Ninety seconds on Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park
Two nights here give you three kinds of cave: one you enter by boat, one you walk through on a boardwalk, and wild ones reached only with a guide. Son Doong, the largest, is a separate expedition booked well over a year ahead.
Start with the river. Wooden boats leave the village pier and run up the Son for about half an hour, then cut the engine and drift into the mouth of Phong Nha Cave. Inside, the lit passage runs to a small beach where you can step out and walk on.
Paradise Cave, a drive away, is the dry one. A wooden boardwalk runs a kilometre through chambers up to 100 metres high, past stalactites the size of houses; allow up to two hours.
The park's famous wild caves run on permits held by licensed operators, so you cannot visit them alone. Hang En is a two-day trek with a night camped inside the cave. Son Doong is a four-day expedition run by one operator from January to the end of August.
Phong Nha, and further afield
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