Cat Tien National Park: gibbons, langurs and the night safari
Cat Tien National Park is the last big patch of lowland rainforest in southern Vietnam, and it sits only 150–170 km from Ho Chi Minh City. People come for three things: wild yellow-cheeked gibbons singing at dawn, a night drive with a spotlight, and a lake full of Siamese crocodiles in the middle of the jungle. UNESCO added the area to its biosphere reserve network in 2001, and the label is earned.
It is also not a zoo. Nothing is guaranteed, there are no railings on the trails, and in the wet season the leeches find you before the gibbons do. The alarm for the gibbon trek goes off at 4 am. This guide is about making the trip worth the effort (and the roughly $60 the gibbon trek costs).
Prices are in VND with USD at $1 ≈ 26,000 VND, checked in September 2026.
Cat Tien in two lines: what it is and whether to go
Cat Tien is a national park of about 720 km² in southern Vietnam. It used to straddle three provinces. After the local government reform of 1 July 2025 folded Binh Phuoc into Dong Nai, it now lies in two: Dong Nai and Lam Dong (Lâm Đồng). Around 90% of visitors use the Nam Cat Tien sector and its HQ on the Dong Nai River. Everything around the park has long since turned into rubber and coffee plantations, which is why the forest inside matters so much.
- Visitor Center (Vườn quốc gia Cát Tiên): Ticket office, night safari — Bike hire, restaurant
- Ta Lai river crossing (Bến phà Tà Lài): Boat across the Dong Nai River — Included in the 60,000 VND ticket
- Crocodile Lake (Bàu Sấu): 9 km by road + 5 km on foot — Boat, Siamese crocodiles, ranger station
- Dao Tien Primate Centre (Đảo Tiên): Gibbon and langur rehab — Tour daily at 08:00, 400,000 VND (~$15)
- Bear Sanctuary (Trung tâm cứu hộ gấu): Free the Bears — Rescued moon bears and sun bears
- 300-year-old Lagerstroemia (Cây Bằng Lăng 300 tuổi): Giant tree, free — 5 km from HQ
- Ben Cu rapids (Thác Bến Cự): Rainy season, free
- Ta Lai village (Buôn Tà Lài): Ma and Stieng communities — Cultural visits
- Forest Floor Lodge (Forest Floor Lodge): Eco bungalows inside the park — 1.5–3 million VND (~$58–115)
- Park Guesthouse (Nhà nghỉ Cát Tiên): Basic rooms — 400,000–700,000 VND (~$15–27)
Go if you want real forest: gibbons calling at first light, a sambar deer frozen in the spotlight, a 5 km walk through the trees to a crocodile lake. Skip it if you expect a Kenyan safari. Animals are few and shy here, and seeing a langur in the wild is luck, not a plan.
Park fact card
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Location | Dong Nai province, Nam Cat Tien commune (Tan Phu district until 07/2025); part of the park is in Lam Dong province |
| Distance | 150–170 km from Ho Chi Minh City (about 4 h), 190 km from Da Lat (4–5 h) |
| Area | ~720 km² in three sectors: Nam Cát Tiên, Tay Cat Tien and Cat Loc |
| Status | UNESCO biosphere reserve (2001), Ramsar site (2005) |
| Main entrance | Visitor Center, 11.4214, 107.4286 |
| Entry | 60,000 VND (~$2.30) per adult, river crossing included |
| Hours | Tourism center 07:30–18:30 |
| Best time | November to February |
| Main activities | Night safari, gibbon trek, Crocodile Lake |
| Phone | +84 251 366 9228, email cattienvietnam@gmail.com |
With one day you get the night safari and a short bike ride. Two days add the bear sanctuary, Dao Tien and the Lagerstroemia trail. Three days fit the overnight Crocodile Lake trek and the dawn gibbon trek, which is the full program.
Night safari: what you actually see and what it costs
The Cat Tien night safari is about an hour in an open vehicle on a forest road, a loop of roughly 12 km. A ranger works the spotlight, and the truck leaves the visitor center at 18:30. The price depends on group size: 500,000 VND (~$19) if you go alone, 150,000–200,000 VND (~$6–8) per person once there are two to four or more of you.
What you are likely to see:
- Sambar deer and hog deer, on almost every drive
- Wild boar, often a whole family
- Civets and Javan mongoose, sometimes
- Porcupine, less often
- Pygmy slow loris, a slow ball of fur in the beam
- Green peafowl and pheasants, if you're lucky
What you won't see: gibbons and langurs. They sleep high in the canopy where the beam doesn't reach, and they don't call at night. If you came for gibbons, you want the morning gibbon trek.
The honest downside: in peak season (December and January) two or three trucks can run back to back, the lights spook the animals and they leave the road. Weekday drives in November or February tend to see more.
Cat Tien gibbon trek: dawn with yellow-cheeked gibbons
The gibbon trek is the main reason to come to Cat Tien. The yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) lives only in southern Indochina, and this park is one of very few places where you can hear and see it in the wild. Not in a cage or a rehab enclosure. In a tree.
The schedule: wake up at 4 am, drive to the gibbon trail about 20 km from park HQ, then walk in with a ranger to one of the habituated family groups. At first light the gibbons wake up and sing, and the duet carries for kilometres. It costs about $60, roughly 1,600,000 VND, per person. In the afternoon the program usually includes the Dao Tien centre tour. Groups are capped at four guests, so book at least a week ahead, two if you can, through Cat Tien Tourism (cattienvietnam@gmail.com).
Travellers report the chance of hearing the song at around 95% in the dry season, and of seeing the gibbons at 70–90%. In rain the groups stay quiet, and the trek gets moved or cancelled.
Worth knowing:
- The 4 am start is real. Sleep inside the park, at Forest Floor Lodge or the park guesthouse
- The trail is a loop of about 3 km, easy, but the first part is in the dark
- A guide is mandatory; you can't get near a group without a ranger
- If rain cancels the trek, you get your money back
- Bring binoculars. The gibbons are high up and your neck will hate you without them
The downsides are plain: it's expensive, it's early, mosquitoes at dawn are their own challenge, and rain ends it. Still, if you only do one thing in the park, do this.
To compare with other trips out of the city, see tours from Ho Chi Minh City.
Vietnam national parks · Bach Ma National Park
Fast Track — no queue at the border
5–10 minutes instead of an hour in the immigration queue
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Langurs and the Dao Tien Primate Centre
The black-shanked douc (Pygathrix nigripes) is Cat Tien's other star: grey body, reddish-brown hands, a black cap. It lives only in southern Vietnam and Cambodia, and its wild numbers keep falling. The only place you can count on seeing one is the Dao Tien rehabilitation centre.
The Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre opened in 2008. It takes in primates confiscated from poachers or born in captivity. After rehab, some are released back into the park's forest and monitored.
What you'll see there:
- Yellow-cheeked gibbons in pre-release enclosures
- Black-shanked doucs and silvered langurs
- Pygmy slow lorises
- Sometimes confiscated macaques
Tours leave the park tourism office every day at 08:00 and take about 2.5 hours including the boat to the island. A foreign adult pays 400,000 VND (~$15), children aged 3–15 pay 200,000 VND, and each session takes at most 30 people. The guide tells you each animal's story: where it came from, how it was rehabilitated, who has gone back to the wild.
In the wild, doucs mostly stay deep in the forest of the Cat Loc sector, where tourists rarely go. If langurs are your priority, set aside a full day and hire a dedicated guide (500,000–1,000,000 VND, ~$19–38).
Bear Sanctuary: rescued bears with Free the Bears
Free the Bears runs the Cat Tien bear sanctuary together with the park. The rescue centre opened in 2008 and grew into a full sanctuary in 2017. Several dozen bears live here, both sun bears and Asian black bears (moon bears). Most were rescued from bile farms, where they spent years in cages so their bile could be sold for traditional medicine.
The visit price changes. The rescue station has charged a separate ticket of around 150,000 VND (~$6), while the longer Bear Care Tour from Free the Bears works as a donation from $50. Ask at the visitor center what's running. A visit takes about an hour. Aim for feeding time (around 09:00 and 15:00), when the bears are active, hunting for hidden treats and climbing ropes. The rest of the day they sleep.
This isn't a show. The guide tells you each bear's story: rescue year, condition on arrival, name. Many have damaged paws and scars from the cages. No sentimentality, no lecturing, just facts.
The sun bear is the smallest bear in the world, about 70 cm at the shoulder, with a long tongue for termites and a yellow patch on the chest. The moon bear is bigger, up to 150 kg, with a white V on its chest. Both are nearly gone from Vietnam's wild forests.
Crocodile Lake (Bau Sau): the park's main trek
Bau Sau, "crocodile lake", is the reason to stay in Cat Tien longer. First 9 km by road in a car or on a bike, then 5 km on foot through the forest (about 2 hours each way), then a boat on the lake. The payoff is Siamese crocodiles (Crocodylus siamensis), which are critically endangered in the wild.
Before you go:
- Start at the visitor center. The 9 km transfer to the trailhead costs 640,000 VND (~$25) per car for 1–7 people
- Then 5 km on foot, in the heat, over roots and fallen trunks
- Bau Sau entry with the boat is 250,000 VND (~$10) per person; a guide is 450,000 VND (~$17) for 5 hours
- You return the same way, and most people sleep at the ranger station (basic)
What you get: crocodiles at dawn basking on the mudbanks, egrets and cormorants, mist on the water. And quiet, with no engines and no crowds.
The catch:
- Leeches in the wet season are a real problem. Long socks tucked into your trousers are a must
- Heat and humidity on the trail; carry 2 litres of water per person
- The ranger station is spartan: bunk, mosquito net, shared toilet
- The boat is small and rocks in the wind
More to see: a 300-year-old tree, rapids and bike roads
Beyond the big three, the park has a few half-day options that need no 4 am start and no extra fee.
The Lagerstroemia trail is a 1.5–2 km loop to a 300-year-old tree, about 40 m tall with a 6 m trunk. It's free and easy; go in the morning before the heat. It's 5 km from HQ by bike or car.
Bến Cự is a set of rapids and small cascades that looks its best in the rainy season (July to October). The rest of the year you get dry rocks. It's 5 km from HQ on a flat road.
Birders come for green peafowl, a big blue-green bird with a long tail, seen here in the wild. The park counts around 350 bird species, including the rare Germain's peacock-pheasant. A birding guide starts at 500,000 VND (~$19). Without one, you'll mostly see wagtails.
Bikes cost 30,000 VND an hour or 150,000 VND (~$6) a day. There are about 30 km of paved roads inside the park with almost no cars, enough to cover the bear sanctuary, the Lagerstroemia tree and a few short trails in half a day.
Ta Lai village, just outside the park, is home to Ma and Stieng communities. Lodges can arrange a cultural visit with weaving, lunch with a family and talk about local traditions. It takes half a day; transport starts at 500,000 VND (~$19).
How to get to Cat Tien from Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat
Cat Tien is off the main transport corridors, so getting there takes some planning. There's no direct bus from Mien Dong bus station to the park gate; you change in Tan Phu. If you want an easier day trip out of the city, the Cu Chi Tunnels or the Mekong Delta are simpler, but neither has wild forest.
From Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
| Option | Time | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phuong Trang/Futa bus to Tan Phu | 3–3.5 h + 30 min | 150,000–200,000 VND (~$6–8) | Then taxi or motorbike taxi ~25 km to the river crossing |
| Tour shuttle | 4 h | 600,000–840,000 VND (~$23–32) | Often includes entry and transfer |
| Taxi / Grab | 3 h | 2,000,000–2,500,000 VND (~$77–96) | Good for 3–4 people |
| Car with driver | 3–4 h | 2,000,000–3,000,000 VND (~$77–115) | Stop at cafes on the way |
| Motorbike | 4–5 h | fuel ~200,000 VND (~$8) | Experienced riders only |
By bus: Saigon (Bến xe Miền Đông) → Tan Phu in Dong Nai → taxi or motorbike taxi about 25 km → Ta Lai river crossing (Bến phà Tà Lài) → visitor center. Phuong Trang tickets are easy to book on futabus.vn. Grab rarely picks up in Tan Phu, so ask your lodge to arrange the last leg. More options in our Ho Chi Minh City transport guide.
From Da Lat
| Option | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Bus to Bao Loc + taxi | 3 h + 1.5 h | 100,000 + 700,000 VND (~$4 + $27) |
| Direct tour van | 4.5 h | 1,000,000–1,500,000 VND (~$38–58) |
The mountain road is beautiful but slow. For a round trip from Da Lat just for Cat Tien, allow at least two days. For the city itself, see our Da Lat travel guide.
From Mui Ne and Phan Thiet
There's no direct transport. Mui Ne → Ho Chi Minh City by bus (5–6 h), then Cat Tien (another 3–4 h), so a full day. The alternative is Mui Ne → Bao Loc → Cat Tien, also 6–7 hours with a change.
The river crossing
The boat across the Dong Nai River is included in the 60,000 VND entry ticket, and the tourism center's boat takes you over and back. The center itself runs 07:30–18:30. If you sleep on the near bank, in Tan Phu or by the crossing, arrange your return boat after the night safari in advance, or you'll be stuck on the park side.
Where to stay: inside the park and nearby
Inside the park there are few places to sleep, and in high season they fill up; book 3–4 weeks ahead. Outside is cheaper, but you cross the river every time.
| Lodge / hotel | Where | Price per night | USD | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Floor Lodge | Inside the park | 1,500,000–3,000,000 VND | ~$58–115 | Couples who want comfort |
| Cat Tien Park Guesthouse | By the visitor center | 400,000–700,000 VND | ~$15–27 | Backpackers, tight budgets |
| Green Hope Lodge | 1 km from the gate | 800,000–1,200,000 VND | ~$31–46 | Mid-range |
| Cat Tien Jungle Lodge | 2 km from the gate | 900,000–1,400,000 VND | ~$35–54 | Families |
| Tent / dorm | Visitor Center | 100,000–200,000 VND | ~$4–8 | One night on a budget |
| Hostels in Tan Phu | 25 km away | 200,000–400,000 VND | ~$8–15 | Overnight before the crossing |
Forest Floor Lodge is the only place inside the park with international-standard service: bungalows in the forest, a restaurant and a concierge who books your guides. It holds a TripAdvisor rating above 4.5, and deserves it.
Cat Tien Park Guesthouse is the basic option, with simple rooms, shared or private bathrooms and a canteen. Book directly by phone (+84 251 366 9228) or email; Booking.com often shows no availability.
Tents and dorms are the cheapest. A dorm bed is 100,000 VND (~$4), a hired tent 200,000 VND. For one night between the night safari and the gibbon trek, that's fine.
How much a Cat Tien trip costs in 2026
Your budget comes down to two choices: whether you do the gibbon trek, and where you sleep. Skip the trek and sleep in the guesthouse, and it's cheap. Add the trek and Forest Floor, and it costs several times more.
| Item | Budget | Mid-range | Comfort |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport from HCMC (return) | bus, 400,000 VND | shuttle, 1,500,000 VND | car, 3,000,000 VND |
| Park entry | 60,000 VND | 60,000 VND | 60,000 VND |
| Night safari | 200,000 VND | 200,000 VND | 200,000 VND |
| Gibbon trek | — | 1,600,000 VND | 1,600,000 VND |
| Dao Tien centre | 400,000 VND | included with gibbon trek | included with gibbon trek |
| Crocodile Lake (entry + boat) | — | 250,000 VND | 250,000 VND |
| One night | 100,000 VND (camping) | 800,000 VND (Green Hope) | 2,500,000 VND (Forest Floor) |
| Food (2 days) | 300,000 VND | 600,000 VND | 1,200,000 VND |
| Total per person, 2 days | 1,460,000 VND (~$56) | 5,010,000 VND (~$193) | 8,810,000 VND (~$339) |
Currency converter
Food, rentals and transfers can creep up in peak season (December and January). Reviewers say February and March are a little cheaper and quieter. Pay in cash where you can; there's no ATM at HQ, so withdraw in Saigon or Tan Phu.
When to go: weather and seasons
The best time is November to February: dry, not too hot, trails open, animals gathering at water. The worst is July to September: heavy rain, slippery trails, Crocodile Lake closed, leeches everywhere.
| Months | Air temperature | Rain | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| November–February | 22–32°C | dry | Best season, book a month ahead |
| March–April | 25–35°C | dry, very hot | Fewer people, hard going on treks |
| May | 25–33°C | rains start | Forest turns green, more insects |
| June–August | 24–32°C | peak rains | Crocodile Lake often closed |
| September–October | 24–32°C | rain easing | Ben Cu at its best |
Don't pack for Da Lat. Da Lat is cool all year at 1,500 m, while Cat Tien is lowland, hot and humid even in winter. For regional patterns, see Ho Chi Minh City weather by month.
Pros and cons
Cat Tien isn't for everyone. Arrive expecting Kenya and you'll be disappointed. Arrive for real forest and quiet and you'll probably love it.
Alternatives in Vietnam
- Bach Ma, near Hue: mountain forest, easier logistics, different wildlife
- Cuc Phuong, near Ninh Binh: a primate centre with Delacour's langurs, close to Hanoi
- Yok Don, near Buon Ma Thuot: open dry forest, remote and pricey
Packing list
Set up the eSIM before you leave the city: see our Vietnam SIM and eSIM guide. Most nationalities also need a Vietnamese e-visa, issued at evisa.gov.vn; see our Vietnam visa guide.
FAQ — Cat Tien National Park
- Adult60,000 VND~$2.30
- Student20,000 VND
- Child under 1610,000 VND
The boat across the Dong Nai River is included. Activities are paid separately: the night safari runs 150,000–500,000 VND depending on group size, the gibbon trek about $60 (1,600,000 VND), and the Dao Tien centre 400,000 VND. Pay at the visitor center, ideally in cash
Yes, but only on the gibbon trek, the dawn walk that costs about $60. Travellers put the chance of hearing them at around 95% in the dry season and of seeing them at 70–90%. The night safari won't show you gibbons: they sleep high in the canopy, out of the spotlight. At the Dao Tien centre you can see gibbons in pre-release enclosures for 400,000 VND
- Phuong Trang or Futa bus to Tan Phu150,000–200,000 VND~$6–83–3.5 hours from Mien Dong bus station, then a taxi or motorbike taxi for about 25 km to the river crossing
- Tour shuttle600,000–840,000 VND~$23–324 hours, often with entry included
- Taxi for 3–4 people2–2.5 million VND~$77–96
Two days and one night at minimum: enough for the night safari, the bear sanctuary and the Lagerstroemia trail. Three days fit the gibbon trek and the Crocodile Lake trek with a night at the ranger station. A day trip only covers a couple of activities, because the night safari starts at 18:30 and Ho Chi Minh City is still about four hours away on a dark road
Snakes live in the park, but bites are rare because they hear you coming and move off. Leeches are the real issue in the rainy season (May to October). They get in through socks and canvas shoes, and the bite keeps bleeding for a while. Long socks tucked into your trousers and repellent on your shoes help. Don't do the long treks, like Crocodile Lake, without a guide
Children over 6 will be fine, but not on every activity. The bear sanctuary, the Dao Tien centre, the Lagerstroemia trail and bike rides all work. The gibbon trek and Crocodile Lake don't: too early, too long, too hard. The night safari is a judgment call, since an hour in an open vehicle in the dark can be tough for under-8s. For families, two nights at Forest Floor Lodge with easy activities works best
Book at the visitor center on the day or the day before, in cash, and trucks run once enough people sign up. There's no official online booking. If you come with a tour or stay at Forest Floor Lodge, they reserve your seat. In peak season (December and January), show up by 15:00 to be sure of a place on the 18:30 drive
Cat Tien is in the south near Ho Chi Minh City, and its big draw is the gibbon trek with wild yellow-cheeked gibbons. Cuc Phuong is in the north near Ninh Binh and Hanoi, and its strength is the Endangered Primate Rescue Center with Delacour's langurs, which Cat Tien doesn't have. Pick by region: Cat Tien if you're in the south, Cuc Phuong if you're in the north
Planning a longer loop from Saigon through Cat Tien to the highlands? See tours from Da Lat.
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