Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Vietnam → Son Doong Expedition

♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Phong Nha Ke-Bang National Park, Central Vietnam

Time Required: 6 days (4 days/3 nights on expedition, one day on either side for arrival/briefing and departure)

Red Tape/Notes: Operates February to August with weekly departures; price is $3000 per person (as of 2017). See the Oxalis website for more details.

What’s Nearby?: The DMZ

It’s pricey, but it’s the experience of a lifetime. If you have the cash and enjoy caves and/or adventures, this is recommended. I’d give my left arm to have been on the exploratory expeditions, but I guess I’ll just have to discover my own cave for that. This trip has a number of highlights, including trekking through the jungle, visiting a minority village, hiking through the valley floor with numerous river crossings, a night in Hang En (a beautiful cave in its own right), and finally arrival at Son Doong. The cave is so large that you’ll spend three days and two nights hiking through it, and there are so many beautiful sights and areas that I can even begin to describe them here. It’s truly like being in another world, and is absolutely magical. One tour company holds the rights to lead expeditions (Oxalis), and they’ve done a wonderful job making it accessible for fit tourists while respecting the cave and working to limit impact. The cave floods every monsoon season, which is rather nice because it means it has a clean slate every February when it reopens.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Vietnam → Son Doong Expedition