How to Spend A Great Day in Phong Nha National Park
Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, a wonderful place for adventure seekers, is often left out of the itinerary of travellers. Do you know that this National Park is home to lush forests, meandering rivers, and notable caves and that the biggest cave in the world Hang Son Doong lives here?
Thinking of how you could fully maximise your stay in Phong Nha? Well, here’s a post to get that covered. You could stay anywhere from two days to a month in Phong Nha!
I visited Phong Nha in Aug 2023 as part of my two-week-long Vietnam trip. This post contains affiliate links that cost nothing to you but support my blog. Post may also be updated periodically. Cheers!
Where is Phong Nha?
Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park is between Hanoi and Hue – two popular major spots for tourists. It’s in the narrowest part of Vietnam, in Quang Binh Province, bordering another National Park of Laos.
The area was originally a Nature Reserve but was eventually promoted to a National Park in 2001. Two years later, UNESCO inscribed the park as a World Heritage site for its extensive and exquisite limestone topography and high biodiversity. Some of the plant species, especially those in the caves, are endemic to Phong Nha.
How did the park derive its name? From joining the names of two prominent landmarks: the first cave to be discovered – Phong Nha Cave – and Ke Bang forest.
How to Reach Phong Nha
Flight to Dong Hoi
This is the fastest way to reach Phong Nha from Ho Chi Minh City or Hanoi. There are two flights from Hanoi and four from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Hoi every day.
From the airport, there are two ways to reach Phong Nha.
The cheaper option is, undoubtedly, by taking a public bus outside the waiting bay. Tickets cost around 50k dong, and the journey takes 1.5 hours on bus B4. Buses run every hour from 6 AM to 5 PM, but there are reports of this being unreliable.
The faster and more reliable option to go is with a taxi or a pre-arranged shuttle from your accommodation. This costs anywhere from 400k – 500k dong and takes 1 hour. Try to find a group of others to share the costs. Remember to negotiate!
Thinking of places to visit in Ho Chi Minh City? Here’s what to do within three days, including the Cu Chi Tunnels and a day trip to the Mekong Delta.
Train to Dong Hoi
Taking the train is another fantastic way to enjoy the scenery of the Vietnamese countryside if you travel during the day. There are five trains traversing the North-South Line from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City or vice versa: SE1, SE3, SE5, SE7, and SE19.
Do you know that the North-South Line, also known as the Reunification Express Line, is one of the world’s most beautiful railway journeys?
The journey from Hanoi to Dong Hoi takes about 10.5 hours – a very long time to spend on the train. In light of those sufficiently long hours for a long nap, we went on a sleeper train – my first sleeper train experience in Vietnam! Cost ranges between 400k dong and 850k dong for a soft seat or 4-berth sleeper.
The journey from Ho Chi Minh City to Dong Hoi takes even longer: at least 24 hours on the train. Cost ranges from 700k dong to 1200k dong.
From Dong Hoi Train Station, you’ll have to walk around 1.5 km to Dong Hoi Bus Station to catch the same public bus to Phong Nha centre.
Alternatively, there is the pricier but faster taxi option too.
Planning for your Hanoi itinerary? I visited all the main attractions in Hanoi within two days.
Bus to Phong Nha
Compared to the flights and trains which stop at Dong Hoi, buses directly reach Phong Nha centre from Hanoi or Danang. Cost ranges from 300k to 600k dong, depending on your luxury level. It leaves Hanoi Bus Station at 8 PM and reaches Phong Nha at 5 AM.
However, the buses’ timings are dependent on traffic conditions, and there are cases of buses reaching their destination an hour before schedule ~ 4 AM. Consider this if you do not want to be at a new place dead in the night.
Down south, buses also ply the roads from Hue or Danang to Phong Nha. The journey takes about 4 – 5 hours. Factor in an earlier departure if travelling from Danang. All buses to Phong Nha from the South reach Phong Nha centre between 8 – 9 PM.
How to Leave Phong Nha
If you’re planning to leave Phong Nha by train or flight, reverse the order mentioned above by Bus B4 or the taxi. Confirm with your accommodation regarding the pickup point.
There are also buses leaving Phong Nha up North or down South. Again, confirm the timings with your accommodation beforehand.
We hired a private car with stops in the Vietnamese Demilitarised Zone, ending the half-day tour at Hue.
Places to Stay in Phong Nha
You’ll need a comfortable place to stay as you explore Phong Nha! Especially so after the night bus from Hanoi that drops you in the town in the wee hours of the morning. Here are some accommodations to ponder on depending on your budget!
Budget Homestay. You have plenty of budget homestays to choose from and need not have to stay in a hostel unless you crave socialising. Cost range from 250k – 450k dong as a solo traveller living in a deluxe room. Phong Nha Friendly Home is highly rated for its superb hosts. If you want to stay by the river, Phong Nha Coco House is worth a look.
Bunks. Elsewhere, as a solo traveller looking for just a bed without the frills, you could book a bunk for about 120k dong at Tropical Valley Homestay.
Premium. If it’s something more exclusive and premium, check out Victory Road Vilas. You’ll have the whole villa for less than 1700k dong!
Best Time to Visit Phong Nha
The best time to visit Phong Nha is during the dry season of March to August.
The wet season of September to February might give a little respite in temperature – a cool 18 dC in the evenings. However, you risk your holiday ruined by heavy downpours or even floods, especially between September and November. Central Vietnam suffered one of the worst floods in years in Oct 2020 due to the monsoon and tropical cyclones.
Our One Day Guided Trip
Our one-day trip in Phong Nha was a pre-trip to our main agenda for visiting the National Park – a multi-day caving trip into the world’s largest cave Hang Son Doong!
Our sleeper train from Hanoi arrived at Dong Hoi at 6 AM, and the briefing for the expedition only began around 6 PM that day. We checked into our accommodation included in the tour plan and booked the Phong Nha tour right at the spot, which began an hour later at around 9 AM.
If you have more time to spare and know how to ride a scooter, you could rent one and tour the attractions independently. However, those short of time would find joining tours a much more convenient and comfortable way of exploring. Tours like ours range from 1 m to 1.35 m dong. You could book yours here for Paradise + Phong Nha Caves, or here for Paradise + Dark Caves.
Phong Nha Botanic Garden
Stop number one was at Phong Nha Botanic Garden, which is more of a jungle than a botanical garden. No manicured flower bushes or fountains. Rather, you have forest trails and waterfalls.
Depending on your interests, you could spend half a day going through all the attractions, including a waterfall, a lake for swimming, and a 3-hour return jungle trek.
For those not into swimming or jungle trekking, there really isn’t much to do here. Beware the big mozzies, and remember to wear grippy shoes!
We spent an hour with the guide at the exhibition house containing animal and plant specimens, some time trekking down the slippery and steep route to a waterfall, and ended the trip by browsing through a few enclosures containing monkeys and hornbills due to release eventually when they have recovered.
Tickets cost around 40k dong per person. Parking for a motorbike costs another 5k dong. The park is open from 8 AM to 5 PM.
Paradise Cave
Stop number two went beyond our expectations, maybe due to the underwhelming first stop.
Paradise Cave extends 31 km, but only 1 km was open for our visit. You could visit an additional 7 km of the cave through a guided caving expedition.
We boarded electric buggies to overcome the first 1 km towards the entrance, but were not spared from the additional 600 m sweaty climb to the cave.
Gusts of tempting cold wind rushed out from the cavernous hole. Our guide had us cooled down under the shade for another 5 minutes before leading us down the wooden stairs into the belly of Paradise Cave’s enormous cavern. You don’t want to plunge into cold air right after a sweaty climb, he advised.
A gigantic stalagmite stuck up like a fat sore thumb by the stairs. Beyond that, Paradise Cave was a huge chamber that extended deep, lit brightly by floodlights with a seemingly endless 1 km boardwalk that snaked around more stalagmites and stalactites.
Walking down the boardwalk was an excellent experience, similar to the boardwalks of Mulu’s four giant caves, but a lot cooler, brighter, and busier.
The ticket costs 250k dong per person. A return buggy costs 25k dong per person.
Lunch by Dark Cave/ Zipline
After a morning of sweaty walks in the botanic garden and to the cave, it was time for lunch. Lunch was sumptuous for our tour. Six of us shared a platter full of BBQ meat, salads, steamed vegetables, sticky rice, vegetable soup and more rice.
Then the group was split into two, with most heading off to do Dark Cave, while the remaining six of us went to Phong Nha Cave.
Boat down Phong Nha Cave
Phong Nha Cave is the first cave discovered in the region. The cave was mentioned as early as the 1900s in the travel brochures of Hue, but was only officially opened to tourists in 1997.
We boarded a boat that fit 12 and hummed down the river towards the gaping cave entrance.
Phong Nha was named after the numerous white stalagmites and stalactites observed from the cave’s entrance. The cool wind and white fang-like cave formations inspired its name – literally Wind (Phong/ 風) and Teeth (Nha/ 牙).
The ride was tough as I had to constantly fight the urge to doze off from the effects of a humongous lunch, the deliciously soothing boat ride and the lulling warm weather.
As we entered the cave, the boat attendant removed the aluminium roof above us for a better view of the cave ceiling. But having seen the impressive Paradise Cave, Phong Nha Cave was comparatively duller despite having rock formations that were fondly named Buddha, Elephant and Lion. That and my due afternoon siesta – I couldn’t pay attention! The boat dropped us at a bank, and we walked out from the cave to board the bus back to our accommodation.
In retrospect, it might be better to join the tour to Dark Cave instead of Phong Nha Cave if you want some action. The zipline and mudfest might have stopped me from falling asleep.
Ticket to Phong Nha Cave costs 150k dong per person. A boat capable of holding 12 folks cost 550k dong.
Other Activities
Dark Cave
Compared to Phong Nha Cave – a passive boat tour – participants of the Dark Cave tour get to zipline across a river, trek into the cave, and enjoy a mud bath inside the cave.
Cost of ziplining and mud bath: 450k dong
Duck Farm
Calling all duck lovers! You get to immerse yourself in a land of ducks and be a duck leader. Enjoy a duck massage (or assault), and end the day with a photo of your duck troop.
Tickets range from 100k to 250k dong.
Guided Cave and Jungle Trekking Adventures
This was the main reason we were in Phong Nha – to visit the world’s biggest cave Hang Son Doong!
But Hang Son Doong may not be in the cards of everyone, given its hefty price tag. Nonetheless, you could still dip your toes into caving for a day trip or more in Paradise Cave, Elephant Cave, or a 2D1N at Pygmy Cave with Phong Nha Discovery or Jungle Boss, or other notable caves like Hang Tien or Hang Va with Oxalis Adventure.
The same organisers also have jungle trekking tours.
Explore by Kayak or Bicycle
Some homestays or accommodations offer kayak discounts, and most loan bikes for free.
You could spice up your Phong Nha Cave adventure by joining kayak tours that bring you to the cave.
Conclusion
And there you have it – the best activities to do in Phong Nha.
You could spend anywhere from two days to a month. The wallet is your limit!
A full day to visit two caves, a week in the secluded caves, or a month through all the big caves. Not a cave enthusiast? How about a month to chill in a hammock, maybe do a bit of digital work, and then paddle down the Son River in the late afternoon in this laidback little town.
Post Phong Nha, we hired a private car to bring us south towards Hue, with stops in the Vietnamese Demilitarized Zone.
2 Comments
Emma Grove
Amazing post. I wonder, did you have to book any of the above in advance please?
We are planning a day at Phong Nha very soon and we were going to pay a LOT of money (6,250,000 dong per person!) to do a tour with Jungle Boss — they collect from hotel, provide equipment and lunch, and take you to Elephant Cave and a 600m swim, but no waterfall. I am now thinking it would be better to pay for everything individually as your day there sounds perfect. But not sure if we need to book anything in advance. It would be useful to get some of the equipment they offer too like shoes. I’d love a reply please!
Thanks
Emma
Roo
Hey Emma, thanks for reading! I did not do Elephant Cave, but what you’ve described sounds more technical. Are you doing it as a join in tour or private tour? Klook does offer a similar elephant cave tour at a cheaper rate. Maybe you can check them out: Elephant Cave