Phong Nha Buses

Phong Nha is truly one of the magical areas to visit in Vietnam. Easily accessible by sleeper bus from Hanoi to the north, or Hue and Hoi An to the south, it should really be on every Vietnam visitor’s list of must-see places. If you have the time and the money, I would aim to spend at least a week in and around the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, which will give you time to do an organised two or three-day caving expedition - such as Tu Lan, Hang En, Hang Tien or Hang Va - as well as doing some day trips to the easily accessible caves in the park, such as Paradise Cave and Phong Nha Cave, and just enjoy the countryside and one of the excellent accommodation options here. For the multi-day caving expeditions around Phong Nha, we recommend Oxalis who have been involved in the development of the caves from the very start - they are an incredibly professional organisation, who are also working hard to preserve the Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park.

For visiting Paradise Cave and Phong Nha Cave, it is very easy to organise these trips yourself. Rent a motorbike or bicycle to ride to the entrance of Paradise Cave, where you will pay a small entrance fee, then you can walk the final 2 kilometers to the cave entrance, or even take the electric shuttle car. The walk from the cave entrance to the end of the board walk within the cave is around 1km. It is also possible to do a one-day expedition a further 6km into Paradise, but this is a guided tour into the dark depths of this cave, so not something you can do on your own.

You can also organise your trip to Phong Nha Cave yourself. Phong Nha Cave is only accessible by boat, along the river Son - if you go to the boat jetty in the center of Phong Nha town, you can buy tickets for a boat which will take you the 6km up river to the cave, and will take you a 200m or so into the cave. You can then get out of the boat, and explore the inside of the cave yourself, before returning to the boat jetty down the river again.

There are some excellent accommodation options around Phong Nha, to suit all budgets. The best option with prices in all budgets is Phong Nha Farmstay, which is situated a few kilometers outside Phong Nha Town. The Farmstay has 3 swimming pools, a bar, and plenty of room choices, including very comfortable family rooms. The food is excellent, with both Vietnamese and European options, and the resort also has a well-stocked bar with some great wines. They also offer some great freebies for guests, such as free bicycles, and a free tour by Ural motorbike and sidecar, which is a fabulous photo opportunity. To get there: when arriving by bus from either Hanoi or Hue, just get off at Easy Tiger where you can get a free shuttle bus to the Farmstay . If you are arriving by train or plane in Dong Hoi, contact the Farmstay in advance and they will arrange a reasonably priced private transfer for you. If you do stay there, make sure you take the opportunity to listen to one of Ben’s history talks about Phong Nha Cave, or join him for his early morning walking tour - Ben is the owner of the Farmstay, along with his wife Bich, and is extremely knowledgeable of the area.