Trang An
Row-boat trip through flooded caves in the core of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Xem chi tiết →Ninh Binh travel guide
Ninh Binh was the capital of Vietnam before Hanoi was. In the tenth century King Dinh Tien Hoang, and then King Le Dai Hanh, ruled the young state of Dai Co Viet from Hoa Lu, a valley walled in by limestone cliffs. Those same cliffs — Trang An, Tam Coc, Mua Cave — are now a UNESCO World Heritage landscape that you can row through, climb and walk.
This guide is written by Thang Long Restaurant, a family restaurant in Truong Yen on the Trang An – Bai Dinh road, out of the questions our guests actually ask us across the table. One short page per place. Ticket prices are published only when we have an official source and a date we checked it — where sources disagree, we say so and leave the number out rather than guess. Distances are measured along real driving roads, not estimated.
5 places in this guide
Bai Dinh Pagoda
The largest pagoda complex in Vietnam, with an ancient cave temple above it.
Xem chi tiết →Tam Coc
A rowing boat down the Ngo Dong river, through three caves and the rice fields.
Xem chi tiết →Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
The 10th-century capital of Vietnam, with the temples of King Dinh and King Le.
Xem chi tiết →At a glance
| Place | Adult ticket | Opening hours | From the restaurant |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trang An | 300,000₫ | 07:00–16:00 (06:00–16:00 is possible on public holidays and during Tet) | 8.6 km · undefined min |
| Bai Dinh Pagoda | Being verified | 06:00–21:00 | 7.9 km · undefined min |
| Tam Coc | 250,000₫ | approximately 07:00–17:30 | 17.6 km · undefined min |
| Mua Cave | 150,000₫ | 06:00–19:00 daily | 11.1 km · undefined min |
| Hoa Lu Ancient Capital | 20,000₫ | approximately 07:00–17:00 | 4.4 km · undefined min |
Ticket prices and their sources are on each page. Opening hours are compiled from secondary sources and are not yet confirmed with the management boards — call ahead if you plan to arrive very early or very late. Distances measured with OSRM on 31/08/2026.
Planning a day
- One day, first visit: Trang An boats in the morning, lunch on the road, Bai Dinh Pagoda or the Hoa Lu temples in the afternoon.
- One day, photographs: Tam Coc boats in the morning, then the climb at Mua Cave in the late afternoon when the light is low and the stone has cooled.
- Two days: take the two plans above on consecutive days. Trang An and Tam Coc are both boat trips, and doing them back to back in one day is a lot of sitting.
More of our Vietnamese-language guide is being translated. In the meantime, the Vietnamese pages cover many more places and carry the same verified figures: cẩm nang du lịch Ninh Bình, bảng giá vé các điểm, khách sạn & homestay and cà phê Ninh Bình.
Where to eat nearby
Thang Long Restaurant is on the Trang An – Bai Dinh road, minutes from the Trang An wharf, on the Trang An – Bai Dinh road in Chi Phong hamlet, Tay Hoa Lu. We are a family restaurant that has served travellers in Ninh Binh for nearly twenty years: mountain goat cooked a dozen ways, com chay (crispy rice), free-range hill chicken. Prices are printed on the menu, an English menu is available, there is room for tour buses, and we are open 7:00 – 22:30, every day.