Phong Nha: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is one of the oldest karst regions in Asia, a block of limestone hundreds of millions of years old, riddled with caves that are still being found. Many of the biggest were mapped only in the last thirty years, often after local men led British cavers to them. This route takes the caves anyone can visit in a day or two, by boat and by boardwalk. Inside it is humid and around 20 degrees; wear shoes with grip.
A short history of Phong Nha
Phong Nha is a small town on the Son River in Quảng Bình province, at the entrance to Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng National Park, one of the largest limestone and cave areas in Asia. Inside Phong Nha Cave, inscriptions left by the Cham people about a thousand years ago have been found. During the Vietnam War the Ho Chi Minh Trail passed through here, and the caves served as shelter from bombing. In 2003 the park was declared a World Heritage Site. In the early 1990s a local farmer, Hồ Khanh, found the entrance to Sơn Đoòng Cave, and in 2009 he returned with British cavers, who found that it is the largest cave in the world, with a jungle growing inside it.
The ten best sights in Phong Nha
1Phong Nha Boat WharfBuy the cave ticket and the boat separately; a boat takes up to about 12, so share one
2Phong Nha CaveThe boat rows right into the mountain; the engine is cut at the entrance
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3Tiên Sơn Cave
A dry cave above Phong Nha, reached by steps; add it on the same ticket day
4Paradise CaveA golf cart saves the first kilometre uphill; the boardwalk inside is about 1 km
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5Dark Cave
Zipline in, swim, then a mud bath; wear a swimsuit and leave the phone behind
6Sơn Đoòng CaveNot a drop-in: only a few hundred permits a year, booked many months ahead
7Hang ÉnThe third-largest cave passage known; reached only on an overnight trek
8Nước Moọc SpringSwim in clear jungle pools; go on a weekday, locals fill it on weekends
9Phong Nha Botanical GardenAn easy forest walk to a waterfall; cool in the afternoon heat
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10Bong Lai Valley
Rent a scooter or bicycle and get lost among rice fields and farmhouses
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Phong Nha →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Phong Nha:
Free walking tours in Phong Nha
Into the mountain
Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng is one of the oldest karst regions in Asia, a block of limestone hundreds of millions of years old, riddled with caves that are still being found. Many of the biggest were mapped only in the last thirty years, often after local men led British cavers to them. This route takes the caves anyone can visit in a day or two, by boat and by boardwalk. Inside it is humid and around 20 degrees; wear shoes with grip.
- Phong Nha Boat Wharf · The boats leave from the village on the Son river and take about 30 minutes upstream to the cave. The river is the reason the cave exists: it still flows out of the mountain through it.
- Phong Nha Cave · During the American war the cave sheltered a field hospital and stored supplies for the Ho Chi Minh Trail, which ran through these hills. Inside, Cham-era altars and inscriptions show it was used as a shrine long before.
- Tiên Sơn Cave · The name means Fairy Mountain. It is a dry cave high in the same cliff as Phong Nha, found only in 1935, and it is reached by several hundred steps from the boat landing.
- Paradise Cave · A local man, Hồ Khanh, found the entrance in 2005, and British cavers surveyed about 31 km of passages. It opened to visitors in 2010, with a boardwalk through the first kilometre.
- Dark Cave · There are no lights inside, on purpose: visitors go in with head torches after a 400-metre zipline over the Chày river. Deep inside is a pool of fine mud thick enough to float in.
- Nước Moọc Spring · Here an underground river comes up out of the rock and flows over limestone shelves into the Chày river. The boardwalk and swimming spots were built to keep visitors out of the rarest forest patches.
The trail and the bombs
Quảng Bình sat just north of the old border between North and South Vietnam, and the roads through these hills fed the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was one of the most heavily bombed places of the war, and the craters still dot the fields. This route follows that history from the coast into the forest. It is a sombre half-day; the memorials expect quiet and modest dress.
- Quảng Bình Gate · The gate belonged to the defences built by the Nguyễn lords in the 17th century, when this was the frontier in their long war with the Trịnh of the north. The same strip of land was again a border three centuries later.
- Tam Tòa Church · The church was destroyed by American bombing in 1965, and only its bell tower was left standing. The city kept the ruin unrepaired as a memorial to the war.
- Nhật Lệ Beach · Đồng Hới was almost flattened by bombing and rebuilt after 1975, which is why the town by the beach looks so new. The Nhật Lệ river mouth here gave the town its old harbour.
- Bong Lai Valley · The round ponds in some of the fields are old bomb craters, now used for fish and ducks. Farmers here still turn up unexploded ordnance, so stay on paths.
- Phong Nha Cave · Because bombs could not reach it, the cave became a refuge on the supply line, with people and stores inside. The river crossing at its mouth was a target hit again and again.
- Eight Ladies Cave · In 1972 a bombing sealed the mouth of this small cave on Route 20 with eight young road-repair volunteers inside. They could not be dug out in time, and the cave is now a shrine where visitors leave combs and mirrors for them.
The great caves
In 2009 a British-Vietnamese team walked into Sơn Đoòng and found the largest cave passage on earth, big enough for a city block and with its own jungle inside. Most travellers will not go in, but the valley around it is part of the story, and the treks start from here. This route is for understanding the scale: the visitor caves, the trekking base, and the forest above. Expeditions need a permit and months of booking; the day stops do not.
- Oxalis Adventure · Oxalis holds the licence for Sơn Đoòng, running four-day expeditions since 2013 at about US$3,000 a person. Its office in the village also books shorter treks to Hang Én and Tú Làn.
- Sơn Đoòng Cave · Hồ Khanh, the same local man who later found Paradise Cave, first came across the entrance in 1991 while sheltering from a storm, then could not find it again for years. He led the British team there in 2009.
- Hang Én · Hang Én means Swallow Cave, after the thousands of swiftlets that nest in its roof. Sơn Đoòng expeditions camp here on the first night, on a sandy beach inside the cave.
- Paradise Cave · It is among the longest dry caves in Asia open to tourists, and its chambers rise to around 100 metres. The boardwalk gives the best idea of the size of the expedition caves without a permit.
- Phong Nha Botanical Garden · The park protects one of the largest areas of limestone forest left in Indochina, home to langurs and the saola, a forest ox found only in 1992. You will not see a saola, but this walk is the easiest way into that forest.
- Phong Nha Farmstay · An Australian-Vietnamese couple opened it in the rice fields in 2010, when the village had almost no tourism. Their tours and their bar helped turn Phong Nha into a backpacker stop.
Getting to Phong Nha and getting around
- Đồng Hới Airport · Flights from Hanoi and Saigon land 45 minutes from the village; useful if someone joins here
- Đồng Hới Station · The nearest railway; the overnight train from Hanoi arrives early in the morning
- Đồng Hới Bus Station · Local buses to Phong Nha leave from here; the drive is under an hour
Cheap eats in Phong Nha
Phong Nha is a village, and its food is simple: grilled pork and chicken, river fish, rice and morning glory, and bánh mì to take into the caves. Out in the Bong Lai valley, farm families cook for whoever turns up, often an animal from their own yard. Prices are low even by Vietnamese standards, and almost everything is paid in cash.
- The Pub with Cold Beer · A whole chicken for the table about 400,000-500,000 dong; beer about 20,000
- Bamboo Café · On the main street; Vietnamese plates and shakes about 50,000-100,000 dong
- Easy Tiger · Hostel bar with a cave briefing every evening; mains about 60,000-120,000 dong
- The Duck Stop · A farm where you feed the ducks and stay for tea; about 60,000-100,000 dong a visit
- Phong Nha Farmstay · Terrace over the paddies; dinner about 80,000-150,000 dong
- PhongNha Coffee Station · Vietnamese iced coffee and smoothies before the boat, about 25,000-50,000 dong
- Bomb Crater Bar · A farm bar in the valley beside a real crater; a beer about 15,000-25,000 dong
Nature and day trips near Phong Nha
- Paradise Cave · The most impressive day cave; go after 2 pm when tour buses leave
- Phong Nha Cave · By boat into the mountain; about 2.5 hours with the ride
- Hang Én · Overnight trek; book through the licensed operator
- Nước Moọc Spring · Clear pools and a forest boardwalk
- Phong Nha Botanical Garden · Forest loop to a waterfall, about two hours
Things to do in Phong Nha with kids
- Dark Cave · Usually from about age 10; check the height rule for the zipline
- The Duck Stop · An hour of ducks and a buffalo ride
- Nước Moọc Spring · Shallow pools for paddling; life jackets to rent
- Phong Nha Cave · The boat ride is the fun part for small children
- Nhật Lệ Beach · Sand and shallow water by Đồng Hới
Museums in Phong Nha
- Tam Tòa Church · A ruined bell tower kept as a war memorial
- Tomb of General Võ Nguyên Giáp · About an hour north on the coast; dress modestly
- Eight Ladies Cave · A shrine to young road workers of the war
- Quảng Bình Gate · A restored 17th-century gate in the city
- Phong Nha Cave · Cham inscriptions and wartime traces inside
Holy places in Phong Nha
- Phong Nha Cave · Look for the Cham altar niches near the entrance
- Eight Ladies Cave · A quiet shrine; incense is sold at the steps
- Tam Tòa Church · The bell tower of a bombed Catholic church
- Tomb of General Võ Nguyên Giáp · Vietnamese visitors come here as on a pilgrimage; modest dress
Frequently asked questions about Phong Nha
What is there to see in Phong Nha?
The top sights in Phong Nha are Phong Nha Boat Wharf, Phong Nha Cave and Tiên Sơn Cave. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Phong Nha?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Phong Nha without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Phong Nha?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Phong Nha, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Into the mountain.
How do you get to Phong Nha and get around?
The main ways are Đồng Hới Airport, Đồng Hới Station and Đồng Hới Bus Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Phong Nha, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Phong Nha that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Phong Nha for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.