How To Visit Paradise Cave in Phong Nha

Paradise Cave opening times

Paradise Cave is open from 7am-5pm daily.

How much does it cost to visit Paradise Cave?

• Entry to Paradise Cave costs 250,000 VND for adults and 125,000 VND for children (between 1.1-1.3m tall)
• Entry is free for children under 1.1m tall (must be accompanied by an adult)
• Buggy transportation to and from the bottom of the stairs/slope costs 35,000 VND
• Scooter or car parking costs 5,000 VND

Entrance fees, transportation and parking are cash only, so be sure to bring enough Vietnamese Dong with you to cover all costs.

Getting to Paradise Cave

The best place to base yourself for a visit to Paradise Cave is the mountain town of Phong Nha. The entrance to the cave is around 35-40 minutes’ drive from the centre of town.

Phong Nha – Paradise Cave

We hired a scooter to drive around Phong Nha, which cost 150,000 VND via our hostel. If your accommodation isn’t able to arrange scooter hire, check out Thang’s Phong Nha Riders and Hai’s Phong Nha Motorbike, two local rental shops.

If you’re hiring a scooter, there are two routes to Paradise Cave you can take:

• QL16 & QL15 – two major roads that are well paved. QL16 is a main highway, so you’ll likely encounter trucks and other large vehicles.
• D20 & QL15 – a smaller, country road takes you to the QL15 route in the opposite direction. The DL20 road is slightly less maintained than the highway, but I’d recommend this route if you’re not as confident with highway traffic.

If you’re not confident riding a scooter, you can hire a private driver in town or join a Paradise Cave tour.

Dong Hoi – Paradise Cave

You can also visit Paradise Cave from Dong Hoi, and spend a whole day visiting the Phong Nha area.

• Hire a scooter for the day in Dong Hoi – the ride to Paradise Cave will take around 1hr 30 minutes.
• Book a transfer from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha (around 1hr), and either rent a scooter, hire a driver or join a tour to Paradise Cave.
• Join a day tour to Paradise Cave from Dong Hoi.

I’d really recommend spending some time in Phong Nha, as the whole surrounding area is filled with beautiful natural landscapes.

What to expect at Paradise Cave

Picking up our rental motorbike first thing in the morning, we immediately set off for Paradise Cave. We arrived a little later than planned, but our visit was still pretty quiet, with only one large tour group arriving a little before us.

We decided to walk the 1km path instead of waiting for a buggy, which is mostly flat and fully paved. Clearly we were the first walkers of the day, as our walk was regularly interuppted by spiderwebs stretching from tree to tree. It didn’t take long to make it to the bottom of the mountain.

The actual entrance to the cave is tucked away on the side of an enormous limestone karst mountain, 200m above sea level. Which means we had to put the work in to get there! If you feel like a challenge, you can ascend the 500 step stone staircase to get to the top.

We didn’t, so we took the sloped pathway instead. Still challenging, but with some incredible views of the surrounding jungle on the way up.

However you’ve made your way to the top, you’re greeted with a platform containing a cave map and cafe. Next to it, a small unassuming hole is marked with the sign ‘Cave Entrance’.

Approaching the entrance of the cave, I felt the temperature drop significantly – a welcome respite from the humidity of the day. Immediately being greeted by a wooden staircase, we made our way down into Paradise.

Inside, the cavernous space is filled with otherworldly stalactites and stalagmites, shaped across over 300 million years. With the tallest chambers reaching 72 meters in height and 150 meters in width, the scale of the cave made me feel pretty tiny – even more so than usual!

We walked the entire kilometre length of the wooden boardwalk inside, taking our time to gaze at the formations around us. The cave is lit to illuminate the natural beauty, and we found all kinds of weird and wonderful shapes along the way.

We spent around an hour inside the cave, before tackling the wooden staircase back up to the entrance. Breaking out into the bright light of day, we treated ourselves to an ice cold Coke Zero at the cafe, before heading back to our bike and heading to our next destination.

Paradise Cave is absolutely worth the small amount of effort getting to, as it’s a truly spectacular place. I absolutely loved seeing all the intricate formations, and consider it a must-do if you’re visiting Phong Nha!

General tips for visiting Paradise Cave

• Visit as early in the day as possible, before tour groups arrive, to have the place almost all to yourself.
• Allow 2-3 hours for your visit, including the journey from the main entrance to the cave itself.
• Wear comfortable walking shoes, as you’ll be tackling lots of steps.
• Bring water for the climb up to the entrance.
• Toilet facilities are available at the main entrance, by the buggy drop-off point, and up the sloped section to the cave entrance. There are no toilet facilities in the cave itself.
• There are cafes situated at the main entrance, buggy drop-off point and cave entrance selling cold drinks and snacks. Bring cash for these.

More caves to visit in Phong Nha

Dark Cave

Dark Cave mixes cave exploration with fun water activities, starting with a 400m zip line over the river to the cave entrance. Inside, your head torch will guide you through dark passageways that narrow into a mud-filled chamber. Don’t worry, you won’t sink – the mud is buoyant so you can take your own mud bath!

Afterwards, rinse off in the river and enjoy kayaking, swimming, or tackling the over-water obstacle course.

Book: A tour that combines Paradise Cave and Dark Cave.

Phong Nha Cave

Phong Nha Cave is reached by boat, on a journey past lush forest and limestone karst mountains. The tour begins at the edge of Phong Nha town, within walking distance of most central accommodations.

The cave, one of the longest river caves, is explored by boat, taking you through large chambers with stalactites and notable rock formations. There is also a dry section of the cave that can be explored on foot.

Book: A tour that combines Paradise Cave and Phong Nha Cave.