This tour is an incredible journey through some of Vietnam’s most beautiful landscapes. From giant limestone mountains to lush green valleys and serene riverside villages, it does have something for everyone. The luxurious boats on this tour provide guests with ultimate comfort while providing breathtaking views along the way. And if you’re looking for adventure, there are plenty of activities to enjoy here too – kayaking, fishing, and even rock climbing! So come explore the beauty of Ninh Binh and embark on an unforgettable boat tour experience. Whether you’re traveling solo or with friends and family, this exciting excursion promises moments that will stay etched in your memory forever!
The two most beautiful places in Ninh Binh are undoubtedly Tam Coc and Trang An. Travellers often wonder, which of these main boat tours should I take? Well, Tam Coc is closer to the tourism hub and is the quicker, more budget-friendly option. But both places feature the distinctive, ingenious ‘foot rowing’ technique that boaters developed to lessen strain on their hands, arms and backs.
As this is the main tourist area, the boat tours from here are popular. As the routes are shorter, this option is suited to travellers with less time. Buy tickets at the Van Lam pier. Peddling over the river through stunning karst mountains is a great experience between the lush fields and dramatic karsts, typically stopping at the three caves the name ‘Tam Coc’ refers to: Ca, Hai and Ba. The scenery is stunning during rice harvest season, especially, when the rice has turned golden. The boat trips takes maximum 2-hours, with going back the same way, you are passing the same rice fields two times.
The Trang An boat tour brings you through the most impressive karst mountains of the region. You can choose between three different routes, all of them bring you through the immense mountains. The difference is that you visit other places, like pagodas, temples, caves, including the longest water cave in Ninh Binh and a part of the movie set of Kong: Skull Island. The mix of stunning mountain scenery, and stops on the way where you can walk to these attractions, make this boat trip a great experience and maybe even the best boat tour in Ninh Binh. There are three main boat-tour options:
– Option One (3-4 hours): It takes you in a circular route to: Trinh Temple, Dark Cave, Light Cave, Nau Ruou Cave, Tran Temple, Ba Giot Cave, Seo Cave, Son Duong Cave, Khong Palace, Bao Hieu Pagoda, Tran Cave and Quy Hau Cave.
– Option Two (2-3 hours): Visits Lam Cave, Cao Son Temple, Vang Cave, Thanh Truot Cave, Dia Linh Mountain, Suoi Tien Temple, Dai Cave and Hanh Cung Vu Lam (Vu Lam Royal Step-over Place). This is one of two tours that go to where scenes from the movie Kong: Skull Island were filmed.
– Option Three (3 hours): This tour explores a large cave and a location from Kong: Skull Island. You go to Trinh Temple, Dot Cave, May (Cloud) Cave, Suoi Tien Temple, Dia Linh Mountain, Dai Cave and Hanh Cung Vu Lam (Vu Lam Royal Step-over Place).
Thung Nang or Sunshine valley in English. It’s Located about 5 minutes by motorbike from Bich Dong temple. It’s is a new tourist destination of Ninh Binh province. Other than the excitement of Tam Coc, this place is quiet and more pristine. The lake is immense green and surrounded by high limestone mountains. The local people call it the flooded areas surrounded by mountains. Before the local people can planting rice on dry season. But nowadays tourism investment development of local government has made dams for sprinting, visitors can visit any season in year. The more beautiful the cave system, the more caves look like, sometime you have to bow low to not touch the stalactites in the ceiling, there are places to look up high
When the boat goes through the cave you take from one valley to another, the scenery opens in front of you seem to be more beautiful, more charming, the days with light wind may you hear the flute reverb Reeds near the shore.
Thung Nham Bird Garden in Ninh Binh is a peaceful place, were you can make a boat tour to see hundred of birds. This area is a wetland area, with many trees sticking out of the water were the birds live. The best way to discover the area is to take a boat through the flooded forest.
The biggest reason for going to Thung Nham is of course the bird garden. This garden, a large wetland area, is home to to many types of birds, such as stork, heron, mallard and forktail. There are around 50,000 birds from 40 different species. What makes the garden extra special is that there are very rare bird species recorded here that are on the Vietnam red list.
You can take a boat tour through the Thung Nham Bird Garden to explore the area. Best is to get here either at sunset, around 5:00 PM, when the birds are flying back to their nest or at sunrise, when the birds are leaving. It is a beautiful spectacle, with hundreds or even thousands of birds The limestone mountains on the background make silhouettes in the water and with the flocks of birds flying over creating a poetic scenery rarely found anywhere else flying over.
Van Long Nature Reserve (Van Long Wetland) has a huge potential for ecotourism and humanistic tourism, which plays a critical role in the socio-economic development of the province. In Vietnamese, “Van” means cloud and “Long” means dragon, therefore Van Long implies the area where dragon and clouds converge. The name also expresses the dream, and inspiration of locals about the peaceful life and favorable weather.
Covering more than 3,500ha, Van Long Vietnam is well-known as a “wave-free bay” as the water surface here is as calm as a giant mirror, reflecting the stunning images of seas of white clouds and glorious limestone pinnacles such as Meo Cao, Mam Xoi, Hom Sach, Da Ban, Nghien, Co Tien, and Mo Coi,… The water here is so transparent that you can easily see the moss at the bottom and algae with other aquatic plants swaying along with the rhythm of the oars.
Van Long Nature Reserve also consists of 1,000 mesmerizing caves, typically Ca Cave, Bong Cave, Turtle Cave, and Chanh Cave. In particular, Ca Cave is one of the most beautiful caves with a length of 250m, a height of 8m, and a width of 10m. It is unique because of its half-submerged and half-dried features with plenty of fish swimming inside the cave. The landscapes onshore are pretty poetic and peaceful with the scene of flocks of sheep roaming on the vast, green meadow under the glorious sunset, creating a sense of incredible comfort and serenity deep in your soul.
The best way to admire Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve is embarking on a small bamboo boat, which takes you through lush high reeds along narrow streams at the mountain foot. On the boat ride, you can catch a glimpse of a small valley and have an opportunity to witness storks, cauldrons, and langurs.
Duration: 8 hours From $ 65/person
Duration: 8 hours From $ 57/person
Duration: 8 hours From $ 49/person
