In an era of Tiktok travel, Phong Nha National Park’s splendour has been forgotten. Now only visited by younger backpackers for its duck stop (a duck feeding opportunity for a funny Instagram photo), the significance of Vietnam’s most wondrous national park has become misunderstood. One duck farm and its social media marketing, however, aren’t the sole culprits.
Home to the largest cave in the world, Phong Nha National Park should be famous for just that: Hang Son Doong. However, with a price tag of £3000 just to visit, it is understandable why it goes unnoticed by backpackers who often begin their travels with less. The rivals to Hang Son Doong: Heng En and Hang Thoong, are comparatively a smidgen of the price. However, entry fees being £300 a piece, still place them, like Hang Son Doong, as unaffordable. Even the town itself would lead you to believe that everything enjoyable was out of your price range. With travel agents lining the streets advertising ‘cheap tours’ for upwards of £70, offering to take you to some of Phong Nha’s smaller caves, one wouldn’t be blamed for simply stopping at the duck stop and assuming that everything else was out of budget.
Upon first glance, Phong Nha National Park isn’t worth staying. Social media suggests that the only thing to do is stick on a rice hat and feed a flock of ducks, and everything else points towards overpriced cave exploration. Yet, dig a little deeper, and you will find a multitude of things us budget backpackers can do: discovering that staying in Vietnam's greatest national park really is worth it.
The list below includes 6 suggestions, keeping the purse strings tight with a few less quacks.
1. VISIT PARADISE CAVE
At a mere £8 to enter, Paradise Cave supplies the beauty without the bill. Crystalised stalagmite and stalactite formations fang the 70 metre tall clandestine cavity, and, with the longest wooden bridge of any cave in Asia, Paradise Cave grants freedom of exploration.
2. SWIM AT DARK CAVE
While the cave itself is no more than a glorified mud bath, what is special about Dark Cave is its swimming area. Outside the cave is a section of the river decked out with ziplines, slides and platforms to keep you busy for hours.
3. WALK THE BOTANICAL GARDENS
Phong Nha Botanic Garden provides a breathtaking circular walk lasting just under 2 hours. With excellent views of the surrounding landscape and multiple places to swim on the way round, the £1.20 entrance fee is an utter bargain.
4. HAVE A COFFEE AT COFFEE STATION
A white Pinterest girl haven and rightfully so, Phong Nha Coffee Station is the best place for coffee in Phong Nha and serves the best coconut coffee in all of Vietnam.
5. EAT AT BAMBOO CHOPSTICKS RESTAURANT
The nicest meal I ate in Phong Nha was at Bamboo Chopsticks Restaurant. Serving a fusion of Western and Vietnamese food on Phong Nha’s main highstreet, Bamboo Chopsticks specialises in vegetarian food. The caramel pork and shrimp that I ate, however, can’t be recommended enough.
6. TAKE A BOAT TRIP THROUGH PHONG NHA CAVE
A great way to spend a morning, a boat trip through Phong Nha Cave involves: a cruise down the Con, a gondola style float through the cave’s river, a short walk around stalactites on the shore, and, if you dare, an arduous walk up a mountain to Tien Son Cave. The boat sets off from Phong Nha pier and has a set cost, meaning the price you pay is determined by how many people you share the trip with. The capacity of the boat is 12 people, so I advise going with a large group, or, like me, you can spend 15 minutes gathering people to buy your tickets with.
Social media would suggest that Phong Nha National Park hasn’t got much on offer for us budget backpackers. This couldn’t be further from the truth. With over 300 caves situated in the park itself, this list hasn't even touched the surface of things to do; you just need to explore for yourself. A good place to do this from is Central Backpackers Hostel. With a free breakfast and free pints between 7 and 8pm, the hostel serves a social atmosphere whilst keeping you on budget.
I hope this list provides the apparatus for you to enjoy Phong Nha National Park to its fullest and serves as a warning that not everything that you see on Tiktok is the whole truth. The amount of people I met in Phong Nha that had never even heard of Hang Son Doong was frightening. Social media would have you believe that the national park is famous for ducks, so, if anything, I hope this article gives you the impetus to do your own thorough research before visiting anywhere, especially Phong Nha National Park.