Have you seen the beautiful photos of limestone mountains, cute boats floating down the river, and lush green rice fields? Well if you visit Ninh Binh Vietnam you will be able to experience this all in person.
I recently travelled to Ninh Binh Vietnam for a couple days and had the most amazing time. I am here to share everything I learned during my visit to Ninh Binh so you can plan your perfect trip.
This post is all about Ninh Binh Vietnam.
How to Travel to Ninh Binh
I favourite way to find all the different transportation options between location is by using Rome2Rio. This website allows you to put in the destination you are travelling from and the destination you wish to go to and it will tell you all the different options including planes, busses, trains, and ferries. This website also provides estimated costs and links to different companies you can use. If you haven’t heard of Rome2Rio I definitely recommend checking it out I use it all the time for trip planning.
When I travelled to Ninh Binh I took an overnight bus from Phong Nha to Ninh Binh. This bus usually takes around 7 hours, unless your bus breaks down for a couple hours likes ours did haha! A great company to book busses and other transport around Southeast Asia is 12GoAsia. I used this company to book almost all my transportation. You can download the 12GoAsia app on your phone that way you can book transportation super easily and then you have the ticket right on your phone.
How much time do you need in Ninh Binh?
Ninh Binh is known for its beautiful natural beauty therefore there are not tons of “touristy” sights to see like some other places around Vietnam. You can spend as much time here as you wish taking in all the amazing nature but if you are in a bit of a time crunch like I was a couple days is enough time to see all the major highlights of this beautiful spot in central Vietnam.
Where to stay in Ninh Binh
There are lots of great places to stay in Ninh Binh Vietnam. Is you are looking for hostels I ALWAYS recommend HostelWorld as this is the website I book all of my hostels through. There are tons of highly rated hostels in Ninh Binh for extremely affordable prices like…
- Amy House (Rating: 9.7) (Prices start from $5)
- Tam Coc Mountain Bungalow (Rating: 9.7) (Prices start from $9)
- The Pineapple House (Rating: 9.6) (Prices start from $9)
These are just a few out of many hostels in Ninh Binh with GREAT ratings and prices!
If you are not looking for hostels checkout Booking.com or Agoda.com they are some of my favourite websites to book hotels and home-stays through.
Best Things to do in Ninh Binh
Trang An Boat Tour
The Trang An Boat Tour in Ninh Binh Vietnam is very popular for people visiting. There are tons of tour companies that include the Trang An Boat Tour. On this boat tour you will get amazing views of the limestone mountains, you will go through caves, and even get off at a couple spots to explore some temples. The Trang An Boat Tour was definitely one of the highlights of my trip to Ninh Binh.
Hang Mua Cave Viewpoint + The Lotus Garden
Hang Mua Cave Viewpoint and the Lotus Gardens at the base of this hike are two other amazing sights you CANNOT miss.
Let me tell you do not underestimate the walk up to Hang Mua Cave Viewpoint. There are around 500 steps to the top of this viewpoint but wowza if you are doing this in the mid-day heat like we did it is not easy! I do not want to deter you from doing this hike because the views at the top are AMAZING but I just want to let you know be prepared to sweat.
Once you make it back down to the bottom of the Hang Mua Cave Viewpoint I recommend walking around the Lotus Gardens especially if you are visiting in late May and early June. May and June are the season when the lotus flowers are in bloom and they are absolutely beautiful. This walk makes for a great cool down after your hike up to the viewpoint.
Bich Dong Pagoda
Bich Dong Patagonia in Ninh Binh Vietnam is another popular spot to visit especially with a day tour. You get to walk across the water to a beautiful entranceway before walking up to some temples and through some caves. It was great to learn the history of these temples and more about the Buddhist religion.
I went on a day tour in Ninh Binh that included all three of these activities. Our day starting with the Bich Dong Pagoda then we hiked to the Hang Mua Cave Viewpoint and ended the day with the Trang An Boat Tour. I booked this tour off of GetYourGuide. The tour I booked was called “From Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Trang An, Mua Cave, & Bich Dong Tour.” There are lots of different tours of Ninh Binh on GetYourGuide so check them out to find the best one for you, click HERE to see all the tour options.
Ninh Binh Travel Vlog on YouTube
Check out my YouTube video to see more of Ninh Binh. This travel vlog also includes Phong Nha which is another great places in central Vietnam to visit. If you are wanting to visit Phong Nha as well check out my blog post “The Ultimate Travel Guide to Phong Nha Vietnam” it will give you more information about Phong Nha then this travel vlog.
This post was all about everything you need to know before you visit Ninh Binh Vietnam to help you plan a fantastic trip!
Check out my other Vietnam blog post on my website to help you plan an amazing Vietnam trip. If you have any questions about travelling to Vietnam feel free to comment here or message me on any of my social media accounts, they are all linked on my website.
