Best 6 places to visit in Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam

Visiting impressive caves around Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam

Phong Nha Cave – The most appealing cave in Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam

Location: Son Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam
Opening hours: daily from 6:00 to 18:00
Length: 7729 meters
Phong Nha Cave is located in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam.
Entrance fee: VND 150,000 per person

Phong Nha Cave is located in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam. It is considered to belong to the top beautiful caves in the world. Of all about 300 caves in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Phong Nha Cave can be the most appealing. Also, it is the longest river cave in the world which contains an underground river inside. That is the reason why its name was made appeared in the park’s name. People discovered Phong Nha Cave in 1899. During the Vietnam War against the American army, it served as a hospital, bomb shelter, and weapon arsenal. It was not until April 1992 that the whole cave was successfully discovered. It has been open to tourists since 1998.

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The cave can be divided into three sections including The Entrance Zone, The Twilight Zone, and The Dark Zone with different characteristics of light, temperature, and home animals. The Entrance Zone is a couple of meters long. This part of the cave is the brightest as it stays near the entrance. In the Twilight Zone, the entire cave is lined up by a lining system which creates a maleficent beauty. The Dark Zone is the most mysterious part of the cave as it is covered by the darkness, and tourists can’t get in without being guided. The only way to get to Phong Nha Cave is by taking a boat. The price is VND 360,000 per boat which is shared among the maximum 12 passengers. Boats are operated by Phong Nha Tourism Center and purchased right at the spot. No need to book in advance.

Son Doong Cave – The biggest Mountain River Cave in the world

Location: Xuan Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, near the border of Vietnam and Laos.
Length: 5 kilometers
Width: 150 meters
Height: 2000 meters

Son Doong Cave was explored in 2010 and opened to tourists in 2013. It is estimated to be 2 to 5 million years old. Being 5 kilometers long, 2000 meters high, and 150 meters wide, it is the largest cave in the world, the so enormous cave that a plane can fly around inside. There are rivers, streams, and even mountains right inside the cave.

Read more: Best things to do in Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam

Since Son Doong Cave was opened, it has been attracting a vast number of visitors. Son Doong Cave can be visited from February because after August is the rainy season which makes the cave almost inaccessible. However, visiting Son Doong Cave is not really available. Firstly, if you want to get into Son Doong Cave, you have to book a guided tour in advance which costs about VND 70,000,000. Then, permits to visit the cave are limited like there are only 800 people permitted to visit Son Doong Cave in 2017; therefore, not everybody can have a chance to visit this maleficient cave in Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam even if they have got enough money.  Tourists all hope that Son Doong Cave will soon be open to more visitors.

Until now, there is only one company allowed to operate tour to Son Doong Cave to ensure the safety of tourists and the conservation of the cave belonging to Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. It is the Oxalis Adventure Tours.

Oxalis Adventure Tours

Address: Phong Nha Commune, Son Trach Village, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam
Opening hours: from 7:30 to 12:00 and from 13:30 to 17:30 from Monday to Saturday morning
Tel: (+84) 232 367 7678
Email: contact@oxalis.com
Price: about VND 69,000,000 per person
Duration: 5 days 4 nights

Paradise Cave – The dry cave in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam

Location: Phong Nha Commune, Son Trach Village, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam
Length: 31 kilometers
Height: 100 meters
Width: 150 meters
Entrance fee: VND 250,000 per person

Paradise Cave was discovered in 2005. With the length of 31 kilometers, Paradise Cave is the longest cave in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park and the longest dry cave in Asia. The entrance fee costs VND 250,000 per person plus VND 5,000 for parking (if any). To get to the entrance of Paradise Cave, you have to take a buggy ride to climb upstairs. A four-seater buggy costs VND 60,000 one-way and VND 100,000 round trip which is shared between passengers. After about half a kilometer, you have to walk up to the entrance and then walk down into the cave-like passing the belly of the cave. Once standing in the middle of the cave, you must feel overwhelmed and amazed by the beauty of the cave which makes people name it the Paradise Cave.

A small tip if you go to Paradise Cave is that it will be a bit crowded in the afternoon because tour groups often arrive at this time. If you would like to have the whole cave for yourself, go earlier. If you are adventurous people, you must be interested in joining the Paradise Cave Underground Trek. You will be aided by a headlamp, guided by a tour guide going deep into the cave and have lunch in the cave, enjoy the skylight in the middle of the cave. The skylight where the sunlight goes through into the cave is a selling point that makes Paradise Cave special among caves in Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park.

Tu Lan Cave System next to Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam

Location: Minh Hoa District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam, next to Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, about 40 kilometers from Phong Nha Cave.
Area: 2 km2
Tu Lan Cave System includes over 10 discovered caves and about 10 unknown caves. The whole system is a karst area of about 2 km2. Tu Lan Cave System is now open for visitors. It attracts tourists worldwide by its remote jungles, buffalo fields, limestone mountains, and underground rivers. However, the government of Quang Binh Province aims to keep this cave system totally natural so that everybody setting foot here will feel like they were the first to enter this cave.
The sole company which operate tours to Tu Lan Cave System is Oxalis Adventure Tour

Oxalis Adventure Tours

Address: Phong Nha Commune, Son Trach Village, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, Vietnam
Opening hours: from 7:30 to 12:00 and from 13:30 to 17:30 from Monday to Saturday morning
Tel: (+84) 232 367 7678
Email: contact@oxalis.com
Price: from VND 1,800,000 per person
Duration: from 1 day

Visiting maleficent beaches around Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam

Nhat Le Beach – The peaceful beach 50 kilometers from Phong Nha Ke Bang

Nhat Le Beach lies in Bac Ly Commune, Dong Hoi District, Quang Binh Province, about 50 kilometers from Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam.  Nhat Le Beach is on the mouth of Nhat Le River headed to the South China Sea. With the wild and charming beauty, white sand, blue water, cool climate, and peaceful atmosphere, Nhat Le Beach is an ideal place to relax.

There are a variety of interesting activities for you on Nhat Le Beach so that you don’t need to worry the trip may be boring. Firstly, you can walk along the seashore or lie on white sand for sunbathing. Secondly, if you are interested in watersports, you can go swimming, do boat sailing, or sand-skating on nearby sand caverns. Besides, Nhat Le Beach is well-known for its unique food. Traveling to Nhat Le Beach, you will have the opportunity to enjoy kinds of seafood specialties. Then, if you want to learn about the local people’s life, you can visit historical sites and fisherman villages and turtle raising farms. Not very crowded, Nhat Le Beach is a worth visiting spot near Phong Nha Ke Bang, Vietnam.

Da Nhay Beach – One of the most attractive sites near Phong Nha Ke Bang

Da Nhat Beach lies in Thanh Trach Commune, Bo Trach District, Quang Binh Province, 47 kilometers from Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park, Vietnam, and 40 kilometers to the North of Dong Hoi City. The name Da Nhay Beach can be translated into English as “The jumping rock beach” because of the topographical characteristics of the beach. There are thousands of rocks in weird shapes reaching the sea which creates the selling points of this beach. Da Nhay Beach is one of the most attractive sites near Phong Nha Ke Bang and one of the most important tourism spots in Quang Binh Province, Vietnam.