Exploring Ninh Binh: 3 Days in Vietnam’s Jurassic Paradise

Caitlinepstein415/ January 24, 2020/ Asia/ 1 comments

Ninh Binh, an utter natural wonder, was without a doubt my favorite stop in Vietnam. I spent three glorious days in this area of the country relaxing in some of the most stunning surroundings I could ever dream up. Vietnam’s Halong Bay usually steals the show when it comes to a major nature-based tourist destination, but Ninh Binh was an amazing, budget friendly destination that required neither a boat nor a tour. Read on to discover just why Ninh Binh is so amazing.

The Basics

When I say Ninh Binh…

I really mean the Ninh Binh province of Vietnam, which is home to many small towns that boast eco tours, gorgeous landscapes, beautiful pagodas, and more. People say they are going to Ninh Binh generally, but most actually never go to the actual town of Ninh Binh. Visitors tend to stay in Tam Coc, where a lot of restaurants and accommodations geared towards foreigners are centered, or in Trang An if they’re looking to stay a bit farther out in nature.

Getting There

I traveled to Ninh Binh from the capital city of Hanoi by bus there and by van back. I booked a 280,000 dong ($12) bus through my hostel that picked me up from there and transported me directly to my homestay in Trang An. The bus took three and a half hours, was ridiculously cramped and full, and cost wayyyy too much.

I learned my lesson getting back to Hanoi and booked a van transfer through Klook that cost $6 and was fantastic. They didn’t pick me up at my homestay directly, but they were able to pick me up in Trang An and get me to Hanoi in two hours flat in a super nice limousine van. Would totally recommend booking these to get between Hanoi in Ninh Binh.

Alternatively, Ninh Binh is reachable from Northern and Southern Vietnam by both train and overnight bus if coming from places other than Hanoi. I found the different options to be easily bookable through online booking sites, hostels, and travel agencies, though I do recommend shopping around for the best price.

Accommodations

My homestay in Trang An, the Green Mountain Homestay was the best hostel I have ever stayed at. Ever. Ever. And I have stayed in some really, really nice hostels. This one, though, is all it should take for the hostel skeptics to believe me when I say that some hostels are unbelievably nice and often the absolute best option for the travel I do.

What made it great was its location in the center of looming limestone karsts and lush greenery, an amazing free breakfast and delicious food available for purchase throughout the day, clean rooms with pod bunk beds, the free use of bicycles, and helpful and kind staff.

Oh, and it cost SIX DOLLARS A NIGHT.

I mean come on.

Currency

The Vietnamese currency is the Dong, and right now the exchange rate is roughly 23,000 Dong to 1 U.S. dollar. There were some ATMs in Tam Coc and one in Trang An in front of the Trang An eco tours, but other than that not many, so consider coming to the area with a good amount of cash.

Getting Around

The sights around this area are all pretty spread out, so it is definitely necessary to have a bicycle or motorbike to get around. There are several places in Tam Coc to rent motorbikes or bikes for mere dollars a day, and many hostels offer rentals as well. I lucked out, and my homestay offered free bikes. Things were so spread out that even biking to them was a bit much, but I was too intimidated to drive a motorbike myself, so I simply enjoyed the journey to my destinations as much as I did the actual sights.

What to do in Ninh Binh

The Trang An Eco Boat Tours

The first thing I did after checking into my hostel was head ten minutes down the road on a bike to the Trang An eco boat tours. These supremely organized boat tours along three different routes cost 200,000 dong ($8.65) per person for three hours of rowing through unreal natural landscapes and caves.

Of the three routes, I chose route one because I had read beforehand that it is the least crowded. Fortunately, this seemed to be true, as I watched many boats fill up and head out for the other routes as I waited for three other people to join me in my boat.

I eventually ended up sharing my boat with a lovely woman from Puerto Rico and a kind Filipino couple from California, and we set off to admire the scenery and explore nine caves and three pagodas over the next three hours.

That day, the weather was that perfect feeling of being cool but also having the warmth of the sun on your skin accompanied by blue skies with puffy, white clouds. I could not have asked for better weather or a more relaxing boat ride through scenery that looked as if it was straight out of Jurassic Park. Absolutely awe inspiring, and absolutely a must for anyone visiting Ninh Binh.

There is another boat tour in Tam Coc, but I chose the Trang An tour because it’s a bit cheaper (the Tam Coc tour is 120,000 for entrance and 150,000 per boat that fit two people each) and because I heard bad things about the Tam Coc tour being very crowded with tours and boat drivers demanding tips or food being bought for them in the middle of the ride. The Tam Coc boat tour is also an hour and a half to two hours long with no getting off compared to the Trang An three hour tour with stops. I can’t speak from personal experience in comparing the two, but this is my reasoning for picking one over the other.

Mua Cave

The best view in Ninh Binh can be found at the top of almost 800 stairs at Hang Mua, or the Mua Cave, which was about 25 minutes by bike from Trang An. There is an actual cave there that visitors can venture into, but the highlight of the site is the viewpoint high up on a limestone karst. It is a hell of a walk up there, but definitely worth it. Unfortunately, I went on an extremely foggy day, but it was still stunning. There was definitely some slightly perilous climbing along the edge of a cliff face to get close to the stone dragon statue at the top, but hey, it was a fun challenge.

The people watching is also pretty fun at Mua Cave – there are quite a lot of women that make the trek up there in stunning dresses and sandals for the perfect Insta photo. Major props to them because I looked kinda gross when I got up there.

The Mua Cave complex costs 100,000 dong ($4.30) per person to enter, and parking for bikes and motorbikes costs 5,000 ($0.25) to 15,000 dong ($0.65), depending on how good you are at negotiating with the locals that run the parking areas. People will actually step right in front of your bike blowing a whistle to get you to stop and park at their place, but know that there are several locations right near the entrance that you can pay 5,000 at.

Bich Dong Pagoda

Another major attraction in the Ninh Binh area, this pagoda is known for its iconic entryway made well known by many an Instagram photo. The pagoda itself is also well worth a visit as it is amazingly built into the cliffs. This pagoda was another 20 minutes by bike from Hang Mua and about 50 minutes away from Trang An by bike.

The Bich Dong Pagoda is free to enter, but you may have to pay 5,000 ($0.25) to 10,000 to park a bike or motorbike nearby.

Bai Dinh Pagoda

This pagoda is the biggest Buddhist complex in all of Southeast Asia, making it a major tourist attraction in the Ninh Binh area. I ventured out to this pagoda, about a 40 minute bike ride from Trang An, on my last day in the area. I ended up biking a lot more than necessary because Google Maps took me to the employee entrance, which is about 2-3 kilometers from the visitors entrance, so I’d recommend putting ‘Bai Dinh Pagoda parking’ into Google Maps in order to get to the right place the first time.

Entrance is free to the pagoda, but parking costs 15,000 ($0.65) dong and they offer a shuttle to the other side of the complex for 30,000 dong ($1.30). I paid for the shuttle two ways because I was kinda tired from the bike ride and knew I had a lot of walking and additional biking in my near future.

The complex was absolutely astounding in its size – it seemed never-ending, and the temple buildings were huge. Most of the structures are very new, so not a ton of history outside of the one ancient temple up the mountain, but I did really enjoy walking around the complex and admiring the grandeur of it all.

Biking, Biking, and More Biking

During my three days in Ninh Binh, I biked more than 50 or so kilometers, and I really enjoyed doing so. While the area is very obviously not flat with the limestone cliffs raising up every which way, the roads are very flat, so biking was nice, relaxing, and not too strenuous. It was also fun to bike around so many different areas, from major roads with motorbikes and trucks zipping by to itty bitty dirt paths cutting through rice fields. Along the way, I basked in the cool weather, waved to locals, and amusedly watched goats and water buffalo roam right alongside me. It was nice to enjoy the journey of biking in rural Vietnam before heading back to Hangzhou, China and biking through the madness of nine million people.

Relaxing at My Homestay

Going to Ninh Binh for nearly three full days really allowed me to see everything I wanted to by bike while also giving me the time to relax. My homestay was the perfect place to do this, as I could sit by the pool or out on a pond or even in a hammock while reading, eating, watching Netflix (Sex Education season 2!!!), and more. It was a fantastic way to recharge after a lot of time traveling, and it was a nice break from the madness of Vietnam’s large cities. It was the perfect break before heading off to Taiwan for the start of a new semester.

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Ninh Binh was truly incredible – my favorite place in Vietnam by far. I am a city lover for sure, but the unreal nature of this area of the country awed me and helped me feel at peace. I cannot recommend Ninh Binh enough for any Vietnam itinerary. I definitely had to be choosy with where I picked to go with only two weeks in Vietnam, and I am so, so glad that I made Ninh Binh a priority!