The Golden Bridge in Da Nang has slowly made its way in Vietnam’s most Instagrammable and simply mindblowing tourist attractions. Situated in the center of the country it is very accessible and definitely worth a visit. Here’s everything you need to know before going!
What you will find in this article
Where is it?
The Golden Bridge is located in the Sun World Ba Na hills entertainment complex, about 20km West from Da Nang, Vietnam.
When to go
The park is open from 7am to 10pm every day. You can easily spend the entire day, although in a hurry you can choose to only do the Golden Bridge. Either way, remember to leave enough time for the cable car ride to and from the bridge which takes about 15 minutes each way. If you’re more flexible in terms of timing visit the bridge early in the morning or right before closing time for more privacy and better pictures.
How much does it cost?
The entrance ticket costs 1M VND (39 euros, 42 USD) and pretty much everything except food is included. Food can be a little expensive.
How to get there
Da Nang is very easy of access. You can fly to Da Nang international airport if you’re short on time or are coming from far away. By train, you can take the SE train linking Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and get off at Ga Da Nang. Finally, by car or by motorbike, the major highways connecting Hanoi and HCMC go through Da Nang.
From Da Nang take a Grab or a taxi to Sun World Ba Na hills (if you show a picture of the bridge to your driver they should be able to know where to go). When you arrive it can be a good idea to ask your driver to wait for you, depending how long you’re planning on staying. Christian and I left almost at closing time and found out that there were no Grab drivers available, meaning we had to go with one of the drivers showing the grab logo on their phones but who obviously weren’t registered on the app. We got where we needed to but didn’t feel very comfortable getting in the car with a stranger.
If you have a little more time, you can even choose to stay in the hills! The hotel is called Mercure Danang French village Bana Hills hotel. It essentially consists of several small hotels scattered in the French village.
What to do:
There are three main attractions: the bridge, the gardens, and the amusement park/French village.
The Bridge
This is probably why you’re here. Go there early in the morning or right before closing time. There are tons of people. Seriously, TONS of people. Remember that people usually come in waves, so if coming early or leaving late isn’t an option, patience can be very useful if you still want photos with not too many other people.
If you have a drone Da Nang airport has a history of confiscating them, so be careful and always do your research first. Remember to also watch out for the weather : several people reported on Tripadvisor that if you’re out of luck clouds might block the view of the entire bridge. When we went there was a lot of fog in the amusement park but somehow we still had good visibility of the bridge.
The gardens
The easiest way to get to the gardens is just going to the bridge, going down a couple of stairs, and walking past Le Jardin station. The gardens are big but can also get crowded, so I absolutely encourage you to explore and go a little off the beaten path. We ended up finding some real gems!
The amusement park & French village
The French village looks like a typical old European town with a cathedral and several little shops and restaurants. It’s lovely and it’s nice to spend some time there, but as a French person I didn’t find it mindblowing.
In terms of rides there are two alpine coasters as well as an indoors park with an arcade and a couple of smaller rides. What I especially liked is that the arcade is almost completely free, with everything included in the price of the ticket.
The cable cars:
Why am I dedicating an entire paragraph just for the cable cars? Well, to be honest, they can be very confusing. Here are the routes you need to take to get to the main attractions:
To get to the Golden Bridge
Take the cable car from Hoi An station. You will end up at Marseille station, right next to the bridge.
To get to the Gardens
Take the cable car from Hoi An station, get off at Marseille station, and walk a little bit.
To the amusement park and French Village
Take the cable car from Suoi Mo station to Ba Na Station, walk a little bit and take the cable car from Debay station to Morin station.
OR Take the cable car from Toc Tien station and arrive at L’indochine station.
OR take the cable car from Da Nang station and arrive at Toulouse station.
From the Bridge to the Village or vice versa
Bordeaux station, near the bridge, and Louvre station, near the village, are connected.
Suggested itinerary
I recommend you discover the park in a circular motion: If your plan is to get there early, start at Hoi An station and beat the crowds by going to the bridge first. Once you’ve marveled at the bridge and taken as many pictures as you’d like, check out the gardens. You’ll probably spend 30 minutes to an hour on the bridge and one to two hours in the gardens.
Once you’ve seen everything you wanted to see head back to the bridge and take the cable car from Bordeaux station to Louvre station. You’ll find yourself at one end of the village, next to the amusement park. You can spend anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours playing at the arcade and riding the rides (there aren’t that many of them but they are a lot of fun!), and once you’re done you can continue exploring the French village. It looked pretty spectacular with the fog, especially at night. You can spend anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour here.
Once you’re done, take either the cable car from Toulouse station to Da Nang station, or from Morin station to Debay statio, walk a little, and take the cable car from Ba Na station to Toc Tien station. The latter option is longer and more complicated but we had to go that way as Toulouse station had already closed when we wanted to leave around 6:30pm (it was going to reopen later that night for 10 minutes every hour, so take note of each cable car’s schedule). If you don’t want to come in the morning and would rather wait until sunset to take pictures, just start at Da Nang station and do this itinerary in the opposite direction.
A few tips
- Remember to bring a coat, it can get cold as the bridge and the entire complex are in the mountains.
- You can store luggage at the entrance which is very useful if you can’t leave them at a hotel.
Have you ever visited Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge in Vietnam? What did you think about it? If you have anything to add to the article or even if it just helped you plan a future trip, please let me know in the comments!
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