Geography

Coordinates 16°55’ to 18°05’ North and 105°37’ to 107°00’ East. It borders Hà Tĩnh Province on the north with the Ngang mountain pass as the natural frontier, borders Quảng Trị Province by the south, borders Laos by the west, and faces the South China Sea on the east. The narrowest part from east (seaside) to west (Laotian border) is just 40 km. The provincial topography is characterized by a general slope, higher in the west and lower in the east, with hilly and mountainous areas accounting for 85% of the total area. The Annamite Range is the natural border between Quang Binh Province and Laos with peaks ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 m, the summit of which is peak Phi Co Pi with the height of 2,017 m. In the east of the province are lower hills and then several narrow plains and river deltas. The seaside sand dunes belt is a natural dam to protect the land from the ocean tides.

The provincial land area is 8,037.9 km² and divided as follows:

Tourism
Quang Binh has several tourist attraction sites that could be turned into tourism development.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park: This park features a karst region of more than 200,000 km² if Hin Namno region in Laos bordering this park is combined. Phong Nha-Ke Bang is a protected area, a national park and was listed in UNESCO's world heritage in 2003. Phong Nha-Ke bang is located in the Bố Trạch and Minh Hóa districts, in north-central Vietnam, about 50 km northwest of Dong Hoi, 42 km east of South China Sea from its borderline point. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park is situated in a limestone zone of 200,000 hectare in Vietnamese territory and borders another limestone of 200,000 hectare of Hin Namno in Laotian territory. The core zone of this national park covers 85,754 hectares and a buffer zone of 195,400 ha. The park was created to protect one of the world's two largest karst regions with 300 caves and grottoes and also protects the ecosystem of limestone forest of the Annamite Range region in north central coast of Vietnam.

Phong Nha-Ke Bang area is noted for its cave and grotto systems as it is composed of 300 caves and grottoes with a total length of about 70 km, of which only 20 have been surveyed by Vietnamese and British scientists; 17 of these are in located in the Phong Nha area and three in the Ke Bang area. Phong Nha holds several world cave records, as it has the longest underground river, as well as the largest caverns and passageways.[5] Following UNESCO listing of this park, the number of visitors to this province changed significantly.

Da Nhay and Ly Hoa Beaches, Nhat Le Beach: these two beaches feature white and fine sands, clean water, and are among one of the most attractive beaches in Vietnam

Bang Spa: a hotspring area in Le Thuy district with resort and health care services. The temperature of the watwer at the jet hole can reach up to 105 degree Celsius.

Ho Chi Minh Trail battlefield, where there are many important sites along the trail during Vietnam War

Transportation
There are two parallel national roads cross the province: The National Road 1A (runs from Lang Son Province to Ca Mau Province along the coastline of the country) and Ho Chi Minh Highway (runs from North-Western part of Vietnam to Ca Mau along the mountainous part, nearly coinciding Ho Chi Minh Trail). The Road 12 connects this province with Khammouan Province of Laos. The Hanoi-Saigon Railway crosses Quang Binh Province in the hill area with Dong Hoi Railway Station as a main station. Dong Hoi Airport is located in Dong Hoi city, initially due to be opened at the end of 2007 with scheduled flights to and from Ho Chi Minh City's Tan Son Nhat International Airport and Ha Noi's Noi Bai International Airport upon completion.

The construction schedule of the airport was late due to lack of capital from the government. It was scheduled to be completed in February 2008, but the deadline was extended again. According to the latest revised schedule, this airport will be completed and opened in 3rd quarter of 2008.The airport was officially inaugurated on 18 May 2008 with first filght from Hanoi's Noi Bai International Airport. As of July 2008, the only airliner operating here is Vietnam Airlines with the only destination of Hanoi. There will be more air links between this airport and other airports in Vietnam soon. The airport has a designed capacity of 300 passengers per peak hour 500,000 passengers per annum

Hon La Port, a deep-water port is being built (as of March 2008) with a designed capacity of 10-12 million metric tons of cargo annully, capable to handle vessels up to 10,000 ton and will serve domestic and international cargo vessels[30][31]