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Phong Huong Excursion: an island camp in the middle of rao quan reservoir, reached by boat

Khe Sanh, Vietnam

Phong Huong Excursion

Length
2D1N
How hard is it
Gentle
Group size
30
Minimum age
6+

Only here: The only trip with no hiking whatsoever: a boat to an island camp and nothing more strenuous than a paddleboard.

The most relaxed trip in the catalogue: a boat to an island camp on Rao Quan lake, a barbecue, a campfire, and nothing more strenuous than a paddleboard.

What you actually do

  • An island camp in the middle of Rao Quan reservoir, reached by boat
  • Sunset over the wind turbine fields from the water
  • A lakeside barbecue and a campfire evening
  • Sunrise, coffee, fishing and paddleboarding on day two
  • Proper tents with mattresses, pillows, blankets and a fan
  • Two days and a night for 1,950,000 VND, from age 6

Is this the right tour for you?

Worth reading before you book. Age limits and group rules rule people out more often than fitness does.

Book it if

  • You want camping without hiking
  • You are travelling as a family with children from age 6
  • You want a genuinely quiet night outdoors
  • You are already on the Ho Chi Minh Road route

Look elsewhere if

  • You want a challenge. There is deliberately none here
  • You are not near Khe Sanh, since no transfers are offered from anywhere else
  • You want caves or rope work

Day by day, all 2 of them

  1. Out to the lake camp

    A relaxed two o'clock start from Khe Sanh, briefing at the office, then a 40 kilometre drive along the western Ho Chi Minh Road to the boat dock. A boat takes the group across to the camp on the water. The rest of the day is swimming, paddleboarding, or watching the sun go down behind the turbines. Dinner is a barbecue on the shore, grilled chicken, catfish, pork belly and vegetables, and the evening ends around a campfire.

  2. Sunrise, then back

    You wake to birdsong and the sun coming up over the water. After breakfast and coffee there is time to fish or paddle before the boat collects the group around midday and the vehicle returns you to Khe Sanh.

What the price covers

  • Guide, safety assistants and porters
  • Tents with mattresses, pillows, blankets and a fan
  • All meals including the barbecue dinner
  • PVI travel insurance
  • Pickup and drop-off within Khe Sanh town

Not included: tips, personal spending, any pickup outside khe sanh town.

When to go

Dry season January to August is best for the water activities. The forest colours run October to January.

Questions worth asking first

What is the camp actually like?

Tents on an island site in the reservoir, each with a thick mattress, pillows, warm blankets and a fan. Toilets are composting units in a tent. It is comfortable rather than rough, which is the point of this trip.

Is there anything to do besides sit by the water?

Paddleboarding, swimming, fishing and the sunset. That is the honest list. If you want a day of activity, the 2 day Phong Huong Adventure adds the 9.5 km forest walk and a waterfall abseil for 3,350,000 VND.

Can young children come?

Yes, from age 6, and the operator pitches it at families. There is no hiking, the boat ride is short and life jackets are provided for the water.

How do I reach Khe Sanh?

You arrange it yourself. Pickup is free within Khe Sanh town only. Khe Sanh is on the Ho Chi Minh Road in Quang Tri, about three hours from Hue, so this suits people already travelling that road.

How the price compares

Every tour here, cheapest first. Bars use a compressed scale so the shorter trips stay readable next to the expeditions.

Approximate figures, per person; the operator bills in VND. Cheapest is 800,000 VND (about $30), dearest is 79,500,000 VND (about $3,060).

If you want something bigger

Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley Jungle Trek, Phong Nha

Jungle Boss

Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley Jungle Trek

1D

The best single day in Phong Nha if you only have one: a war-history cave, a swim in an emerald lake, and 600 metres of river cave to finish.

The only day tour with pickup from Dong Hoi included, so it works without staying in Phong Nha.

Gentle
1,950,000 VND
about $75 · age 9+
Phong Huong Adventure Overnight, Khe Sanh

Jungle Boss

Phong Huong Adventure Overnight

2D1N

The forest walk and the lake camp together, finishing with a 30 metre abseil down Ta Puong waterfall and a jump into the pool.

The only trip pairing the red forest walk with a waterfall abseil, in two days.

Moderate
3,350,000 VND
about $130 · age 6+
Phong Huong Adventure, Khe Sanh

Jungle Boss

Phong Huong Adventure

1D

A 9.5 kilometre walk through a sweet gum forest that turns red in winter, ending with lunch and a paddleboard on a reservoir ringed by wind turbines.

The only walk here through a forest that turns red, and the lowest age limit in the catalogue.

Moderate
1,350,000 VND
about $50 · age 6+

Photographs by Jungle Boss.

Plan the rest

All guided toursVietnam visa rulesBest time to visit Khe SanhThings to do in Khe SanhAll 3 tours in Khe Sanh