Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park

This is a must visit places for a vietnam trip. From here you can visit the Paradise cave, take a boat ride into the Phọng Nha cave, visit the Hien Lương bridge and the demarcation line which separated the North and South vietnam during the infamous Vietnam War.
You can reach phong nha by train, bus or plane. We took a flight from HCM city to Đồng Hới; the train and bus from different cities also end here. You should have contact your homestay or hotel, they will pick you up at the airport, train or bus station.
For food, there are a few options for western foods; Google is your best friend to search a place to eat. We stayed at the Sondoong homestay within walking distance to the boat ride to phong Nha cave.
Another good option is the Victoria Road homestay next door to Sondoong homestay. The Victoria is owned by an Australian with lots of experience exploring phong nha by bike.
The restaurant is pretty nice and cozy with some good western dishes and decent pizzas. There are also other places but this is the only places we ate during our time here.
There are a lot of places to stay in phọng nha, many tours are offered to fit your schedule. Overall, there is no 5 star accommodation and be prepared for the unexpected. But I can assure you this is a well worthy trip and enlighten your perspective.
The scenery is beautiful and truly reflect the live of the rural vietnam. This lifestyle has not changed for the last 60 years.
Life is still tough for a lots of local people, tourism brings some relief to this corner of the world and they are welcome and appreciated.
I also wanted to visit the demarcation line separated the north and south up to 1975. I have to say, for me at least, is a disappointment. The bridge is in shameful, neglected conditions with pealed paints, rotten wood planks on both sides of the bridges. I am not sure how to interpret the intentions here. Like it or not, this is a piece of history should be preserved. Either maintain it or tear it down !
For history bluffs, this city in right the Ho Chi Minh trail, the road the north Vietnamese and supply were moving south to attack the southern government. The old dirt roads are paved now but it can tell it is not a smooth road today; small road barely fit 2 cars in opposite directions.
From here you can visit Khe Sanh, where some well known battle ground took place during the so called American war.
It is now a city, I found virtually nobody has any knowledge about it.
I loved this trip. It is a bit rough for us, since she is wheelchair bound but we made it

It’s a long hike to the cave, so bring good walking shoes and water. You can buy cheap hats there if needed. And I recommend taking the golf cart if you can afford it at 100k/two-way.

One of the more beautiful caves I've ever been to. I got the boat from the tourism centre and travelled 1km into the cave. The tickets were 150,000 vnd per person to enter the cave.

The boat price was a little more tricky. Its around 500,000 vnd for a boat which can take 1-12 people, but the more people you have the cheaper it is because you can split the bill as the price is for the entire boat and not per person.

If you have the money I would recommend travelling there by boat as you get to see more of the cave and you don't have to walk a great distance, especially in the summer heat.

The boats also depend on the weather and the water level. The cave system is connected to Laos so if there was a lot of rain recently in Laos, it will travel through the cave system into Vietnam, making the water levels rise and the cave not accessible by boat. I got lucky 😄

Breathtaking! I am really grateful to have seen the beauty of this nature.

The Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003, covered 85,754 hectares. With this extension, the site covers a total surface area of 123,326 hectares (a 46 % increase) and shares a boundary with the Hin Namno Nature Reserve in the Peoples Democratic Republic of Laos. The Park’s landscape is formed by limestone plateaux and tropical forests. It features great geological diversity and offers spectacular phenomena, including a large number of caves and underground rivers.

Beautiful cave that you take a boat ride too, and ride a boat through the cave. The. Get off and walk around to see some beautiful formations. Highly recommend.

This is one of the most beautiful places of Vietnam!Must visit!

Great time
National Park Phong Nha Ke Bang

Beautiful caves. It’s been built for very easy tourist access. I enjoyed it through and through.

Such an amazing place to visit. The cave is breathtaking and you will feel so cool inside.

so fun! lots of things to do! Recommend renting a motorbike as the roads aren’t busy during the spring!

My god one of a kind this place

✅ OK

Great experience

Wharf for boating

Great place

Wonderful

worth the money

Good

Cool