As the former seat of the Nguyen dynasty and the country’s capital from 1802 to 1945, the Vietnamese city of Hue is one of the country’s top tourist destinations. Known for its magnificent 19th-century citadel with the Imperial City and Forbidden Purple City, Hue also boasts tombs and pagodas and a bustling market. From Hue, it is relatively easy to travel to another of Vietnam’s most popular destinations, Phong Nha. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park offers spectacular scenery and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It received this attention to protect one of the two largest karst regions in the world, which has around 300 caves and grottoes. It is possible to explore some of the caves and grottoes by boat, or take a more extreme mountain trip if you like climbing or hiking. Read on to find out how to get from Hue to Phong Nha.
Travel options from Hue to Phong Nha
The road from Hue to Phong Nha is 210 kilometers along the QL1A highway, which runs close to the coast. Although not a great distance, traveling on these roads can be quite slow as there is only one lane in each direction, so you can expect the bus journey to take 4 to 5 hours. Another option is to travel by train, but the train won’t take you from Hue to Phong Nha any faster than the bus, especially considering it doesn’t go all the way to Phong Nha.
From Hue to Phong Nha by bus
If you’re looking for convenience and low prices, a bus from Hue to Phong Nha will usually be your best option. There are several options for traveling by bus. There are also public buses that serve this route, but we do not recommend traveling on them. The level of comfort is not as high and costs about the same as private buses, so there is no reason to choose public buses. Private ones are reliable, have a good price and are more convenient. In addition, they have air conditioning, something that is not always available on public buses. If you’re traveling privately, you can book in advance to organize your trip and secure your seats, so you don’t have to wait until the last minute to end up on a crowded public bus.
Tickets from Hue to Phong Nha can be booked online 12Go.asia. This site offers tickets from two major bus companies, The Sinh Tourist and Hue Tourist, so you can easily compare timetables and prices and book in minutes. If you travel with The Sinh Tourist, you can save a few euros, but the prices of both companies are quite similar. Sinh Tourist buses operate a daily route from Hue to Phong Nha, departing from their offices at 6:30 AM and arriving in Phong Nha five hours later at around 11:30 AM.
The Hue tourist bus leaves its Hue offices at 6:45 am. According to the timetable, it takes less time to reach Phong Nha at 4 hours and 10 minutes, which means you will arrive at around 10:55. Although both companies have early morning departures, this allows you to reach Phong Nha in time to start exploring the national park.
From Hue to Phong Nha by train and bus
Vietnamese Railways in Hue © beibaoke / Shutterstock.com
If you’re not in a rush, taking the train from Hue to Phong Nha is a fantastic experience. As we said before, unfortunately there is no train to Phong Nha as there is no train network to the national park. Even so, the train runs most of the way from Phong Nha, and you only need to travel a short distance by bus to get to the park.
There are two options if you want to take the train: you can get off the train in Dong Hoi or continue a little further north to Minh Le. In any case, you will need to travel to the park by bus or taxi, so you will need to factor in this extra cost when calculating the price of the trip. Also, don’t forget that this option also takes more time. It takes about 45 minutes from the train station to Phong Nha.
But despite the travel time, the train in Vietnam is a highly recommended way to get around the country. Therefore, if time and money are not a big problem, we do not rule out using this means of transport from Hue to Phong Nha. You can book your Vietnamese railway tickets through 12Go. There is a sleeper train that leaves Hue at 1:39 AM and arrives in Minh Le at 5:54 AM. You can travel in one place if you don’t need many amenities and want to save money. But if you’re traveling at night, it’s best to travel in a sleeper compartment, available in both first and second class.
If you want a shorter and cheaper train journey, look for tickets from Hue to Dong Hoi. Traveling from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha may take a little longer, but the train journey only takes between 3 hours and 15 minutes to 3 hours and 42 minutes, depending on which option you choose, so you save time traveling this route.
There are more trains from Hue to Dong Hoi. Therefore, if you book at the last minute, you will most likely find free seats on these trains. There are also good departure times in case you don’t want to travel overnight, although if you prefer you can take the overnight sleeper train. We recommend taking the train for the day to enjoy the views from the window. The SE10 train is a good option. It leaves Hue at 1:05 PM and arrives in Dong Hoi at 4:25 PM, allowing you to admire the scenery but arriving at the national park at a good hour.
For practical reasons, the bus from Hue to Phong Nha is the best solution, as it goes from the very center of Hue to Phong Nha with no stops or transfers along the way. Also, buses are the cheapest way. Trains, on the other hand, provide a more enriching and adventurous experience when traveling from Hue to Phong Nha, but keep in mind that you need to find a way to get from the train station to Phong Nha.