By rail
Ninh Binh station, ~2 h from Hanoi
Southeast Asia · Vietnam
Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Ha Long Bay on land: karsts and rice paddies
Getting there
By air
Noi Bai, Hanoi (HAN), ~2 h by road
Best time to visit
May to June for golden rice, or September to November
Don't miss
Trang An
Tam Coc
Mua Cave
Hoa Lu ancient capital
Things to do
Rowing boats through Trang An's caves
Climbing Mua Cave
Cycling Tam Coc
Where to eat
Sources: Photo: Richard Mortel from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · CC BY 2.0
What to pack
Sun hat, light clothes, walking shoes
A quieter corner
The Thung Nham bird garden at dusk
Questions travellers ask
When is the rice golden in Ninh Binh?
May to June. Otherwise, come September to November.
How far is Ninh Binh from Hanoi?
About 2 hours by road, or about 2 hours by train to Ninh Binh station.
How can I explore Ninh Binh's karst scenery?
Take a rowing boat through Trang An's caves, climb Mua Cave and go cycling in Tam Coc. At dusk, visit the Thung Nham bird garden.
What local dishes should I try in Ninh Binh?
Mountain goat (de nui) and crispy burnt rice (com chay).
About Ninh Binh
- Riverside
- Hills
Where it is
Ninh Binh lies at the southern edge of the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam, south of Hanoi, where limestone karst towers rise from rice paddies and slow rivers around Trang An and Tam Coc.
History
Hoa Lu, among these hills, was the capital of Vietnam under the Dinh and early Le dynasties in the late 10th century, before the court moved to Thang Long, now Hanoi, in 1010. The Trang An Landscape Complex became Vietnam's first mixed natural and cultural World Heritage Site in 2014.
People
Ninh Binh's people speak northern Vietnamese and farm rice among the karsts, and local rowers ferry visitors along the rivers, often rowing with their feet.
Known for
- Boat trips through the caves of Trang An
- The rice fields and river of Tam Coc
- The view from Mua Cave
- Hoa Lu's temples to the Dinh and Le kings
- Bai Dinh Pagoda
Did you know?
The karsts and rivers of Trang An and Tam Coc were a filming location for the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.