Son Doong Expedition Tour 6 Days 5 Nights

You will be consulted and supported to plan for arrival as soon as you finish signing up for this cave exploration tour.

You should be in Dong Hoi City by 15:00 pm at the latest. You will be picked up by Oxalis staff at Dong Hoi train station / airport and taken to Son Doong Bungalow in Phong Nha.

Around 17:30 - 18:00 pm, a tour guide and driver will come and pick you up for the safety briefing at Oxalis’ Phong Nha office where you will also meet the safety expert and other guests joining the Son Doong Cave Expedition. The safety briefing is required to make sure that each guest understands the nature of the adventure expedition. Anyone who does not attend this briefing may be refused participation in the Son Doong tour without refund. At the end of the briefing, guests are required to sign a release form and their medical declaration for the trip. Helmet and water bottles will also be provided at the briefing.

You will be required to bring trekking shoes (trails running and non-goretex shoes) and personal backpack (size of the backpack) to the briefing for a quality and suitability check by a safety expert.

After the safety briefing, the whole group will have a welcome dinner at Oxalis Home. Time to start getting to know each other before a long journey together.

After dinner, you will return to the hotel, prepare your belongings (for the trek) and rest, ready for the trip tomorrow.

After packing all belongings required for the trek into the bag provided (not more than 7 kg per Guest), please bring it to the hotel reception before 07:00 am. Oxalis’ staff will receive and bring this bag directly to the campsite. You will not see these belongings until reaching the campsite. Therefore please carry with you anything you may need along the way. Guests can refer to the article “what guests should prepare for Son Doong Expedition” for the best preparation

Make sure that you have your breakfast and make yourself ready at the reception area before departure time of 09:00 am. Luggage and valuables will be stored at the Oxalis Office.

It will take around 1 hour to get to the drop off point by Oxalis bus. The Son Doong Cave Expedition starts from here with a long steep descent of around 350 meters inside Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. After reaching the bottom of the mountain, you will keep going for about half an hour through the forest with few stream crossings (knee deep) to come to Ban Doong - a small village of the Bru-Van Kieu ethnic minority.

After lunch at the house of the village elder and learning about living here. The group will continue trekking about 3 hours to reach Hang En Cave for the first night’s camping - one of Vietnam's best-cave camping sites. There will be more river crossings with stunning natural scenery. Entering Hang En Cave through a small entrance, crossing the underground river and climbing a small hill you will see a spectacular campsite, full of light, located underneath a large high entrance.

You will locate the tent with your name on it and enjoy swimming in the lake next to the campground. How relaxing after a long day of trekking. A delicious dinner will be served soon. Hopefully, you will have a good night, ready to approach Son Doong tomorrow.

In the morning, when exploring Hang En Cave, you will gaze at the fantastic exit, where the movie: Peter Pan – Pan and Neverland filmed, and then carry on to Son Doong Cave entrance. The journey from Hang En Exit to Son Doong follows the river with many more river crossings. A final steep hill will bring you to the entrance of Hang Son Doong.

After lunch at the entrance, you will be equipped with safety equipment for descending into the cave. A safety briefing will be given by the tour guide or safety expert to make sure that every guest knows how to use the safety harnesses, karabiners and descend safely. The safety team is always by guest’s side for support. Approaching the entrance, you will usually feel the cold air flowing out due to the difference in temperature and pressure inside the cave. Illuminated by the large filming lights, the giant cave passages with enormous formations will slowly appear in front of your eyes.

Reaching the bottom of the entrance slopes, you will continue crossing the river twice, some sandbanks and rocky slopes to see a huge stalagmite, called the Hand of Dog. Around 16:00 , you will arrive at the first campsite of Son Doong – named the Level Playing Fields, just before Doline 1. There will be toilets and changing tents here.

Another highlight not to be missed: swimming in a cold underground pool (17-22 degrees). Useful for muscle relaxation and also refreshing yourself after a hard day. You need to wear trekking shoes, long sleeved-shirts, long pants to get here and for swimming. A life-jacket is required. Another delicious dinner will be waiting for you after swimming.

There are steep climbs, wriggling through small parts of the cave and some ropes and ladders to reach Doline 1, called Watch out for Dinosaurs - a highlight of the journey through Son Doong.

Descending from Watch Out for Dinosaurs, you will reach the other side of Doline 1, the Green gours. A stunning scenery will reveal itself in front of your eyes. On sunny days, you may sit and contemplate the giant sunbeams shining into the cave. Lunch will be served here.

After lunch, the group continues over the calcite paths to come into the Garden of Edam at Doline 2. This area is very fragile and you must take great care. From here, you can view the entire forest and the variety of trees and plants adapted to this environment. A final steep and slippery descent will bring you to the campsite, to rest, review your photos and enjoy the amazing view. There are no bathing facilities in this campsite. You must prepare wet wipes, dry shampoo etc for this final night in the cave. Another yummy dinner will be served soon.

Starting your new day of a wonderful trip with a hot cup of coffee, the exciting adventure has yet to come. After breakfast, you will be equipped with safety equipment and a short safety briefing given to be ready for conquering the Great Wall of Viet Nam, one of the best caving experiences.

Then carrying on cave exploring and learning about the unique creatures that live in the darkness for millions of years such as: spiders, fishes, woodlice and centipedes. They all have the same characters: no eyes, no color. Cave pearls are also a special formation that can be found in Son Doong Cave.

On different occasions you will be able to experience the Wall differently. On a heavy rainy day, after the rain there will be a lake to the Great Wall of Vietnam, therefore you will have a chance to row a raft along the lake to the bottom of the Wall. On other days, the lake will disappear, and you will experience walking through the muddy passage, this passage is called "Passchendaele passage”. At the bottom of the wall, there is a stainless steel ladder about 18m high and you will start the climb from here. After the ladder, continue climbing ropes to ascend to a large resting place. The ascent continues with a 72 meters slope with 45 degrees. All guests will be attached to a safety line at all times, operated by the safety assistants. Safety assistants will be stationed at various points along the climb from the bottom to the top, to instruct and encourage you. Do not be nervous, this is all part of the expedition’s experience.

Unlike other hiking expeditions, this is a challenging adventure. But, as long as you have good physical fitness, you can definitely conquer the Wall with the support of the safety team. After lunch at the top of the Wall, the group will leave the cave, where a final rocky section awaits, and trek through forest to return to Ho Chi Minh Trail West. Here the Son Doong Cave Expedition ends with cool beer and soft drinks. Tour guide and driver will bring you to Chay Lap Farmstay at around 15:00 - 16:00.

Chay Lap Farmstay will warmly welcome you back with a glass of champagne and a fancy dinner. The tour guide will also confirm transfers to the Airport or train station…for you according to your plan.

Following your plan, you may be picked up after breakfast (to the airport or train station in Dong Hoi City) or take time to visit some more places in Phong Nha before leaving.

There are many famous places to see around Phong Nha Town such as: Chay Lap Water Sport Center, Blue Diamond Camp, Paradise cave, Mooc Spring, etc… or you can rent a motorbike / bicycle to explore the National Park, Bong Lai Valley, Pub with Cold Beer yourself. Please make sure that you are good at driving...

If you still want some more adventure trips, Oxalis is also running tours to Hang Va, Hang Tien, and especially, Tu Lan - home of the Hollywood movie Kong: Skull Island. These exploration tours (from 1 to 6 days) will definitely bring you more great expedition experiences which are quite different from the Son Doong Expedition.

Please do not forget the check-out time is before 12:00 midday. Inform the sales staff in-advance if you want to stay longer.