Scott Pelley's 60 Minutes Son Doong piece aired on CBS on 9 March 2026. Within ten days, every remaining 2026 and 2027 expedition slot on Oxalis's calendar was gone. The yearly cap is around 1,000 visitors; the booking inbox over those ten days received multiples of that.
Oxalis opened 2028 dates on 1 April 2026. As of June 2026, roughly 40% of the 2028 slots are already booked, and the pace is steady.
If you can't wait for 2028 and a cancellation doesn't come up, the closest realistic alternative is Hang Pygmy, the world's fourth-largest cave, run by Jungle Boss for around 7,900,000 VND. You sleep inside a giant chamber, you abseil, you cross underground rivers: the Son Doong experience compressed into two days.
Hang En and Kong Collapse are the other two we'd point you to if Son Doong is the dream and 2028 is too far away. The full picture is in our Son Doong alternatives guide.