Among the many bridges that merits celebration in Vietnam, Da Nang Golden Bridge is probably the most recognizable one. Its unique design resembling lifted by two giant hands and the golden yellow hue of this pedestrian bridge make it both photo perfect and a great place for sightseeing.
Golden bridge location
Da Nang Golden Bridge perches on a prime location inside the Bana Hills and is only accessible by cable car. The Bana Hills cable car holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s longest cable car system which takes you directly to the bridge.
The cable cars all run from Sun World, meaning the only way to get to the bridge is by buying a ticket to visit Sun World (a franchise of theme parks in Vietnam).
Read more: Exploring Bana Hills Cable Car: Price, Schedule, World Records and More
If you don’t want to risk the crowds, then its best to get your ticket before you go. You can get your online ticket (and transfers to Bana Hills) in advance.
The outstanding architecture of Golden bridge
Despite being called a bridge, the Golden bridge does not cross any lakes or rivers, but stretches across the middle of the mountain, with two heads placed at Marseille station and Bordeaux station in Thien Thai garden. Situated at a height of 1414 meters, the Golden bridge has a curved shape like a rainbow in the air.
The bridge consists of 8 spans, the largest among them is 21.2m with 7 piers and 2 abutments. The Golden Bridge is of 150m length and 5m wide in total, encompassing a 3m wide deck for pedestrians and 1m flower bet placed on two sides.
This one-of-a-kind bridge is built from reinforced concrete while the piers are made of steel pipes. The bridge shell is made of gold-plated steel sheet with shiny titanium plating. When exposed to sunlight, the bridge becomes sparkling and conspicuous in the vast space.
Especially, the giant hands that make this design extraordinary are covered with steel meshes. At the first glance, the hand looks as if it is carved out of natural stones with traces of moss. Yet, it turns out to be an artificial work of art, showing the great creativity and workmanship of people.
Read more: High-Altitude Adventure: Double Twists on the Ba Na Hills Alpine Coaster in Vietnam
Best time to visit Golden bridge (and avoid the crowds)
Perched on a high mountain range, about 1400m above sea level, the weather on Golden bridge is cool and temperate all-year-round. It can be mist and foggy during the rainy season. As you absolutely want to check-in the iconic bridge in the clear skies, attempt to visit between March and September. In which, June to August is the warmest time and also the peak tourist season.
The Golden bridge in Da Nang opens from 7:00 a.m to 9:30 p.m every day. The most crowded hours range between 9:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m. when many people go there to catch the sunrise and sunset moments. If you want to avoid the crowds, it is best to visit earlier or later than everyone else, particularly before 9:00 am and after 5:00 pm to feel the restful atmosphere under the golden light.
Photography tips for the Golden bridge
To take memorable pictures of the Golden bridge, you had better visit it in the morning or cool afternoon. In the morning, when the surroundings are covered with fog, you will have mysterious pictures. After a while, when the sun rises, you can take fanciful selfie photos under the shimmering lights. At sunset, the scenery looks extremely romantic and spectacular, it’s an appropriate time for you to be in deep thoughts and go for a loose-limbered walk around the bridge.
If you desire to take viral photos and videos of the gorgeous Golden bridge in Da Nang, find out the best instagramable spots below.
Take panoramic photos from the right/left side
This is one of the best shooting angles for taking a completed Golden bridge image even though you simply want your own pictures of this bridge, or want to stand with it inside a frame and then show the picture with your happy smiley face to the world, tell them you visited the Golden bridge that is inspiring throughout social networks.
Stand inside a hand
It is a classic posing position that creates the feeling that you are held entirely in a huge ancient hand, making you become a part of the bridge’s grandeur. However, there will be a lot of tourists who also wish to pose right at the position that you want to stand so sometimes you will have to wait a little bit till your turn. But it is worth a memorable picture, right?
Simulate the hand
Simulating is a familiar trend when posing with a statue these years. Copying a hand is not difficult but you will have to care a little about the shooting angle if you do not want your hand and the Golden Bridge’s hand to look irrelevant. The usual position for this simulating posing style is that you will have to choose any point which makes others feel like you really are a copy of the statue. Therefore, putting your hand right before the Golden bridge’s hand seems a very good choice.
Take photos with your darling
Golden Bridge in Da Nang has become a popular site for marrying couples or lovers to save sweet moments in their photo albums. It is perfect to capture panoramic photographs while couples are walking hands in hands, looking at each other, and giving a sweet kiss. What is better than couples’ photos in the romantic landscape of “A walk in the clouds”.
Capture portrait photos
Another must-try style at Golden bridge is portrait photos while capturing the giant hands from afar. This style is perfect for girls/ women to take solo photos. You can either look directly at the camera or look the other way.
Read more: A Complete Guide to Ba Na Hills
Reviews Golden bridge on Tripadvisor
joined a local tour to Ba Na hills last year September.Golden bridge is one of the sighseeing spots included.it is attractive,i joined the tour also because of this giant hands bridge.that time quite crowded,hard to take pics,have to wait,so better leave some time here if you want to take pics.but since i joined a tour,the time is a bit tight fot me.maybe next time will come by myself,even stay here,then have lots of time to enjoy it and also taking photos.another good place to take photos of this bridge is the cable station(departure one),but there is a big glass window there,so might not be perfect for photos-taking lovers.
Raymondale (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
beautiful and awesome specially golden bridge and cable car. 30 minutes journey from danang, vietnam. you can start in morning 9 am and come back at 5 pm on same day.
Dr Md Rizaul K (Rajshahi City, Bangladesh)
This place is amazing and a must for any traveller to Hoi An. The bridge itself is 5km from the main station, and only accessible by cable car. The views are outstanding from the cable car. So much to see there apart from the golden bridge.
Can be very scary and nerve wracking for those who are afraid of heights, it’s very very high up so choose wisely before getting on it!
Arianne R (London, UK)
How to get to the Golden bridge
The first hurdle, once in Da Nang, is to get to the Bana Hills that lie just outside it. You can expect about a 1-hour journey to get to the Golden Bridge from Da Nang city centre, requiring a drive, a cable car and a walk. Here’s a little step-by-step guide on how to get from Da Nang to the Golden bridge.
Step 1: Get to the Ba Na Foothills
Once you’re ready to head out, there are a number of options for getting to the bottom of the Bana Hills from Da Nang. There are several cable car stations that service the enormous area of the Bana Hills; the one you need to aim for is the Hoi An station, which takes you directly to the Golden bridge. The following options all cover the 25km between city center and the Bana Hills, and should get you there in under an hour.
Option 1 – By self-drive car/motorbike
If you feel like travelling the Vietnamese way, you can rent a motorbike or car within the city and take the scenic drive yourself. There are 2 routes you can choose:
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Route 1: Da Nang city centre – Duy Tan Road – Nguyen Van Linh Road – Nguyen Tri Phuong St. – Dien Bien Phu St. – national route 1A – Ba Na-Suoi Mo – see the road sign – Bana Hills
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Route 2: Da Nang city centre – Duy Tan Road – Nguyen Van Linh Road – Nguyen Tri Phuong St. – Le Do Road – Nguyen Tat Thanh Road – Nguyen Luong Bang/national route 1A – DT602 – see the road sign – Bana Hills
Book online motorbike rental now
Option 2 – Taxi
All of the taxis in Da Nang are now legally set at the same price per kilometre (though actual application of this is not total). Taxis are the most convenient option as this is a personalised service and can go at any time, but the price increase reflects that. By comparison, motorbike taxis remain unregulated, meaning that some bargaining must happen and quite a bit of trust must be placed before jumping on the back.
Of the most reliable companies, Mai Linh, Tien Sa and Vinasun Taxi are among the best. You will see many of these on the streets of Da Nang, so either flag one down or request your hotel reception to arrange one on your behalf.
Getting from Da Nang to the Golden bridge is much more of a breeze this way, with a slightly quicker travel time but a heavily increased price. Expect to pay 300,000 – 350,000 VND ($13 – $15 USD) each way from the city centre in a normal 4-seater taxi, or around 400,000 – 450,000 VND ($17.25 – $19.50 USD) for a 6-seater SUV. Taxis will wait for you at the bottom of the hill and return you to your hotel afterwards if you can negotiate a higher price for them to do so.
Option 3 – Private car transfer service
If you want to be more flexible about time management as well as choosing your preferred route to get to Da Nang Golden bridge. The price above already includes wage for a driver, gasoline, parking fee and road traveling fee, passenger insurance. Families with children usually use this service for transportation to Bana Hills thanks to its flexibility to kids.
Option 4 – Join a tour
The comfort and convenience of an organised day trip to the Bana Hills makes this option a great one for families. These sorts of tours cover everything involved in the return trip to the Golden bridge from Da Nang, including transport from your hotel to the Bana Hills, entrance fee, lunch and a guided tour of some of the Bana Hills most sought-after attractions, before the return to your hotel in the afternoon.
Click here to check prices for the Bana Hills Day Tour with Golden Bridge
Step 2: Board the cable car
Once arrived at the bottom of the Bana Hills, proceed through the entrance to purchase a ticket for the park. You can purchase directly at ticket booths or kiosks on Bana Hills. However, you should buy ticket online with Klook to save up and cut the line. Walk through to the Hoi An station, where the longest cable car in the world awaits.
Queue for the pod and step in when it arrives. The cable car ride from Da Nang to the Golden bridge is about 17 minutes and arrives at the ‘Marseilles station’. Along the way, its passes above gorgeous verdant scenery and provides excellent views down below to My Khe beach and the urban expanse of the city. Also along the way, it shatters many of the previously held Guinness World Records for cable cars, such as the greatest elevation change from floor to top and the greatest distance between two cable pylons.
Step 3: Head out onto the Bridge
From the circlular arrival room of the Marseilles station, you can exit directly onto the Golden Bridge and begin your walk along its 150 metres of wooden walkways, flanked by lavender and coated from the bottom and the handrails in a royal gold. After getting your pictures of the fabulous bridge, its magnificent hands and the uncompromised view of Da Nang with its beach and mountains from high above, you can take in the rest of the Bana Hills at your leisure. There are a multitude of activities for you to enjoy before you take a cable car back from any of the stations to the entrance of the park, and onwards to Da Nang via your return transport.
Hotel at Golden bridge
Those who don’t fancy making such an early start can stay overnight in the heart of Bana Hills. The Mercure hotel is set in a section of the French village that is only a very short cable car away from the Golden bridge. The area had recreated French castles, churches and cobbled streets for people to explore.There are plenty of restaurants around the hotel as well. It looked like people staying at Mercure hotel could get a cable car at 7am to the bridge, being the first people there.
The Golden bridge in Da Nang is a great destination for families, Instagram and photography lovers. Basically anyone who enjoys epic views and Guinness World Record cable car rides.
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