Phong Nha itinerary: how to spend 1, 2 or 3 days

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  Paradise Cave in the morning and the Phong Nha Cave boat in the afternoon: the two caves most people come for, and a full day.

• 2 days: Days 1 to 2

  Adds the Chay River and Dark Cave, with lunch and a walk at Nuoc Mooc spring and a stop at the Hang Tam Co memorial.

• 3 days: Days 1 to 3

  Adds the Botanic Garden walk to Thac Gio waterfall and a lunch ride out to the Bong Lai valley; Son Doong and Hang En are separate multi-day treks.

Day 1

Paradise Cave and the Phong Nha Cave boat

07:00 to about 18:00 · 5 stops · entry fees VND 420,000 a person

1. 07:001

   

   Eat · 45 min

   Breakfast near Phong Nha market

   Cost: Street breakfast; prices vary by stall

   Eat in town before you set out. The streets around the market and the river are where most visitors stay, close to the cafes, and where drivers and motorbike shops are. Fill your water bottle here too, because the climb at Paradise Cave is 500 m up from the foot of the mountain and the walkway inside runs for 1 km of wooden stairs, so wear shoes with grip.

   Image: Edgardo W. Olivera / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 20 min by taxi or Grab, 21.8 km. 22 km. No public bus goes there; Thang Phong Nha Rider drives you to Paradise Cave and Dark Cave for VND 350,000, tickets not included.

2. 08:052

   

   Sight · 2 h 30 min

   Paradise Cave (Thien Duong)

   Cost: Adult, gate and electric car included; children 1.1 to 1.3 m VND 145,000, under 1.1 m free

   From the gate you ride the electric car, or walk, 1.6 km under the forest, then climb 500 m to the cave mouth and walk the 1 km of wooden stairs and walkways through chambers up to 150 m wide. Neither the park board nor the operator publishes opening hours; the 7 km tour leaves the tourist centre at 08:00, so the site is working by then, but call the sales office on (0232) 3 818181 the day before. Take your time inside: it is the size of the halls you came for.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Paradise Cave

   Image: Nguyenanh1286 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 20 min by taxi or Grab, 22 km. Back to town, 22 km.

3. 11:153

   

   Eat · 1 h 15 min

   Lunch in Phong Nha town

   Cost: Meals vary; pay in cash at small places

   Have lunch on the main road by the river and rest out of the midday sun before the boat. The cave boat is priced per boat, not per person, so lunch is a good time to find others from your guesthouse to share it: the VND 700,000 return trip carries up to 12 people. In winter the cave closes at 15:45, so be at the counter by 13:00.

   Image: Preparetavalise.com / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min walk, 0.6 km. To the ticket counter for Phong Nha Cave and Tien Son Cave by the river.

4. 13:004

   

   Sight · 2 h 30 min

   Phong Nha Cave by boat

   Cost: Entry per person (under 1.3 m free), plus VND 700,000 per boat, return, up to 12 people

   Buy your entry at the counter, then walk to the landing on the left and take a boat number. The boat runs about 30 minutes up the Son River past paddies and limestone cliffs, cuts its engine at the cave mouth and is rowed along about 1,200 m of lit underground river, then you walk two dry chambers on a boardwalk. Allow two and a half hours. For VND 750,000 the boat also stops at Tien Son Cave, 100 m above, which has its own VND 80,000 ticket.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Phong Nha Cave

   Image: Andre Hospers / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

   ↓About 15 min walk, 1 km. Back along the river road.

5. 18:005

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner in town

   Cost: Meals vary

   Eat in the centre rather than at a place out of town: Colleen Sims of Then We Walked found most travellers staying near the river and the cafes, and warns that some out-of-town spots are hard to reach by taxi or Grab at night. If you plan Dark Cave tomorrow, sort out a driver or a motorbike now; Thang Phong Nha Rider rents a 50cc bike with a helmet for VND 150,000 a day.

   Image: Florian Delee / Unsplash

Day 2

Chay River, Dark Cave and Nuoc Mooc spring

07:15 to about 18:00 · 6 stops · entry fees VND 530,000 a person

1. 07:151

   Eat · 30 min

   Breakfast and kit check in town

   Cost: Prices vary

   Eat lightly: you will be swimming and climbing all morning. For the mud bath the park board asks women to wear a two-piece swimsuit and men swim shorts, so put it on under your clothes, and pack a towel and a change of clothes. Leave valuables at your guesthouse; waterproof phone pouches are sold at the site.

   ↓About 15 min by taxi or Grab, 18.6 km. 18 km.

2. 08:002

   

   Do · Half a day

   Chay River and Dark Cave

   Cost: Explore package with Dark Cave and the mud bath; the VND 220,000 standard package leaves out the cave

   Buy the explore package: it is the only one that takes you into Dark Cave. You ride the 400 m twin zipline across the Chay River to the cave mouth, walk in to the mud pool, then come back for kayaks, a short zipline into the water and river games. The board says to allow about four hours. The site opens at 08:00 in winter (07:45 in summer). The mud bath needs a height of 1.1 m and the long zipline a weight over 40 kg.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Chay River and Dark Cave

   Image: Preparetavalise.com / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 2.9 km. 3 km.

3. 12:153

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch at Nuoc Mooc spring

   Cost: Meals vary

   The park board calls Nuoc Mooc the natural rest stop after the caves and lists the local food served here on a woven tray: stream shrimp (tom khe), stream fish (ca suoi) and free-range hill chicken. The restaurant sits by the entrance to the spring, so you can eat before you buy a trail ticket. Order early if a tour group has just arrived.

   ↓Walk. To the spring gate next door.

4. 13:154

   Do · 1 h 30 min

   Nuoc Mooc eco trail

   Cost: Sightseeing only; swim packages at Ghenh Mooc or Ghenh Chum VND 130,000 from October to March, VND 160,000 from April to September

   Here a stream wells up out of the mountain, and the board says the water stays at 16 to 18 C even in summer. The sightseeing ticket takes you from the gate along the forest to the Ghenh Chum bridge and back on the far bank. If you want a swim and a kayak, buy a Ghenh Mooc or Ghenh Chum package instead. The site keeps the same hours as Dark Cave: in winter it closes at 15:30, in summer at 16:30.

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 9.9 km. Road 20, about 10 km.

5. 15:005

   Sight · 30 min

   Hang Tam Co memorial, Road 20

   Cost: No ticket

   On 14 November 1972 bombs sealed a small cave at km 16 of Road 20, a wartime supply road, killing eight young volunteers, four men and four women, who had run inside for shelter. The cave is now their common grave, with a memorial temple where people come to light incense. The park board lists it as a place of remembrance with no ticket. Dress modestly, speak quietly and do not climb on the rocks.

   ↓About 15 min by taxi or Grab, 17.5 km. Back to town, about 17 km.

6. 18:006

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner in town

   Cost: Meals vary

   Back in town, wash the mud off and eat near the river. If rain has been heavy, check the Phong Nha-Ke Bang tourism centre's Facebook page tonight: in a wet autumn it posts closures of Phong Nha Cave, the Chay River and Dark Cave, and Nuoc Mooc, as it did on 30 October 2025. Tomorrow's Botanic Garden walk is the better plan if the rivers are high.

   Image: Kris Martyn / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Day 3

Botanic Garden waterfall and the Bong Lai valley

07:30 to about 18:00 · 5 stops · entry fees VND 80,000 a person

1. 07:301

   Eat · 30 min

   Breakfast in town

   Cost: Prices vary

   If you are riding yourself today, pick up the bike now: Thang Phong Nha Rider on road DT20 rents 50cc motorbikes for VND 150,000 a day with a helmet and breakdown service. You need a licence that is valid in Vietnam. Otherwise book a driver for the morning and the afternoon, since the Botanic Garden and Bong Lai lie in opposite directions from town.

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 8.8 km. Road 20 south of town, about 8 km.

2. 08:152

   

   Do · 2 h 30 min

   Phong Nha Botanic Garden and Thac Gio waterfall

   Cost: Per visitor; children under 1.3 m free

   The park's Botanic Garden sits beside Road 20 and covers 77.1 ha of forest. Three marked walks start at the display house: the shortest goes straight to Thac Gio, a waterfall over 30 m high, in 30 to 60 minutes; the longest adds Vang Anh lake, a hundred-year-old Sao tree and a viewpoint, about two to three hours. The board publishes no opening hours, so ask where you stay or check at the gate. Bring water and insect repellent.

   Image: Tht481 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 20 min by motorbike, 14.3 km. Back through town and east to Bong Lai, about 18 km.

3. 11:303

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Lunch at the Pub With Cold Beer, Bong Lai

   Cost: Meal prices at the counter

   Vietnam Tourism, the national tourism site, sends visitors out to Bong Lai village for the Pub With Cold Beer, where the one thing on the menu is grilled chicken with homemade peanut sauce. The same page suggests hiring a bike for the trip out. Ask the price of the chicken before you order, and come before the lunch crowd.

   Image: Phuong Huy / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 0.5 km. A few hundred metres along the valley.

4. 13:154

   View · 1 h

   Wild Boar Eco Farm lookout

   Cost: Ask at the farm what it charges

   Vietnam Tourism's suggestion for after lunch is the lookout at Wild Boar Eco Farm, close to the pub. Vietnam Tourism calls it a pretty lookout over the valley. Give it an hour, then head back to town in the heat of the afternoon for a rest before dinner; if you rode out, the road back is the way you came.

   ↓About 15 min by motorbike, 9.4 km. Back to town, about 10 km.

5. 18:005

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Last dinner by the Son River

   Cost: Meals vary

   Plan your onward trip tonight. No public bus runs from Phong Nha to Dong Hoi, so book a taxi or Grab car for the 40 km to the station or the airport. Queen Cafe Bus runs sleepers between Central Backpackers Hostel in town and Hue, Da Nang and Hanoi; check the fare when you book, as its pages disagree. The tourist train HQ1 back to Hue leaves Tho Loc, 18 km away, at 13:15.

   Image: Mirjam Schuinder / Unsplash

Tips for Phong Nha

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Phong Nha page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.