afterwards.

Weekday: market + riverfront

Use the market for dinner, then walk toward Love Bridge and the Han River. Without the 21:00 show deadline, this version works better for travellers who prefer a looser evening.

When does Son Tra fit into a Da Nang itinerary?

Use it when the day’s route already ends near the beach side, Dragon Bridge or the Han River. Do not force the market into an evening that already has a distant dinner, another night market or a late return from a full-day excursion. If Dragon Bridge timing is important to your trip, compare the wider route in our Da Nang tour and itinerary guide. Tell us your travel date, group size and dietary requirements so the riverfront evening can be planned as a timing constraint rather than added at the last minute.

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Common mistakes to avoid

• Following the old Mai Hac De–Ly Nam De address without checking: current Da Nang Tourism guidance points to Vo Van Kiet in An Hai, below Dragon Bridge.
• Making Son Tra a separate cross-city shopping trip: its main advantage is the Dragon Bridge / riverfront location.
• Ordering seafood before confirming the pricing unit: ask whether the price is per item, plate, portion or weight.
• Arriving too close to 21:00 on a show night: dinner and bridge viewing compete for the same time.
• Assuming vegetarian means Jain-friendly: sauces, stocks, onion and garlic need separate confirmation.
• Planning around one vendor or performance from an old review: stall mix and entertainment can change.

Is Son Tra Night Market worth it?

Yes, when it already fits your riverfront evening. The reason to choose Son Tra is not that it is automatically Da Nang’s “best” night market; it is that food, a short browse and Dragon Bridge can fit into one compact route. The planning facts to keep are simple: use the current Vo Van Kiet / An Hai location, treat 17:00–23:00 as the current tourism reference window, and leave enough time before the 21:00 Friday-to-Sunday Dragon Bridge show if that is part of your evening.