Had a photo or Instagram post of the Golden Hands Bridge in Vietnam saved for ages now and you’re finally planning your ultimate Vietnam holiday? Read on to discover how to get Vietnam’s famous Golden Hands Bridge and handy (hehe) information to know before you explore.
Suggested read: Before you go to the the Golden Hands Bridge, do this.
Where is Vietnam’s Golden Hands Bridge?
The famous Golden Hands Bridge is located within the middle of Vietnam, near the city of Da Nang.
You can find the Golden Hands Bridge some 40km west of the city of Da Nang in an area called Ba Na Hills. Be careful when using Google Maps for distances here as if you are staying in Da Nang you’ll very likely be staying in the city (which is not quite the area Google Maps initially shows you) – your best bet for estimating distances is to put the ‘Dragon Bridge Da Nang’ as your starting Da Nang point as this is central Da Nang and likely to be where you will stay if you stay overnight in Da Nang.
As you can see from photos of the Golden Hands Bridge, this famous spot is located on mountains and surprising for some is actually the entrance to an amusement park: Ba Na Hills SunWorld. This place is massive with multi-levels of activities to explore. You can learn more about what is available at Ba Na Hills SunWorld here.
However, first things first, you’ll need to learn how to get to Golden Hands Bridge and the important information you need for the Golden Hands Bridge before you go.
Suggested read: First time in Vietnam: The best things to do in Vietnam for first-timers.
How to get to Da Nang
The easiest (and most direct) way to get to the Golden Hands Bridge is to fly to Da Nang International Airport. A few airlines serve this airport, and you can fly here from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City (two very popular routes) or places like Seoul in South Korea. We flew from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang the night before.
Da Nang International Airport is very conveniently placed for those wanting to stay in Da Nang (it is also the major airport servicing the popular Hoi An), and Da Nang is a fantastic place to base yourself if you want to get to the Golden Hands Bridge.
How to get to the Golden Hands Bridge from Da Nang?
As mentioned above, The Golden Hands Bridge is located at the entrance to Ba Na Hills SunWorld, about 40km west of the city of Da Nang. We wanted to arrive at the bridge first thing (and heads up, it still got very busy, very quickly) and didn’t want to hire a motorbike, scooter or car so we hired a driver who would pick us up at our hotel, wait and drop us off. I imagine we paid over the odds for this, especially as we booked before we arrived in Vietnam, and it cost about 830,000 Vietnamese dong for the return car journey. However, it was a very convenient way to travel.
If you don’t want to hire a driver, your options are to hire a scooter, motorbike or car (and many people were travelling via scooter) – just make sure you’re licensed and your travel insurance would cover you or go on a tour. There are multiple tour options to Golden Hands Bridge you can find via Google.
How to get to the Golden Hands Bridge from Hoi An
As mentioned above Da Nang International Airport is the airport that services Hoi An and therefore due to Hoi An’s proximity to Ba Na Hills, many people who are staying in Hoi An have the Golden Hands Bridge on their Vietnam must-do list. It takes longer to get to the famous bridge from Hoi An – at least an hour, sometimes more (Google Maps directions here), and you can get to Golden Hands Bridge from Hoi An the same way as from Da Nang – by hiring your own vehicle, going on a tour or hiring a driver. Just note, that it does cost more (due to the extra distance) visiting the bridge from Hoi An than from Da Nang.
Do you have to take a cable car to the Golden Hands Bridge?
The short answer: yes. But it is well worth the journey. When you arrive at Ba Na Hills SunWorld, you actually are arriving at the bottom of the attraction and the way up is via cable car. Once you’ve journey-ed via cable car up the mountain rom here you will find the bridge at the entrance to the amusement park (not at the bottom entrance). The views here are absolutely stunning and the cable car experience was a real highlight of my trip here.
Please note: the cable car takes approximately 20 to 25 minutes each way and it does get very high above the ground. Due to the height of the mountain, it can get shrouded in cloud very quickly so be sure to take photos at the start just in case. The price is quite a lot for what you get if you are just interested in going for the photo of the bridge but it includes entrance to Ba Na Hills SunWorld if you want to spend longer.
How much does it cost to go to the Golden Hands Bridge?
Unlike Vietnam overall, visiting the Golden Hands Bridge is not cheap – and that’s just the entry fee to Ba Na Hills SunWorld. Without factoring in the cost of transport to get to this attraction that is slightly out of the way, Ba Na Hills SunWorld cost 825,000 Vietnamese dong (approximately $50AUD) per adult to enter. You can find ticket prices here. They also define adult based on height not age, so if you’re on the shorter side, you may get lucky!
Things to know before visiting the Golden Hands Bridge
- Bring a jacket, you’re in the mountains and it can get cold up there.
- Arrive early if you want to experience it without a lot of crowds – but it still will get very crowded quite quickly. You can find opening hours on their official website.
- There are two hands so two different opportunities, so if one side seems more crowded, go to the other!
- Check the weather forecast – it will really, really impact your experience. This attraction sits very high up on the mountain meaning it does not take a lot of cloud to cover it up, regardless if the weather below is okay. You can find out more about how this impacted our experience here: Before you go to the Golden Hands Bridge in Vietnam, do this.
The Two Famous Vietnam Bridges in Da Nang
Did you know that there is more than one famous bridge in Da Nang in Vietnam? The city also hosts Dragon Bridge. This is a pedestrian and vehicle bridge that is in heavy use. If you time your visit to Da Nang right you’ll be able to enjoy this dragon bridge breathing fire (yes, you read that right!). We only visited in the day due to our schedule but it was still an added highlight to our time in Da Nang. Find out more about Da Nang Dragon Bridge here.
This information provided here is based off my own experience and research during my visit to Vietnam. If you have any questions, I recommend contacting SunWorld who I am sure will be able to clarify anything.
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