Trains from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi

By train the journey from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi is scheduled to take from 6 to 8 hours depending upon which train you take.

Train Times from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi

There are currently 7 trains a day from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi.

• The fastest train service from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi is Train #SE3 departing at 22:41 and arriving in Dong Hoi 6 hours 04 minutes later at 04:45.

Buy Tickets from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi

Use the Search Box below to buy train tickets from Thanh Hoa to Dong Hoi.

Location of Thanh Hoa Railway Station

Location of Dong Hoi Railway Station

About Travel to Dong Hoi

Dong Hoi is a pleasant coastal city with around 120,000 permanent residents. Dong Hoi is not, however, a major tourist destination in its own right. The main reason leisure travellers take the train to Dong Hoi is because it’s the connection point between the railway network and bus services to Phong Nha Village and the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park.

Dong Hoi City

Dong Hoi is believed to have existed as a settlement for about 5,000 years, however, only two small parts of the city (the front facade of a church and one ancient gate) survived an American bombing campaign in 1965. The city doesn’t have any major historical or cultural attractions as a consequence. What it does have is two swimming beaches, a pleasant riverside area, and facilities for overnight travellers.

Travellers arriving late in the afternoon or evening in Dong Hoi don’t need to be concerned about being stuck in a city with poor accommodation and nowhere to eat an evening meal. Major hotel booking websites list around 50 tourist hotels, hostels, and guesthouses in Dong Hoi, including several (such as the Hung Thinh Motel) which are less than 5 minutes walk from the train station. The best of the hotels are located 5 to 6 km to the east of the train station near the river or one of the two beaches.

Visitors to Dong Hoi also have a good selection of restaurants to choose from. The city has its own specialities such as grilled chicken with flavoured salt, fried rice pancakes, and seafood hotpot. These dishes are served widely along with other classic Vietnamese dishes. For international cuisine visitors should head to the area to the east of the train station close to the river. This is the liveliest part of the town in the evenings and the location of the city’s most popular foreign cuisine restaurants, such as 7th Heaven Restaurant and Oregano’s Pizza.

Travel to Phong Nha

Phong Nha Village is located 44 km by road to the north west of Dong Hoi, on the edge of the sparsely populated Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park. There are two ways to travel there by public transport from Dong Hoi, taxi and public bus.

There are several different ways to find a taxi at Dong Hoi Railway Station. You can book online. You can use a taxi app on a smart phone. You can also simply turn up at the station and find someone willing to take you in their car. Lots of formal and informal taxi drivers wait at Dong Hoi Railway Station for the arrival of trains and the chance of picking up customers for the 40 minute journey to Phong Nha. Taxis on this route are not cheap whichever way you book them. Expect to pay between 600,000 and 1,000,000 VND for the journey depending upon what you can negotiate with the driver.

The other slower, but less expensive, option is to take public service ‘B4’ from Dong Hoi to Phong Nha Village. The easiest place for those unfamiliar with the city to board bus B4 is at Nam Ly Bus Station, which is 1.3 km by road to the east of Dong Hoi Railway Station. Bus services to Phong Nha Village typically depart from 06:00 until 17:00 and the journey normally takes around 90 minutes.

Phong Nha Village

Phong Nha is a long thin village stretching about 5 km along the southern bank of the Son River. The Son River is the main attraction in the village itself, it’s very picturesque, and the reason the village is so stretched out is because accommodation with river views commands higher room rates and restaurants with river views attract more customers.

Some businesses, such as the Phong Nha Lake House, have been established slightly outside the village in nearby scenic spots, such Dong Suon Lake, but most of the tourism related businesses are clustered together. The area near the Xuan Son Boat Station is the busiest of all.

Phong Nha Village is very tourist oriented. It has around 3,000 permanent residents but almost double the number of tourist hotels, hostels and guesthouses in Dong Hoi. Accommodation in Phong Nha Village starts from around $5 USD a night, and rises to $20 to $50 for river or lake views depending on the particular hotel. Spending slightly more to secure a good view from your hotel is money well spent as it also often also gives you direct access to go kayaking or swim in the river or lake.

Phong Nha Cave

From Phong Nha Village the most popular tour, and the easiest way to experience the Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, is to take a 2 hour boat trip into Phong Nha Cave, which is a partially submerged cave on the Son River. Boats go into the cave as part of the tour.

Phong Nah Cave tours depart from Xuan Son Boat Station, which is in the centre of Phong Nha Village, every day from 07:30 to 15:30, except during heavy rain. There’s no need to book a tour in advance. Visitors simply turn up and wait for the next available boat.

The cost of the tour is 150,000 VND per person for entrance to the cave, and a flat fee of 550,000 VND per boat. Boats can hold up to 12 people, although this is a tight fit. Nonetheless, finding a few other people to go on a tour with is a good money saving tactic for solo travellers or couples.