Dong Hoi is the station for Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, and from there seven trains run north to Hanoi, taking between 10 hours 18 minutes and 12 hours 39 minutes. The first leaves at 01:31 and the last at 23:54.
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How to buy tickets
The easiest way to buy train tickets in Vietnam is online rather than going to the station. You do pay a very small commission but the ease and convenience makes it worthwhile in our opinion.
Baolau is the best site to use for buying train tickets, they have access to the live Vietnam Railways booking engine, so you can easily see availability, timetables and prices.
Payment can be made using international credit cards and PDF confirmation tickets are sent to your email address within a few minutes. This is the actual ticket you need to board the train, so there’s no need to exchange it at the station before travel. You may prefer to print the pdf out, but it’s also fine to show it on your mobile phone to the conductors and station staff.
Vietnam Railways releases tickets in blocks of a few months, on dates it announces. Travel up to 25 Feb 2027 is on sale now. For full details on booking windows, see the when to book Vietnam train tickets guide.
Dong Hoi to Hanoi train tickets
About the route
The night trains are the usual choice: the SE4 at 18:18 and SE2 at 19:08 get you to Hanoi the next morning, and the SE20 at 23:54 arrives around midday. If you would rather travel in daylight, the SE8 at 05:34 and SE6 at 08:25 arrive in the early evening, and there is a SE10 at 15:30 that gets in after midnight.
Phong Nha is about an hour from Dong Hoi by road, and most people go there from the station by bus, taxi or a hotel pick-up, then visit the caves on a day trip or an overnight stay. Dong Hoi itself has a pleasant seafront and is a quiet place, so it works if you want a break from the longer hops on the line.
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