Phong Nha National Park: A Natural Gem in Central Vietnam

Our overnight bus to Phong Nha National Park was two hours late and completely packed when we hopped on in Ninh Binh. The set-up was quite different than those of other overnight buses we had experienced; there were three rows and two levels of reclining seats that were almost horizontal like a bed. Each passenger was given a blanket and told to remove our shoes upon entering the bus. Backpackers around us were chatty and many were complaining about the smelly bathroom or the small bed size. Matt and I shrugged, took a few selfies, and plugged into our respective TV shows (Me: Outlander; Matt: Sabrina the Teenage Witch) before getting a few hours of shut-eye. Neither of us slept well on the bumpy ride, and our bus pulled into Phong Nha at 4:00am. It was still dark out as we walked two blocks to Easy Tiger Hostel, our home for the next three nights. Needless to say we spent most of the day relaxing and napping, recovering from the skipped night of sleep.

Matt tucked into his reclining seat on the overnight bus. You can see that there are two aisles on either side of him. We were in the middle row of beds. 

Easy Tiger Hostel was the most backpacker-centric accommodation we had booked so far. While Phong Nha does offer a handful of budget-level options, Easy Tiger was highly recommended on many blogs and in our guidebook. The hostel serves as a tourism hub for the Phong Nha area with its own daily information session (open to the public); nightly live music; free bicycle rentals; close relationship with all the bus and motorbike companies; organized hikes and tours; swimming pool; “hammock house;” game room; three pool tables; full bar and restaurant; and an enormous, helpful staff that worked around the clock to accommodate travelers who arrived and departed at all hours of the day and night. Matt and I were given Easy Tiger wrist-bands upon check-in to distinguish us as official hostel guests so we could access the entire complex after 11pm, use the swimming pool, enjoy discounts at the restaurant, and consume free beer each evening. Another first for us on this trip: staying in a dorm set-up. Ours was a bit of a hybrid as we slept in a room with just one double-bed sized bunkbed. Matt and I were on the top bunk and a polite, Belgian couple slept below us. The four of us shared a bathroom that was attached to our room. The Belgians were only in our room the first two nights, so we essentially had a private room the last night. Matt and I loved staying at Easy Tiger and spent hours hanging out on-site just enjoying the laid-back vibe, swimming pool, and pool tables. The hostel felt like the epicenter of the Phong Nha community and staff were ready and willing to provide information and suggestions about the region.

Murals like this covered the walls of our hostel in Phong Nha.

Swimming in the Easy Tiger pool.

Playing pool in the lobby at Easy Tiger.

Relaxing in an inner tube.

Phong Nha National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and covers about 475 square miles of land in central Vietnam on the border of Laos. The park’s terrain is thick green jungle, wide rivers, and limestone mountains, and the area is most famous for its system of at least 300 caves and grottos that are relatively underexplored compared to most natural areas in the world. The world’s largest cave is located in Phong Nha and was discovered only ten years ago! Unfortunately it is not open to the public; only a handful of tourists are able to enter each day and apparently the costs are around $3,000 for a private guide and conservation fees. There are many other impressive caves to visit in the park, though! Easy Tiger Hostel and all the other hotels and restaurants in the area are located about 20 minutes outside of the park’s perimeter to accommodate the influx of tourists (especially backpackers!) who want to see the beautiful park’s landscape, enjoy boat rides on the river, and bike around the scenic region. Phong Nha looked so completely different from any national parks in the US with its endless thick jungle and jagged limestone peaks covered in greenery. Matt and I rented a motorcycle to explore the area (this is the typical approach to getting around in Phong Nha), and even the ride itself was so gorgeous and a highlight of our whole trip so far!

Views from our motorcycle ride into Phong Nha.

Rode past many cemeteries on our ride.

Looking pretty hardcore with my helmet.

More views from the road.

Our first stop in the park was Paradise Cave; we arrived early to beat the crowds and the heat. Paradise Cave is elevated 200 meters above sea level, so to access it by foot we walked up a series of steep ramps for about 20 minutes before we could enter into the opening in the side of the limestone mountain. The massive cave was discovered in 2005 and is 31 kilometers long—longer than any cave in the park! Tourists can only access the first 1.6 km though, and there are lighted wooden pathways that guided us through. The cave’s height reaches 72 meters in parts and its width reaches 150 meters. In other words, it’s enormous! Upon entering, we descended down a steep staircase before reaching the flat wooden path. Matt and I spent about an hour walking to the end of the path and back, stopping for pictures and to marvel at the huge and distinctive stalagmite and stalactite structures within. Almost like when looking at clouds, you can see shapes in the rock formations like feet or animals. Pictures don’t do the cave justice because of the dark lighting, but I tried to capture photos of some of the cool formations inside.

Impressive formations as we walked through the cave - the largest cave we'd ever been in!

Blurry picture, but cool rock formations in the back.

Another picture inside Paradise Cave.

We jumped on our motorcycle and rode for 25 minutes through the park to the Phong Nha Botanic Gardens. Unlike botanic gardens in places like Chicago or Washington, DC, this one was comprised of a large hiking area, multiple natural waterfalls, two swimming holes, and a few cages with animals inside. There were a select number of plaques indicating tree species along the hiking route, but it felt more like a nature reserve than the well-manicured, interior botanic gardens we had experienced in the past. There were a few hiking route options: 4 hours, 1.5 hours, and 40 minutes, so we selected the medium-range hike. We passed the swimming holes and a couple of small waterfalls as the path wound through jungle-covered mountains. At many points there were ladders and ropes to help ease the rigorous climb. We mused that it felt like an obstacle course at times. At the end of the hike, we reached the bottom of a tall, multi-tiered waterfall called Thac Gio and hiked up next to it, holding onto ropes to secure ourselves as we stepped carefully from boulder to boulder. When we reached the top we looked behind us and enjoyed an unforgettable vista of Phong Nha’s sprawling green. Sweaty and accomplished, we asked another couple to take a picture of us before we headed out.

Hiking in Phong Nha.

Ladders and ropes were set up throughout the hiking route.

Thac Gio waterfall inside the Botanic Gardens.

The beautiful view of Phong Nha jungle behind us at the end of our hike.

It was hot and late in the afternoon at this point, but we had one more important destination to reach before returning our motorcycle. It was a strange but amazing tourist attraction called “The Duck Stop.” Spoiler alert: If you plan to travel to Phong Nha and visit the Duck Stop, I advise that you skip this paragraph! Part of the fun of visiting the Duck Stop is having no idea what to expect. Everyone in Phong Nha just says “Make sure you go to the Duck Stop!” and you follow Google Maps along a rocky dirt road through farmland outside of the national park perimeter before pulling up to the rickety wooden sign indicating that you have made it. We were greeted warmly by a young kid and his adult cousin who sat us down and gave us cold beer and soda to drink, as well as Vietnamese rice farmer hats to wear. Matt and I, along with four other backpackers, removed our shoes and put on rental sandals. We were shuttled into an open area behind a gate where there were probably 40 white ducks quacking and waddling around. Over the next fifteen minutes, we each had a chance to feed the ducks a bit of kibble out of our palms, feeling their duck bills tickling our hands. We also walked around the pen shaking a bucket of feed and the ducks followed us around. Another activity was sitting on a bench and cupping our feet together, filling the little crevice with food and letting the ducks surround our legs as they foraged for the treats. Last, we held a duck as the staff member fed it and then we threw the duck towards the pond where it immediately took flight and landed gently onto the water. The whole ordeal was quite strange but very entertaining, and it was clear that this entrepreneurial farming family enjoyed entertaining guests from around the world and allowing them to interact with the animals. We laughed the whole time, and it felt so weird to touch the soft ducks and feel their fast-moving duck bills. Another option at the farm was to sit on a water buffalo named “Donald Trump.” It costed two dollars per person, so we opted out. We ended our visit with a Vietnamese snack that was like a scallion pancake. The whole evening Matt and I scrolled through the photos and re-watched the videos captured from our time at the Duck Stop. It was such a memorable and hilarious experience!

Walking around and feeding the ducks. They asked us to "quack" like a duck.

Feeding ducks with our hands.

The ducks loved eating from Matt's feet!

Holding a duck while it ate out of the farmer's hand.

Matt's turn!

Throwing a duck into the pond.

Live action shot!

Our last day in Phong Nha was spent watching Netflix, swimming the pool, playing cards, and taking care of various items on our computers. We also enjoyed the free beer and indulged in multiple coffees and tasty meals at the nearby restaurants. It was so pleasant to relax at the Easy Tiger Hostel. We were sad to leave! We loved Phong Nha and highly recommend a visit to anyone who is going to Vietnam. We did the Paradise Cave and Botanic Gardens, but there are also countless other hiking, camping, boating, and caving opportunities in the park—many of which can be purchased as a package tour with a group. Hopefully we’ll return and see more of Phong Nha in the future.