If we had to choose the area of Vietnam that we liked the most, I think without hesitation the answer would be the surroundings of Tam Coc. We are going to tell you how we organized our two days there.
Day 1
We arrived early in Ninh Binh after traveling all night on the Reunification train from Hue. Upon arrival at the station, we took an Uber to go to our accommodation in the center of Tam Coc, called Tam Coc Summer Bungalow, which we fully recommend. Simple rooms with basic equipment arranged around a very pleasant pool and with breakfast served at tables on the shore.
After check-in and a delicious breakfast, we began to organize the day. Our initial idea was to tour the area by motorcycle and that’s what we did. We didn’t have anything reserved because we knew that most accommodations offer rental services. We asked for prices at ours and since they seemed correct, we decided to rent there and opted for a motorcycle each.
The first thing we had to do was refuel. The “conventional” service station is located at the entrance to the town, but at the opposite end of the one we wanted to visit, so we chose to refuel as little as possible at one of the many points of sale in the center. They are places where they serve you 1.5 liters of fuel using a plastic bottle, which is where they store it. We found this surprising and unsafe custom in many more places on our trip through Southeast Asia. The price, despite the haggling, is like that in Spain, but for that volume it can be a practical solution if you do not want to waste time.
We headed to Thung Nham. It is 7 km from the center of Tam Coc and the road that leads there has hardly any traffic and the scenery along the way is beautiful.
At the entrance there is a small area where you can leave your motorcycles and you pay for parking. It cost us 10,000 Dongs (about 30 cents) for each one. The visit does not last more than 30-45 minutes. It is a pleasant walk along paths that run through gardens. In the center, a lake that you cross on wooden bridges and all of it rolled through the mountains with those shapes so characteristic of the area. We were delighted: our first day immersed in the most typical landscape we had hoped to visit.
From there, we took the path back to the main road. We followed the route until we reached the Bich Dong Pagoda a little further on. Once again, we used a payment area for the motorcycle: a small space next to the souvenir shop with a simple cover that protects in case of rain. This was great for us since we had to wait a few minutes until the intensity of the rain seemed adequate to continue our way.
The visit is free and is accessed via a walkway over the water where you can take beautiful photos. At the end of it, you cross a stone portico and access a central patio around which small buildings stand. By some stairs you can reach one of the many altars in the area and from where you begin to have a view of the roofs of the buildings and the surroundings.
From there the stairs continue and we had doubts if it was worth continuing since they were somewhat slippery, and it was starting to rain harder and harder. We let ourselves be advised by a small group of tourists who were descending at that time, and we continued the ascent. It is a surprising visit and one that I am not going to tell in detail so that whoever visits it is surprised like us. It is advisable to follow the entire path until the end, although the path enters and exits the mountain and, in some sections, not too long, is a little dark. I can only say that the views from above are also worth it.
Returning to pick up the motorcycles, we waited a few minutes for it to calm down a bit because it was not going to be comfortable to ride like this, nor very safe for motorists as inexperienced as us.
When we decided to start walking again, we headed back towards Tam Coc and looked for a place to eat. We wanted typical food, in a typical place, not excessively designed for tourists but with a somewhat well-kept appearance and that had a bathroom. We chose “Mihn Toan Father Cooking” and the choice was perfect. The food was delicious, the service very pleasant and a fantastic price (less than 7 Eur for both)
From there we crossed the town and headed to the opposite end of the morning towards Hang Mua. Along the way, among rice fields, you also pass near a small cemetery. It is customary in the country to bury the dead near the place where the land is worked to maintain that proximity after death. It is very common to find small cemeteries or isolated tombs among the rice fields. The road starts out paved, with potholes, but further on there is a stretch of dirt in worse conditions and a small detour due to construction. Except for that, a simple route suitable for all drivers.
A small sign indicates a detour to the left that takes us a few kilometers to the entrance to the complex. From several hundred meters before, he begins to assault you to leave the motorcycle in the spaces that each one has prepared in exchange for a small payment. My general advice for all visits: don’t stop until there is a barrier or official ban. Otherwise, you risk having to walk a long way to the entrance. And with the heat, the humidity and sometimes the rain, we don’t feel like taking extra walks to those we already have planned and even less along paths of no special interest.
The entrance to the venue costs 150,000 Dongs (about 5 euros) and we entered about 2 hours before closing, which we rushed to the end. It is a very well-kept place with a wonderful landscape, a huge expanse of water covered by water lilies and surrounded by mountains. We entertained ourselves taking photos in every corner. The most beautiful, in our opinion, are those taken at the end of some wooden walkways that go into the water lilies. That moment was incredible!
Then it was time to gather strength and start climbing stairs to the famous dragon sculpture. The heat and humidity weigh a little, but nothing like stopping from time to time with the excuse of taking some photos and enjoying some dreamlike panoramic views. From the top there are 360º views of the surroundings. On one side the landscape of water lilies through which we had passed and on the other the canals that are crossed by boat and that, sandwiched between mountains, with barely enough space for small fields on the sides, cross them through tunnels formed naturally over centuries.
There couldn’t have been a better show to end our first day in the Nihn Bihn region. We went down the stairs again, this time much faster than the way up…. and after collecting the motorcycles we returned to our accommodation. We enjoyed a swim in the pool and went out to dinner at one of the many restaurants that, although they offer local food at very affordable prices, are mostly frequented by tourists.
Day 2
The second day we started with the boat ride in Tam Coc. Many agencies offer day trips from Hanoi, so taking advantage of the first hour of the morning allowed us to enjoy the ride and the landscape without barely seeing other boats near us.
Prices are 120,000 VND per person plus 150,000 VND per boat (about 14 euros in total for both). Foreign tourists are not allowed more than 2 per boat. Children with a height of less than 1.4 m pay VND 60,000 and for children under 3 years old it is free.
The route runs through a dreamlike landscape: rock formations covered in vegetation, caves, rice fields and water lilies that cover the banks. You cross some caves that are not too long and we were able to see the Hang Mua viewpoint where the day before we enjoyed the landscape we were passing through today. The only negative thing was the commercial part. Almost at the end of the tour, they approach you to some boats in which some women sell fruits or other products and they try to convince you to buy by saying that the profit is for your boatman….
After finishing the ride, we headed back on our motorcycle to Trang An, where we also took a boat ride. We were hesitant to do these two visits because it could be repetitive, but following recommendations from other tourists, we decided on both and we did not regret it at all. In Trang An the route is longer and you can choose between 3 different routes. We chose number 1 because it went through more caves, but they all have the same cost (200,000 VND) and have the same view of some temples and part of the route. We were lucky because there were not too many tourists and in some sections, we did not see other boats, but I do not think this is usual since the facilities at the entrance are prepared for a much larger influx (railings arranged to organize long queues at the pier) and There were dozens of boats that were not in use that day.
Leaving Trang An we took the motorbike route again and headed to the Bai Dinh Pagoda. It is a complex of Buddhist temples of extraordinary dimensions and which, according to different sources, boasts different records in the country, in Southeast Asia and throughout the continent (size of sculptures, surface area of the temple, height of the pagoda, etc.). ). Given the surface area of the venue, you can choose to walk from the ticket offices or take a shuttle (you can only do one trip or round trip).
We opted to buy a round trip, but finally we made the return trip on foot because it was not a long distance and it seemed that way to us at that time. I recommend doing the reverse route to ours. Take the shuttle to the highest part (south, next to the pagoda) and visit the complex going downstairs. With the heat and humidity, it becomes quite hard in the opposite direction and does not add any charm to the visit. We hadn’t eaten or had anything to drink, and we were hoping to do so there. On the site plan it indicates that there are restaurants or bars at different points, and this is not correct. Some do not exist, and others were closed due to schedule, so the soft drinks and snacks that we got in a store-restaurant in the highest part of the enclosure were a delicacy. Despite having a return ticket on the shuttle, we decided to walk down to the exit, which is quite close.
From the parking lot we made our way back on the motorcycle and headed to Hoa Lu, the former capital of Vietnam during two dynasties and one of the most important historical places. Despite this, the site is small and can be visited in half an hour. Some Advice: do not pay attention to all the paid parking offers from hundreds of meters in advance. You can get to the entrance of the complex by motorbike, past the bridge and the gate at the end of it. With this we end another wonderful day in the surroundings of Ninh Binh. To return to Tam Coc we pass through the entrance to Trang An and shortly after, through a detour to the left, it is easy to reach along the same path that we followed the previous day to Hang Mua.
A relaxing swim in the pool and dinner at one of the downtown establishments closed the day.
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