After spending a couple of weeks in Hanoi, we decided to make the trip south to Ninh Binh. Visiting Ninh Binh, Vietnam was something we were really excited about as we watched a ton of content featuring the amazing landscape. We spent 10 days in Ninh Binh, which is definitely way too long – 3 to 4 days is probably a good amount of time to be able to see the sites while getting to relax a bit.
To get to Ninh Binh, we took the train from Hanoi. The ride was around 2 hours and decently comfortable. It goes from Hanoi Station to Ninh Binh Station and then you can get a taxi or Grab to wherever you’re staying.
I would also say, stay in the Tam Coc area. We stayed in the Trang An area which was really convenient for several of the main sites, but there was not much to do around there or many good places to eat. Though our homestay was really beautiful and the staff was very friendly at Ninh Binh Mountain Side Homestay & Cafe
Do The Trang An Boat Tour
This is one of the main things to to in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. There are two main boat tours – Trang An and Tam Coc. Since we were staying close to the Trang An one, we picked that one. We rented bicycles from our home stay and road over there easily. The price to park the bikes was around 20,000 VND (~$0.78 USD) per bike.
We purchased tickets there, but be aware that there is also a confusing booth for package tickets. This is different than the tickets for just the boat tour. If you park in the lot, pass the combo package ticket booth and go to the right for the tickets for the boat.
There are three different routes you a choose from. We did route 3, which takes you through the longest cave (Dot cave) and was around 2 to 3 hours. The price for the boat tour was 250,000 VND (~$10 USD) per person and can fit up to 4 people per boat. I believe if you want a boat to yourself, you have to pay more. We only had one other person with us, who happened to speak Vietnamese so he help communicate with the boat driver and let us know what was going on.
This boat tour was an absolute highlight of our time there. The landscape is stunning, the ride is relaxing, and the woman who rowed our boat was a beast! We did tip at the end as she rowed us for three hours. As for the Tam Coc tour – we don’t have specific experience with it, but we had read several other blogs that made it seem very scamm-y in that they push you to buy things while you’re in the boat and trap you there if you don’t tip (different from our lady who was ready to row away before we could tip her). Just do your research before you decide!
Hike Hang Múa (Mua Caves) in Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Probably our second favorite thing when visiting Ninh Binh, Vietnam was hiking Lying Dragon Mountain or top of Mua Caves. Again, we rented bikes from the home stay and rode about 20 minutes to the entrance. Here’s where research comes in handy. The day before we did the hike, we decided to go to a restaurant in the area. Before we were about to pull into the restaurant, two women ran out onto the road and told us we couldn’t go any farther and had to pay to park our bikes. Well we assumed this was a scam and just argued that we were only going right across the street to the restaurant. They continued to say “no! no!” and eventually gave up when we refused.
Avoiding the Scams
But that made me decide to do some research and I found out that is extremely common in that area. Several people will run out in front of tourists on their way to Mua Caves and demand they pay to park as they can’t drive into the area. THIS IS FALSE!
Keep riding past. DO NOT stop! There is an actual parking lot right in front of the entrance to the caves. You will pass between two pillars and a gate and there is a ticket booth on the left. IGNORE the parking sign to the right! Apparently that man is extremely aggressive.
The trick is to get there early. We arrived around 6:30 AM to avoid the heat, the crowds, and hopefully the scammers. It worked fairly well as there were only two people out trying to stop us. Sean and I just sped up when we saw them coming out on the road and Sean yelled an emphatic “NO!”
Once you get there, it’s about 5,000 VND (~$.20 USD) per bicycle to park and 100,000 VND (~$4 USD) per person for the entrance fee. The hike is steep but the view is beautiful. Definitely go early if you can, there were only a handful of people there when we got there.
Visit Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
Not a huge must-do when visiting Ninh Binh, Vietnam, but if you have the time it’s an interesting area. We easily rode our bikes from Trang An. Again, they’ll try to scam you by telling you that you can’t ride toward the entrance. We got scammed at this one and paid to park. But the woman said it was free as long as we purchased something afterwards. This actually worked out since we needed water once we were done. She way overcharged us of course, but it was fine.
This area was the capital of the ancient Vietnamese called Dai Co Viet in the 10th century. The entry fee is 20,000 VND (~$0.80 USD) per person. You can bring your bikes into the area, so don’t pay attention to the scammers. But you will have to leave it whenever you want to explore the building. It’s a cool area and you can walk up a shrine nearby to get a great view of the area.
Go See Bai Dinh Pagoda in Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Bai Dinh pagoda is one of the largest temple complexes in Southeast Asia and the largest in Vietnam. It combines some old temples with newer ones. The complex is a bit outside of Ninh Binh. There are a few ways to get there: you can book a day tour that includes going there, you can get there with your own motorbike or car, or you can do what we did and get a Grab taxi. The only issue with that is you might have a difficult time getting a Grab back. We decided to just hope it would be fine and there were a couple of taxis waiting in the lot at the end of the night.
The entry to Bai Dinh pagoda is free but you’ll want to take the electric car as the complex is far from the entrance. That was 60,000 VND (~$2.40 USD) per person. If you want to go to the top of the large stupa (Bao Thap Tower) that’s also an additional cost, but was only 50,000 (~$2 USD) per person.
I would recommend going around 4:00 in the afternoon. We got there around 5:00 PM and got some of the sunset at that time, but we also ended up having to rush around the complex a bit because we were told the last electric car was at 7:00 PM. But going at night was worth it as we were basically the only people there and it was beautiful seeing it all lit up. Just make sure to give yourself enough time to explore Bai Dinh when you’re visiting Ninh Binh, Vietnam.
Check Out Hoa Lu Old Town at Night
Separate from Hoa Lu ancient capital is the old town. We were recommended to visit at night by our home stay hosts. It’s closer to the main town of Ninh Binh so you’ll either have to have your own motorbike/car or take a taxi like we did. There is no entrance fee for this, it’s just an area along the water with beautiful pagodas and it’s lit up with lanterns at night. There are several restaurants and cafes along the water you can enjoy the evening. If you have the extra time, I would recommend seeing it. We really enjoyed it and found it very beautiful.
Places to Eat in Ninh Binh, Vietnam
I would not recommend many places in the Trang An area. Most of the places have amazing reviews but we think they must be made up reviews as the food was not very good at most of the restaurants we tried (and we were there for 10 days so we tried several different places). In the Trang An area, we would recommend visiting Cafe The Began. They had great coffee and delicious chicken sandwiches. We ate there several times as it was probably the best in the area. Chookie’s Beer Garden in the Tam Coc area was also very good. It’s westernized but had good food and many options.
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