Phong Nha

Where to stay

Almost everyone stays in Son Trach village, the small riverside settlement along the Son River where the boat dock, tour offices, and most hostels sit within a few minutes of each other on foot. It is compact enough that location within the village barely matters, but rooms facing away from the main road are quieter at night.

Getting around

• Rent a motorbike in town (cheaply per day) and ride to Paradise Cave (Thiên Đường Cave) on your own. You pay the national park entrance fee at the gate and skip the per-head markup that hostel-arranged group tours add.
• Bring enough cash from Dong Hoi before you arrive. Dong Hoi has reliable ATMs and is about 50 km away by bus or motorbike. The ATM options in Son Trach are limited and occasionally out of service.
• Avoid October and November. Seasonal flooding regularly shuts cave access for days at a time, and some hostels close outright. The risk is not worth the cheaper rates.

When to go

Prices drop and beds open up from March through early June. July and August fill fast with Vietnamese domestic travelers on summer holiday, and that demand pushes hostel rates noticeably higher.