Day Trip to Ninh Binh from Hanoi
- Anju Chandna
- Jul 22
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 27
Ninh Binh, the gloriously scenic province in Northern Vietnam, will beguile you with its beauty of limestone karsts* as they seem to grow out of a verdant green landscape, earning this place the name 'Halong Bay on Land'.
5 handy tips for your visit to Ninh Binh
The city closest to Ninh Binh is Hanoi, about 2 hours by road. It is very well connected by both train and road from all major cities in Vietnam.
The best time to visit this region is between November and April, when the weather is dry. Remember, it can be cold during the winter months, so be sure to carry warm clothing.
Numerous options for day trips from Hanoi are readily available on popular travel platforms such as Klook.com or GetYourGuide.com.
Most popular day tours to Ninh Binh will take you to these three must-see attractions
Boat ride on the River Trang An
The ancient capital city of Hoa Lu
If you have an extra day to spare, you must plan to stay overnight. There is a lot of stunning scenery to explore.
With more time, you could add a visit to Tam Cot, literally translating into Three Caves, to your itinerary with a boat ride on the River Ngo Dong. Another beautiful attraction is the Bich Dong Pagoda. Entry to the pagoda is free, and you can go through a system of caves to climb the steep steps to get scenic views of the landscape around.
The easiest and cheapest way to explore this region is on a bike. Most day trips also include a short biking tour in their itinerary to give tourists a feel of the winding, hilly roads.
A visit to the Trang An Landscape Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, will leave you nothing short of spellbound.
A boat ride on the Trang An River will take you through an amazing system of caves, temples and pagodas.
A few things to know about your Trang An boat ride
There are 3 routes that you can pick from for your boat ride, depending on your preference
Route 1 - You get to see temples and learn about their history
Route 2 - For seeing stunning natural cave formations and King Kong Island, the shooting location of the film Skull Island.
Route 3 - You'll see the Dot Cave, the longest cave (1000m long) on this river cruise.
All three of these routes take about 3 hours each and cost 150,000 VND per person.
Most of the boats are operated by women rowers, and it is customary to pay a small tip at the end of the boat ride. 30,000 VND converts to about 1.00 USD. I saw many tourists paying one to two dollars as a tip.
The point from where you take the boats is well developed, there are clean, free toilets and nice eating joints with lots of open areas to sit and enjoy scenic views of the river.
We opted for Route 2; in fact, we weren't given much of a choice since we had opted for a conducted tour from Hanoi, and this boat ride was a part of the tour.
The boat ride lasted about 2.5 hours, and we went through gloriously scenic caves, 3 in all, with stunning limestone formations and karsts. The caves are lit with lanterns, adding to the allure of their natural beauty.
The ancient capital city of Hoa Lu
After an exhilarating boat ride on the River Trang An in the morning, the tour bus drove us to the ancient capital city of Hoa Lu.
Most tour operators offer tourists a bike ride to the gates of the ancient city, which can be a lot of fun.
Hoa Lu was the capital of the first feudal monarchy system in Vietnam in the 10th century under the Dinh Dynasty.
It is surrounded by the River Sao Khe, which connected the city to the sea via a system of other rivers, making it a trade route in the 10th century.
My Tips about your visit to the temple at Hoa Lu
This is an important historic site for Vietnamese people, but honestly, it's a little underwhelming after the enthralling morning boat ride.
The temple is nice, there is a small museum too, but nothing special about it. We saw it as part of our package, but going specifically to watch the ancient town is not worth the effort.
Entry to the monument is free.
Very close to the temple is a viewpoint with about 150 steps to the top. You could plan to do that, but remember not to combine it with the hike to the Lying Dragon Mountain on the same day, which was our next stop on the tour, so we gave this viewpoint a miss.
Interestingly, you will see a buffalo tied to a staff on the side en route to the temple. We learnt from our guide that buffalo was considered to be a sign of prosperity and was often gifted by the man to his fiancée on their engagement.
I couldn't resist the urge to click a picture, however embarrassing it might appear to me in hindsight...me on a buffalo!!
Lying Dragon Mountain
A hike up to the Lying Dragon Mountain can easily be rated as a top attraction on your day trip to Ninh Binh from Hanoi.
The hike is no mean feat; there are 495 rickety stone steps to the top, but once you reach the vantage point mid-way, splendid 360-degree panoramic views of the Tam Coc Valley, limestone karsts jutting into the sky all around, and the serpentine Ngo Dong River flowing through the valley will start to unfold in front of your eyes.
My Tips about your hike to the top of Lying Dragon Mountain
There are 495 steps to the top, but each large stone step is easily equivalent to two regular steps, quite steep so we're talking about 1000 steps. Phew!!
The route is not one-way, so you can decide to turn around whenever you wish to.
There are very few signs along the way, so keep following the crowd.
You will reach a fork somewhere around midway, where you should turn left for the Dragon Mountain. The right trail will lead you to the viewpoint on the other side of the mountain, facing the Dragon Mountain.
Wear good, sturdy shoes since the trek is uneven and rocky. And must carry water.
karsts* - When limestone is eroded by water, it leads to the formation of ridges, sinkholes and fissures, caves and springs; this landscape is collectively called karst.
Comments