The Golden Bridge at Ba Na Hills (aka the Hand Bridge) was opened just recently, and already got tons of attention on social media.

A lot of travelers (and myself included) don’t realize there is much more to Ba Na Hills than just the bridge itself – it is actually an entire theme park located on a mountain, where you can spend an entire day at.

So if you are considering visiting there, make sure to read my tips!

As always, write to me for any questions 🙂

#1 Is Ba Na Hills worth visiting?

To help you decide, I put together this short quiz – ready?

• Are you planning to spend a few days in Da Nang or Hoi An?
• Do you like theme parks and often channeling your inner child?
• Do you like taking beautiful photos and make your friends jealous?

If you answered “yes” to all of these questions, you should definitely visit Ba Na Hills!

It is also a nice alternative when the weather is cloudy/rainy and you can’t spend the day at the beaches in the area.

#2 Can I travel at Ba Na Hills independently? 

YES! and if you ask me, it’s so much better than taking an organized tour.

I stayed at Hoi An and asked my hotel to book me a driver to Ba Na Hills and back, including a 6-hour wait. The ride from Hoi An takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

This choice is more pricey than organized tours (see cost breakdown in the next section) however you have the freedom of going anywhere you want and spend as much time as you wish there, without tagging along to a group and the timelines dictated by the organizer.

If you do choose to go independently, here are a few tips:

• Come early – I booked my taxi to 8 am, and arrived at the park at around 9:15 am. It took me about 10 minutes to wait in line and purchase my ticket. Generally, it’s best to arrive around 9, before the organized tours arrived, and avoid long waits at the entrance.
• Take a map of the park – when you buy your ticket, make sure you ask them for a map of the park, as it’s very helpful for getting around. Even after the first cable car ride to the top of the mountain, there are a few different worlds that you can visit (The French Village, Pagoda…) and you move between them with cable cars as well.
• It’s a long way up – the ride up in the first cable car takes about 20 minutes, and prior to that, there are an additional 15-20 minutes walk to the cable car from the entrance. Take that into consideration when you are planning how much time you wish to spend in the park itself.
  Make sure to sit on the sides so you can take nice pictures of the ride 🙂
  When you wish to leave, look for the cable car that says “to Da Nang”

 

# 3 How much does an independent trip to Ba Na Hills cost? How much is a taxi from Hoi An to Ba Na Hills?

As mentioned, the option of going to Ba Na Hills independently is more expensive, however, I still find that 85 EUR is a reasonable price. Here is the cost breakdown of my daily trip:

Cost breakdown for independent travel at Ba Na Hills

Private driver + 6 hours wait     1,300,000 VND
Cable Car ticket                           700,000 VND
Buffet Sushi Lunch                      295,000 VND
Total                                             2,295,000 VND (~85 EUR)

#4 What are the food options at Ba Na Hills?

From reading reviews prior to my visit, I understood the food at the park was nothing to write home about. Bringing food with you is, of course, an option, in fact, I saw many locals who did that. But if you’re not in the mood or don’t have the option to prepare in advance, there is a variety of restaurants that serve buffet style lunch.

I went for the sushi which was reasonable. I didn’t care much for the Tuna, However, the options with Salmon were nice and overall it was a nice lunch with good variety.

#5 What should I bring to Ba Na Hills?

Most importantly- try not to carry tons of stuff with you. There’s lots of walking to do and it’s best to travel light as possible.

Here are some essentials:

• Comfortable walking shoes
• Hat
• Sunscreen
• Light jacket – if you’re planning to stay in the evening when it gets cooler
• Camera – essentially it’s a photographer’s paradise, and even if you’re used to taking photos with your phone, you don’t want to take the risk of running out of battery and miss out on some great additions to your travel album 🙂

Here are some of mine for inspiration!