Hanoi to Ninh Binh Day Trip Experience: Enjoying Hoa Lu, Tam Coc, and Mua Cave
Hello!
I'm Seita!!
I am a doctoral student in sociology at Peking University.
In this series of articles, I am writing about my stay in Hanoi from July 9th to July 14th, 2026. Below is an overview of my stay in Hanoi.
In this article, I will introduce the Ninh Binh day trip that I joined from Hanoi. Ninh Binh is registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site and is a popular area for tourists.
Although it is a day trip, it was a very fulfilling tour where we walked through the ruins of the former capital, Hoa Lu, and participated in a Tam Coc boat cruise.
Such a tour costs only 1,014k VND (approx. 5,700 yen) and even includes meals. As a cost-effective day trip, the satisfaction level is quite high, and I think it is a strong option if you have time to spare.
This article is intended for the following people:
・Those planning a trip to Hanoi
・Those who have relatively free time
・Those who enjoy visiting World Heritage sites
Tour Overview
I booked through the hotel I was staying at, but I think it is almost the same tour if you book through Trip.com or Booking.com. Also, the price does not change much.
The rough time schedule is as follows:
07:00 Meeting/Departure
09:30 Break and promotional stop
10:30 Arrival at Hoa Lu
11:20 Departure from Hoa Lu
12:20 Arrival at restaurant
13:20 Arrival at Tam Coc
15:50 End of boat cruise
16:40 Arrival at Mua Cave
18:00 Start return trip to Hanoi
20:00 Arrival in Hanoi
Broadly speaking, the schedule is as described above. It is a tour that takes almost an entire day from morning until night. However, it was not the typical day trip experience of "spending the whole time on a bus, taking photos at tourist spots, and that's it"; I was able to enjoy three different spots. The boat cruise, in particular, was extremely satisfying.
The bus was also spacious, comfortable, and luxurious, as shown in the photo below. However, this bus had a fatal flaw where the air conditioning did not work, so we switched to another bus after a short while (lol).
As shown in the photo below, you spend 2 to 3 hours just riding the bus along rural national highways to get to Ninh Binh.
We had lunch around noon at the restaurant below.
Lunch was buffet style.
There was a variety of food, from vegetables to meats. The taste was not bad at all.
Tourist spots visited on the tour
The place I visited on this day trip is called Ninh Binh. The guidebook 'Chikyu no Arukikata Vietnam 2025-2026' contains the following description.
Located about 100km south of Hanoi, Ninh Binh is the capital of Ninh Binh Province. From the 10th to the 11th century, the capital was located in the Hoa Lu area, which spreads out to the west of the current city, making it an important town for understanding Vietnamese history. In particular, Tam Coc and Trang An, known as the 'Ha Long Bay on Land,' are scenic spots with a series of strange limestone rock formations and peaks. In 2014, the Trang An Landscape Complex, which includes the ruins of the ancient capital of Hoa Lu, Trang An, Tam Coc, and cave temples such as Bich Dong Pagoda, was registered as a World Heritage site.
The entire province is registered by UNESCO as a mixed World Heritage site. Every tourist spot I visited had a great atmosphere, and although there were many tourists, it did not feel like overtourism, and I was able to sightsee at a relaxed pace.
Now, I will explain each of the tourist spots.
Ancient Capital of Hoa Lu
This is the place where the capital of the Dinh Dynasty and the Early Le Dynasty was located for about 40 years, from the founding of the Dinh Dynasty in 968 until the capital was moved to Thang Long (present-day Hanoi) in 1010. In the mid-10th century, while local warlords were fighting for control of the country, Dinh Bo Linh (Dinh Tien Hoang, reigned 968-980) from the local area finally unified northern Vietnam. He established the country name Dai Co Viet and the first independent dynasty was born. The center of the ancient capital of Hoa Lu is believed to be about 12km northwest of the city center, where the current Dinh Tien Hoang Temple and Le Dai Hanh (the second emperor, reigned 980-1005) Temple stand. Both are important cultural properties rebuilt in the 17th century, and the respective emperors and their royal families are enshrined inside. Although they are small temples, they are extremely important places in the history of Vietnam. It is said that the former palace was surrounded by solid walls, and some parts of them still exist today.
The first place we visited was the ancient capital of Hoa Lu. It is a place that functioned as the capital over 1,000 years ago.
It seems there are several historical sites in the vicinity, but we only visited the most major ones for a little less than an hour.
The park was well-maintained and easy to tour.
You can also see buildings that seem to be related to Buddhism here and there.
Tam Coc
As the name Tam Coc means "three caves" in Vietnamese, the boat passes through three pitch-black caves with hanging stalactites along the way. During this boat tour, there is the Thai Vi Temple (Đền Thái Vi), which was built during the Tran Dynasty in the 13th century. This was the site of the Vu Lam Palace, a military base at the time, and inside, the first emperor of the Tran Dynasty, Tran Thai Tong, along with four other emperors, are enshrined.
From here, we switched from the bus to a boat to cruise through Tam Coc. I boarded the boat with a Japanese person and an Italian person I met on the tour.
Each boat has a dedicated crew member who rows by hand.
Around lunchtime, because of the blazing sun, everyone starts using parasols.
As the name "Tam Coc (Three Caves)" suggests, you can pass through mysterious limestone caves.
There is also a spot for a restroom break right around the middle of the cruise.
In this way, I was able to enjoy a boat cruise lasting nearly two and a half hours. It was a fun cruise with both rice paddies and caves, but it is extremely hot, so those considering participating should not forget sunscreen and sun protection...
Mua Cave
This place is a tourist destination centered on limestone caves. However, it is more popular as a scenic spot where you can overlook the entire Tam Coc area from the summit than for the cave itself.
If you climb the mountain behind it, you can see the aforementioned Tam Coc landscape. However, it is steeper than you would imagine in Japan, so it is better not to come in sandals or similar footwear. The height itself is not that great, so you can reach the summit in 20 to 30 minutes.
There are also animals like goats along the way.
That is the overview of the day trip to Ninh Binh. It was a fun tour packed with various activities. The price was low, and the bus quality was fine, except for the air conditioning not working. The food was also reasonably good.
Based on the above, I can recommend this tour to anyone. However, to be honest, if you are looking for a day trip from Hanoi, the tour to Ha Long Bay was more satisfying. You can also visit magical caves on the Ha Long Bay tour, and the extraordinary feeling of spending time on a ferry is irreplaceable.
Therefore, if you were asked to choose one, I would recommend the Ha Long Bay trip. I will write an article about the day trip to Ha Long Bay after this. However, my phone was water-damaged, so I have almost no photos...
That concludes this article.
I will continue to write articles about sightseeing in Hanoi. Thank you for your continued support.
The following article is an overview of the entire trip to Vietnam.
The following series of articles summarizes tourist spots within Hanoi city.
Please see the article below for my travelogue on Ha Long Bay.
Please see the following article for the exquisite Vietnamese cuisine I ate in Hanoi.
In the article below, I write about cafes, bia hoi, and souvenir shops.
In the magazine below, I write about overseas travel.
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