Are you planning a trip to Vietnam and looking for off the radar places to explore?

While on our two-week trip, I planned around an area called Phong Nha. It isn’t an easy place to get to, requiring either a flight or train ride from Hanoi to Dong Hai and then taking a car from the airport or train station to our hotel, the Phong Nha Farmstay. We arrived late in the evening, but quickly settled into the rural area of Vietnam. 

If you have heard of Phong Nha it’s probably because the world’s largest cave, Son Doong, has been discovered here.

At 3 miles long and 250 feet, the main cavern is large enough to house an entire block of New York City. We did not visit this cave because the requirements include a 5-day expedition and $3,000 and a permit. The waiting list is up to two years long at this point. Instead, we took one day to visit the Phong Nha cave and explore the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park via a scooter. 

Our morning started with a walk around the Farmstay where we met people who worked there and interacted with the cows, dogs and roosters. From here, we rented a scooter and set off on a trip to town. We ended up only visiting one cave on this trip because I wasn’t aware that the setting of the sun would drastically cut our exploration time in half. You really do need to get up early if you want to visit Paradise Cave and the Dark Cave in one day. Regardless, once we arrived at the Phong Nha Cave, we had to wait for additional people to fill up our boat and split the cost. We ended up meeting a few friendly people from Great Britian. 

The cave itself is awe-inspiring and you also get a boat trip out of it.

The cave was used in the Vietnam War by the North fighters, who hid rope bridges within its caverns (the Americans had bombed all of the bridges in the area) and took them out at night. Once the Americans found out what was going on, they started bombing the cave - but they didn’t know the cave had three deeper champers, so they were only bombing the first chamber.

After a quick stop to grab pork sandwiches at the Best Split Pork Sandwich Shop (Probably), we headed out on our scooter towards the National Park. By this time, it was around 2 pm and knowing we wouldn’t have enough time to visit Paradise Cave, we settled for a walk in the jungle. Called the Botanical Gardens, don’t expect an easy walk in the park. This was a pretty hard hike and jungle climb and we only walked 2 or 3 miles to a waterfall. We intended to ride around the entire Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, which is around 20 km, but we ran out of time. The views are amazing and you will ride next to cows meandering on the road! If you go, definitely book a tour with Oxalis, Jungle Boss, or even your homestay.

Our next day consisted of a 6 km bike ride to the Pub with the Cold Beer.

Our intention was to also visit the Duck Stop, but it was 95 degrees and our bikes were not in the best shape. Instead, we hung out at the Pub with the Cold Beer, speaking with Vietnamese children and drinking $.80 Hudas in the shade. From here, we rode back down to Moi Moi, a “restaurant” that serves freshly killed chicken, spring rolls and pork in a bamboo shoot. This was probably one of the best days out of the trip. Not only did we learn that we had to order an hour before we wanted to eat, but we met the most welcoming group of Australians I have ever met. They gave us the run down of the place, helped us order and socialized with us. The family that owns Moi Moi cooks everything over a fire and the grandfather takes bamboo and physically cuts them down into tubes for the food. It was farm to table at its peak. Our entire lunch cost us $8 and I would have happily ordered it everyday.

If we had more time in Phong Nha, I am sure we would have done some other caves and taken a day or two to just explore the town. This area of Vietnam is a must-see in my books and I encourage you to seek it out on your next trip!

Amy K