Quang Binh, now part of Quang Tri province

Phong Nha without a tour: every ticket price

Most people who come to Phong Nha never book a guided expedition. They buy tickets, rent a motorbike and go. Here is what each site costs, when it opens, how long to allow and how to reach it. Every ticket listed comes to 970,000 VND per person, about $35, and almost nobody does all of them.

Site	Ticket	Opens	Allow
Paradise Cave (Thien Duong)	250,000 VND	Daily, roughly 07:30 to 16:30	About 2 hours plus travel
Phong Nha Cave	150,000 VND	Daily, roughly 07:00 to 16:00	1.5 to 2 hours, or 3 with Tien Son
Dark Cave (Hang Toi)	450,000 VND	Daily, roughly 08:00 to 16:30	2 to 3 hours
Mooc Spring	80,000 VND	Daily, roughly 08:00 to 16:30	2 to 3 hours
Phong Nha Botanic Garden	40,000 VND	Daily, roughly 07:30 to 16:00	2 to 3 hours
The Duck Stop	Varies	Daily, lunchtime onward	About an hour
Bong Lai Valley	Varies	Most stops open late morning to early evening	Half a day

Getting around without a tour

Motorbike, the default

Nearly everyone doing the phong nha caves independently rents a motorbike in town, typically 120,000 to 180,000 VND a day from guesthouses. The park roads are quiet and well surfaced, and every site on this page sits on one of two simple loops. If you do not ride, guesthouses arrange scooter drivers, and bicycles work for the Bong Lai valley side though not for the longer park loop.

Taxi or shared transfer

Taxis run from Phong Nha town to Paradise Cave or the Dark Cave for a few hundred thousand VND round trip with waiting time, and hotels sell seats in shared vans in high season. From Dong Hoi, the regional gateway with the airport and mainline station, the town is 45 to 90 minutes: around 500,000 VND by taxi or 35,000 VND on the local bus.

Two days that actually work

Day one, the park loop: ride out early to Paradise Cave before the coach groups, boardwalk the first kilometre of the cave, then double back to Mooc Spring for a swim and lunch. Add the Dark Cave zipline in the afternoon if adrenaline beats rest. Day two, river and valley: take the boat from the town wharf into Phong Nha Cave in the morning, then spend the afternoon cycling the Bong Lai valley or riding the Ho Chi Minh Highway West viewpoints. Every ticket both days comes from the table above; the only extra is your wheels.

Paradise Cave (Thien Duong)

250,000 VND

about $10

A kilometre of boardwalk through the most spectacular chamber you can reach without a guide. Start here if you only do one.

What you pay: 250,000 VND, buggy 60,000 one way or 100,000 return
Opening hours: Daily, roughly 07:30 to 16:30
How long to allow: About 2 hours plus travel
Getting there: About 20 km from Phong Nha town by motorbike, taxi or shared transfer, then a 1.6 km uphill approach or the buggy

The approach is uphill and exposed. Coach groups fill the boardwalk in the middle of the day, so go early or late.

Get directions Full page for Paradise Cave

Phong Nha Cave

150,000 VND

about $5

Entered by boat along an underground river from the town itself. The boat is priced per boat, so join a group if you are a pair.

What you pay: 150,000 VND plus the boat, roughly 550,000 to 750,000 per boat shared by up to 12
Opening hours: Daily, roughly 07:00 to 16:00
How long to allow: 1.5 to 2 hours, or 3 with Tien Son
Getting there: The boat station is in Phong Nha town itself, so no transport out to the park is needed

The boat is priced per boat and seats up to 12. A pair travelling alone pays the whole fare, so ask at the counter about joining a group.

Get directions Full page for Phong Nha Cave

Dark Cave (Hang Toi)

450,000 VND

about $15

Zipline over the river, a swim into the cave, a natural mud bath and kayaking. The most fun most families have here.

What you pay: 450,000 VND full package, cheaper options from 150,000
Opening hours: Daily, roughly 08:00 to 16:30
How long to allow: 2 to 3 hours
Getting there: About 20 km from town on the same road loop as Mooc Spring

You will be covered in mud. Bring a change of clothes and a bag for the wet ones. Children between 1.1 and 1.3 m pay less and cannot use the zipline.

Get directions Full page for Dark Cave

Mooc Spring

80,000 VND

about $5

Clear spring-fed pools with walkways and kayaks, on the same road loop as the Dark Cave.

What you pay: 80,000 VND, activities package 180,000
Opening hours: Daily, roughly 08:00 to 16:30
How long to allow: 2 to 3 hours
Getting there: On the same loop as the Dark Cave, about 20 km from town

The water is cold year round, which is the point in summer and a shock in winter.

Get directions Full page for Mooc Spring

Phong Nha Botanic Garden

40,000 VND

about $0

Forest trails, a lake and the Gio waterfall, about 30 m. The cheapest ticket in the park.

What you pay: 40,000 VND
Opening hours: Daily, roughly 07:30 to 16:00
How long to allow: 2 to 3 hours
Getting there: About 12 km from town, on the way to Paradise Cave

Forest paths get slippery after rain. The Gio waterfall here is about 30 m, not the 300 m Do Quyen near Hue.

Get directions Full page for Phong Nha Botanic Garden

The Duck Stop

Around 100,000 VND, confirm on arrival

A family farm where you feed a mob of ducks, walk a water buffalo and eat lunch. Absurd, and consistently the thing people remember.

What you pay: Around 100,000 VND, confirm on arrival
Opening hours: Daily, lunchtime onward
How long to allow: About an hour
Getting there: In the Bong Lai valley, about 8 km from town by motorbike

Cash only, and it is a working farm rather than an attraction, so timings are informal.

Bong Lai Valley

Free to ride through, pay per stop

A back road of farm bars and restaurants: the Pub With Cold Beer, the Duck Stop and others strung along one valley. Best by rented motorbike in an afternoon.

What you pay: Free to ride through, pay per stop
Opening hours: Most stops open late morning to early evening
How long to allow: Half a day
Getting there: A back road loop starting about 6 km from town, best on a rented motorbike

The road is unsealed in places and there is no fuel out there. Fill up before you leave town.

Phong Nha tickets, questions people ask

How much are the entrance fees in Phong Nha?

Tickets run from 40,000 VND to 450,000 VND per site. Buying every ticket listed here comes to 970,000 VND per person, before transport and before the Phong Nha Cave boat, which is charged per boat rather than per person and shared by up to twelve.

Can you visit Phong Nha without a tour?

Yes, and most people do. Every site on this page is a ticketed attraction you reach by rented motorbike, taxi or shared transfer, with no guide, permit or booking needed. Guided trips are only required for the wild caves that are permit-controlled, which is a different and considerably more expensive set of trips.

What is the cheapest thing to do in Phong Nha?

Phong Nha Botanic Garden at 40,000 VND. Renting a motorbike for the day and riding the Bong Lai valley costs little more than fuel, and you pay only at whichever stops you choose.

How many days do you need for the ticketed sites?

Two comfortably. Paradise Cave and Phong Nha Cave make one day, the Dark Cave and Mooc Spring another since they sit on the same road loop, and the Botanic Garden or Bong Lai valley fill whatever is left.

If you do want a guide

The wild caves are permit-controlled and cannot be visited alone, which is a different and far more expensive set of trips. Compare every guided tour in Phong Nha, or read the full budget breakdown.