Tinh Ninh Binh Holiday Weather today
Date/time of update: November 24, 2024, 2:29 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Overcast Clouds
Temperature: 21.68°C
Temperature feels like: 21.97°C
Minimum Temperature: 21.68°C
Maximum Temperature: 21.68°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1019hPa
Humidity:79%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 2.45m/sec
Wind Direction: 358 degrees
Cloudiness: 100%
Sunrise: 2024-11-23 11:11:35
Sunset: 2024-11-24 10:15:32
Ninh Binh is 120km south of Hanoi, famed for its tranquil countryside typical of northern Vietnam. While Halong Bay has karst islands sprouting out of the emerald water, Ninh Binh has karst mountains sprouting out of the sea of green rice fields.
On Halong Bay, travelers take luxury junk cruises amid the islands; at Ninh Binh, they embark on rowing boat trips gliding on rivers flanked by towering mountains or take bicycle tours through the villages and rice paddies.
For those who love to learn about the Vietnamese spiritual life, then you should visit Bich Dong Pagoda and Bai Dinh Pagoda. Bich Dong is built into a limestone mountain and Bai Dinh is the biggest pagoda in Vietnam nowadays with walls stretching over a kilometer and with thousands of statues of different sizes.
Ninh Binh Travel Guide, Tourist Attractions, What to see in Ninh Binh
1/ Hoa Lu
Besides, Hoa Lu District of Ninh Binh was the site of the capital city of Vietnam in the 10th century before it was moved to Thang Long (Hanoi nowadays). There are still two temples dedicated to the Royal Families of Vietnam in the 9th and 10th centuries at Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh. Visiting the temples you recall a piece of the Vietnamese history. Besides, they have beautiful natural settings with leafy gardens, ponds, and mountains in the rear.
2/ Tam Coc, Trang An, Thung Nang
Other tourist attractions in Ninh Binh include: Tam Coc, Trang An, Thung Nang and Van Long Nature Reserve, all of which are flooded land encircled by sublime karst mountains. Visiting these sites you can take rowing boat trips for a couple of hours making your way amid the heavenly landscape. Though they sound similar, but the landscape each brings quite a different feel.
Tam Coc offers sublime mountains with rice fields by the riversides with farmers at work during the rice season. Just before the rice harvest time, you will get stunning photos at Tam Coc! Tam Coc is 8km south of Hoa Lu via village road and 14km via big road. The most beautiful photos of Ninh Binh are often of Tam Coc. The rowing boat trip at Tam Coc travels through three huge underwater caves.
Tam Coc Ninh Binh
Trang An is close to Hoa Lu with limestone mountains, rivers and primeval forest. Trang An is huge. In the ancient times, it was the natural defense to Hoa Lu Ancient Capital. During the boat trip, there are quite some temples and underwater caves you pass through or visit. Trang An is 2-4km south of Hoa Lu and 6-10km north of Tam Coc depending on the routes you take.
Thung Nang also includes rivers, moors, lakes and amazing mountains. There are options to either walk amid the lovely landscape or follow a different root by rowing boat. There is a temple for you to visit at Thung Nang. The site is 1km northwest of Tam Coc, in between Tam Coc and the Bich Dong Pagoda.
3/ Thung Nham Bird Valley
The scenery includes rivers, mountains as the other sites. But Thung Nham is also a bird park. Visiting the valley in the bird migratory season, you can adore the beautiful nature as well as vivid wild bird life. Thung Nham is 5km west of the Bich Dong Pagoda via a very lovely country road. Visiting Thung Nham you can either take a rowing boat trip, or tour by electric cart or on foot.
4/ Van Long Nature Reserve
Van Long Nature Reserve is similar to Tam Coc but just huge with moors, limestone mountains, rivers...Apart from breath-taking nature landscape, Van Long Nature Reserve is home to a hundred or so individuals of Delacour’s lutung (langur, Trachypithecus delacouri) which is a critically endangered primate species. Also, Van Long is home to several bird species which comes into high during the bird migratory season (late October through February, even to early March).
5/ Cuc Phuong National Park
For those travelers who love nature, birds, wild life or trekking adventures, then Cuc Phuong National Park should not be missed. Cuc Phuong is among the best preserved national parks in Vietnam with wide biodiversity, wildlife and primeval forests. At Cuc Phuong, you should not miss an opportunity to watch birds, wildlife or learn about the flora of the national park.
In the heart of the primeval forest of the Cuc Phuong National Park
6/ Bich Dong Pagoda
The pagoda was built in the 15th century right into a cavern of a huge limestone mountain. The natural settings include lotus flower pond, mountains, caves and amazing surrounding countryside.
7/ Non Nuoc Pagoda, Duc Thuy Mountain
These sites are in Ninh Binh City, by the Day River. The complex marks important events throughout the history of Vietnam. The place also marks legacy of Truong Han Sieu (14th century), a mandarin, a great man of Vietnam from Ninh Binh.
8/ Bai Dinh Pagoda
There used to be a small pagoda but invested and expanded into a huge pagoda by a local private business.
Bai Dinh Pagoda
9/ Kenh Ga Hotspring
Kenh Ga Hotspring is in Gia Thinh, Gia Vien District, 25km northwest of Ninh Binh City, 30km northwest of Tam Coc, 12km east of Nho Quan Township (Cuc Phuong). The landscape of Kenh Ga includes the Kenh Ga River amid karst mountains which is similar to Tam Coc. But most people travel to Kenh Ga for mineral bath at the geyser (hotspring). The service is not that great but if you take it as an adventure: expect the unexpected, you should have a great time!
Things to do, Adventure Tours in Ninh Binh
AdventureGreen.com offers a number of adventure tours through Ninh Binh from wildlife tours, budget cultural trips, leisurely back-road bicycle tours in the idyllic countryside, hiking holidays, and rowing boat trips amid green paddy fields…
If you have time, then we would suggest you stay in Ninh Binh for two nights to take in the bests of this backwater that has come into Vietnamese poetry. Ninh Binh is also a destination for seasoned photographers and film makers.
1/ Birding Holidays & Bird-Watching Tours
AdventureGreen hosts a number of bird watching tours in Ninh Binh including birding at the Cuc Phuong National Park, bird tours at the Van Long Nature Reserve. Besides, there are a few other sites in the province that we may spot some wild bird life during the low season (June-July). At Cuc Phuong, you’ll have an opportunity to watch over 200 bird species and at Van Long Nature Reserve you can adore several water bird, fowl species.
2/ Country back road biking trips
Ninh Binh has amazingly idyllic countryside which is home to several villages with untouched daily life attached to agriculture. AdventureGreen's bike tours through Ninh Binh travel on these small roads amid bucolic landscape and vivid local life.
3/ Eco Tours, Nature Tours, Wildlife Tours
AdventureGreen operates wildlife tours at the Cuc Phuong National Park and at the Van Long Nature Reserve where we spot langurs (at Van Long) and other small animals (at the Cuc Phuong National Park). Butterfly watching tours and Glow-worm watching tours are also available in the summer months (April – August). AdventureGreen also offers environment-education tours to families with kids (older than 6 years old).
4/ Family Sightseeing Holidays, Family Adventure Trips
Our sightseeing holidays in Ninh Binh for families with kids are to take in the best of the natural landscape of this land. The pace of these trips are leisurely and accommodations are at family-run or budget hotels. Families with older kids (6-12 years of age) can take more of adventure tours such as walking tours or bicycle tours as it allows your family to interact more with local communities as well as the pristine nature.
Where to eat, Restaurants in Ninh Binh
There are a number of restaurants and hotels in Ninh Binh Town and at Tam Coc, most of which are of fair standard for tourists.
How to get to Ninh Binh, How to Get around the Tourist Attractions in Ninh Binh
1/ From Hanoi to Ninh Binh
You can take Route 1 (the old road or the new expressway) southwards to Ninh Binh City. When you are 90km south of Hanoi and 30km north of Ninh Binh City, then turn left into a small provincial road to the Van Long Nature Reserve which is 8km from Route 1. A rowing boat trip on the nature reserve takes 1-2 hours. On the trip you’ll travel your way amid imposing limestone mountains. There are quite a few birds and monkeys… that you may see on the trip.
Scenic landscape at Van Long Nature Reserve
To get to Cuc Phuong from Van Long, you continue westwards on the provincial road past Nho Quan Town, then continue further south and west to the Cuc Phuong National Park. The Cuc Phuong National Park is about 30km from the Van Long Nature Reserve. At Cuc Phuong, you can go on a tour for bird-watching, discovering the wildlife, learning about the flora and fauna of the park which takes from 1-2 days. Else you can go on a trekking tour taking further into the park which takes at least 2 days.
Road in the Cuc Phuong National Park
Cuc Phuong is the first established national park in Vietnam and among the best one with bio-diversity. The primeval forest at Cuc Phuong is among the best in Vietnam.
To continue the trip to Ninh Binh City you’ll have to get back to the Route 1, then continue further south.
From Ninh Binh to Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, you’ll take a scenic country road northwestwards for 7km to the Truong Yen Commune (Hoa Lu District). Hoa Lu is a lovely area with several encircling limestone mountains which made it a natural fortress against intrusion. Here you can visit the two temples dedicated to the 2 Royal Families of Vietnam in the 10th century and climb the Ma Yen Mountain for breathtaking views of the surroundings. The whole trip takes 1-2.5 hours.
Mountains at Hoa Lu
From Hoa Lu to Trang An, you’ll take the lovely road at Hoa Lu southwards for 5km. The landscape is just idyllic all the way. A rowing boat trip at Trang An brings you through the unbelievably beautiful landscape with mountains, secret valleys, forests, underwater limestone caves… The rowing boat trip takes normally 2-3 hours depending on the sites you wish to visit.
Trang An Ninh Binh
Tam Coc is 8km further south of Trang An via a lovely road. Else from the center of Ninh Binh City you continue southwards, then take the first country road to your right. Via this route, Tam Coc is 8km from Ninh Binh City.
Cave at Tam Coc Ninh Binh
The landscape at Tam Coc is similar to Trang An. The difference are that Tam Coc is smaller and has wonderful rice fields on both sides of the river. Your photos will be more vivid with agrarian life. Should it be the rice ripening season, it is breathtaking! Also, at Trang An you’ll go in a loop while at Tam Coc you’ll travel through 3 underwater caves and travel back the same route. A rowing boat trip at Tam Coc takes 2-2.5 hours.
Bich Dong Pagoda
From Tam Coc to Bich Dong, you follow the country road at Tam Coc further west for 2km. It is lovely scenery all the way. At Bich Dong, you’ll cross a lotus flower pond on a stone bridge, then proceed to the front yard of the pagoda. From the yard you’ll climb steps through a dark cave (which is the middle pagoda – Chua Trung) to the top of the mountain where Chua Thuong (Upper Pagoda) is located. From the top, the views of the surroundings are amazing!
In between Tam Coc and Bich Dong, there is a less-visited area called Thung Nang (the Valley of Sunshine). Thung Nang is quite similar to Tam Coc except for that it is deserted, wild and nice in its own way.
Boat trip at Thung Nang
2/From Thanh Hoa to Ninh Binh
Thanh Hoa City is south of Ninh Binh and the most convenient way is via Route 1A past the amazing landscape of mountains at Tam Diep. The road is very busy though.
Road 1A at Bim Son from Thanh Hoa City to Ninh Binh City
If you come from the Pu Luong Nature Reserve (Thanh Hoa) then the best way is to proceed to Ho Chi Minh Road then turn left to head northwards. Turn right when you see the sign post showing the way to the Cuc Phuong National Park. The landscape is quite wild via this way.
Ho Chi Minh Road at Cuc Phuong, Ninh Binh (The road is high above the ground for free movements of wild life underneath)
3/From Hoa Binh to Ninh Binh
There are 2 routes from Hoa Binh to Ninh Binh. The first route is to travel from Hoa Binh City to Luong Son Town, turn into Ho Chi Minh Road to Yen Thuy and follow the sign post to the Cuc Phuong National Park. The road is quiet and the landscape is idyllic here.
Countryside at Lac Thuy Hoa Binh, on the road between Ninh Binh and Hoa Binh
The second way to Ninh Binh from Hoa Binh is via Tan Lac: Travel southwards from Hoa Binh to Muong Khen via Route 6, turn left at Muong Khen and make it straight to the Cuc Phuong National Park. This route is a great one for cycling.
Route 6 at Tan Lac Hoa Binh near the t-junction to Ninh Binh
4/From Quang Ninh, Hai Phong and Thai Binh to Ninh Binh via Route 10
The Road 10 travels from Quang Ninh via Hai Phong and Thai Binh is flat and in great conditions. The landscape includes villages and vast rice fields. At Thai Binh City, you may like to stray off from the main road (turn left) and head southeastwards for the coast. You then can visit the Keo Pagoda and the seaside of Thai Binh with some low-key beaches. There are opportunities for great photographs here if you could wait for the right moments at sunrise and sunset.
Ricefields by Route 10 in Thai Binh
Ninh Binh Average Monthly Rainfalls and Temperatures
