Da Nang SIM Card and Hoi An Internet: Airport, Shops, and Coverage

You land in Da Nang, walk out to meet your driver, and only then remember you have no data. That is a real problem here, because the airport says its SIM counters sit only in the restricted arrivals area. A Da Nang SIM card is easy to buy, but you have to do it before you leave baggage claim. For most US travelers, an eSIM set up at home is simpler. A plastic SIM makes sense if your phone has a tray and you want a Vietnamese number.

In short:

• Da Nang Airport has seven SIM counters at international Terminal 2, all near baggage claim. Once you walk out, your next chance is a shop in town.
• Phone shops in Da Nang and Hoi An open between 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. Many stay open until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. Bring your passport.
• On nPerf maps, user tests show 5G from all three networks in central Da Nang, on My Khe Beach, and in Hoi An Old Town. The gaps are on Hai Van Pass, on the way up Ban Co Peak, and at My Son.
• A week of maps and rides fits in 3 GB. Add daily video calls and take 5 GB.

Vietnam eSIM from $4.50Install at home, connect when you land.See plans

SIM cards at Da Nang Airport

International flights use Terminal 2. Domestic flights use Terminal 1, so you will land there if you connect through Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City.

The airport lists seven SIM counters at Terminal 2, on the ground floor in the restricted arrivals area, near baggage claim. Its page warns that this is the only place in the terminal to find them. Terminal 1 follows the same pattern: SIM cards and pocket Wi-Fi are sold in its restricted arrivals area only.

So make the choice while you wait for your bag. Counter hours are not posted, so if you land late, do not count on an open counter. The earliest shops in the table below open at 7:00 a.m.

Two more things to know before you line up:

• Your phone may not take a plastic SIM. Many newer iPhones sold in the US are eSIM only, with no tray. Your phone must also be unlocked. Check your phone here.
• Bring your original passport. Since April 15, 2026, Circular 08/2026/TT-BKHCN has required each new number to be confirmed with data that includes a face scan, and a foreigner's details are checked against the national entry and exit records. Expect a photo at the counter.

Where to buy a SIM card in Da Nang and Hoi An

These shops come from the store finders on each operator's website. MobiFone was checked on October 30, 2026. Viettel and Vinaphone were checked on September 30, 2026. Hoi An now sits under Da Nang City in these lists, so look there.

If no days are shown, the shop lists daily hours. Shops do move. A central MobiFone shop that was listed a month ago is gone from the current list, so open the store finder before you ride across town.

Ask staff to set up the SIM while you wait. Then turn off Wi-Fi and load a map before you leave the shop.

Where the signal is strong and weak

This table comes from nPerf, a site that maps speed tests run by ordinary users over the past two years. These are other people's tests, not ours. "No data" does not mean no network. It means nobody has tested there. We read the maps on September 30, 2026, using about a 500-foot circle around each spot.

In town, on My Khe Beach, and in Hoi An, the three networks look close to equal. Outside town, the best network changes with the place.

Ba Na Hills. Along the four cable car lines, Viettel has user tests at 95% to 100% of points, all 4G or better and mostly 5G. Vinaphone has tests at only 33% to 60% of points, and the middle of the lines is blank. MobiFone shows 4G and 4G+.

Son Tra Peninsula. The pagoda has good signal from all three. On the road up to Ban Co Peak there are few tests: Viettel has 7 points of 34 and MobiFone has none. Download the map before you ride up.

My Son. Viettel has tests almost all the way from Hoi An, 24 miles, and they show 4G or better. The last mile and the temple grounds are blank.

Viettel's own 4G map, dated March 30, 2026, shows all of these places inside its coverage. That map is coarse, at more than a mile per pixel, so it can't separate a peak from the valley next to it.

Signal on the road

Da Nang to Hoi An. The trip is about 19 miles. On both the coast road and the inland road through Highway 1, Viettel shows 5G at almost every point we read. MobiFone is nearly all 5G along the coast. Vinaphone mixes 4G and 5G on both routes.

Da Nang to Ba Na. This is about 16 miles. Viettel and MobiFone show 4G or better the whole way. Vinaphone has about half a mile of no signal before the climb.

Hai Van Pass. This is the hard one. Across 14 miles from the Da Nang side to Lang Co Bridge, each network has a weak stretch:

• Viettel shows no signal at 7 of 11 points near the summit, and about 2 miles of the descent have no tests.
• MobiFone shows 4G at the top and slower 3G on part of the way down.
• Vinaphone holds 4G or better at all 88 points, with 5G at the top.

Before you ride the pass or head to My Son, download an offline map on hotel Wi-Fi. Take a screenshot of your hotel address too. GPS keeps working without data, so your dot will still move on a saved map.

How much data for a week

We use careful numbers: 1 GB covers about 5 hours of maps and rides, or about 1.5 hours of video calls. Plan prices are from our catalog as of October 30, 2026.

Leave streaming for hotel Wi-Fi. If you run out, you can add data to the same eSIM.

When to set up an eSIM, and when to skip it

You can install the eSIM at home over Wi-Fi by scanning a QR code. Days start counting at your first connection in Vietnam, so setting it up early costs you nothing. After landing, turn on data for that line. Our Vietnam plans list Viettel, Vinaphone, and MobiFone as networks. Your US number stays on as a second line, so you can still get bank codes. The eSIM is data only, with no Vietnamese number.

You may not need it at all. If your US plan already includes data in Vietnam, keep your plan and check the terms in your carrier app. If you would pay by the day, compare first. Verizon lists TravelPass at $12 a day in most countries, and AT&T lists its International Day Pass at $12 a day. See how daily passes add up.

Questions

Can I buy a SIM card at Da Nang Airport at night?

Maybe. The airport lists seven counters at Terminal 2, with no posted hours. If you land late, plan as if they are closed. Listed shops in town open from 7:00 a.m., so an eSIM installed at home is the safer choice.

Where can I buy a SIM card in Hoi An?

The operators list three shops. Viettel is at 211 Ly Thuong Kiet, MobiFone is at 576 Hai Ba Trung, and Vinaphone is at 06B Tran Hung Dao, which closes for lunch. Take your passport to any of them.

Is there 5G in Da Nang?

Yes, if your phone supports it. On nPerf, users on all three networks recorded 5G in the center, on My Khe Beach, and in Hoi An Old Town.

Does my phone work at Ba Na Hills?

User tests say yes. Viettel shows 5G at the lower station and the Golden Bridge. Vinaphone has blank stretches along the cable car lines.

Which network is best for Da Nang and Hoi An?

In town, any of the three works. Viettel has the most tests at Ba Na and on the way to My Son. Vinaphone looks better at the top of Hai Van Pass.

Sources

• SIM Card Purchase, Da Nang International Airport, checked 2026-10-30
• MobiFone store finder, checked 2026-10-30
• Viettel store finder, checked 2026-09-30
• Vinaphone service points, VNPT, checked 2026-09-30
• nPerf coverage map, Viettel, Vinaphone, and MobiFone, two years of user tests, checked 2026-09-30
• Viettel coverage map, 4G layer dated 2026-03-30, checked 2026-09-30
• Mobile subscriber registration from April 15, 2026, LuatVietnam, April 2, 2026
• Use eSIM while traveling internationally with your iPhone, Apple Support, published October 22, 2026, checked 2026-10-30
• TravelPass FAQs, Verizon, checked 2026-10-30
• International Day Pass, AT&T, checked 2026-10-30
• OpenStreetMap and OSRM, places and road routes, checked 2026-09-30

More guides

• eSIM for Vietnam: Viettel, MobiFone or a Travel eSIM?
• Ho Chi Minh City SIM Card: Tan Son Nhat, Shops, and 5G
• Internet in Mui Ne and Phan Thiet: SIM Shops and Coverage
• Internet in Vietnam for Tourists: eSIM, SIM, or Roaming