How much does the Cat Tien 2 day herping tour cost?

It is $300 for one guest and $215 per person for two guests sharing a double room. Groups of three or more are quoted on request.

What does the Cat Tien 2 day herping tour include?

A private car between your hotel and the bus station in Ho Chi Minh City, round-trip bus tickets, one double room inside the park, your guide, flashlights, the park entry ticket, and the night and daytime wildlife watching fees. Meals are not included.

In a standard double room inside Cat Tien National Park, with air-conditioning and hot water. If two guests prefer separate rooms there is a 400,000 VND surcharge.

How fit do I need to be?

Both sessions are slow walks. If your fitness is not strong you can rent a bicycle inside the park (200,000 VND half day, 400,000 VND full day) or call a jeep back for 360,000 VND one way.

Are sightings guaranteed?

No. Cat Tien is not covered by our Target Species Guarantee; sightings depend on weather, season and field conditions.

Cat Tien 2 Day Herping Tour from Ho Chi Minh City

Viet Herping / Southern Vietnam · Cat Tien · Option 3

Cat Tien 2 Day Herping Tour from Ho Chi Minh City

Cat Tien 2 day herping tour with everything arranged from Ho Chi Minh City: transfers, a room inside the national park, a night herping session and a dawn wildlife session.

Meet Your Expert Guide

Nguyễn Minh Phú

Founder, Viet Herping · Co-founder, Viet Snake Rescuer

From

$215

per person · 2 guests

Group size

Check dates on WhatsApp or email contact@vietherping.com

30% deposit by Wise, balance in cash (VND) on day one. Reschedule up to 2 times free with 5 days' notice; deposit valid 6 months.

Questions before you book? WhatsApp +84 963 258 366 or email contact@vietherping.com. Returning guests get 5% off any tour.

Overview

The Cat Tien 2 day herping tour is the ready-to-go package: we collect you from your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City, put you in a room inside Cat Tien National Park, and run the night herping session and the dawn wildlife session from there.

It is built for guests who have not booked accommodation or transport and want one arrangement that covers the lot. A private car takes you from your hotel to the bus station, the bus runs to Cat Tien, and the same happens in reverse on the way back. Your guide worked twenty years as a ranger in this park. He reads the season and the weather and picks the route to match, rather than walking the same loop regardless of conditions. Red light keeps night mammals calm; white light shows the colour and scale detail you need to identify a snake or a frog. Every guest leaves with a completed wildlife checklist.

This is one of four options under our Cat Tien National Park herping tour programme. Already have a room and a ride? Options 1 and 2 are the same sessions without the logistics. Short on time? The Ho Chi Minh City herping tour runs in a single evening without the three-hour drive.

Field conditions and getting around

We rate this tour Easy: both sessions are on foot at a slow pace. If your fitness is not strong, rent a bicycle inside the park to move around more easily, and if you feel tired during the tour you can call a jeep back. Both are paid locally. Trails stay wet after rain, so bring closed shoes with good grip.

Safety and responsible herping

Venomous species are observed at the distance your guide sets. Any handling is offered, never assumed, and happens only under direct guide supervision. We do not bait, provision or move animals for photographs. Every tour carries a first aid kit and runs under a written emergency protocol.

How to book the Cat Tien 2 day herping tour

To book the Cat Tien 2 day herping tour, send us your preferred dates and group size on WhatsApp or by email at contact@vietherping.com. We reply with availability and the booking steps. 30% deposit by Wise, balance in cash (VND) on day one. Reschedule up to 2 times free with 5 days' notice; deposit valid 6 months. See the booking policy for the full terms.

Want different dates, pace or target species? We build private trips around what you want to see and when you can travel.

Ask for a tailor-made trip

Highlighted Species

Reptiles and amphibians at night, primates at dawn. With a room inside the park you are already on site for both. Target wildlife is not guaranteed.

Highlight species on this tour

Ruby-eyed Pit Viper Trimeresurus rubeus

Venomous Target

A green pit viper with a red eye, and the signature night find at Cat Tien. White light picks up the colour and scale detail that confirm the identification. Venomous: observed at a distance only, never handled by guests.

Black-shanked Douc Langur Pygathrix nigripes

Target

The primate most guests hope for on the morning session. A daytime animal of the forest canopy, searched for from 05:00 when the forest is most active. Not guaranteed.

Cat Tien Bent-toed Gecko Cyrtodactylus cattienensis

Target

A bent-toed gecko named after the park, which is why it sits on most guests' target list before they arrive. Harmless, and picked out by white light along the night route.

Red-tailed Racer Gonyosoma oxycephalum

Recorded

A green tree snake with a contrasting tail. Harmless, and often mistaken for a venomous species, which is exactly the kind of identification your guide walks you through in the field.

Also on the Cat Tien list

Banded Krait Venomous
Blue Krait Venomous
Indo-Chinese Spitting Cobra Venomous
Monocled Cobra Venomous
Burmese Python
Reticulated Python
Green Cat Snake
Jasper Cat Snake
Asian Sunbeam Snake
Laotian Wolf Snake
Chinese Water Dragon
Clouded Monitor
Common Water Monitor
Elongated Tortoise
Giant Asian Pond Turtle
Vietnamese Moss Frog
Annam Tree Frog
South Vietnamese Painted Frog
Cat Loc Caecilian
Nguyen's Caecilian

Mammals and birds on the list

Pygmy Slow Loris
Sunda Pangolin
Mainland Leopard Cat
Gaur
Asian Elephant Rare
Asian Small-clawed Otter
Black Giant Squirrel
Green Peafowl
Siamese Fireback
Germain's Peacock-Pheasant
Great Hornbill
Bar-bellied Pitta

This is a reference list of species that may be found on our Cat Tien tours, not a complete inventory. Sightings vary with season, weather and conditions on the night and cannot be guaranteed.

Trip Report & Destination

Field notes and photos from our Cat Tien trips, written up after each one.

All trip reports →What each group recorded, with dates and photos.Trip reports Cat Tien night herping tour →One night session on foot. From $60 per person.Option 1 Cat Tien night and morning wildlife tour →Night herping plus a dawn session for primates. From $80.Option 2 Cat Tien 3 day wildlife tour with Crocodile Lake →Two nights inside the park and a day at Bau Sau. From $310.Option 4 Cat Tien National Park herping tour guide →All four options side by side, with seasons and access.Cat Tien

Viet Herping is run by field herpetologists who research and rescue Vietnam's snakes, and the same people lead you into the field. This trip is one Vietnam herping tour among several in southern Vietnam: compare every herping tour Vietnam has on our list by region, or ask us to build a tailor-made route. A portion of the revenue from each tour supports reptile conservation through Viet Snake Rescuer.

Ready to book? Send us your dates, your group size and the species you most want to see. We will confirm availability and tell you honestly what a night here produces at that time of year.

Message us on WhatsApp

Last updated: 2 October 2026 · Written by Nguyen Minh Phu, Founder of Viet Herping and Viet Snake Education, Co-founder of Viet Snake Rescuer.

Schedule

The night and morning sessions can fall on the same day or be split across the two days. Timing adjusts to weather, traffic and wildlife activity.

Day 1

Pick-up

Leave Ho Chi Minh City

Private car from your hotel to the bus station, then the bus to Cat Tien National Park. The pick-up time is confirmed at booking.
On arrival

Check in inside the park

Meet your Viet Herping guide, check in to your room and rest.
18:30 – 23:00

Night herping session

On foot along forest trails and stream edges.

Day 2

05:00 – 09:30

Morning wildlife watching

A dawn walk for langurs, gibbons and other daytime wildlife. Not guaranteed.
After check-out

Return to Ho Chi Minh City

Bus back to the city, then a private car from the bus station to your hotel.

Meals

Not included Food and drinks are paid directly unless stated otherwise.

Accommodation

Inside the park One standard double room with air-conditioning and hot water.

Room for two

Shared by default The price assumes two guests share one double room. Separate rooms: 400,000 VND surcharge.

Transfers

Included Private car in the city and round-trip bus tickets to Cat Tien.

Questions

Frequently asked

Price & Service

Cat Tien 2 day herping tour price, per person (USD)

Groups of three or more are quoted on request by WhatsApp or email.
Group size	1 guest	2 guests	3+ guests
Price per person	$300	$215	Contact us

A 30% deposit by international transfer (Wise) secures your dates. The 70% balance is paid in cash in Vietnamese dong to your guide on the first day, at an exchange rate we confirm in writing four days before departure. The deposit is non-refundable but transferable: two-day and three-day tours can be moved up to two times free of charge with at least five days' notice, and the deposit stays valid for six months from your original date. Full terms: booking policy and cancellation and refund policy.

What is included

Included

1 standard double room inside Cat Tien National Park (air-conditioning and hot water)
Private car pick-up and drop-off at your hotel in Ho Chi Minh City
Round-trip bus tickets between Ho Chi Minh City and Cat Tien
English-speaking professional Viet Herping guide
Professional flashlight: red light and white light
Night wildlife watching fee and daytime wildlife watching fee
Cat Tien National Park entry ticket
A completed checklist of all wildlife recorded during your tour

Not included

Food and drinks, unless stated otherwise
Separate-room surcharge if two guests do not share: 400,000 VND
Anything not listed as included

Optional, paid locally

Jeep ride: 360,000 VND one way, on request if you are tired
Bicycle rental: 200,000 VND half day · 400,000 VND full day

Does the guarantee apply to this tour?

No. Cat Tien is not one of the tours covered by our Target Species Guarantee.

Encounters here depend on weather, season and field conditions, and we would rather tell you that plainly than promise what the forest cannot. What you do get is a guide who has worked this park for twenty years and chooses the route for the night.

In the south the guarantee applies on the Ho Chi Minh City herping tour, where a live wild snake of any species is guaranteed and a quiet night means your next attempt is free.

Other Cat Tien options

If this one is not the fit

Dong Nai Night Herping Tour

Dong Nai night herping tour: a daytime forest walk and a night session along trails and streams in Dong Nai, with private car from Ho Chi Minh City and a return the same night.

Ho Chi Minh City Herping Tour

Ho Chi Minh City herping tour: one private evening in the field for reptiles and amphibians, with pick-up in the city and a guaranteed wild snake sighting.

Dong Nai Herping Tour: 2 Days 1 Night

SCHEDULE

2 Days/ 1 Night

PACKAGE

Full Package

LEVEL

Easy–Moderate

FROM

$210 /pax · 3–5

Dong Nai herping tour 2 days 1 night: overnight wildlife watching focused on reptiles and amphibians, with daytime birding and a nature walk, by private car from Ho Chi Minh City.