HANOI to PHONG NHA — Bus, Train, Flight? ☀️

7 min readJun 5, 2020

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park - the most amazing caves close to Dong Hoi.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is one of the most interesting and visited parks in Vietnam (written in UNESCO, in 2003). Phong Nha-Ke Bang is about 45 km from Dong Hoi city centre. This place attracts many tourists and adventure travelers by various tourist activites, like exploring the caves, kayaking, boat trips, trekking or tours. Son Doong Cave is the biggest cave in the world, right in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Phong Nha-Ke Bang is also a popular place by Kong: Skull Island movie, this movie was filmed in 2017 in Vietnam. Phong Nha-Ke Bang has no airport (airport is in Dong Hoi) and the biggest closest railway station is in Dong Hoi. There are a few options how it is possible to travel from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park via Dong Hoi. You can travel by sleeper tourist bus, train + bus or plane + local bus/taxi. Read carefully the instructions how you can get there.

Travel distance from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang is about 500 km by land to the park and about 450 km by plane to Dong Hoi. The most fastest way is to take a direct flight to Dong Hoi and from Dong Hoi you can travel by local bus or private taxi to Phong Nha. Travel by plane and bus from Hanoi to Phong Nha (via Dong Hoi) costs about $30–65/pp and it takes about 4–5 hours. It is the fastest option of transport to Phong Nha.
Another option is to travel by sleeper tourist bus to Phong Nha-Ke Bang from Hanoi. Travel by sleeper tourist bus to Phong Nha from Hanoi takes about 9–11 hours and bus ticket costs about $13–20/pp. Bus tickets are cheap, but this way is not so comfortable because to spend about 10 hours in the sleeper bus is not easy. These sleeper buses have also a few stops before they arrive to final destination.
You can also travel by train to Dong Hoi from Hanoi. Trains are better and comfortable, it is better to avoid the bus. Travel by train and bus via Dong Hoi takes about 12–14 hours and it costs about $25–45/pp. You can book and buy bus/train tickets or flights from Hanoi to Phong Nha (Dong Hoi) easily online. The best option is probably to travel by plane to Dong Hoi, because there are also low-cost direct flights and from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha you can travel by local bus or private taxi. From Phong Nha you can travel by bus/train to Hue or Da Nang and Hoi An in central Vietnam.

there are some tourist sleeper buses from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang
travel by sleeper bus from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang takes about 9–11 hours
sleeper buses are modern and comfortable (night buses)
bus companies from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang: Hey Travel, Queen Cafe Bus, Hung Thanh
one-way bus ticket from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang costs about $13–20
you will receive your bus e-ticket to Phong Nha by email, ready to print or carry in your mobile phone or tablet and present at the ticket counter of the station before boarding the bus in Hanoi

trains in Vietnam is quite an interesting experience of traveling
travel by train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi takes about 10–12 hours
trains are comfortable and refurbished, you can buy snack, food
there are about 6 trains of Vietnam Railways from Hanoi to Dong Hoi every day
railway stations: Đồng Hới Railway Station and Hanoi Railway Station
one-way train ticket to Dong Hoi from Hanoi costs about $20–40 (seat or berth)
you should take a sleeper berth
you will receive your train e-ticket to Dong Hoi by email, ready to print or carry in your mobile phone or tablet and present at the ticket counter of the station before boarding the train in Hanoi Railway Station

flights is the most fastest way how to get from Hanoi to Dong Hoi
direct flight from Hanoi to Dong Hoi takes about 1 hour
flight from Hanoi to Dong Hoi costs about $25–60/pp
airport in Dong Hoi - Đồng Hới Airport, airport in Hanoi - Nội Bài International Airport

🥇 You can book and buy bus/train e-tickets or flights from Hanoi to Phong Nha (or Dong Hoi) on Baolau or 12go.asia

Travel by sleeper tourist bus from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang takes about 9–11 hours.
Travel by train+bus from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang (via Dong Hoi) takes about 14 hours.
Travel by plane (direct flights) from Hanoi to Dong Hoi takes about 1 hour.

Travel by sleeper bus to Phong Nha-Ke Bang from Hanoi costs about $13–14.
Travel by train+bus to Phong Nha-Ke Bang from Hanoi (via Dong Hoi) costs about $22+
Travel by plane (direct flight) from Hanoi to Dong Hoi costs about $25–60.

Travel distance to Phong Nha-Ke Bang from Hanoi is about 500 km by bus and about 450 by plane to Dong Hoi.

The best and fastest way of transport to Hanoi from Phong Nha is to travel by plane from Hanoi - Noi Bai Airport to Dong Hoi. From Dong Hoi you can travel by local bus or private taxi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang.

The most cheapest way of transport from Hanoi to Phong Nha-Ke Bang is to travel by tourist sleeper bus.

There is no airport in Phong Nha-Ke Bang, the closest airport is in Dong Hoi (about 45 km from Phong Nha). And there are direct flights between Hanoi and Dong Hoi.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park offers various types of accommodation. There are typical local homestays, private guesthouses or bungalows for tourists. Accommodatin in Phong Nha is not expensive.
Check and book your stay in Phong Nha from this best selection: Book your homestay in Phong Nha

From Dong Hoi you can by train or bus to Hue or you can travel to Da Nang. Da Nang is the biggest city of central Vietnam. Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An are the most visited places in central Vietnam.