Vietnam Caving Tour

You reserve your spot for free and pay nothing to join. Once enough travellers have signed on, usually around 10, we confirm the departure and email you a confirmation with an invoice for the full trip price. You pay it by card or bank transfer within 7 days, in US dollars, pounds, euros, Australian, Canadian or New Zealand dollars or Indian rupees, and the price shown for your date is what you pay.

Oxalis is the only licensed operator for Hang En, its groups are capped at 16, and it advises booking a few months ahead because places can run out. Reserve as soon as you can, since reservations close 7 days before the start.

Yes, some. Oxalis rates Hang En as moderate and asks that, in the past 12 months, you have done one overnight trek or one or two day hikes of at least 6 km with about 500 metres of climbing. Tell us about your recent hiking when you book, so we can check you meet this before your place is confirmed. The trek is about 25 km over two days with stream crossings and some scrambling, and Dark Cave's zipline and mud bath are also physical. If a health condition might affect trekking, swimming or caving, talk to us before you book.

Solo travellers aged 18 to 40, mostly on their own and some with a friend. The maximum for each departure is shown with its dates and is never more than 12, under Oxalis's own cap of 16 for a Hang En group. The Trip Host travels with the group for all six days, handles the flights, the hotel, the local agency and the meals, and joins the Hang En trek as part of the group. Oxalis's own guides and porters lead the trek itself, since Oxalis is the only licensed operator.

It's about 25 km over the two days, through jungle trails, open valley and many stream crossings, with a steep climb of about 450 metres on the way out. You carry a daypack while Oxalis's porters carry the heavier camp gear. Swimming in natural pools is part of the trek, so you should be a confident swimmer. Tell us if you aren't, and we'll talk it through before you book.

Oxalis runs Hang En from December to mid-September, and the park is at its best from February or March to August, when it's dry and the caves are open. June to August is hot, often 35°C or more. From mid-September to November the rivers rise, Hang En closes and the wet caves can shut for days, so we don't run departures then. Storms can still disrupt a late-season trip.

Paradise Cave is dry and usually stays open even in rain, though any cave can close for days in heavy rain. If Dark Cave or another cave closes because a river is high, the Trip Host and local agency adjust the Phong Nha days. Oxalis decides whether a trek goes ahead, so a storm can still change the Hang En days.

Some passports get 45 days visa-free in Vietnam and others need an e-visa. Rules change, so check our Vietnam visa guide for your passport before you book flights, and only apply on the official site, evisa.gov.vn. Vietnam also has an online pre-arrival form, which is encouraged at the main airports.

Oxalis's team sets up tents on a sandbank just inside the Hang En cave, with a mattress, pillow and sleeping bag for each person. Expect basic facilities. It's genuine wild camping, underground, not a hotel with a view. You bring a daypack for the trek, and your main bag stays at the hotel in Phong Nha while you're at Hang En.

Trekking shoes you don't mind getting wet, quick-dry clothes, a swimsuit, a dry bag or bin liner for your phone and camera, insect repellent and any medicine you need. Oxalis supplies helmets, headlamps and gloves and gives a full kit list when your trek is confirmed, so follow theirs over any general packing list. Most costs are included, so bring some Vietnamese dong for drinks, snacks, tips and the optional Tu Lan Experience.

Caving and trekking carry real risk from stream crossings, uneven ground and remote terrain, and travel insurance that covers trekking and caving is a condition of joining. Oxalis's price includes limited travel insurance, listed by Oxalis as up to VND 10,000,000 in compensation, which is no substitute for your own. Oxalis supplies its own guides, porters and safety equipment for the trek. Outside the trek, your Trip Host and local agency handle the show cave days, and Dark Cave's zipline, mud bath and kayak are the most physical part.

Yes. On Day 5 you can add Oxalis's Tu Lan Experience, a one-day trek and swim through a separate cave system that Oxalis rates easy. It's paid for locally and isn't in the trip price. Oxalis runs it from November to mid-September, so ask the Trip Host before you book if you want to add it.