Ninh Binh itinerary: how to spend 1 or 2 days

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  Trang An by boat, the temples at Hoa Lu and the Hang Mua viewpoint at sunset; Tam Coc's own boat trip waits for Day 2.

• 2 days: Days 1 to 2

  Adds the Tam Coc boat trip through three caves, Thai Vi temple, Bich Dong pagoda and the Thung Nham bird park.

Day 1

Trang An, Hoa Lu and Hang Mua

07:30 to about 18:00 · 5 stops · entry fees VND 470,000 a person

1. 07:301

   

   Sight · 3 h

   Trang An boat trip

   Cost: Adult ticket for the boat trip, over 1.3 m tall

   Take a taxi or Grab car from Tam Coc to the Trang An boat centre, about 10 km by road, and be there early. You choose one of three loops at the ticket desk; the management board puts route 2 at about 10 km and 2 to 2.5 hours, and route 3 at about 2.5 hours, each stopping at temples on the way. A local rower takes you through caves so low that you duck your head. Neither the board nor the province publishes boat hours: call the ticket office on 0229 3620 335 the day before.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Trang An

   Image: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 4.4 km. Taxi or Grab car north to the Hoa Lu temples, about 5 km.

2. 10:502

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

   Cost: Adult ticket for the relic site

   Hoa Lu was Vietnam's capital from 968 to 1010, until Ly Thai To moved the court to Thang Long, today's Hanoi. Two temples stand in the old village of Truong Yen: the temple of King Dinh Tien Hoang, built on the foundations of the palace and facing Ma Yen hill, where his tomb lies, and a few minutes' walk away the temple of King Le Dai Hanh. The ticket is VND 20,000; dress for a place of worship, with shoulders and knees covered.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

   Image: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 15 min by taxi or Grab, 15.4 km. Taxi or Grab car back to Tam Coc, about 13 km.

3. 12:303

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch in Tam Coc: goat and com chay

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Ninh Binh is known for two dishes. Goat is raised on the limestone hills around Truong Yen and served many ways, from lightly cooked with herbs to fried with chilli and lemongrass or stewed. Com chay is cooked sticky rice, shaped into flat rounds, dried and fried until crisp, often eaten with a savoury topping. Look for both on the menus along Tam Coc's main road, by the boat landing. Then rest through the hottest hours: Hang Mua is a steep, unshaded climb.

   Image: Nguyễn Thanh Quang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 4.2 km. By bicycle or motorbike north to the Hang Mua gate, about 3 km; a Grab car also works.

4. 15:304

   

   View · 2 h

   Hang Mua viewpoint at sunset

   Cost: Hang Mua entry ticket

   About 500 stone steps are cut into the face of the mountain at Hang Mua. At the top, a small pagoda and the ridge known as Lying Dragon Mountain look down on the Ngo Dong river winding through the paddies of Tam Coc and the limestone towers. Start the climb by 16:00, take water, and wear shoes with grip, because the steps are uneven and slippery after rain. In November the sun sets at about 17:15, so wait at the top, then come down before dark.

   Image: Anass Sedrati / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min by taxi or Grab, 5 km. Back to Tam Coc village, about 3 km.

5. 18:005

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner in Tam Coc village

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Tam Coc's main road and the lanes around the boat landing are lined with small restaurants and guesthouse kitchens, so there is no need to go into Ninh Binh city, 7 km away, for dinner. If you skipped goat at lunch, try it now, or com chay with a stew poured over it. On a clear evening, walk out along the lane by the Ngo Dong river after dinner. Ask your guesthouse about a bicycle for the morning: Ninh Binh Local Tour delivers them in Tam Coc from VND 80,000 a day.

Day 2

Tam Coc, Thai Vi, Bich Dong and Thung Nham

07:00 to about 17:30 · 6 stops · entry fees VND 400,000 a person

1. 07:001

   

   Sight · 2 h

   Tam Coc boat trip

   Cost: Adult ticket without the electric shuttle; VND 350,000 with it

   Rowing boats leave from the landing in the village and follow the Ngo Dong river through three caves cut straight through the mountains: Hang Ca, 127 m long, then Hang Hai and Hang Ba, the lowest. We allow two hours for the return trip, and the rowers here often row with their feet. The VND 350,000 ticket adds an electric shuttle to Thai Vi temple, Tien cave and Bich Dong pagoda; with a bicycle you do not need it. Call 1900 9157 the day before to check the first boat.

   Hours, fees and how to get there: Tam Coc

   Image: Shyamal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 1.3 km. By bicycle or motorbike west along the lane to Thai Vi, about 2 km.

2. 09:202

   

   Sight · 40 min

   Thai Vi temple

   Cost: No separate ticket on the management board's price list

   Thai Vi honours the Tran dynasty kings Tran Thai Tong and Tran Thanh Tong, the generals Tran Hung Dao and Tran Quang Khai and the empress Tran Thi Dung; the Tran court kept its Vu Lam field palace in these valleys during the wars against the Mongols. The temple sits at the foot of the karst, about 2 km by road from the boat landing, and is far quieter than the river. On the way you pass Thien Huong cave, a dry cave about 15 m up the hillside.

   Image: Shyamal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 15 min by motorbike, 4 km. By bicycle or motorbike south-west to Bich Dong, about 2 km.

3. 10:153

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Bich Dong pagoda

   Cost: No separate ticket on the management board's price list

   Bich Dong, the green cave, was named in 1773 by the mandarin Nguyen Nghiem, father of the poet Nguyen Du, and was ranked the second most beautiful cave of the south. The pagoda is set in a dry cave halfway up the mountain, reached by stone steps, about 2 km from the Tam Coc landing. Behind the mountain, Xuyen Thuy, a dark flooded cave, runs right through it. Wear shoes with grip for the steps, and cover shoulders and knees.

   Image: Bernd 📷 Dittrich / Unsplash

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 3.1 km. Back to Tam Coc village, about 3 km.

4. 11:504

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch in Tam Coc and a midday rest

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Eat in the village along Tam Coc's main road; if you had goat yesterday, try com chay, the crisp fried rice cakes the province is known for, with a topping of pork floss or goat. Then rest through the early afternoon: the fields offer little shade, and the rains peak in August and September, with September the wettest month, so keep a cafe in reserve for a downpour and a rain layer in your bag.

   ↓About 15 min by taxi or Grab, 7.4 km. Grab car or motorbike west to the Thung Nham ticket office, about 7 km.

5. 14:305

   

   Do · 2 h 30 min

   Thung Nham bird park

   Cost: Adult ticket; the electric car inside costs VND 40,000 more

   Thung Nham lies in a karst valley inside the Hoa Lu special-use forest, about 5 km west of Bich Dong. Its bird garden covers more than 300 ha and holds some 40,000 nests of 46 species, among them egrets and night herons; a rower takes you out on the water and stops at a distance so you can watch them. Paths and an electric car link caves such as Vai Gioi and Tien Ca. Stay into the late afternoon, when the light is soft.

   Image: Shyamal / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 15 min by taxi or Grab, 5.9 km. Grab car or motorbike back to Tam Coc, about 7 km.

6. 17:306

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner and the evening in Tam Coc

   Cost: Prices per dish

   End the trip back in the village. If you are heading on, trains to Hanoi and the south stop at Ninh Binh station, 6 km away, and King Express runs limousines on the Hanoi route, dropping at the Tam Coc boat station on the way down; ask your guesthouse where it picks up for the return, and book a day ahead. For a taxi to the station or bus station, use the Grab app rather than a ride offered outside: a 2026 traveller's thread warned of a taxi scam at the bus station.

   Image: Jakub Hałun / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Tips for Ninh Binh

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Ninh Binh page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.