Ninh Binh has become an increasingly popular destination for travelers who visit North Vietnam. It is not famous like Halong Bay but it is worth visiting besides Halong Bay. So How many days you should spend in Ninh Binh?
The answer to the question “ How many days in Ninh Binh” depends on the time budget you have and the places you wish to visit in Ninh Binh. There are several places to visit in Ninh Binh like Tam Coc, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, Bich Dong Pagoda, Bai Dinh Pagoda, Hang Mua Peak, Thung Nham Bird Garden, Phat Diem Stone Church, Cuc Phuong National Park, Van Long, Kenh Ga..etc. It depends on what type of activities you like and you may choose for you the best places and it depends on how many days you have. There are some places you will do the same activity as in Tam Coc, Trang An and Van Long you will take a boat trip so you should visit one of them only. There are some pagodas so in your itinerary you should visit one of them and that is ideal.
In general, 2 days is ideal to visit the highlights of Ninh Binh. If you do not have time, one day tour will be fine and below we will give you the best things to do with 2 days and the best things to do with 1 day trip.
If your time is limited when you need to spend your time on other destinations in Vietnam and you only can spend one day for Ninh Binh. We suggest you can choose one of the day tours as below.
This tour, you will visit Hoa Lu – The ancient capital of Vietnam from thousand years ago and take a boat trip to Tam Coc along Ngo Dong River. You will know more about the history of Vietnam and enjoy seeing the natural beauty of Tam Coc – Dry Halong Bay.
Hoa Lu – The ancient capital of Vietnam
This tour, you will visit one of the biggest pagodas in Vietnam and get to know more about Buddhism in Vietnam. You also take a boat trip to Trang An and enjoy seeing the beauty of limestone mountains and the rivers in this area.
Trang An Complex
2 days is ideal to visit Ninh Binh as it is not rush and you can combine different activities and you will have an interesting trip in Ninh Binh. You will save some hours for transfer also because if you visit Ninh Binh you will need at least 4 to 5 hours for transfer from Hanoi to Ninh Binh and back to Hanoi so if you visit Ninh Binh in 2 days you will only need that duration for transfer and you can spend more time for doing tours.
Visiting 2 days in Ninh Binh, you can visit about 6 to 7 destinations depending on your interests.
Below is an itinerary suggested by experts of Incredible Asia Journeys. If you do not like any activities in this itinerary and it is easy to change with other activities.
On the first day, you can visit 3 places adding more a short cycling trip. You can start from Hanoi to Ninh Binh and it takes about 2 hours for driving to Ninh Binh. If you start from Hanoi around 7.30 to 8.00 AM then you will be in Ninh Binh around 10.00 AM.
Hoa Lu Ancient Captial
Hoa Lu is the ancient capital of Vietnam. It was the capitals for Dinh and Le dynasties from 1000 years ago. It was founded by Dinh Bo Linh in the 10th century and Dinh Bo Linh was the first emperor of Vietnam.
Tam Coc is located 14 km from Ninh Binh Town. Now, it is not the capital anymore as from 1010 it was moved from there to Hanoi and now Hanoi is still capital of Vietnam. In Hoa Lu now, you can visit Dinh and Le Temples where we worship Dinh and Le dynasties. 1000 years ago the royal palace of Dinh Dynasty was built there and now you still can see the remains of this palace. The ruined palace building under the group 3 meters is still there and travellers still can see the old items used to build that palace by the royal family. That is an interesting place to visit and that is a live – museum.
Tam Coc Boat Trip
Tam Coc means 3 caves because you will visit 3 tunnels caves there. Tam Coc is located about 6 km from Ninh Binh. Travellers to Tam Coc can take a boat trip on Ngo Dong River to enjoy the sightseeing of this area. Along the river are many karst mountains and the small rice farms. You may see the mountains goats climbing on the rocks or storks flying around in the blue sky.
In the rice season, that is ideal to take the photos of this area. Everyone will become a professional photographer just with a normal camera or a phone. On the way, you can talk with the boat rower and the boat rower is happy to support you and talk to you.
Cycling around Tam Coc Area
Cycling around Tam Coc is one of the best things to do in Ninh Binh. Beautiful area of mountains and rural area with fresh air always attract tourists to cycle around. The local people in Ninh Binh are very friendly so on the way you also can talk to them and they are happy to talk to you even they cannot speak much English. You can cycle inside the village and to the farm and back to your hotel or homestay. That is an interesting trip.
Thung Nham Bird Park
Thung Nham Bird Park is located just about 6 km from Tam Coc Dock. That is easy to get to Thung Nham Bird Park by bicycle or by car. Thung Nham is the home of different kinds of birds like storks, heron, mallard.. etc. There are 2 species in the Red Delta Book, they are phoenix and flamingo. Thung Nham is really nice places for people who love nature and eco-tourism.
The best time to visit Thung Nham is from 5 to 6 pm or from 5 to 7 am. So you can cycle from Tam Coc to Thung Nham in the afternoon for seeing thousands of birds flying back home from other areas after one day finding for food. If you miss this afternoon then you can do it the next morning. Stay overnight in a hotel or a homestay in Tam Coc.
Thung Nham Bird Park
After a night in Tam Coc, you can get up early for seeing local life in Tam Coc. That is amazing as you can see the real life of Vietnamese in a rural area.
Bich Dong Pagoda
Bich Dong Pagoda is a pagoda in a quiet village. That is a very typical pagoda in North Vietnam as it leans to the mountains and looks to a valley with a nice lake or river. The pagoda has a very good location and the monks in the past had to spend time for looking a good location for meditation.
To visit Bich Dong Pagoda, you can do cycling from your hotel in Tam Coc for about 30 minutes. There are lower pagoda, middle pagoda and upper pagoda. To visit all of them you will need to climb to the middle of the mountains to visit the upper pagoda in a karst cave. It is a quiet and beautiful area.
Please note to wear long pants when you visit Bich Dong Pagoda.
Trang An Boat Trip
After visiting Bich Dong Pagoda, you can take the transfer to Trang An Dock where you take a boat trip to visit Trang An. The boat trip in Trang An will take about 2.5 to 3 hours depending on the caves we can visit on that day. It depends on the level of water so you can visit more caves or fewer caves because there are some caves you cannot visit when the water level is too low or too high. The local people will row the boat and they are very friendly. They do not row the boat every day because normally they work on farm and they only work as a rower some days per month in turn.
After Trang An Boat Trip, you can go back to Hanoi and end 2 days in Ninh Binh.
We hope that the information above is useful for you when you want to know how many days is ideal for Ninh Binh.
Yes, 2 days is the best but you may spend more days in Ninh Binh if you really love the countryside of Vietnam.
Hang Mua Peak
If you visit Ninh Binh in from March to early June then we suggest including Hang Mua Peak to your trip and you are in good health.
To get on the top of Hang Mua Peak, you need to climb about 500 steps and it takes about more than 20 minutes. That is steep so make sure that you are in good health condition and there is no problem with health.
That is hard to do hiking there but the result is excellent as there is a beautiful view of Ninh Binh and Tam Coc in front of you. In the rice season of Tam Coc from May to early June that is very beautiful and that is the best place for Check-In.
So Hang Mua Peak can be an option for you if you are in the right time, good health condition and you are interested in.
View from Mua Peak
See more information in a day tour to Hang Mua, Hoa Lu and Tam Coc.
After knowing how many days to spend in Ninh Binh, you may wonder when is the best time to visit Ninh Binh.
The best time to visit Ninh is from May to the beginning of June and from September to October. That is the time when the sky is blue and the rice is ripen. That is a good time to visit Ninh Binh. You can take many nice photos of green and yellow rice fields. Please note that from May to June will be hot in North Vietnam. The temperature outside is about more than 30oC.
September to October will be cool so this time is a good time for visiting Ninh Binh. However, there is only 1 rice crop for Tam Coc boat tour so if you visit Tam Coc from September to October then there is no nice along the river.
May to early June Tam Coc is the most beautiful with photos because local people grow rice along the river.
See the best time to visit Tam Coc for more information.
If you cannot visit Ninh Binh the months above, then you can visit Ninh Binh in March to April and from July to August and there is still a green rice field. This time, the weather is cooler so that is ideal for travellers who do not wish the hot weather.
There are different ways to visit Ninh Binh. You can travel by train, taxi, motorbike, local bus, limousine bus, tour bus or by private car.
Among those ways, we suggest traveling by a tour bus or a private car as a tour bus will pick you up and drop you off at your hotels so that is very convenient.
If you do not have much and you do a day tour to Ninh Binh so a tour bus is ideal for you as you can save time for transfer and waiting and you can maximize the sightseeing time when your guide will arrange everything for you.
Of course, a private car with a private guide is the best if you are a big group or your budget for your trip is high because a private tour will cost more than a group tour. This is also the best when you travel with a family with kids. Your guide will arrange everything for you and you do not have to worry much about scam or waiting time to look for services you are not familiar with.
Now we hope that you have an idea for how long to spend in Ninh Binh. So with 2 days suggested by our expert then where to stay overnight in Ninh Binh?
Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh is a 5 star resort in Ninh Binh. Located in Van Long Nature Reserve with garden around the luxury rooms. There are different buildings in Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh and it is like a village in the country of Vietnam. There are 3 swimming pools and 2 restaurants, Emeralda Resort Ninh Binh is the most luxury accommodation to stay in Ninh Binh.
Ninh Binh Legend Hotel is located in a new area of Ninh Binh City. It is a 4 star hotel with a lot of rooms. That is a best hotels for big groups with deluxe services.
Located in Tam Coc area, Ninh Binh Hidden Charm is one of the best option for travellers to travel to Ninh Binh and Tam Coc. You can walk for some minutes to go to Tam Coc Dock and it is closed to the villages around Tam Coc so you can walk around or do cycling around.
With friendly atmosphere and charming decoration, Ninh Binh Hidden Charm provide excellent services for travellers with high budget.
La Belle Vie Tam Coc Homestay is 2 star homestay in Tam Coc. With a good location and friendly staffs, La Belle Vie Tam Coc Homestay is one of the best option for tight budget travellers. With the location in Tam Coc so travellers may get to the restaurants and go shopping easily around in the villages. There is bicycle rental service also in the homestay.
You May Like:
Best Things to Do in Ninh Binh
Thank you for submitting your booking request with us. Please kindly check your email!
Vietnam Tour Operator - Incredible Asia Journeys
