All you need to know about visiting Phong Nha, Vietnam

If you’re into caves, then Phong Nha has got to be on your Vietnam itinerary.

This town is the main jumping point for the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, where you’ll find some of the biggest caves on the planet.

I visited Phong Nha in October 2023 and loved it. I don’t know why it’s not on more people’s radar, and it feels up and coming on the backpacker circuit for sure!

To help you plan your own trip (or decide whether it’s worth a try), I’ve written this guide to Phong Nha. You’ll find information on what to do, where to stay and when to visit.

About Phong Nha

Phong Nha is a town in Central Vietnam. It’s best known for being the location of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Phong Nha town is actually called Son Trach. However, as the location of Phong Nha cave, it’s most commonly referred to by this name!

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park features a karst landscape similar to (although not as impressive as) Ha Long Bay or Ninh Binh. But that’s not what you’re here for! You’re here for the caves.

Home to some of the world’s biggest caves

Karst landscapes form because they’re made from limestone. Limestone is easily dissolved away by rainwater and groundwater, which ends up in the formation of cavities. These cavities grow and grow until, eventually, you get caves.

Indeed, across the karst areas of Vietnam you’ll find plenty of caves, small and large. There’s over 400 caves in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park alone!

What sets the caves in Phong Nha apart from elsewhere is their size. They are pretty massive. Most notably, Son Doong is the largest cave in the world by volume, whilst Hang En is third largest.

You’ll have to put aside a small fortune to get to these massive caves. However, the tourist caves in the park, like Paradise Cave, Phong Nha Cave and Dark Cave, are impressive in their own right. I’ve never seen a cave as magnificent as Paradise Cave and probably never will again!

Phong Nha, a hidden gem

One thing I liked about Phong Nha was the absence of lots of tourists. Compared to places like Ninh Binh, it was very quiet. We didn’t meet many backpackers who were headed there!

I think this makes the town much better. There’s a lot of tourist infrastructure right in the centre, but as soon as you get to the outskirts (which doesn’t take long, as it’s not very big!) the town is mostly local people. They were some of the friendliest people we saw in North Vietnam and it was normal for kids to say hi or wave as we passed.

We visited at the time of Vietnamese Women’s Day. It was so nice to see the locals holding parties and having a generally great time.

The town does have a great balance of tourist infrastructure and local population, and as a result we felt comfortable here.

Ratings

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit. Those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how Phong Nha rated:

• Safety: 5/5 – the town feels very safe and friendly. Some of the activities were less so (caving, kayaking, zip lines etc), but as a rule we felt quite safe.
• Accessibility: 3/5 – it’s fairly easy to get to Phong Nha by bus. However, the activities here are not accessible. I can’t think of an attraction that doesn’t involve steps or uneven ground!
• Enjoyment: 5/5 – Phong Nha was my favourite place in Vietnam to visit!
• Value: 4/5 – accommodation and food was generally affordable. However, the attractions and tours were quite expensive.

Overall score: 4.25/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system

How to get to Phong Nha

It’s possible to arrive at Phong Nha by both bus and train.

I personally think it’s easiest to travel by bus. Tourist buses will take you directly to Phong Nha from wherever you are, whilst the nearest train station is in Dong Hoi, 40 km away, so you’d need to get a taxi or bus anyway. When including the transfer from Dong Hoi, the train will likely work out more expensive and longer than the bus anyway!

By bus

It’s possible to travel to Phong Nha directly from Ninh Binh, Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An, so don’t worry about changing buses or anything like that. Most buses from the further away destinations are sleepers, or the closer ones can be accessed by sitting buses.

It’s easiest to book your bus through your hotel. They’ve got the contacts and the most up to date information on schedules. However, you can also book via 12go.asia – a good option if you want full details on timings, prices and operators. Sometimes when booking through your accommodation there isn’t that transparency!

Make sure to check the class of whatever sleeper bus you go with: sleeper, cabin or VIP.

• Sleeper is the lowest and cheapest tier, with 4 sleeper beds in a row;
• Cabin has 3 beds in a row, with privacy curtains;
• VIP has 2 beds in a row, which are fully flat (unlike the others)

If you’re wanting a good night’s sleep, VIP is the way to go – although my sleep on a cabin bus was actually pretty good! If you’re on a budget, sleeper or cabin are good options.

Also, check how to get to your accommodation on the other side. Many of the sleeper buses arriving in Phong Nha come in around 3 am. Some hotels will have somewhere you can chill until it’s a reasonable time or offer early check in, and many on the outskirts of town will pick you up for free.

We booked our accommodation to begin that night, to guarantee we would be able to sleep in a bed as soon as we arrived. We didn’t want to leave it to chance!

By train

If you travel by train, you’ll need to head to the station in Dong Hoi. This is the nearest big city.

From Dong Hoi, it’s 40 km to Phong Nha. You can then take a taxi or bus to reach the town.

By plane

A third option is to fly to Dong Hoi. This is possibly the best option if you’re arriving internationally, as if you’re at the airport in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City you can just hop on a domestic plane to get there.

There are minimal connections to cities other than Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, so you’ll need to take the bus or train.

Once you’ve arrived in Dong Hoi, your options are the same as getting the train. You’ll need to take a bus or taxi to Phong Nha.

When should you visit Phong Nha?

Central Vietnam’s rainy season is from September to November. During rainy periods some of the caves can flood, particularly wet caves like Phong Nha Cave and Dark Cave, and therefore they’ll be closed. The multi-day expeditions to the biggest caves also won’t run during this period.

For people who are travelling specifically to visit Phong Nha, avoid this time of year! This gives you the best chances of all caves being open to visitors when you visit.

However, I recognise that elsewhere in Vietnam and South-East Asia have slightly different rainy seasons. It’s just not possible to be everywhere during perfect weather.

We visited in mid-October and didn’t have any problems. It didn’t rain and all the main tourist caves were open! However, I think we were lucky. Our tour guide told us that Phong Nha Cave had been closed until four days before our visit, and, the day after we left, the heavens opened in the area!

Where to stay

When deciding where to stay in Phong Nha, you have plenty of options. You’ll find accommodation in the town and surrounding countryside, as well as in the nearby Bong Lai Valley.

In Phong Nha town itself, there is a surprisingly large selection of places to stay, with homestays, hostels, and hotels all available. However, there are only a couple of hostels in town, of which Central Backpackers appears to be the biggest.

The best homestays, in my opinion, tend to be on the outskirts of town. As the town and main road heading out is located along the river, many homestays have a view of the water, and they’re also the best place to stay if you want friendly hosts and a family atmosphere.

Alternatively, you’ll find many homestays in the countryside surrounding the town. The area is generally very pretty so makes for a more tranquil location, although you may be some way from restaurants and other amenities.

We stayed at Hung Phat Bungalow, a couple of kilometres outside town. The bungalows are set on stilts, overlooking the marshes behind. The host was so friendly and we felt like we were in good hands!

Where to eat

We didn’t stay in the centre of Phong Nha, so it’s difficult to recommend where’s best to eat.

We had a good meal at Lantern Restaurant in the centre. Their banh xeo was super!

We ate a lot at Family Restaurant. It’s a couple of kilometres outside the centre so isn’t close to much of the town. However, we enjoyed our meals here. It was affordable and the family running it were super friendly!

What to do in Phong Nha

1. Caving expeditions to Son Doong and other notable caves

If you’re wanting to visit Son Doong, the world’s biggest cave by volume, or some of the other massive caves in the park, then you can.

However, be prepared to pay a LOT for the experience! A 4 day, 3 night expedition to Son Doong costs $3000. Shorter expeditions to less well known caves are also possible but will still set you back a couple of hundred dollars. That being said, sleeping in these caves and visiting them, with the visitor numbers as low as they are, would be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Many of these expeditions need to be booked months in advance – Son Doong expeditions in particular sell out years in advance. Several also require caving experience, whilst others are open to beginners.

When I visited the park, it was the rainy season, so most of the expensive expeditions were on hiatus until November. If they had been running, I would’ve been seriously tempted… Onto the bucket list they go!

If you’re interested, I’d recommend checking out Oxalis Adventure, the leading provider of caving expeditions in the area and the only one with access to Son Doong Cave.

2. Paradise Cave

For most of us visiting Phong Nha, Paradise Cave is the highlight. At a much more reasonable 250,000 dong ($10 / £8) and 40 mins drive outside town, it’s accessible and easy to visit.

Paradise Cave was discovered in 1992 as a small hole. Now that it’s been explored we know it extends to 31 km and is one of the longest dry caves in Asia!

I was so impressed by Paradise Cave. You enter through a tiny opening and descend into a giant cavity which just keeps on going. There’s 10 m high stalactites and stalagmites forming in all sorts of ways. We loved in particular seeing the baby stalagmites growing off stalactites, and the way they all interacted!

Most people stick to the walkways, which go around 1.5 km into the cave. However, adventure day expeditions, which include some trekking and kayaking within the cave, will take you 7 km inside. You get lunch within the cave which I found particularly tempting! If we had more time in Phong Nha I would definitely have considered it, as having to stop at 1.5 km was sad.

3. Dark Cave

Another popular cave is Dark Cave. Similar to its name, this is a cave without any lighting – making it quite a different experience to the other tourist options.

I enjoyed Dark Cave, but it wasn’t an illuminating caving experience by any means. Enthusiastic cavers may be disappointed! However, it’s good for the adrenaline.

First, you have to zipline across a river to the entrance of the cave. Then you trek inside for several hundred metres, with a mix of sliding in mud and swimming through the river. There’s a mud bath at the end where you can smother yourself in mud – although, to be honest, most people in our group didn’t actually go in the mud further than their knees. Afterwards, you exit the cave in the same way you came, kayaking back to the other side of the river.

At the river, there’s also a smaller zipline and slide, which tour tickets include. It was fun but the water was not the nicest!

Tip: don’t wear your nicest swimwear. Ours got stained by the mud!

4. Phong Nha Cave

Phong Nha Cave is another cave that’s popular with tourists. Its mouth is located close to the town and is what gave the area its name.

To be honest, if you visit Phong Nha Cave after Paradise or Dark, you’ll be disappointed. It’s not as grandiose as the others. When we were in the cave, so many tour groups sped past us looking disinterested, and we get the impression that was why: they’d already seen better.

Instead, do what we did and visit before you go to the other caves. Phong Nha Cave is a different experience and is still well worth the visit on its own.

You have to take a boat to the cave. The boat station is located in the centre of town so it’s easy to visit without a tour.

The boat will take you 1.5 km inside the cave. When inside the cave, the drivers will punt and row their way through. As the boats looked heavy and the currents in the river are powerful, they must be very strong!

After the boat ride, the boat will drop you off at a walkway, and you can walk through the last stretch of the cave. There are large stalagmites and stalagmites which you can walk around.

5. Bong Lai Valley

I’ve seen some blogs describing the Bong Lai Valley as Phong Nha’s “hidden gem”. I liked my visit to The Valley, but calling it a hidden gem is a bit of a stretch. It’s nice but the scenery isn’t as spectacular as in other places we’d been to already.

The Bong Lai Valley makes most lists for one attraction in particular: the Duck Stop. Now this is worth a visit and I found our trip to be quite an adventure!

There’s a guy, Mr Quack, who has a flock full of ducks. For 100,000 dong ($4 / £3) per person each he’ll take you into their pen for an experience, with feeding the ducks and more.

It’s quite bizarre but a lot of fun. You truly feel like the duck leader!

The fee includes a drink and banh xeo (crispy pancakes and one of the best Vietnamese foods ever). Allow 1 hour for the full experience.

Aside from the Duck Stop, also check out the Pub with Cold Beer. It’s 1 km south and is signposted. By all reports it’s a good place to chill!

The Bong Lai Valley is around 10 km from the main Phong Nha town and is very much cyclable. Although there were a few hills I had to push the bike up, for the most part it is flat and paved! Just be careful with Google Maps directions as it took us down a “road”, which made for an interesting diversion…

6. Botanic gardens

Phong Nha is home to its own botanic garden. Don’t expect a botanic garden similar to the city variety; this is mostly forest with hiking trails.

My visit was included within the cave tour I took, so I only had time for a half hour walk down to a waterfall. It was nice but there are much longer trails which you can take, which would have been more fun!

I loved that the botanic garden had a lot of butterflies there. There seemed to be a lot all across Vietnam, but particularly at the entrance to the botanic garden, there were a lot on a pink bush. I always love to see it.

Just make sure to wear good footwear. I kind of regretted not putting on my walking boots for the journey.

7. Visit the former location of the DMZ

Halfway between Phong Nha and Hue, you’ll cross the former demilitarised zone (DMZ) between North and South Vietnam, which existed they were split between 1954 and 1975.

Taking a trip to it is a relatively popular attraction from Hue. However, if you’re travelling to Hue anyway, you’ll already pass through the DMZ, so you can visit the attractions in this area on the way. Day trips are available in Phong Nha which take you to visit the DMZ, then drop you in Hue at the end. If I knew this was an option before booking our transport to Hue, I would’ve done it!

8. Trekking tours

Most people come to Phong Nha to go underground and completely miss the lush forest that’s above it. I was the same too!

However, it’s possible to go hiking and trekking in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Several adventure tours offer these trips, which connect you to the surrounding area.

Some of the trekking tours on offer are overnight, so if that interests you, make sure to check them out before you book your accommodation in Phong Nha, so you have enough time to do them.

Conclusion

I loved my visit to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. If you have even a small interest in caves, you should definitely add Phong Nha to your Vietnam itinerary.

Do you have any questions about Phong Nha? Let me know in the comments!

Visiting Vietnam on a longer trip? Check out my guides to other Vietnamese destinations: Tam Coc (Ninh Binh), Da Nang & Hue