Quang Binh's climate is divided into two distinct seasons, the rainy season from September to March next year and the dry season from April to August. In addition, from November to about March, the temperature in Quang Binh also fluctuates around 17-22 degrees Celsius. The best time to come here is from late March to early September.

Traveling in the rainy season will have limitations when moving; swimming activities and exploring caves are also difficult. However, in the rainy season, Quang Binh has interesting features for those who love exploring. From August to November, you can wade in rivers and streams, kayak and SUP in Minh Hoa district.

Dong Hoi City is about 500 km from Hanoi and about 1,000 km from Ho Chi Minh City. Transportation to Dong Hoi City is quite diverse and convenient for tourists.

From Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there are direct flights to Dong Hoi with round-trip fares from 2 to 3 million VND. The frequency of flights to Quang Binh is a little, usually only 2 flights daily. Flight time from Hanoi - Dong Hoi is nearly 1 hour, and from Ho Chi Minh City - Dong Hoi is nearly 2 hours.

Dong Hoi Station is the stop of every Thong Nhat train, SE train or QB train. One-way train fare ranges from 450,000 to 1.4 million VND per person, depending on class, seat, or bed.

Many bus operators have the Quang Binh route, running night or day. The route from Hanoi to Dong Hoi City has Hung Long, Hoang Linh, Phuong Trang, and Linen Hien, with a ticket price of 300,000-500,000 VND per person each way. Travel time is about 8-9 hours. From Ho Chi Minh City, there are Hoang Long, A Ba and Loc Thuy bus companies, each way costing 400,000-800,000 VND per person. The time is about 20 hours.

With personal cars, visitors go along National Highway 1A or Ho Chi Minh Road. Currently, many sections have highways, shortening travel time. From Hanoi to Dong Hoi about 10 hours if there is no traffic jam and short break time. Note, on public holidays' first and last days, the road is often congested for a long time, especially the gateway to Hanoi.

You can move along Ho Chi Minh Road to see the scenery. The shortest section connecting National Highway 1A and Ho Chi Minh Road is located in Quang Binh. Note that the phone signal may be lost in some places on this road, and drivers need to comply with the speed regulations and pay attention when passing through residential areas. Travel time is 2-3 hours longer than National Highway 1A; no toll station exists. The Ho Chi Minh Road takes visitors along the Truong Son range through famous national parks such as Phong Nha - Ke Bang and Cuc Phuong Forest.

In Quang Binh province, rent a taxi or car at Le Loi, Tran Hung Dao, and Huu Nghi in Dong Hoi City. Motorbikes can be rented at hotels for 100,000 - 150,000 VND a day.

Accommodation services in Quang Binh are developed, and there are many options, from hotels and motels to homestays, farm stays or camping.

In Dong Hoi, you can stay in the downtown area, such as Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Tran Hung Dao Street or hotels with beautiful locations near Nhat Le Beach on Truong Phap Street. 4-5 star hotels in the city include Melia Vinpearl Quang Binh, Muong Thanh Holiday, Muong Thanh Luxury Nhat Le, Sun Spa Resort, Celina Peninsula Resort, Gold Coast, Saigon Quang Binh with prices from 600,000 VND to 2 million VND per night.

Tourism exploitation and accommodation are at different prices in the districts of Le Thuy, Quang Trach, Bo Trach, and Minh Hoa.

Specifically, in the area of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park (Bo Trach District), visitors should choose resorts close to nature such as Chay Lap Farmstay, Nguyen Shack - Phong Nha Eco, Phong Nha Coco Riverside, Phong Nha Lake House, Lucky Home. Each night here costs 400,000 to 2 million VND a room for two people.

Blue Diamond Camp has many experiences that make visitors like exploring Son Doong cave, with an underground swimming pool and a cooling system with insulated pipes connected underground to the tent locations. It also has full services of boating, cycling, and dining. Visitors can have fun during the day or overnight, with prices ranging from 480,000 to 1.1 million VND per person.

The "weather-adaptive" tourism model has many accommodation options for dry and rainy seasons in the Minh Hoa district. Tu Lan Lodge costs 1.8 million VND per night. There are also many spacious and comfortable homestays, with an area of 26 to 40 m2, suitable for 1-3 people, priced from 920,000 VND per night.

UNESCO recognizes Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park as a World Natural Heritage. More than 400 caves total 220 km; three main rivers are the Chay River, Son River and Trooc River. The national park is located in Bo Trach and Minh Hoa districts, about 50 km from Dong Hoi City.

Visitors can learn about endemic plant and animal species in a botanical garden. The garden displays and stores species samples on Vietnam's endangered, rare and prioritized protection list. People will briefly walk around the botanical garden and visit the Gio waterfall and wildlife care areas.

Quang Binh is known as the "Kingdom of Caves," with hundreds of beautiful and unspoiled caves, many of which have received world records.

Phong Nha Cave

Phong Nha cave was formed hundreds of millions of years ago due to the weathering process occurring in the bed of limestone mountains. It was assessed by the British Royal Cave Expedition as a typical wonder in terms of the aesthetic and geological value of the natural world. According to explorers, Phong Nha cave achieved 7 criteria: having the most beautiful underground river; having a high and wide entrance; there are sandy beaches and beautiful reefs; there is a beautiful underground lake; there is a large and beautiful dry cave; there is a system of magical and magnificent stalactites; is the longest water cave.

To explore Phong Nha cave, visitors get off the boat at Phong Nha Tourist Center, upstream of Son River, for about 30 minutes.

Dubbed "the palace in the ground", Thien Duong Cave has located about 70 km from the center of Dong Hoi City to the northwest, next to the west branch of Ho Chi Minh Road and about 25 km from Phong Nha Cave.

Visitors will have to climb more than 500 steps to reach the cave. Stepping through the cave door is a large space with countless stalactites and stalagmites. With a length of 31.4 km, Thien Duong Cave is considered the longest dry cave in Asia.

Son Doong Cave is currently the largest natural cave in the world, formed about 2-5 million years ago, with a width of 150 m, a height of more than 200 m, and a length of nearly 9 km. The estimated volume of Son Doong Cave is 38.5 million m3. The stalactite columns of the cave are 14 m high. In the cave, there is also an underground river 2.5 km long. The cave has coral populations, and fossil animal remains. Son Doong also has two "skylights", two places where sunlight shines, creating conditions for trees to grow like a tropical forest, one of which is called "Edam garden".

To go to Son Doong, visitors must buy a tour, prepare physically, and learn the safety regulations. The tour operation time is from the end of January to August every year. Time to explore 5 days, 4 nights. The average number of visitors per tour is 10 people. The tour price is currently 72 million VND per person.

Tu Lan cave system is located in the ancient forest and limestone mountains with more than 650 hectares in Tan Hoa commune, Minh Hoa district. The Tu Lan cave system was first explored in 1992 by the British-Vietnamese Cave Exploration group. By 2022, experts have discovered, surveyed and measured more than 25 large and small caves.

Read more: The beauty inside Tu Lan caves

Tu Lan is a system formed along the Rao Nan River, outside Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. The caves in the Tu Lan system have both water caves (with streams flowing inside) and dry caves. Typical caves include Mouse, Hung Ton, Secret, Song, Ken, Kim, and Tien. Dry caves often have many beautiful and unique stalactites because they are not washed away in the rainy season. Visitors can swim in the underground cave system and camp in the forest.

En cave is the third largest in the world, 1.6 km long, through a huge limestone block. There are 3 entrances to the cave, in which the largest and most famous cave entrance is 120 m high and 110 m wide, the ceiling is 145 m high, and the corridor is at the widest, 200 m. In the cave is a winding stream leading to Son Doong cave. The Hollywood movie Peter Pan had scenes shot here.

The time to exploit the tour to discover Hang En is from December to the end of September every year. The journey to Hang En lasts for two days, with trekking activities such as forest crossing, wading streams, climbing slopes, and exploring Ban Doong - the residence of Bru - Van Kieu people.