When we visited Ninh Binh we actually stayed in a village called Tam Coc rather than the town of Ninh Binh itself. We found Tam Coc much more charming than Ninh Binh and enjoyed our time there thoroughly.
The scenery around the Ninh Binh area is stunning with its mountains and incredible rice fields. It is a must see in Vietnam.
How to get there
We travelled to Ninh Binh from Mai Chau which took just under 3 hours on a bus. We booked this bus using 12GoAsia. It cost around £22 for two of us.
I would recommend using 12GoAsia to book your transport in Vietnam. We very rarely had a problem with it.
Where to stay in Ninh Binh
As I’ve already said we didn’t actually stay in the town of Ninh Binh. We stayed in a smaller town called Tam Coc which was about a 40 minute walk from Ninh Binh town.
We really enjoyed staying our stay in Tam Coc and after going into Ninh Binh town felt we made the right choice to stay there. We stayed at Hang Mua Village Homestay. There were several rooms here which all looked like little houses from the outside, and also had a pool. The owner was so lovely and constantly went out of his way to make our stay amazing.
Things to do
Mua viewpoint and cave– we got up early and headed to the viewpoint (which conveniently was just around the corner from our accommodation) at around 6am. It was a short hike up, although very steep, but at the top were some great views. It was pretty rocky near the top but well worth it.
Trang A boat trip– I really enjoyed doing this and it’s up there with one of my most favourite experiences in South East Asia. We were in a small row boat with a local Vietnamese woman who was rowing and another tourist from New Zealand. We got to see the incredible scenery and go through some amazing caves. The whole thing lasted around 2 hours. We also stopped off at several temples along the way.
Cycle around and explore the ancient capital- the area of Ninh Binh is pretty flat so it’s very popular to cycle around. Our hotel had bikes that you could rent so one morning we took the bikes and went exploring. I will say I’m not brilliant on a bike but once off the road next to our hotel I was okay. We cycled to the ancient capital of Vietnam called Hoa Lu and had a look around there.
Tom bop bar- now this is a bit of a niche addition to this list but this place satisfied my craving for a cheese toastie after being in Asia for a couple of months. The portion sizes were great and they even gave you a free banana after your meal! What’s not to like?
Have breakfast at Break Time Coffee- although breakfast was included at our hotel we did have breakout out a couple of times because on a lot of days the owner served Pho for breakfast. Pho is noodle soup and is found everywhere in Vietnam. It’s usually served with meat, which I don’t eat, and Jacob doesn’t like it. So on the Pho mornings we headed to Break Time Coffee for a delicious breakfast.
How to get around Ninh Binh
We did rent a motorbike but this was only really necessary to easily get to the gym in Ninh Binh town. Most evenings we walked into Tam Coc town which took about 35 minutes. It was a pleasant walk through the rice fields but we did need our phone torches when it got dark!
As I mentioned earlier it is very popular to cycle around Ninh Binh. We rented bikes for a morning but walked and used the motorbike the rest of the time. We did see lots of people on bikes though all around Ninh Binh and Tam Coc. Most hotels around the area will have both bikes and motorbikes to rent.
If you rent a motorbike do watch out for the people selling petrol on the side of the road. We struggled to find an actual petrol station in Tam Coc so had to go to one of these…
The guy here basically made up a price and ripped us off. Oh well. You live and you learn.
The best time to visit
The best time to visit Ninh Binh is February to May, or September to November. We visited in January and found that the weather was fine. It wasn’t too hot or too cold. It was the perfect temperature to walk and explore.
Down to Earth Travel 
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