BRG Kings Island vs Sky Lake: Which Hanoi Golf Course Should You Play?

Last updated: 14 October 2026

You have one free day in Hanoi and two famous names on the shortlist. Here is the deciding fact most comparisons miss: at Sky Lake, visitors play the Sky Course, because the higher-ranked Lake Course is members-only. At BRG Kings Island you can book the resort’s best layout. That one difference settles most cases.

Kings Island vs Sky Lake at a glance

On paper the two visitor flagships are almost twins: 7,310 yards against 7,311. The differences are in access, setting and what else the resort gives you. Rankings are from Top 100 Golf Courses and the other figures from the clubs and two course guides, all checked in October 2026.

Which course can you actually play at each resort?

At Kings Island, any of the three. At Sky Lake, the Sky Course. This is the section that changes most decisions, because the ranking everyone quotes for Sky Lake belongs to a course visitors do not get.

Sky Lake: the Sky Course is the visitor course

Sky Lake opened in 2012 with the Lake Course, which runs out into Van Son Lake and plays 7,557 yards from the back tees. It is the better-known of the two and ranks #7 in Vietnam and #35 in Asia on Top 100 Golf Courses. It is also private. Top 100 Golf Courses describes the Sky Course as the layout open for general public play, while the Lake Course is kept for members. Visitors are welcome on the Sky Course on weekdays and weekends alike, as long as they book ahead. Both courses are the work of Bori Golf Design.

So when a friend says “Sky Lake is a top-ten course”, they mean a round you cannot normally book. GoGolfVietnam, a local golf tour operator based in Da Nang, plans every Sky Lake round on the Sky Course for exactly this reason. It is still a strong layout: 18 holes, par 72, tree-lined and open in turn, over rolling ground with a few climbs between holes. Tee times there must be reserved in advance, so lock in the date before anything else.

Kings Island: three courses, your choice

Kings Island gives visitors the whole menu. The Kings Course is the one golfers travel for: a wooded front nine, a water-heavy back nine and a bonus par-3 19th. Mountainview is the balanced all-rounder for mixed groups, and Lakeside, the oldest and shortest, rewards accuracy because water touches 14 holes. Our guide to which of Kings Island’s three layouts suits your game goes course by course; for this comparison, the point is simple: the best course on the property is bookable.

Which is harder, Kings Island or Sky Lake?

For a visitor, they are about even. The two courses you would actually play are separated by one yard from the back tees, both par 72, and both ask for a committed drive.

• Kings Course: the difficulty comes late. Water dominates the back nine and two long par 3s, including the 17th, test your long irons.
• Sky Course: the challenge is the ground. Undulating fairways and slopes between holes mean more uneven lies than at Kings Island.
• The genuinely hardest course of the four: Sky Lake’s Lake Course, at 7,557 yards, but it is the one reserved for members.

We normally recommend that golfers above about 18 handicap move one set of tees forward on either course. Neither is a place to discover a slice.

Getting there: how long is the day?

Plan on about an hour each way for both, and an early start. Sky Lake is closer on the map at about 34 km, but Hanoi traffic narrows the gap, and we plan Kings Island at 45–60 minutes.

Kings Island adds one variable: the club describes a speedboat crossing of about three minutes to its island clubhouse. Whether that boat is part of your morning depends on which course you are booked on, and we confirm it when booking. Sky Lake is road all the way to the clubhouse. In winter, December and January mornings can bring fog over the lakes, which is why our winter tee times at both resorts usually sit at 9 or 10am rather than first light.

Day trip or stay over?

Sky Lake is the one built for staying over. Wyndham Sky Lake Resort sits on the property, so a night there turns two rounds into two short walks to the first tee instead of two return drives. Our Sky Lake stay-and-play package is set up for exactly that. Kings Island works best as a day trip from a city hotel.

On price, Sky Lake’s visitor rate usually sits above Kings Island’s, and both rise sharply at weekends; see where both resorts sit on Hanoi’s green-fee ladder for current ranges rather than a table here.

Which should you pick for your type of trip?

Decide by who is playing and how many days you have. These are the defaults we start from when we plan Hanoi golf itineraries built around the city’s flagship courses:

Can you play both on one trip?

Yes, and on a trip of four rounds or more we would. Play them on separate days: they sit in different directions from Hanoi, so a double in one day means three to four hours in the car. The six-day Hanoi package that puts Kings Island and Sky Lake on back-to-back days does exactly that, with Kings Island on day two, Sky Lake on day three and a night in the city in between.

Prefer mountains to lakes for your second round? Thanh Lanh Valley in Vinh Phuc is the alternative we suggest, and our Thanh Lanh Valley review covers it.

Frequently Asked Questions

GoGolfVietnam is a Vietnam-based golf tour operator arranging tee times, transfers and hotels around Hanoi and Northern Vietnam.