EmNinh Binh is one of the most beautiful places you’ll visit in Vietnam – which is really saying something. Recognised as a site of natural beauty by Unesco, Ninh Binh is known as ‘Halong Bay on land’ and is a must-do on any Vietnam itinerary.
When I visited Vietnam in 2010, Ninh Binh wasn’t on the tourist itinerary. I was told people only started visiting after the area was recognised by Unseco. However, you can now see development happening everywhere. While it still has a really chill, backpacker vibe right now, in a couple of years Ninh Binh is going to be very different. Visit now before it becomes overdeveloped!
How to get to Ninh Binh
Ninh Binh is accessible by train or bus. The city of Ninh Binh is the gateway to the surrounding area of natural beauty, with the two towns of Tam Coc and Tran Ang the most popular areas to stay. Ninh Binh city is about 10 minutes by bike or car from Tam Coc, and about 20 minutes from Trang An.
The nearest airport is Hanoi, around 3 hours away by road or 2 hours by train.
Train to Ninh Binh
Vietnamese rail is unusual in that there are two types of train:
- Standard carriages run by Vietnamese rail as part of the Reunification Express route. These offer a variety of different seat types, including hard/soft seats and sleeper carriages. They don’t tend to be of super high quality.
- Private carriages, attached to the Vietnamese rail carriages. These offer a step up in quality, although quality differs across the different providers. They are usually more expensive.
The city of Ninh Binh is on the trainline from Da Nang to Hanoi.
From Da Nang
The train from Da Nang is overnight and takes between 15-16 hours, with times available here.
I took the 6pm train from Da Nang and would recommend this departure. It gives you plenty of time to settle in on the train before sleep, and the arrival time of 9am the next morning means that you don’t have to wake up too early.
From Da Nang, I used the Lotus Express private train. While not as nice as my sleeper train to Sapa, this offers a good experience. There are two types of carriage offered: 4 berth cabins, which you can book one bed in (great for solo travellers) and 2 berth cabins.
For a 2 berth cabin, you must book both berths. These are the same cabins as the 4 berth cabins, with the top bunks folded back.
The Lotus Express offered good snacks and breakfast, and had a modern seated toilet and sink area.
Full guide to sleeper trains in Vietnam coming soon!
From Hanoi
From Hanoi, the train takes just over 2 hours. There are 3 trains per day – one early in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. Find out more detail here. For such a short journey, you could consider booking with Vietnam rail rather than the more expensive private carriages.
When you arrive at the train station, you will be greeted by lots of taxi drivers. You can use their services, organise a taxi from your hotel, or use Grab. A Grab from the station to Tam Coc costs about £3/$3.70/3.5e.
Bus to Ninh Binh
There are bus routes to Ninh Binh from a variety of destinations across Vietnam, and the buses will drop you directly into Tam Coc itself.
The most popular are Hanoi (about 3 hours) and Halong Bay (about 4 hours). The quality of these can differ, including standard mini vans and limousine vans, so shop around to find the right balance of price v quality for you. I used Sapa Discovery Travel for the 3 hour trip to Hanoi and the limousine van was clean, modern and comfortable.
You can also get buses from Da Nang (c.14h), Sapa (c.8h) and Hue (c.11h). There are many agencies offering sleeper buses and vans. As ever, read the reviews before choosing the bus for you, as quality can differ significantly. If you are heading to Sapa, I used HK Open Tour/HK Buslines and can recommend their modern, clean sleeper buses.
Heading to Hoi An before or after your Ninh Binh stay? Check out my guides to Hoi An:
Where to stay in Ninh Binh?
Avoid staying in Ninh Binh city – this is just the jumping off point for the region and is an industrial town not geared towards tourists.
There are two main areas that tourists stay when visiting Ninh Binh: the towns of Tam Coc and Trang An.
Tam Coc
This is the bigger, more developed town, although for now it’s still very much a backpacker town. There is one main street lined with restaurants and spas, with hotels on alleys shooting off this. The road leads down to a cluster of other restaurants around the lake.
I really enjoyed Tam Coc. It’s a small, easily walkable town with lots of food options. I could almost see it changing in front of me though – development in Vietnam is happening so quickly – so I can imagine that in a year or two it will be very different.
I would avoid staying directly on the main street in Tam Coc, as it’s noisy not just from bars but from buses passing through. Look for a town slightly away from the main action. There are also some lovely looking hotels a bit further out, but be aware that there is no Grab motorbike in Ninh Binh. If you stay further out, you’ll need to either rent a moto, cycle into the main town or take a relatively expensive Grab car.
Hotel options:
Trang An
Trang An is much smaller and more spread out, and less easy to navigate on foot, and the main area with hotels/homestays is not by the boat lake. If you’re planning to stay in Trang An, you’ll need to rent motorbikes or bikes to get around. You could also take Grab, but this is likely to be less frequent/easy to get than in Tam Coc as the area is more spread out. The hotels below are highly rated and a bit more in the main village of Trang An:
What to do in Ninh Binh:
Take a beautiful boat ride through limestone karsts
Without doubt the most famous and must-do experience in Ninh Binh is taking a boat ride. These offer you the opportunity to get out into the limestone hills that the area is famous for, floating gently past stunning rock formations and through epic caves.
Trang An
There are two boat options, and I highly recommend Trang An.
Trang An is about 20 minutes drive away from Tam Coc, which cost about £5/$6 in a Grab one way. It feels very well set up as a tourist destination, with lots of information available.
There are three routes to choose from at Trang An, and as you are buying your ticket there is information on the differences between the three routes. There’s also a separate information stand where you can ask questions.
Once you’ve bought a ticket, you proceed into a tunnel under the road, which takes you to the boat dock area. You’ll then tell the attendant which route you want, and they’ll direct you to the right boat. If you are a group of 1 or 2, you will have to share a boat with another group. Boats take up to 4, so if you’re a group of 3 you might get your own boat unless there is a solo traveller about.
While the boats are uncovered, umbrellas are provided to shade you from the sun (and rain, if it starts). You’ll also spot that many of the rowers are dressed in jackets with inbuilt fans!
Different routes:
- Takes you to 9 caves and three temples. c.3-4 hours.
- This is the shortest route, and best if you have limited time. It takes you to 4 caves and 3 temples. c.2-3 hours
- Takes you to three caves and three temples, although one of these caves is the famous Dot cave which is 1km long. This is the most popular route. c.3 hours
I chose route 3, and would highly recommend it. The journey lasted about 3 hours, which included stops at the various temples along the route. There are vendors selling drinks at each of the stops to help you keep hydrated.
The route is stunning, taking you through the longest cave system, as well as past the area used in the King Kong movie. This is really a must-do in Ninh Binh.
Boats at Tam Coc
While I didn’t take the boat at Tam Coc, I saw universally bad reviews about them. The route is shorter, and less spectacular. More importantly, I saw numerous other blogs, and even tour operators on Viator/Get your Guide referencing that the rowers will often refuse to return you to land until you’ve e.g. tipped heavily, or bought something from one of the boats on the lake selling drinks/snacks. This would obviously be an unpleasant experience, and one I chose to avoid.
In contrast, my rower at Trang An did not ask for a tip, and I understand that its actually against the rules at Trang An. We were never hassled by vendors there either.
Visit Hoa Lu Ancient capital
A bit further on from Trang An, you’ll come to the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital. This was the capital of the Dai Co Viet Kingdom during the 10th and 11th centuries. While it didn’t last long as the Kingdom’s capital before this was changed to Hanoi, it forms an important part of Vietnam’s archaeological heritage. It’s also part of the Trang An Unesco Heritage Site.
My visit to Hoa Lu was not as successful as I’d hoped. I thought it would be possible to find a guide at the complex, but I couldn’t find one. As with many archeological sites, without a guide it’s difficult to really appreciate the site. I’d recommend booking a guide in advance – talk to your hotel or a tour provider in Tam Coc.
As Hoa Lu is a religious site, you’ll also need to dress appropriately. At Hoa Lu, the focus was on covering your knees rather than shoulders. If you are wearing shorts, they provide a sarong at the entrance.
An Tiem lake
Near Hoa Lu ancient capital is this stunning, quiet lake that’s relatively unknown by western tourists. Recommended by my host, I took a quick moto from the Ancient capital across to the entrance, although you could easily walk. It costs 50k VND to visit the lake, and if you’re keen to rent a bike, do so at the entrance as you won’t be able to around the lake.
Head through the tunnel lit by lanterns and you’ll find the lake, which until recently was only accessible by very difficult mountain passes. It’s now a bit of a haven for local and Asian tourists, who rent bikes to cycle around the paved edge of the lake. As with many places geared towards Asian tourists, there are also numerous Instagram photo spots around the lake.
At one end of the lake you’ll find a cafe, and above a small pagoda nestled into the side of the mountain. At the other end of the lake is the real draw – climb the stairs to find the Dragon Cave pagoda. You’ll also find spectacular views of the lake!
Visit Sister Fields Cafe
While much of Ninh Binh still feels like a traditional backpacker town, hidden down a small alley is the beautiful Sister Fields cafe. This peaceful cafe, started and run by young women, is a peaceful oasis within Ninh Binh. Take some time here to enjoy the brunch style food or chill out in the beautiful gardens.
Rest and relax
This is a beautiful part of Vietnam to take a little time to rest and relax. You’re surrounded by beauty, and even the busier Tam Coc is fundamentally a relaxed town. Take some time to sit at a bar on the main street, or to chill out in the pool at your accommodation. Beer is incredibly cheap in Tam Coc, and many places also sell delicious Vietnamese coffee. There are also the usual multitude of spas offering masages and a range of treatments – particularly great if you get a rainy day.
Honourable mentions:
It’s impossible to do everything while you’re travelling. Here are a few of the things that are highly recommended in Ninh Binh, but that I de-prioritised while in Ninh Binh because they weren’t right for me.
Climb Hang Lua
Climbing to the top of Hang Lua at sunset is a staple of tour itineraries in Ninh Binh. This viewpoint is famous for stunning views of Tam Coc and the surrounding World Heritage landscape. However, I was too lazy to attempt the 500 steps up here adn opted to enjoy other sites instead.
If you’re more up for the 500 stairs than I was, then a trip to Hang Lua should be on your itinerary. While the view at sunset is supposedly stunning, this is when the day tours turn up, so consider going at a different time when the viewpoint will be quieter. An early morning hike would also help you avoid the heat.
There are also stories of scams on the road down to the entrance, particularly around where to park your moto or bike. Be careful of these and read up in advance if you want to avoid them – there are mention mentions in the google reviews for the site.
Cycle around the countryside
One of the most popular things to do in Ninh Binh is hire a bike and cycle around the local area. Although I’m far too lazy to do this, I saw lots of happy cyclists wheeling around the area. This would also give you the opportunity to explore some of the less-visited pagodas dotted around the countryside.
Most hotels and hostels will offer bike rental, with some offering free bikes. Just be careful cycling down the main road in Tam Coc as it’s busy with buses.
Ninh Binh is definitely one of the most beautiful places to visit in Vietnam. Let me know in the comments if you found this guide useful, or if I’ve missed anything you’d like to see in future guides!
Check out my guides to Hoi An, Vietnam if you’re also heading to this beautiful city:
The best things to do in Hoi An, Vietnam
Hoi An, Vietnam: Everything you need to know before you go
