--- title: "Ba Na Hills and the Golden Bridge: our day on the mountain, and what it costs" slug: "ba-na-hills" description: "We took the cable car up to Ba Na Hills for Harper's seventh birthday: the giant stone hands of the Golden Bridge, a fake French village, and more people than we bargained for. Here is what a day actually costs in 2026, when to go, and the Klook codes we use to book it." author: "Adam Clarkson" lang: "en" date: "2026-07-08" published_at: "2026-07-08T01:14:21.000-04:00" updated_at: "2026-07-08T01:14:21.000-04:00" feature_image: "https://adamandlinds.com/content/images/2026/07/d39772c8-6348-46f3-9f90-d67a39bdf025.jpg" tags: ["guide", "Klook", "Da Nang", "Vietnam", "South Eastern Asia", "asia", "Theme Parks", "Review", "Where To Stay", "Things To Do"] canonical_url: "https://adamandlinds.com/ba-na-hills/" --- Harper turned seven the day we went, so we were on the first cable car up Ba Na Hills at nine in the morning with a birthday crown and a stuffed dog in the bag. Ba Na Hills is a Sun Group resort about 25 kilometres west of Da Nang, up a mountain you reach by cable car. At the top there is a French village, an indoor games hall, a set of flower gardens, and the Golden Bridge, the one held up by two giant stone hands that you have already seen in photos. Most of it was built in the last ten years. It is also one of the busiest attractions in Vietnam, and by late morning it feels like it. We had skipped it for a couple of years because from the outside it looks like the kind of built-for-the-camera place we usually avoid. Harper picked it for her birthday, so we went. What follows is what we paid, what is worth doing, and when to go so the crowds stay bearable. ![The Golden Bridge, and the thousand or so people we were now part of.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/cea25911-da53-468d-a0bc-738a4417e604.jpg) ## What Ba Na Hills actually is It is a theme park on top of a mountain with a French colonial theme laid over it. The standard ticket covers the round-trip cable car and gets you into almost everything up top: the Golden Bridge, the French Village with its cathedral and Moon Castle, the indoor Fantasy Park, a short mountain railway, and the flower gardens. The alpine coaster, the wax museum, and the wine-cellar tasting cost extra. The summit is still being built. On the way up we watched cranes putting together a new hotel through the cable car window. Whatever you visit will have something under scaffolding and something that was not there the year before. ![New hotels going up on the summit, shot through the cable car window on the way up.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/053b2f9b-6389-47a7-84a9-6223fac2ddb6.jpg) ## Getting up the mountain The cable car lives up to its reputation. It is one of the longest in the world, the ride runs about fifteen minutes, and it climbs through jungle and then into the cloud line, where the hotels at the top appear out of the mist. The gondolas are enclosed. They stop mid-air every so often, which builds the queue at the bottom more than it troubles you in the car. ![The cable car climbs into the cloud line, with a French-style hotel appearing at the top.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/3584c42f-fa3b-49ee-a3bc-72207a4dc6ae.jpg) There are three ways up from Da Nang. The shared shuttle bus runs a fixed route from town for a couple of dollars. A private transfer costs a little more and picks you up at the door, which earns its keep with young kids or an early start. The guided day tours fold the transfer, the ticket, and a lunch buffet into one booking. Book the first cable car you can. The **first cars run from around 7:30 AM**, and the hour before the tour buses arrive is the difference between photographing the Golden Bridge and photographing the back of someone's head. ## The Golden Bridge and the stone hands The Golden Bridge is why most people come, and it delivers what the photos promise: a gold walkway lifted off the mountainside by two weathered stone hands the size of buildings. What the photos leave out is the crowd. The walkway is narrow, foot traffic runs both directions, and at midday you cross it at the pace of whoever is in front of you. ![Harper's seventh birthday on the Golden Bridge, crown on.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/1a39f523-bae7-4108-8297-a1eaf73f53f2.jpg) The bridge is inside the park, so there is no separate ticket for it. The one thing you cannot control is the weather. The summit is high enough to make its own cloud, and plenty of people reach the top to find the hands wrapped in fog with nothing visible past them. We got haze rather than a clear sky. If the forecast is good, go on the hottest, clearest day you can, because the mountain burns off haze faster than it clears an overcast one. ![The bridge at midday, moving at the speed of the crowd.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/c1a29c28-810a-417a-990e-f3b6b362a84e.jpg) ## What tickets cost in 2026 The standard adult ticket is 1,000,000 VND, about 39 US dollars, and it covers the round-trip cable car plus almost everything at the top. Children between one metre and 1.4 metres are 800,000 VND, about 31 dollars. Under a metre is free. The change worth knowing for 2026 is that the cable car ticket is now valid for up to three consecutive days instead of one, so if the fog comes in you can return without paying again. Ticket Adult Child 1m to 1.4m Included Standard day ticket 1,000,000 VND (about $39) 800,000 VND (about $31) Round-trip cable car, Golden Bridge, French Village, Fantasy Park, gardens. Valid three days. Da Nang resident 650,000 VND 550,000 VND Same access with a valid Da Nang ID shown at the counter. Under 1m tall Free Free Same access, no charge, no ticket needed. Buying at the gate means the ticket queue, which is long in peak season. We book the entry ticket on Klook, then scan the QR code at the cable car station and skip the window. The transfers and add-ons are on Klook too, so the shuttle or a day tour goes in the same order. Our code takes a little off the top, and the rest of our city guides sit on our [Klook page](https://adamandlinds.com/klook/). ### Ba Na Hills on Klook Entry tickets, transfers from Da Nang, day tours, and the alpine coaster, all bookable in advance. Use code **ADAMANDLINDSKLOOK** at checkout on eligible bookings. [Get Ba Na Hills tickets](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&_currency=USD&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F13283-ba-na-hills-ticket-da-nang&aff_label1=bana&ref=adamandlinds.com) If you would rather swap the daytime crowds for cooler air and the village lit up, the Ba Na by Night ticket gets you in from mid-afternoon, usually with a dinner buffet and transfer included. We only caught the end of it on the way down. Ba Na by Night ### from ~950,000₫ per adult Afternoon entry with dinner buffet and transfer Fewer people, cooler air, the castle lit up after dark. [Get night tickets](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&_currency=USD&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F71749-ba-na-by-night-ticket-in-sun-world-ba-na-hills&aff_label1=bana&ref=adamandlinds.com) Standard day ticket ### 1,000,000₫ per adult Cable car, Golden Bridge, and everything at the top Now valid three days, so you can wait out the fog. [Get day tickets](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&_currency=USD&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F13283-ba-na-hills-ticket-da-nang&aff_label1=bana&ref=adamandlinds.com) ## The French Village, Fantasy Park, and the gardens Off the bridge, the rest of the summit is a loop of themed areas, and this is where the day fills out. The French Village is the centre of it, a stone plaza ringed by a cathedral, the Moon Castle, and rooflines copied from provincial France. It is fake and it works, more so after dark when the whole plaza is lit. Fantasy Park is the indoor option for a hot or wet hour, several floors of arcade games and rides that our girls would have stayed in longer than we wanted. ![The French Village after dark, once the plaza lights come on.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/d2ddd346-7dd3-408f-a0bd-6efd1bca51f0.jpg) Le Jardin d'Amour, the main garden, is free with your ticket: roses, hydrangeas, and a row of bronze zodiac statues that the girls sorted themselves in front of by star sign. ![Le Jardin d'Amour, where Adam found his zodiac statue and made someone photograph it.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/2b363f21-9847-485a-8d79-08eefbc6de33.jpg) ### What the standard ticket gets you Everything here is covered by the one entry ticket, no add-ons required. - Round-trip cable car, now valid for three days - The Golden Bridge and its two stone hands - The French Village, cathedral, and Moon Castle - Fantasy Park, the indoor arcade and rides hall - Le Jardin d'Amour and the flower gardens - The mountain railway between levels \* The alpine coaster, wax museum, and wine-cellar tasting are ticketed separately. [Get Ba Na Hills tickets](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&_currency=USD&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F13283-ba-na-hills-ticket-da-nang&aff_label1=bana&ref=adamandlinds.com) ## The alpine coaster The alpine coaster was the best few dollars we spent all day. It is a one or two-seat cart on a metal track that you steer down the mountain with a brake lever and otherwise let run, the same setup you find in the Alps. The track drops through the trees below the French Village, and you set your own pace, which for our two meant no brake at all. Harper and Cora rode it together and came off the bottom wanting to go straight back up. ![Lindsay and Harper on the Ba Na Hills Coaster.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/72951871-f668-450a-86bb-5b44b533a6fe.jpg?v=2) You buy it separately from the entry ticket, either at the station or ahead on Klook, and there is a height requirement, so the smallest kids ride with an adult. It loads next to the cable car station under red light, and the queue moves faster than the one for the bridge. ![Down through the trees below the village. No brake was used.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/da6f35da-7bb6-4eaa-a785-277dda35ab0d.jpg) ### Ride the alpine coaster Book it with your Ba Na Hills day and skip the separate line at the station. [Book the alpine coaster](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&aff_adid=1331592&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F125425-sun-world-ba-na-alpine-coaster-experience&ref=adamandlinds.com) [Get Ba Na Hills tickets](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&_currency=USD&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F13283-ba-na-hills-ticket-da-nang&aff_label1=bana&ref=adamandlinds.com) ## Where we stayed There is one hotel on the summit, the [Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills](https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&_currency=USD&k_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Fhotels%2Fdetail%2F434115-mercure-danang-french-village-bana-hills%2F%3Fcheck_in%3D2026-08-04%26check_out%3D2026-08-05%26room_num%3D1%26adult_num%3D1%26child_num%3D0%26age%3D%26page_source%3D&aff_label1=bana&ref=adamandlinds.com), and we booked a night up there rather than riding down and coming back the next day. It runs around 110 US dollars a night. The room was dated and the air conditioning was terrible, though the mountain air did some of the work the unit would not. The price was fair for what it is, and we spent almost none of our time in the room anyway. The reason to stay is timing, not the room. Guests can be out on the Golden Bridge early and late, on either side of the day-trippers who arrive and leave with the cable car. We had the rose garden close to ourselves the next morning while the first buses were still winding up the hill. ![The terrace at the Mercure, the only hotel on the summit.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/e5542b37-48fc-45c8-9453-a3b127e379dc.jpg) ## When to go and how the crowds work Crowds decide whether the day works, and you can plan around them. The buses from town arrive mid-morning, so an early cable car buys you a clear hour or two before it fills. The three-day ticket helps here too, since you can split the summit across a morning and an evening, or leave a foggy day and come back. Food at the top is priced for people who cannot leave, so eat before you go up or add the buffet combo. ## Where Ba Na Hills sits About 40 minutes west of central Da Nang, up a single cable car line. { "places": \[ { "name": "Da Nang", "lat": 16.0600, "lng": 108.2111, "desc": "Where most people start the day. Shuttle buses and private transfers run from the city." }, { "name": "Sun World Ba Na Hills", "lat": 16.0265, "lng": 108.0328, "type": "attraction", "desc": "Cable car base station and summit resort, about 40 minutes from town.", "cta": { "label": "Get tickets on Klook", "url": "https://affiliate.klook.com/redirect?aid=42202&\_currency=USD&k\_site=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.klook.com%2Fen-US%2Factivity%2F13283-ba-na-hills-ticket-da-nang&aff\_label1=bana", "affiliate": true } }, { "name": "Golden Bridge", "lat": 15.9949, "lng": 107.9966, "type": "attraction", "desc": "The two stone hands, up top and included in the standard ticket." } \], "segments": \[ { "from": "Da Nang", "to": "Sun World Ba Na Hills", "mode": "car" } \] } Ba Na Hills is about 25 kilometres west of central Da Nang, roughly a 40 minute drive. From Hoi An it is closer to an hour and a quarter, and the tours from there are priced for the longer trip. Check the mountain forecast, not the city forecast, before you commit. Da Nang can be sunny at sea level while the summit sits in cloud all day. The three-day ticket is your cover against a bad-weather visit. ## Getting online in Vietnam You need a working phone up here, for the [Klook QR code](https://holafly.sjv.io/c/6317027/3856277/24764?subId1=ba-na-hills-golden-bridge&subId2=inline-1&subId3=destination-vietnam&sharedid=vietnam-2026&u=https%3A%2F%2Fesim.holafly.com%2Fesim-vietnam%2F&ref=adamandlinds.com) at the cable car gate and for Google Maps on the way out. A Vietnamese SIM means a passport and a registration desk. We use a Holafly eSIM instead, which installs before you fly and connects the moment you land in Da Nang. Holafly is the world's first international mobile operator, and its Vietnam eSIM runs on the local networks with a hotspot you can share to a second phone or a tablet. For a longer stay, and we are in Da Nang for three months this time, the monthly [Plans](https://holafly.sjv.io/c/6317027/3856277/24764?subId1=ba-na-hills-golden-bridge&subId2=inline-2&subId3=plans-overview&sharedid=vietnam-2026&u=https%3A%2F%2Fesim.holafly.com%2Fplans%2F&ref=adamandlinds.com) make more sense than a single-destination eSIM. One Holafly eSIM on a Plan covers more than 160 destinations, so the same line that works in Vietnam keeps working when we cross into Thailand or Japan later in the year. If the subscription ever lapses, Always On keeps 1GB a month running in more than 70 destinations so you are never fully dark. More on the plans and how the discount stacks is on our [Holafly page](https://adamandlinds.com/holafly/). ### Holafly eSIM for Vietnam Data that works the moment you land in Da Nang, with no local SIM or passport registration. Use code **ADAMANDLINDS** for 5% off destination eSIMs and 10% off Plans. [Get a Vietnam eSIM](https://holafly.sjv.io/c/6317027/3856277/24764?subId1=ba-na-hills-golden-bridge&subId2=coupon-box&subId3=destination-vietnam&sharedid=vietnam-2026&u=https%3A%2F%2Fesim.holafly.com%2Fesim-vietnam%2F&ref=adamandlinds.com) FAQ ## Ba Na Hills, answered The questions we had before we went. { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": \[ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is the Golden Bridge a separate ticket?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "No. The Golden Bridge is inside the park and is included in the standard cable car ticket. There is nothing extra to pay to walk across it once you are at the top." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How long do you need at Ba Na Hills?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A full day covers it. We spent about six hours at the top and still skipped a few things. With the three-day ticket you can spread it across a morning and an evening instead." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it worth it with young kids?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes, though the cable car and the crowds can be a lot for a toddler. Fantasy Park, the alpine coaster, and the gardens kept our four to nine year olds busy all day. Under-ones get in free." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What happens if it is foggy at the top?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The bridge and the views can vanish into cloud, and there is no weather refund. Since 2026 the ticket is valid for three days, so the fix is to come back on a clearer day." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is it cheaper to book online or at the gate?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Booking ahead on Klook is the same or a little cheaper than the gate once you add a reader code, and it skips the ticket queue. You scan a QR code at the cable car station instead of lining up." } } \] } Is the Golden Bridge a separate ticket? No. The Golden Bridge is inside the park and is included in the standard cable car ticket. There is nothing extra to pay to walk across it once you are at the top. How long do you need at Ba Na Hills? A full day covers it. We spent about six hours at the top and still skipped a few things. With the three-day ticket you can spread it across a morning and an evening instead. Is it worth it with young kids? Yes, though the cable car and the crowds can be a lot for a toddler. Fantasy Park, the alpine coaster, and the gardens kept our four to nine year olds busy all day. Under-ones get in free. What happens if it is foggy at the top? The bridge and the views can vanish into cloud, and there is no weather refund. Since 2026 the ticket is valid for three days, so the fix is to come back on a clearer day. Is it cheaper to book online or at the gate? Booking ahead on Klook is the same or a little cheaper than the gate once you add a reader code, and it skips the ticket queue. You scan a QR code at the cable car station instead of lining up. ![A sunflower patch by the gardens, near the end of the day.](https://pub-7aaf5c6cc1c2496e8b9429b2cc0fe010.r2.dev/photos/large/30777dc8-521b-4295-b27b-f9b5a228b3f8.jpg) ### Related Reading [What it costs a family to live in Da Nang](https://adamandlinds.com/da-nang-cost-of-living-family/) [Holafly eSIM plans, codes, and how the discount works](https://adamandlinds.com/holafly/) [All our Klook codes and city guides](https://adamandlinds.com/klook/) [Why Vietnam is overtaking Thailand](https://adamandlinds.com/why-vietnam-is-overtaking-thailand-as-southeast-asias-top-digital-nomad-destination/) [Vietnam visa requirements explained](https://adamandlinds.com/vietnam-visa-requirements-2025-guide/) This post contains affiliate links, including to Klook and Holafly. If you book through our links we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. All opinions are our own.