Tourism has not yet caught up with Cao Bang, almost non existent from what we saw. If you dont speak Vietnamese it will be very difficult to arrange transport as the people we met speak very very little english. We were more... More
Tourism has not yet caught up with Cao Bang, almost non existent from what we saw. If you dont speak Vietnamese it will be very difficult to arrange transport as the people we met speak very very little english. We were more than happy to go by bus. From Cao Bang the public bus starts near the hospital and terminates directly in the carpark near the waterfall and Ban Gioc Resort. The bus we caught to the falls was a number 7 there is also a number 3 but I think it terminates earlier at Trung Khanh. Some travellers are getting a xe om from there but its not necessary if you get the No. 7. We are glad we didnt hire bikes to ride out fron Cao Bang, travel time is 2 and a 1/2 hours. We saw 2 serious motorbike accidents and an overturned container truck on that road the day we travelled. On the return jouney it was a number 8 bus but once again we confirmed with the driver it was going to Cao Bang city centre. The return buses on this route come into town past the bus station, over the bridge and turn left at Bang Giang Hotel and terminate at the hospital. Looking at the Bang Giang Hotel from the roundabout the bus will pass from right to left and proceed over the bridge turn 1st right and past the bus station brfore heading out of town. The bus goes every 25 minutes from early and the last bus we saw going back to Ban Gioc was at 3.30pm. However, we did see a time table that showed the last bus from the waterfall was at 2.00. !! So I would probably work on that.The bus can be hailed anywhere although there is a designated stop for no.7 on the way out located opposite side of the road from the main bus station just look for the signboard with Hoa Binh Transport just to the right and down a few metres from the bus station and their bus is distinctive yellow and red. Approximately a 24 seater although as usual on any of the local buses from Ha Giang and over to this part of Vietnam you will share space with chickens, bags of rice, plants and all sorts of goodies. This trip cost us 70,000 dont or AUD $4. I hope this helps as not much english is spoken here in Cao Bang and details to get anywhere by bus is very very hard to understand. We really have enjoyed all the public buses we have taken right across this amazing part of the country and being the only westerners on nearly every trip, we have been a source of amusement to the locals and what started off as a means of cheap transport has turned into one of the many highlights we've experienced for us 50"s+ nomads as well
