Places / Tân Hóa
Tân Hóa Floating Village
Vietnam's floating village: houses built on floats that rise with the flood.
Transcript
You are in Tân Hóa, a village in a bowl of limestone mountains.
When heavy rain comes, the water has nowhere to go and the whole valley becomes a lake.
In 2010 it rose about twelve metres, and many houses flooded to the roof.
So the villagers lashed empty drums into rafts, then added frames, roofs and walls. When the water rises, the house rises with it.
In 2023, UN Tourism named Tân Hóa one of the Best Tourism Villages in the world.
If you stay tonight, you will sleep in one of those floating houses.
Tân Hóa sits in a bowl ringed by limestone. When heavy rain comes the water has nowhere to go and the valley becomes a lake. In 2010 it rose about 12 metres; families climbed the mountain and sheltered in caves.
So the villagers invented something found nowhere else. In 2011 they lashed empty oil drums into rafts tied beside their homes; in 2012 the rafts gained a frame, roof and walls and became floating houses of about 15–20 m², which rise with the water. By 2023 the area had about 620 of them, and UN Tourism named Tân Hóa a Best Tourism Village that year, from 260 entries in 60 countries. Only five villages in Vietnam hold the title.
The people here are Nguồn and still speak their own language every day. The green Rào Nan river runs through the village, past peanut and corn fields to the foot of the cliffs. Around ten families have turned their floating house into a homestay with a private room and bathroom.
For nearly ten years no flood has been big enough to lift the houses. The drums wait under the floors. For the villagers, that is good luck.
- ~620
- floating houses (2023)
- 395
- households in Tân Hóa hamlet
- 2023
- UN Tourism Best Tourism Village
Things to do
- Spend a night in a village homestay
- Ask your host to show how a floating house is moored, and to tell you about the 2010 flood
- Cycle around the village along the Rào Nan
- Eat dinner with a family: fish, hill chicken, garden greens, pồi, ốc
- Start your Tú Làn cave tour right from the village
Best season: Floodwater at Hung Tru (September – October) →
Frequently asked
Where is Tân Hóa village?
In Kim Phú commune, Quảng Trị province (formerly Minh Hóa district, Quảng Bình province), on the Rào Nan river, about 70 km from Phong Nha. Search Google Maps for “Cổng Làng du lịch Tân Hóa” or “Tu Lan Lodge”.
What is a floating house?
A house built on a raft of sealed oil drums, anchored beside the family home. When the valley floods, the house rises with the water and the family stays dry with their belongings and animals. Tân Hóa began building them after the flood of 2010; today the village has about 620.
How do I get to Tân Hóa from Phong Nha?
It is about 70 km over the Đá Đẽo pass. Join the Oxalis Tú Làn day tour with 7:00 hotel pickup in Phong Nha, hire a car (about 600,000–700,000 VND (~US$24–28) one way), or ride the Hồ Chí Minh Road. There is no public bus.
Is Tân Hóa still in Minh Hóa, Quảng Bình?
It is now in Kim Phú commune, Quảng Trị province (formerly Tân Hóa commune, Minh Hóa district, Quảng Bình). The village keeps the Tân Hóa name.
Where can I stay?
In family floating-house homestays. 11 are verified by the commune and listed on our Stay page, at 1,000,000 VND (about US$40) per room per night for 1–2 guests.
Do I need a permit?
No border-area permit is needed inside the Kim Phú tourism area, under Decision 2244/QĐ-UBND of the Quảng Trị Provincial People's Committee (12 June 2026). If you plan to go beyond the tourism area, ask the commune first.
When should I go?
September–October is the flood season, when the floating houses rise with the water; late in the year brings mist and cloud; the dry season is best for caves and walks.