Which Da Nang pharmacies you can trust, what's genuinely open late or 24/7, and what you can buy without a prescription — honestly explained.
Buying medicine in Da Nang is cheap and easy during the day, but finding a true 24-hour pharmacy at night is mostly a myth. This guide covers exactly where to buy what you need, which chains to trust, and how to get medicine delivered to your hotel at 2am.
By the Go Da Nang team. Last updated July 2026.
This is one spoke of our wider guide to healthcare in Da Nang for foreigners.
| Your situation | Where to go | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime, roughly 07:00–22:00 | The nearest big-chain branch like Long Châu, Pharmacity, An Khang or DapharcoBLU | Scanned prices, receipts, sealed boxes, some English |
| Late night (after ~22:00) | A hospital pharmacy at a 24/7 emergency hospital, or a medicine delivery app | Delivery is often faster than traveling. At a hospital you may go via the ER |
| You need a prescription drug, or you are getting worse | See a doctor instead of a pharmacist at a walk-in clinic in Da Nang | Same-day service, no appointment needed, and a legitimate prescription at the end |
No retail pharmacy in Da Nang is reliably open 24 hours. If a website tells you otherwise, check the hours they publish further down the page.
Here is what we found when we looked:
You might spot a shop on the hospital strip trading as "Nhà Thuốc 24h", opposite Bệnh viện Đà Nẵng on Hải Phòng St. We could not confirm it actually opens through the night. Treat it like any pharmacy claiming to be 24-hour and call before you travel.
Plan for last orders between 21:00 and 23:00 across the city. There is no rule forcing retail pharmacies to stay open round the clock. Night-time demand routes through hospitals instead. That is the system working as intended.
An individual shop might be open at 1am. Many pharmacy families live above their shops and will answer a knock. But that relies on luck rather than a solid plan. Never take a 2am Grab across the city based on unverified hours. A 20-minute ride to a locked shutter is a terrible outcome for a sick traveler.
A busy Nhà Thuốc Long Châu branch during opening hours, with uniformed staff serving customers at the counter and a '30-day returns' banner overhead — this is what the chains look like while they are open, and it all shuts by about 10pm
Hospitals with a 24/7 emergency department run dispensing alongside it. These are the addresses we use in our emergency care in Da Nang guide:
At 3am, you might not find a walk-up counter selling paracetamol to the public. Overnight dispensing often runs through the emergency department. This means registering, seeing a doctor, and then getting medicine. Budget for a consultation and bring your passport and cash.
If you are weighing up which hospital to walk into, our comparison of public vs private hospitals in Da Nang explains the trade-off between cost, speed, and English.
Ordering usually beats traveling at night. Three routes work well in Da Nang:
One thing that changed recently and works in your favour: Vietnam's amended Law on Pharmacy, in force since 1 July 2025, explicitly legalised selling non-prescription medicine through e-commerce. Ordering paracetamol to your hotel is now squarely above board. Prescription and controlled medicines stay off-limits online.
Be realistic about the friction. These apps are Vietnamese-language-first. They usually require a Vietnamese phone number and a local address you can type correctly. Prescription-only items will not be delivered without an đơn thuốc (prescription). Have the active-ingredient name ready to paste. Searching for "paracetamol" or "loperamide" gets you much further than a brand name from home.
Four screens from the Nhà Thuốc Long Châu app, showing medicine ordering with home delivery, a member offers page, a map of nearby branches, and three-hour delivery
Pharmacies cluster on the street opposite a big hospital, and those stay open the latest. In Da Nang, that street is Hải Phòng. Bệnh viện Đà Nẵng (124) and Bệnh viện C (122) sit almost next door to each other here. Walk that block and you will pass several pharmacies within a couple of minutes.
This works because that is where the demand is from discharged patients, night shifts, and families. You can use the same trick in Hội An, Huế, or anywhere else in Vietnam.
The cheapest solution to a 2am pharmacy hunt is a small bag you bought on day one. For a few dollars, pick up:
Do this especially before Tết (Lunar New Year), when much of the city closes for days. As noted in our walk-in clinics guide, pharmacies, clinics, and even some hospital departments run skeleton staffing over Tết. If you take regular medication, refill it before the holiday.
The question is fair. Vietnam ran a large crackdown on counterfeit medicine through 2025 and 2026. In April 2025, police in Thanh Hoá dismantled a nationwide ring and seized nearly 10 tonnes of fake pharmaceuticals across 21 product types, including copies of Cefixime 200mg, Chlorocid, and Tetracycline. In May 2025, a Hanoi testing centre inspecting a pharmacy in Đống Đa found counterfeit NEXIUM 40mg containing just 6.91mg of esomeprazole — 17.27% of the labelled dose. Nationally, the number of counterfeit samples detected rose from 5 in 2022 to 12 in 2023 to 40 in 2024.
Read that calmly. Vietnamese medicine is not inherently dangerous. The vast majority of it is fine, and the crackdown shows the system working. But where you buy matters. The Thanh Hoá ring moved its stock mainly online and through small informal retail, which is where fakes concentrate. Note the honest caveat, though: the NEXIUM case was found in a licensed pharmacy, so "buy from a chain" lowers your risk rather than eliminating it. That is exactly why the checklist below is worth ten seconds of your time.
Run this checklist in the first ten seconds inside any pharmacy:
A Pharmacity branch on a Vietnamese street corner, its blue and green shopfront advertising '100% thuốc chính hãng' (100% genuine medicine) and '100% dược sĩ có bằng cấp' (100% qualified pharmacists) — the visual shorthand of a modern chain pharmacy
Chains give you consistent sourcing, fixed scanned prices, receipts, and a returns trail. That peace of mind is worth it for anything you plan to swallow. Good independent pharmacies are often better for advice and English near the beach, as they deal with foreigners all day. Use the checklist above, and lean on a chain when you feel unsure.
| Chain | Look for | Best for | Typical hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FPT Long Châu | Red and white shopfront | Actual prescription drugs, widest stock | ~07:00–22:00 |
| Pharmacity | Blue branding | Convenience items, supplements, toiletries | ~07:00–22:00 |
| An Khang | Green branding | A tidy backup when it is the closest | ~07:30–22:00 |
| DapharcoBLU / Dapharco | Local Da Nang name | Local trust, hospital-grade supply chain | ~07:00–22:00 |
We profile the chains rather than pinning individual branches because branch lists rot fast. Use each chain's store finder for the branch nearest your hotel.
FPT Long Châu is Vietnam's largest pharmacy chain and has the widest footprint in Da Nang. It carries the deepest stock of genuine prescription medicine rather than mostly supplements, and it runs an app with delivery. If you want a reliable default, this is it. Store finder: nhathuoclongchau.com.vn.
Pharmacity feels closest to a Western chemist. Expect blue branding, a convenience-store layout, and plenty of toiletries, vitamins, and sunscreen next to the medicine. Branches are common in central and tourist areas. You will likely walk past one of these first. Store finder: pharmacity.vn.
An Khang belongs to the Thế Giới Di Động group and has a smaller footprint than the two above. The experience is clean and modern, and the sourcing is chain-standard. It is simply less likely to be the nearest option. Store finder: nhathuocankhang.com.
DapharcoBLU / Dapharco is the local Da Nang chain, and the one most visitors have never heard of. Dapharco — the Da Nang Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company — was established in 1975 and has been running in this city for over fifty years. It has appeared on Vietnam Report's Top 10 list of reputable pharmaceutical distributors since 2016, and its business includes supplying medicine to hospitals through public tenders. DapharcoBLU, launched in 2018, is its modern retail face. If you want the local answer rather than the national one, go here. Store finders: blupharmacy.com and dapharco.com.vn.
You might also see Phano, another national chain, and Phước Thiện, a large Da Nang independent chain. Phước Thiện branches reportedly keep some of the latest closing times in the city.
Chain sizes get quoted a lot online. As of mid-2025 Long Châu had stores in the low thousands nationwide, Pharmacity in the high hundreds, and An Khang in the low hundreds. Those numbers move fast. Treat "Long Châu is the largest chain" as the useful fact rather than any exact figure.
Most visitors sleep on the beach side. The An Thượng and Mỹ Khê area has a dense cluster of small pharmacies that deal with foreigners all day. Outside of an international clinic, this is your best chance of being served in English anywhere in the city.
The one that markets itself squarely at foreigners is ABC Pharmacy, which also runs branches in Hội An, Huế, Nha Trang, and Đồng Hới.
Beyond that, we are deliberately not publishing a list of small beach-side pharmacy addresses. Da Nang reorganised its wards in 2025, so plenty of addresses floating around blogs and aggregators are now stale, and small pharmacies move or close without updating anything. Open Google Maps, search nhà thuốc, sort by what is currently showing as open, and walk to the nearest one. In this neighbourhood there will be several within a few hundred metres.
They close at night like everywhere else. What this area buys you is convenience and English, not 24-hour service.
There is a gap between the law and everyday practice. You should understand both.
The law. Prescription-only categories like antibiotics legally require an đơn thuốc from a doctor, and have done since well before the current rules. Vietnam's amended Law on Pharmacy took effect on 1 July 2025, backed by Decree 163/2025/NĐ-CP, and it arrived alongside a visible national push on counterfeit and unlicensed medicine. A forum thread from a few years ago is not a reliable guide to what a pharmacy will do today.
The practice. Enforcement is inconsistent. Plenty of medications still get handed across the counter without paperwork.
Do not self-prescribe antibiotics. Taking the wrong drug, guessing the wrong dose, or stopping a course early turns a simple infection into a complicated one. A doctor's visit here is cheap and fast.
Easy to buy over the counter: Pain relief, antihistamines, ORS rehydration salts, cold and flu remedies, antiseptics, and basic stomach remedies.
What requires paperwork: Controlled substances like strong painkillers, ADHD medication, anxiety pills, or sleep medication. Bring these from home in the original box, with your prescription and ideally a doctor's letter. This practical warning saves trips from being ruined.
Refilling a home prescription. Bring a photo of the box and the generic or active-ingredient name. Brand names differ between countries. The fastest legitimate route is usually a short doctor's visit. See how to see a doctor in Da Nang and our explainer on whether you need a GP in Da Nang to understand why there is no referral system to navigate.
Ask by the active ingredient and show the box if you have it.
| What you would ask for at home | What to say / what it is sold as here |
|---|---|
| Paracetamol / acetaminophen | Paracetamol — sold as Panadol, Efferalgan, Hapacol |
| Ibuprofen | Ibuprofen (also in combination cold remedies) |
| Anti-diarrhoeal | Loperamide (Imodium) |
| Rehydration salts | Oresol / ORS sachets — ask for "oresol" |
| Antihistamine (allergy) | Loratadine or Cetirizine |
| Antacid / indigestion | Antacid sachets and tablets, widely stocked |
| Antiseptic for a cut | Betadine (povidone-iodine) |
| Motion sickness | Motion-sickness tablets — say "say xe" (car sickness) |
| Mosquito repellent | Repellent spray or lotion, sold in most chains |
| Mild steroid cream (bites, rash) | Hydrocortisone cream |
Basic medicine here is cheap. A strip of everyday painkillers or a few ORS sachets typically costs a few tens of thousands of đồng. A normal small pharmacy run costs a few dollars rather than tens. Imported brand-name drugs cost considerably more than the local equivalent. Ask if there is a Vietnamese-made version. Pharmacy prices move and vary by branch.
For how medicine fits into a monthly budget here, see our cost of living in Da Nang guide.
Show, do not explain. These two moves work every time:
Describe your symptoms rather than your home diagnosis. Saying "I have a stomach ache and diarrhoea since yesterday" gets a better result than "I think I have gastritis."
Phrases worth saving:
Paying. Chain branches generally take cards and QR payments (VietQR). Small independents are often cash-only, so bring small notes.
Always ask for the receipt. It is your only trail if the medicine is wrong, the price was odd, or your insurer wants proof.
A pharmacist is a great first stop for minor problems but a poor substitute for a doctor. Go to a clinic or an ER if you have:
For same-day care without an appointment, start with walk-in clinics in Da Nang. For the full visit step-by-step, see how to see a doctor in Da Nang. For choosing a hospital, read our top hospitals in Da Nang for foreigners. If it is an emergency, dial 115 and read emergency care in Da Nang.
Not reliably. Several shops carry "24" in the name but post hours ending at 22:00 or 22:30. Vietnamese night-pharmacy lists publish closing times of 21:00 to 23:00. Assume the city shuts its pharmacy counters between 21:00 and 23:00. After that, use a hospital pharmacy at a 24/7 emergency hospital or a delivery app.
You have two dependable routes. Visit a hospital with a 24/7 emergency department (Bệnh viện Đà Nẵng and Bệnh viện C on Hải Phòng St., Hoàn Mỹ, Vinmec, or Family Medical Practice), or use a delivery app like Medigo or Long Châu. The pharmacies opposite the big hospitals on Hải Phòng St. stay open the latest.
FPT Long Châu is the safest default. It is the largest chain with the widest Da Nang footprint, the deepest stock of real prescription medicine, and an app with delivery. Pharmacity feels the most Western, and DapharcoBLU is the strong local option.
Some do, but most speak only a little. Your best odds outside an international clinic are the small pharmacies around An Thượng and Mỹ Khê. They serve foreigners daily. At a chain branch, expect basic English and a willingness to use a translation app. Showing a photo of the box works everywhere.
For everyday items like pain relief, antihistamines, ORS, cold remedies, and antiseptics, you do not. Prescription-only categories like antibiotics legally require an đơn thuốc. Enforcement has been tightening since the amended Law on Pharmacy took effect on 1 July 2025.
In practice it sometimes still happens, but they are a prescription category and enforcement is tightening. You should avoid doing this. Self-prescribing risks the wrong drug and the wrong dose, and it drives antibiotic resistance. See a doctor instead. A consultation here is cheap and quick.
Medicine from a licensed pharmacy is overwhelmingly genuine. Counterfeits exist, and Vietnam has been running an active crackdown since 2025. Fakes concentrate in informal channels. Buy from a chain or a GPP-certified shop, insist on sealed and in-date boxes, refuse loose pills in a bag, and keep the receipt.
Yes. Medigo, the Long Châu app, and the pharmacy category on Grab or ShopeeFood all deliver. Expect a Vietnamese-language interface and a requirement for a local phone number and address. Prescription-only items require an đơn thuốc.
Common items cost much less than at home. A normal pharmacy run costs a few dollars rather than tens. Imported brand-name drugs cost noticeably more than the Vietnamese-made equivalent, so ask if there is a local version. Prices vary by branch. Check the scanned price and take the receipt.
Often, yes. Bring a photo of the box and the generic / active-ingredient name, since brand names differ between countries. For prescription-only or controlled medication, the fastest legitimate route is a short doctor's visit. Controlled drugs like strong painkillers, ADHD medication, anxiety pills, or sleep medication should come with you from home, along with your prescription and a doctor's letter.
Buy what you might need during the day from a chain or a GPP-certified pharmacy. Keep a small kit in your bag. After 22:00, the answer is a hospital or a delivery app. Never take a hopeful ride across town to a shop just because it says "24" on the sign.
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