NINH BINH ITINERARY AND GUIDE
22 Jul 2023 || SOUTHEAST ASIA | VIETNAM
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For me, rural Vietnam is an atmospheric and otherworldly place. It’s packed with jagged karst rocks enrobed in clouds and dripping caves obscured by creeping vines; abundant rice fields reflect the misty morning light and pink lotus flowers dot the hazy rivers. There’s an ethereal quality to the light and scenery in Vietnam and few places are better to experience it than Ninh Binh. It’s one of the only destinations in the world where I felt that I was existing on a film set (the other is Wadi Rum in Jordan). Images of Vietnam are ubiquitous in the media, and this little slice of northern Vietnam did not let me (or my expectations) down.
Ninh Binh is the ideal location to experience everything Vietnam has to offer, beyond just scenery. There is minimal tourism, epic rural adventures and easy access, only a few hours away by train or bus from Hanoi. It’s also extremely affordable – there are no expensive attractions, transport is fantastic value and the food and accommodation, for the price tag, are of high quality.
Of all the places we’ve visited in Vietnam, Ninh Binh was one of our favourite places for just hanging out. Our most recent visit was an entire glorious, unplanned week. We spent every day exploring on a scooter, eating decent food and checking out the magnificent scenery. All this, while staying under budget! This Ninh Binh itinerary and guide contains everything we’ve discovered during our time there about logistics, prices, things to do and more.
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IN THIS GUIDE //
Ninh Binh Itinerary
WHERE IS NINH BINH?
– GETTING TO NINH BINH
– – HAnoi to Ninh Binh BY BUS
– – HANOI TO NINH BINH BY TRAIN
– – NINH BINH FROM OTHER DESTINATIONS
– SHOULD YOU DAY TRIP TO NINH BINH?
BEST TIME TO VISIT NINH BINH
WHERE TO STAy IN NINH BINH
FOOD IN NINH BINH
NINH BINH ITINERARY
– NINH BINH ITINERARY MAP
– NINH BINH ITINERARY – THINGS TO DO
FINAL THOUGHTS
WHERE IS NINH BINH?
Ninh Binh is a province in northern Vietnam, with its capital city sharing the same name. The provincial capital city of Ninh Binh is around 100 kilometres south of Hanoi, Vietnam’s present-day country capital.
The scenic region that most tourists actually visit surrounds the small town of Tam Cốc, six kilometres southwest of Ninh Binh.
⋅ GETTING TO NINH BINH ⋅
Most visitors to Ninh Binh arrive from Hanoi, and occasionally from Hue or Phong Nga in the south.
The most convenient international airport for visiting Ninh Binh is in Hanoi. It’s around 100 kilometres to Ninh Binh and Tam Cốc from Hanoi via a straightforward two-hour journey south by road. We have done this route by both train and bus – honestly the bus is easier, but the train is slightly cheaper.
FLIGHTS TO VIETNAM
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HANOI TO NINH BINH BY BUS
A bus is the most popular option for transport on a Ninh Binh itinerary. It’s a short, comfortable trip that doesn’t necessitate any sleeper buses! Bus tickets to Ninh Binh are super-easy to arrange with your accommodation in Hanoi – we haphazardly got put on a pimped-out party bus with some day-trippers and the driver just dropped us off in Tam Cốc en-route. It was on-time and comfortable (apart from a very early morning playlist blaring Whitney Houston, which just added to the hilarity – and my headache at the time).
Alternatively, it is possible to prebook a bus route and company with 12GoAsia. This might be slightly more expensive than arranging in person but is great if you like (or need) to have things arranged ahead of time.
Many buses will pick passengers up from their hotel in Hanoi (or any other city) and drop them off at their accommodation – always check with whoever you book with though. If you are dropped off in central Tam Cốc, navigating to your accommodation is simple. ‘Grab’ taxis operate in the Ninh Binh area and there are always people around to give you a lift.
HANOI TO NINH BINH BY TRAIN
The train is by far the most scenic way to travel between Hanoi and Ninh Binh (and Vietnam in general!). It’s a little less comfortable than the bus and a bit slower, but we love train journeys, so don’t mind this. Depending on your baggage, you can even walk to the central train station in Hanoi – it’s only a little past the famous train street everyone raves about (which is not worth the effort in our opinion). After arriving at the train station in central Ninh Binh, you’ll need a taxi if you’re staying in Tam Cốc. This makes getting the bus a little less hassle as it usually drops you directly there.
The easiest option for booking train tickets in Vietnam is through 12GoAsia. You can also reserve via the Vietnam Railway official website, but this crashes often, so we’ve never managed to use it despite having taken a bunch of trains in Vietnam. It can be viewed in translated English and claims to accept international credit cards, so if you can get it to work – it’s all good! Maybe we were unlucky and it’s improved since we last tried?
Let us know if you have better luck than us!
12GoAsia ON THIS NINH BINH ITINERARY
12GoAsia (One-Two-Go-Asia) is a very reliable website that acts as a broker for transport companies all over southeast Asia. We’ve used them in the past and almost every traveller we’ve ever met in southeast Asia has, at some point, made use of it!
Even if you do not want to book in advance on 12GoAsia (we generally don’t because we have flexible schedules), this website is invaluable for figuring out how much a journey will roughly cost and how long it will be. It’s great for budgeting, planning and getting an idea of what your options are, transport-wise. We highly recommend it. It’s also great for booking any routes that might get busy (or if you are travelling around holidays like Tet, for example).
Usually, it is cheapest to book onward (non-flight) travel directly with an operator when you arrive. However, it might be worth paying a dollar or two more for the convenience of having everything booked for your trip in advance, giving you more time to explore.
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HALONG BAY ON A BUDGET | COMPLETE HA GIANG LOOP GUIDE
NINH BINH FROM HALONG BAY (AND OTHER DESTINATIONS)
Other popular options for departure destinations include Hue further south, and Sapa/Ha Giang in the north, as well as Halong Bay and Cat Ba.
As with everywhere in Vietnam, buses can be effortlessly arranged directly through your accommodation from all these locations. They can also be purchased by visiting the local bus terminal or by reserving a ticket on 12GoAsia.
Many of the routes northbound will stop in Hanoi – we have travelled from Ninh Binh directly to Sapa for example, with a three hour stop in the Old Quarter of Hanoi.
SHOULD YOU DAY TRIP TO NINH BINH?
Day tripping to Ninh Binh from Hanoi is a popular option but we do not recommend this choice unless you are extremely strapped for time. There are a lot of things to do in the area and for a 1.5-2-hour journey each way, it’s just not that much fun, plus you’ll be escorted all the time. We’ve said the same about day-tripping to Halong Bay – you spend more time transiting than actually seeing anything!
Having said that, if you have very little time and no other option but to only spend the day, we’d recommend booking a Ninh Binh day trip with Get Your Guide. The region is absolutely still worth visiting, even with little time.
BEST TIME TO VISIT NINH BINH
The best time to visit Ninh Binh is during the first quarter of the year. These months have the mildest daytime temperatures (around 20-25 degrees C) and are perfect for climbing all the stairs at Hang Mua! Generally, the period between November and April is the driest too.
The rainy season in Ninh Binh typically runs from May to September. The summer months see average day temperatures in the low 30s Celsius and average around 50% rainy days. It can be very hot and humid!
If you are visiting to see the flowers, the lotus season in Ninh Binh province typically runs from May to September, carpeting the ponds and waterways with the fragrant pink, white and red blooms.
WHERE TO STAY IN NINH BINH
Although the city of Ninh Binh is a perfectly reasonable place to stay for exploring the region, there are two better choices of location.
First is the charismatic, bustling little village of Tam Cốc, the charmer of the region. It’s surrounded by some of the prettiest scenery and has a few tourist comforts like tour agencies, restaurants, hotels and the Tam Cốc boat tours.
We recommend:
♦ Della Luna Tan Cốc – very affordable; lovely owner (she even brought me yogurts when I was sick); fantastic central location
♦ Nam Hoa Hotel – more of a comfortable, tour group standard hotel with a western vibe (if that’s what you’re looking for); central location
Another possibility is a more rural, homestay-style option in the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2014. Set along the stunning Song Sao Khe (river) to the north of Tam Cốc, it is a haven for anyone looking for a peaceful, countryside-heavy stay. This fruitful, lush region is closer to the Trang An boat tours and surrounded by some incredible guesthouses in unfathomably beautiful locations, pressed up against the vertical karst rock cliffs. It’s utterly magnificent, but a little further away from the bulk of restaurants and tourist facilities of Tam Cốc.
We recommend:
♦ Trang An Memory Homestay – stunning location at the bottom of the karst rocks; cute pool; lovely clean bungalows; isolated, quiet location
♦ Lotus Field Homestay – super cute and pretty little huts; crazy beautiful scenery; hosted by a friendly family; great place for a coffee
FOOD IN NINH BINH
We found the food in Ninh Binh to be typical of most places in Vietnam – great value, decent quality and easy to find. In Tam Cốc particularly, there are many chilled out places to grab a beer or something to eat. An added plus is the numerous options to stop and grab a smoothie, beer or some food (often with incredible views) on the route between Tam Cốc and Trang An. We also found that this area had more varied, affordable and decent vegetarian options than other parts of northern Vietnam.
Some of our favourite places to eat were:
♦ Buddha Belly Vegetarian and Vegan
♦ Family Restaurant
♦ Chookie’s Beer Garden
♦ Lotus Field Homestay
We don’t recommend the Farm Restaurant and Pub in Tam Coc. This one had a drunk, abusive male owner who tried to intimidate us into paying more and was pretty unpleasant.
We were recommended ‘Nhà Hàng Dê Chính Thư Ninh Bình’, for the speciality goat, but didn’t go because we don’t eat meat.
If you want to see the traditional whole smoked goats by the road, being sold by the kilogram, check them out around 20.250317, 105.929586 and 20.249857, 105.928519. Be aware, they’re pretty horrifying.
