7 Days Travel Itinerary in Vietnam. BaNa Hills - A French Village in the Heart of Vietnam

Day 1: 27 September 2018 (Thursday)  ● PENANG – KUALA LUMPUR - DANANG   
Penang (PEN - Penang Intl) → Kuala Lumpur (KUL – KLIA2) via AirAsia  AK611Kuala Lumpur (KUL – KLIA2) → DaNang (DAD) via AirAsia AK648
PM: Arrive DaNang International Airport 
PM: Take Grab Taxi to Green House Hotel and check-in  
PM: Walk to  My Khe Beach and dinner at Be Anh 2 Seafood Restaurant 

PM: Take Grab Taxi to Chè Thái Liên for local dessert 

Day 2: 28 September 2018 (Friday)  ● HUE  
AM: Depart from hotel to Hue (distance 2.5 hours journey)  
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Green House Hotel 
AM: Minh Mang Tomb  
AM: Khai Dinh Tomb  
PM: Thien Mu Pagoda  
PM: Imperial City (The Citadel) 
PM: River Cruise at Perfume River  
PM: Return to DaNang
PM: Dinner at Be Anh Seafood RestaurantPM: Enjoy Dragon Bridge View at night followed by supper (local dessert) at 196 Bạch Đằng, Quận Hải Châu, , DaNang, 550000 

Day 3: 29 September 2018 (Saturday)  ● DANANG 
AM: My Khe Beach
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Green House Hotel
AM: Take Coco Bus Tour N2 at East Sea Park
AM: Linh Ung Pagoda (Lady Buddha of DaNang)
AM: Marble Mountain
PM: Roman Catholic Diocese of DaNang
PM: Han Market
PM: Shopping at Big C Hypermarket, DaNang
PM: Dinner at Lotteria at Parkson, DaNang    

Day 4: 30 September 2018 (Sunday)  ● BANA HILLS 
AM: Visit Man Thai Fishing VillageAM: Breakfast at hotel, Green House Hotel
AM: Depart from DaNang to Bana Hills (journey to BaNa Hills is around 45minutes)
AM: Arrive at BaNa Hill Gateway. Took hotel to Hoi An Station → walk to Bordeaux Station → Louvre Station  
AM: Check-in Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills
PM: Visit French Village
PM: Fantasy Park
PM: Visit Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple, Ba Shrine, Tombstone Temple, Spiritual Zone 
PM: Take the Funicular to Flower Garden
PM: Visit Le Jardin d’Amour Flower Garden
PM: Visit Linh Ung Pagoda
PM: Visit Golden Bridge
PM: Fantasy Park 

Day 5: 1 October 2018 (Monday)  ● HOI AN
AM: Breakfast at hotel, Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills
AM: Walk along French VillageAM: Check-out from hotel
AM: Take cable car from L’indochine Station to Toc Tien Station
AM: Take Grab Taxi to Hoi An (distance 1.5 hours journey)
AM: Check-in River Suites Hoi An and refresh
PM: Visit Japanese Bridge (Chua Cau)
PM: Visit Trung Hoa Assembly Hall
PM: Quang Trieu (Cantonese) Assembly Hall
PM: Visit Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien)
PM: Dinner at Old Garden Restaurant 
PM: Hoi An Night Market  

Day 6: 2 October 2018 (Tuesday)  ● HOI AN 
AM: Breakfast at hotel, River Suites Hoi An
AM: Visit Old House of Tan Ky
AM: Watch Art Performance at Hoi An Traditional Art Performance House and play Bai Choi (Vietnamese Bingo Game) 
AM: Visit Hoi An Market
PM: Visit Japanese Town and Phung Hung Ancient House
PM: Stroll around Hoi An Ancient Town and watch sunset along the river banks
PM: Put paper lanterns on the river (at night)
PM: Dinner at Nha Hang Vi Que Vietnamese Restaurant
PM: Hoi An Night Market
PM: Supper at CocoBox Hoi An

Day 7: 3 October 2018 (Wednesday)  ● HOI AN - KUALA LUMPUR – PENANG 
AM: Breakfast at hotel, River Suites Hoi An
AM: Hoi An Ancient Town and Cau An Hoi (Bridge)
AM: Hoi An Japanese Bridge
AM: Check-out from hotel and depart to DaNang (distance approx. 45minutes journey)
AM: Depart from DaNang (DAD) International Airport via AirAsia AK649 - Kuala Lumpur
International Airport (KUL – KLIA2) via AirAsia AK6138 - Penang (PEN - Penang Intl
Airport) 

The Golden Hand bridge that has everyone talking

The Golden Bridge was the main reason we traveled to BaNa Hills in the first place. We’ve

seen so many great pictures / videos of the Golden Bridge that has gone viral on social 

media, and so we’ve added it into our bucket list and decided to visit this place during our 

trip to DaNang. 

BaNa Hills is located roughly 35 km from city center or approx. 45 minutes’ drive from

Central DaNang. We hired a local driver from DaNang to BaNa Hills and it cost us around 

350,000VND. The driver dropped us at BaNa Hills Gateway at around 10am and there

were already plenty of tourists.   

BaNa Hills is located approx. 35km from the city of DaNang

The cable car in BaNa Hills is one of the ten most impressive cable car in the world

The cable car that took us to the top of the French Village

We were escorted by the hotel staff by a club car to the main lobby located downhill. From there, they processed our room check-in, paid for the entrance fees and board the cable car. There are three cable car lines (i) Suoi Mo Station – BaNa Line, (ii) Debay – Morin Line, (iii) Toc Tien – L’Indochine Line to reach the top, and we took the cable car from Hoi An Station for our journey up the hill. The cable car took us to Marseille Station, where we hop off. Here you can spend some time exploring the many gardens, the Wine Cellar, Linh Ung Pagoda as well as the Golden Bridge. 

There were so many tourists at the Golden Bridge that time (11am -12noon), that it was totally impossible for us to get a nice shot without others in it. So, we decided to escape from the tourists and move on to Bordeaux Station and take the next cable car up to the French
Village.

The cable car in BaNa Hills is one of the ten most impressive cable car system in the world:
**The longest non-stop single track cable car with a total lenth of 5,801 meters
**The highest climb by a non-stop single track cable car with a height of 1,368 meters

When we reached the top, the mist enclosed us. We were deep in bright white cloud, so thick
that we couldn’t even see the cable cars passing us in the opposite direction. It was eerie,
surreal, and to be honest a pretty awesome experience. There was nothing you could take a
photo of — we were in the sky surrounded by white mist, nothing much for us to see.

The amusement complex located at BaNa Hills also contains a Dinosaur / Wild Life Park

The Fantasy Park located at BaNa Hills is the largest entertainment center in Vietnam

Right after checking into the 4-star Mercure Ba Na Hills French Village Hotel and finished
dropping our stuff, we headed straight to the Fantasy Park, where we found many games
and thrill rides as well as 4D and 5D theaters. The Alpine Coaster is definitely something that you should experience, but we didn’t get a chance, though due to its weather condition.

Location map to various pagodas on top of BaNa Hills

Big Buddha at Sun World BaNa Hills

We also visited a few pagodas, Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple, Ba Shrine, Tombstone Temple
and Linh Ung Pagoda and did some prayers. The Buddha statue is the coolest I’v seen at
BaNa Hills. All white that seems to reach straight to the sky. Definitely a sight to see! We
also highly recommend you to climb up the stairs to the pagodas for an even better view. 

Le Jardin D'Amour Flower Garden

Beautiful huge garden

One for the album

Smiles for the camera

Le Jardin d'Amour flower garden is designed by the architecture of France

We then get on a funicular railway and ride down to the Le Jardin d’Amour Flower Garden.
The funicular experience was actually pretty fun one and the scenery was lovely. The Le
Jardin d’Amour Flower Garden is a romantic garden in Europen style. There were many
gardens there, but we only visited the Love Garden. The gardens are nicely arranged with
pretty layouts and colorful flowers, it is definitely one of the favorite photo spots in BaNa
Hills.

The Golden Bridge is always crowded with people during the day. I managed to take this pic after the day trip tourists left 

BaNa Hills French Village surrounded by beautiful architectural buildings

BaNa Hills French Village surrounded by beautiful architectural buildings

Foggy at the French village

The Beer Plaza

Huge Plaza - The interior of Beer Plaza

After lunch it was finally time to explore the famed “Golden Bridge” — my entire reason for
visiting. The “Golden Bridge” actually has attracted hordes of tourists since June 2018. It is
designed to make visitors feel like they’re taking a stroll on a shining thread stretching
across the hands of gods. The bridge itself was spectacular!  However, it was very misty, due
to the heavy downpour earlier. Everything was soaking wet, and the mist was so dark and
thick that we couldn’t’ even take nice pictures. So, we waited for the rain to stop and
returned to our hotel enjoy the quiet moment at the French Village! By the time we got up, it
was already 6.00pm.  There's really nothing much left to see and do as the skies were getting
dark and everything has closed.  

Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills features a 19th century European village

One for the album

French Village Church

French Village Church

French Village Church

Couples having pre-wedding photo shoot

The French Village in BaNa Hills is an unique architectural work of ancient French villages

The interior details of the church

The interior details of the church

BaNa Hills French Village surrounded by beautiful architectural buildings

The next morning, we decided to get up from bed early, walk around and explore the French

Village and take plenty of photos. The entire area is really empty from tourists and huge,

with many French-style buildings & architecture. Best time to take lotsa pictures!   

In the hands of the God

Smiles for the camera

One for the album

Myself along the Golden Bridge

After that, we made our way to the Golden Bridge again, hoping that we will be able to

capture some nice shots. It was foggy on that morning. However, there were fewer crowds
and we enjoyed walking and admiring the bridge and the two giant hands structure. It feels
like walking on clouds! After a while, the mist had lifted slightly, and we could see more of
the surrounding area and managed to capture some nice shots for my blog post.

There’s never a dull moment in BaNa Hills. Despite the misty weather condition, it’s still an
awesome experience for us.   

Aside from the Golden Bridge, there is a lot more to explore at BaNa Hills. We hope this blogpost is helpful in planning your trip to BaNa Hills, Vietnam. 

There is never dull moment at BaNa Hills

What to See / Do at BaNa Hills? 
Visit the Golden Bridge
Stroll and take pictures at the French Village (Old French-styled architecture)
Enjoy the excitement at the Fantasy Park and Jurassic Park
Visit the Wax Statue Museum
Experience the First and Unique Funicular in Vietnam
Experience the Alpine Coaster
Visit Le Jardin d’Amour Flower Garden and Park
Visit Linh Chua Linh Tu Temple, Ba Shrine, Tombstone Temple, Spiritual Zone
Visit Linh Ung Pagoda
Enjoy Cable Car Ride
Enjoy a glass of beer at Beer Plaza
Visit Debay Wine Cellar
Get entertain by street performances 

Accommodation(s): 
BANA HILLS 
Mercure Danang French Village Bana Hills (30 Sept 2018 – 1 Oct 2018)
Address: Thôn An Son, Hòa Vang, Da Nang, Vietnam
Tel: +84 236 3799 888 
e-mail:  H8488-RE@accor.com 
Room price: MYR263.68 / 1 night for 2 adults booked via Agoda
Room type: Standard Room inclusive of breakfast

The view from the room with cobblestone streets

Mercure Danang French Village

Air Itinerary Details: 
AirAsia: Penang (PEN) – Kuala Lumpur (KUL) – DaNang (DAD)/ DaNang (DAD)– Kuala
Lumpur (KUL) - Penang (PEN) 
From             To                 Flight        Date                    Dep     Arr 
PEN                KUL               AK6111        27 Sept 2018       07:10    08:10
KUL                DAD              AK648         27 Sept 2018       10:30    12:05
DAD               KUL               AK649         3 Oct 2018           12:35     16:20
KUL                PEN               AK6138       3 Oct 2018           17:55     18:55
Return ticket fare/person: MYR473 (KUL-DAD-KUL) + MYR178.48 (PEN-KUL-PEN) =
MYR651.48 (Economy Class) 

VietJetAir : Ho Chi Minh City (SGN) to DaNang (DAD) 
From         To             Flight           Date                  Dep      Arr 
SGN            DAD           VJ628            27 Sept 2018     09:00   10:20
One-way ticket fare/person (inclusive of 20kgs baggage allowance): USD39.95 
VietJetAir Booking Website: https://vietjetair.com/Sites/Web/en-US/Home 

Cable Car Schedule: 
First ride going up to BaNa Hills: 07.30
Last ride going down from BaNa Hills: 21.30 
* Operation schedule may change depending on the weather  

Should you stay overnight at BaNa Hills? 
It is possible to enjoy Ba Na Hills in one day, but we strongly recommend you to overnight
here so that you can explore this place during off-peak hours, between the park closing and
nightfall, and after sunrise and park opening as you could experience it with fewer people
crowding around. 

Entrance Fees: 
Entrance fee to BaNa Hills (inclusive of 2-eay ticket to BaNa Hills Resort and 90
complimentary games and 1 day validity at Fantasy Park:
Adult – 700,000 VND / 400,000VND (Mercure Danang French Village guest)
Child – 550,000 VND / 300,000VND (Mercure Danang French Village guest)
Child (below 100cm) – Free 

Entrance fee to BaNa Hills

When to Go? 
April - September: Best time for summer escape, but do expect more crowd
October - February: Winter / Rainy Season.  Midweek is perfect and less crowd
Note: All entrance / transportation fees and accommodation rates/charges listed on this
post are based on our (chengywong.blogspot.com) travel dates (2018) and therefore subject
to change(s). ©chengywong.blogspot.com is not responsible for content on external web
sites. 

“For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” – Robert Louis Stevenson 

Welcome to Small World! This blog is not a travel agency, but rather a personal site which allows us to share our past travel experiences in a straightforward and far-reaching way. We often made great use of other peoples travel blogs and sites every time we plan for our travel itinerary as they often contained most updated information and invaluable resources from their past travel experiences. We hope that you will find every piece of information & images contained within our blog handy and useful. Thank you very much for reading our post(s). If you find this blog worth a read, please feel free to leave a comment/testimonial or click "Like/Share" if you love reading them all. xoxo Both Chengy & Camel are passionate travelers who enjoys speaking to young keen travelers about the freedom to get cultured and to taste the fullness of life. Feel free to contact them if you need any travel advice, guidance or tips or if you have any burning questions with regards to your upcoming trip(s)/ journey

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