The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road

Last updated August 2019 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle

This post was last updated 4 years ago. Please check the comments section for possible updates, or read more on my Updates & Accuracy page.

INTRODUCTION | REVIEWMAP | RELATED POSTS

The Western Ho Chi Minh Road, leading through lofty mountains cloaked in dense jungle along the Lao border, is one of the most spectacular rides in Vietnam. But this route is so isolated that, until recently, there wasn’t a single guesthouse or hotel for the entire 240km stretch between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha. However, that all changed a couple of years ago with the opening of the first and only accommodation on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road: Duc Tuan Hotel. A great boon to motorbikers, Duc Tuan Hotel has changed the dynamic of riding this fabulous section of road forever. (Read my complete guide to riding the Ho Chi Minh Road here.)

The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

This little hotel has changed the dynamic of riding the Western Ho Chi Minh Road forever

[Back Top]


REVIEW: DUC TUAN HOTEL


Address: Long Son Hamlet, Truong Son Commune, Quang Ninh District, Quang Binh Province 

Price: 200,000-300,000vnd ($10) per night | Phone: 0949 522 331


View in a LARGER MAP


Duc Tuan Hotel is located in the tiny village of Long Son. Almost exactly halfway between Khe Sanh and Phong Nha, it couldn’t be in a more convenient position for motorbikers. (For full details about this stretch of road read this.) Nor could you hope to find a prettier setting for the only accommodation on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road. Long Son village is situated in an absurdly picturesque valley, with the jade-blue waters of the Long Dai River sliding through two giant limestone pillars, covered in tropical foliage that appears to melt over the rock-face. The village, which sits between the river and the mountains, is made up of several dozen homes: from traditional wood and tile dwellings to modern brick and concrete houses. There’s easy access to the river for a glorious swim, or to the crop fields along the riverbank for a pleasant stroll.

The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

Perfect location: Duc Tuan Hotel, is halfway along the Western Ho Chi Minh Road

At odds with the landscape (and, indeed, with the rest of the village), Duc Tuan Hotel is a characterless, one-storey, concrete box. But inside, it’s everything you want, need and expect from a classic Vietnamese nhà nghỉ (guest house): it’s clean, simple, sparsely but adequately furnished, and cheap. After the bizarrely large and empty reception area, rooms are set along a corridor. Doubles or twin rooms are available, sleeping 1-4 guests. Rates are from 200-300,000vnd ($10), but on weekends and public holidays you might find they go up by a couple of dollars. 

Selected Resources What’s this?
The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

Rooms are clean, simple, adequately furnished with air-con, fan, TV and bathroom: $10 a night

All rooms have simple bathrooms with bad plumbing as standard. The beds are good and firm, the linen is clean but cheap, there’s a fan, air-conditioning, and TV in most rooms. Windows can be opened for some fresh air (some of the rooms are pretty musty), but there’s not much of a view.

The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

The ‘view’ from a room at Duc Tuan Hotel: not representative of the surrounding countryside

It’s not possible to book online (yet) but there are two phone numbers (0949 522 331) which you can call to make a reservation, however you’ll need to speak some Vietnamese in order to do this. There shouldn’t be any trouble just turning up in the late afternoon and finding a room available here, as long as it’s not a weekend or public holiday. Duc Tuan Hotel is on the east side of the Western Ho Chi Minh Road as it passes through town: there’s a red signpost outside which is easy to spot [MAP]. However, since this hotel is such great news for travellers on motorbikes, I expect it to become a regular stop for anyone riding the Ho Chi Minh Road, and therefore room occupancy may increase very quickly. But on my last visit (April 2018), we were the only guests.

Selected Resources What’s this?
The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

A red sign for Duc Tuan Hotel makes it easy to find: on the east side of the Western Ho Chi Minh Road

Long Son has a few rice and noodle shacks along the Western Ho Chi Minh Road as it passes through the village, including one either side of the Duc Tuan Hotel: look for signs saying cơm phở (rice and noodles). The hotel has Wi-Fi and so does the cafe directly opposite. There are a few shops near the hotel, selling snacks, drinks, and useful items, such as rain jackets and batteries. There is also a new gas station on the east side of the road just south of town. This is a particularly significant development, because there are only a few gas stations along the entire length of the Western Ho Chi Minh Road from Khe Sanh to Phong Nha/Khe Gat: don’t forget to fill up. Several motorbike mechanics, including one right next door to the hotel, come in handy if you’re having bike problems.

The Hotel on the Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

Duc Tuan Hotel is set to become a regular stop for travellers on motorbikes as it’s so conveniently located

Walking around the backstreets of Long Son village towards the river, in the evening or early morning, is very pleasant. If the weather’s good, bring your swimwear, because a dip in the Long Dai River, with the exotic, Jurassic-Park-like scenery all around, is very special. As far as I can tell, the river’s name means ‘Great Dragon’: a romantic name which befits the grandeur of its surroundings. It’s a wonderful place and now is the perfect time to visit, because surely, some day, this area will see a regular flow of travellers. For full detail about the Western Ho Chi Minh Road click here, and to read my complete guide to the entire Ho Chi Minh Road, from Saigon all the way to Hanoi, click here.

Selected Resources What’s this?

*Please support Vietnam Coracle: I never write a review for money: all my content is free & my reviews are independent. You can support the work I do by booking your hotels via the Agoda links & search boxes on my site. If you make a booking, I receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Any money I make goes straight back into this site. To start searching hotels in Vietnam click here. Thank you.

The Western Ho Chi Minh Road, Vietnam

The Western Ho Chi Minh Road just outside Long Son Village where Duc Tuan Hotel is located

Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free and independent. I’ve written this review because I want to: I like this hotel and I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements here

[Back Top]

RELATED POSTS:


Leave a Comment

Questions, updates and trip reports are all welcome. However, please keep comments polite and on-topic. See commenting etiquette for details.

  1. jeff reimer says:
    February 6, 2024 at 7:30 AM

    Is the Duc Tuan Guest house still operating?

    1. Tom says:
      February 6, 2024 at 11:11 AM

      Hi Jeff,

      I’m not certain, but according to other comments here there’s another hotel option there anyway.

      Best,

      Tom

  2. John & Fiona says:
    October 16, 2023 at 11:23 PM

    Much appreciate the info a chara. This gives us a plan b if the weather changes. Got bike serviced with reception help at Phong Nha Farm Stay (highly recommend a visit) & requested a 1.5litre spare bottle of juice should we require it. Thanks again much appreciated. 2 Eire riders

    1. Tom says:
      October 18, 2023 at 12:28 AM

      Hi John & Fiona,

      I hope you enjoy the ride!

      Best,

      Tom

  3. Neal says:
    May 5, 2023 at 6:24 AM

    Hey Tom,

    Currently in Long Son ( from phong nha) staying at this hotel so wanted to give an update. The woman charged 250,000 for the room. The beds super hard but there is AC in the room. The hotel up the road (Truong Thanh Hotel) charges 300,000. The gas station in town was closed when I looked, but the woman told me I can get gas up the street (bottled im assuming).

    1. Tom says:
      May 5, 2023 at 9:20 PM

      Hi Neal,

      That’s great, thanks for the update! I’m glad it’s still open, even if the beds are hard 🙂

      Best,

      Tom

      1. Neal says:
        May 6, 2023 at 1:17 AM

        Yessir. Also, the small road right off the highway as your coming into Long Son (north to south) was absolutely stunning. Check it out if you havent!

        1. Tom says:
          May 6, 2023 at 5:46 AM

          Thanks, Neal. Sounds great, I look forward to checking it out next time I’m in the area.

          Tom

  4. Phil says:
    March 4, 2023 at 5:41 PM

    I stayed there with two friends yesterday night. It was still cheap and we could check-in without booking in advance, but it wasn’t clean at all. So better prepare for a disgusting bed and bring your own sleeping bag.

    1. Tom says:
      March 5, 2023 at 11:44 AM

      Hi Phil,

      Thanks for the update. I’m glad it’s still open, even though it’s not a great accommodation 🙂

      Sounds like it’s better to try the other (newer) guest house in the village instead.

      Best,

      Tom

  5. Maikel says:
    July 26, 2022 at 7:14 AM

    Hi Tom,

    Doing my research for my upcoming trip. On Google Maps it says the hotel is permanently closed. Any idea if this is really the case? (Google misses the ball sometimes). In any case there should be a new place ‘Nhà Nghỉ Trường Thành’ just around the bend.

    1. Tom says:
      July 27, 2022 at 4:20 AM

      Hi Maikel,

      Yes, a couple of people have recently mentioned that new place to stay. Check out the comment on this page about it.

      Best,

      Tom

  6. Mike says:
    June 23, 2020 at 3:54 AM

    Just a heads up for anyone hoping to stay here post-COVID. We tried to stay here last week (around June 15), but the hotel is not accepting foreigners. Fortunately we called in advance to find this out. I would recommend doing the same.

    1. Tom says:
      June 23, 2020 at 9:56 AM

      Hi Mike,

      Thank you for the update. That’s a shame. I hope it won’t be long before they start accepting foreign guests again – in fact, I think it’s possible they might already be legally required to do so. Anyway, I’m sure it won’t be long.

      Tom

  7. Meike says:
    May 5, 2018 at 1:53 AM

    We would like to stay here but the phone numbers do not seem to be the right ones… does anyone know if we could just go there?

    1. Tom says:
      May 5, 2018 at 6:14 AM

      Hi Meike,

      I was there a couple of weeks ago and used the numbers in this post to call ahead and book a room, so I think the numbers should still be right. Try again later. If you can’t book in advance you’ll probably still be able to get a room – it’s a small hotel but there still aren’t many people there. Try to get there a bit earlier in the day if you can.

      I hope this helps,

      Tom

    2. Tony says:
      June 7, 2018 at 9:21 AM

      My hostel receptionist just called to book a room for my girlfriend and I. The ‭094 9522331‬ number worked and the price is just above 10usd per night for one bed.

      1. Tom says:
        June 7, 2018 at 10:05 AM

        Great. Thanks, Tony.

  8. David R says:
    April 10, 2018 at 11:34 AM

    Just rode the trail April 2018. Stayed at Duc Tuan. Good enough for a night’s rest. The owner was not very friendly at first, but she warmed up after I threw some silly expressions into Google Translate. She kept my passport for the night, which I wasn’t very comfortable with, but I didn’t get the sense that she would run off with it. Also, more importantly, there are two full service gasoline stations, one about 1 mile south of Duc Tuan Hotel, and another about 17 miles south on the trail. Both are fully functional (I filled up there), and both are labeled on maps.me

    1. Tom says:
      April 10, 2018 at 5:31 PM

      Hi David,

      Glad to hear you stayed there and thanks for the info about the new gas stations.

      It’s common practice for most accommodations to keep guest’s passports, except at mid-high end hotels, so don’t worry about that.

      Tom

  9. ralphnhatrang says:
    December 12, 2016 at 11:38 AM

    Long Sơn is Sino-Vietnamese for Dragon Mountain.

    1. Tom says:
      December 15, 2016 at 12:35 AM

      Hi,

      Yes, thank you, I am aware of that. But in the article I refer to the name of the river, Long Đại, which I think is Sino-Vietnamese for Great Dragon, would you agree?

      Tom

  10. Antoni says:
    September 15, 2016 at 4:29 AM

    When I was there I was the only guest :). But maybe now more people will stay there after your post.

    I do agree that this is very convenient to have this hotel there – while it’s perfectly possible to do the whole 220 km in one day, the route is so beautiful that it’s nice not to hurry and stop here or there to enjoy the views.

    1. Tom says:
      September 15, 2016 at 8:26 AM

      Hi Antoni,

      Yes, I agree: it’s possible to ride the whole way in a day, but it’s much nicer to take your time and spend two days riding it instead.

      Tom

  11. David L says:
    September 12, 2016 at 5:11 AM

    This is exactly the reason I subscribe to your posts – I love finding out about little unknown places in the middle of nowhere. That shows a true passion. Keep on sharing!

    1. Tom says:
      September 12, 2016 at 7:20 AM

      Thanks, David.

      It’s great to hear that you enjoy this kind of place as much as I do 🙂

      Tom