Top places to travel in Vietnam (Part 4): Ninh Binh - Halong Bay on Land
Population: 927.000 people
Places to visit: Bai Dinh Pagoda, Tam Coc - Bich Dong, Trang An, Thung Nham, King Dinh - Le Temple...
Ninh Binh – a famous place with many scenic spots – is known as an ideal tourist destination by all visitors. It is a fact that Ninh Binh is one of three attractive tourist destinations in the Northern Vietnam with extremely majestic and magnificent natural landscapes. Below is our brief introduction about Ninh Binh Tourism. We hope that you will have the best trip in Ninh Binh.
2. Climate and the best time to travel Ninh Binh
- May to September: hot and humid summer, heavy rain
- November to March of the following year: cold dry winter
- April and October are spring and autumn – the weather is cool.
Average rainfall reaches 1,800 mm/ year.
Tourists can travel to Ninh Binh during all seasons of the year, but the best time to go is:
- From February to April: In spring, this place is not too cold or too hot, especially tourists can combine spiritual and sightseeing tourism.
- At the end of May to early June: the season of water rice harvest in Tam Coc. The time is very suitable for tourists who like photograph.
3. Transportation
- Car/ Van/ Bus: Ninh Binh is only about 100km away from Hanoi, vans/ cars/ buses are the most convenient transportation means. Departure time is very convenient.
- Train: You can travel from Hanoi to Ninh Binh with Train SE7 (6h15) or Train SE5 (9:00). Train is safe and cheap, but inconvenient in time.
4. Foods
Ninh Binh is also famous for many specialities that tourists shouls taste at least one time. There are: Burned Rice, Mountain snail dish, Medium-rare goat meat, Sweet sour anabas soup, Eel soya noodles, Freshwater crab fried with piper lolot, Floating cake...
Click here to know more about Ninh Binh Cuisine.
5. Famous tourist spots in Ninh Binh
Bai Dinh Pagoda is famous for owning the most records in Vietnam and many Asian Records: the largest golden bronze Buddha statue in Asia, the longest Arhat corridor in Asia, the largest bronze statue of Maitreya in Southeast Asia, the largest number of bodhi trees in Vietnam, the most Arhat statues in Vietnam.
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Trang An Complex is one of the most famous tourist areas of Ninh Binh today. The poetry and beautiful natural scenery of Trang An has been recognized by UNESCO as the World’s Natural and Cultural Heritage Site.
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Tam Coc Cave means "three caves", including First Cave, Second Cave and Third Cave. All three caves are made up of the Ngo Dong River flowing through the mountain. Tam Coc is the first place exploited for tourism purpose in Ninh Binh.
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Bich Dong Cave (2 km from Tam Coc) means "green cave".
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Tuyet Tinh Cave belongs to Hoa Lu Ancient Capital relics. Most of the area of Tuyet Tinh Cave is flooded and surrounded by rocky cliffs nowadays. It used to be a crocodile pond to treat guilty people.
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Mua Cave is located at the foot of Mua Mountain and is favored by tourists. This also is a great choice in the season of water rice harvest, because from the top of the Mua Mountain, tourists can see the panorama spectacular view of the golden rice fields.
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Hoa Lu Ancient Capital is an ancient capital of Vietnam. Hoa Lu Ancient Capital is one of the 4 core areas of the World heritage - Trang An complex. With more than 1000 years, Hoa Lu Ancient Capital is a place to store many important historical relics of Vietnam.
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Non Nuoc Mountain is located at the crossroads of Day River and Van Sang River. There are over 40 poems of historic celebrities carved on the cliff of the mountain.
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Thung Nham bird garden eco-tourism area is one of the tourist destinations that includes all cultural, spiritual, landscape and biodiversity elements. The most beautiful scenery of Thung Nham bird garden eco-tourism area is every sunset when all birds glide and reside in a wetland; visitors will feel the beautiful pristine beauty.
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Cuc Phuong National Park is a large and well-preserved forest. It holds many rare and precious species of animals such as primates.
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6. Other notes:
When sitting on a boat to travel through caves, visitors should pay attention to the instructions of the boatman to avoid hitting rocks in the cave or sinking boats and accidents; visitors are required to wear life jackets and comply with the regulations of the tourism area.
Tourists must climb mountains at some tourist attractions such as Trang An, Bai Dinh, Tam Coc... Therefore, tourists should wear comfortable clothes, bring drinking water and wear sport shoes. But do not wear tanktop, short shirts, shorts when visiting temples and pagodas.
7. Ninh Binh Tours
Understand tourists' expectation, Vietnam Scenery creates many Ninh Binh tours, each of which can serve tourists' requirement with the best price and best services.
Day Tours: