Checking out the Trang An Landscape Complex World Heritage Site – Ninh Binh With Kids
Before coming to Vietnam, I don’t think that I had ever even heard of Ninh Binh. However, almost from the moment we arrived, I began to hear it come up in conversation. Adjectives like stunning and beautiful were thrown around, and friends I had just made started pulling their phones out to show me pictures. After just a few such conversations, I also discovered that Ninh Binh is home to the Trang An Landscape Complex, which is on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
And just like that, I was sold!
Find Beauty in Ninh Binh’s Natural Surroundings
Without a doubt, taking the opportunity to explore Ninh Binh’s unique natural beauty is easily the best thing to do while in the area.
Ninh Binh is home to the Trang An Landscape Complex, which is one of only 39 UNESCO Mixed Heritage sites in the world! These mixed sites represent locations across the globe that hold both significant natural and cultural value, and are some of my favorite places to visit around the world.
While the ‘universal cultural heritage’ aspect of Trang An is a bit more hidden (more on that below!), the natural heritage is on full display for every one to see! Here are some of the best suggestions for how to do it.
Take a Local Boat Tour
Taking one of the area’s famous boat rides is the top-rated thing to do in Ninh Binh. The whole area is covered in a combination of rice fields and limestone formations called karsts, with rivers and streams weaving around and through them.
The slow moving rivers and dramatic limestone cliffs make a ride on a rowboat one of the easiest ways to experience as much of the Trang An Complex’s beauty as possible in the shortest amount of time. And, on many of the boat tours, you’ll get to see the unique way that the locals row their boats: with their legs!
While there are likely some smaller river boat tours that you can find, the vast majority of visitors choose one (or more!) of the three main boat rides in the area to experience. These three are the Trang An Boat Tour, the Tam Coc Boat Tour and the Van Long Nature Reserve Boat Tour.
Trang An Boat Tour (Around 3 hours)
Cost: VND 250k/pax ( about $10) | Kids may be half price. Ask when you’re buying tickets.
Of the three main boat tours in the Trang An Landscape Complex, the Trang An boat tour is both the longest in duration and the most popular one.
Trang An features three separate routes along the river that will take you through majestic limestone karsts, through natural caves, and among local cultural sites, like the Bao Hieu pagoda. Two of the three Trang An routes even include a visit to the remnants of a movie set from Kong: Skull Island, which is a fun, but less culturally significant stop.
One of the more interesting parts of the trip is that
Many consider this to be the best of three main boat tour options, and I definitely suggest it as the one you choose!
Tam Coc Boat Tour (Around 2 hours, but not recommended)
The Tam Coc tour was once the most popular of the three tours, and it remains a regular stop on many visits to the area. Similar to Trang An, this will take you along a slow moving river, between dramatic cliffs, through 3 separate caves, and into temples along the route.
Unfortunately, Tam Coc has gotten something of a bad reputation in recent years due to reports of local vendors working with the boat rowers to demand extra money for food or water that wasn’t asked for or desired, or insisting on cash tips before allowing you off their boats.
Now, tipping at places like this is typically expected, but holding your passengers hostage is a decidedly bad business practice, and not something I would want my family to experience.
I didn’t visit Tam Coc, so I can’t personally substantiate any of this, but I have read it from multiple different sources from across the web, and it definitely makes this particular trip one to skip, even with the beautiful views.
Van Long Nature Reserve Boat Tour (Around 1 hour)
Cost: VND 100k/pax (about $4), Half price for kids
The third main boat tour in the area is the Van Long Nature Reserve tour. It is, once again, a row boat ride through dramatic cliff faces and tall water plants, however Van Long doesn’t have any stops along the way, so the entire trip is spent in the boat. There aren’t any temples or pagodas to see on the trip, and the only cave is a small overhang that we rode into and quickly back out of, instead of a tunnel through the mountainside.
But what Van Long offers that the others don’t is isolation and the chance to spot bird life or (very rarely) monkeys. On the day we went, the whole experience was very peaceful, and we only spotted around three other boats during the entirety of our voyage.
I personally think that Trang An is a better choice for most people, but if you have kids that are easily overwhelmed by crowds or who don’t want to spend 3 hours on a tour, Van Long is a more laid back option.
See Ninh Binh from above – Mua Cave View Point
Cost: VND 100k/pax (about $4.30)
With the sheer heights of the limestone cliffs surrounding the rivers, it can be hard to get a good idea of what the landscape actually looks like from the boats. Luckily, you don’t have to stay at the bottom of the cliffs!
Rising 142 meters (466ft) into the air, the Mua Cave View point is one of the best places in Ninh Binh for seeing some incredible Trang An landscapes. However, that view does require hiking up (and back down) right around 500 stairs, so come prepared for a hike!
Our kids (8 and 9) managed it without too much of a problem, though. We had them count the steps to the top for us, which worked wonders for giving them something to do during the hike. Be sure to bring water, as you will absolutely go through a bottle or two on the way up! (There’s a stand selling drinks at step 297, but it’s just slightly more expensive than the stores at the bottom of the steps. We still bought more water there.)
There are several viewing platforms on the way to the top, if you don’t want to hike all the way up, but if you do manage it, you will be greeted by a small pagoda with fantastic views and a stone dragon that looks really cool!
The bottom of the hill where the view point is located has several different rest areas complete with restaurants, rest areas, a hotel, and several photo points, including a lily-covered lake with walkways through it.
There are also a couple (very) small caves that you can visit, including the namesake Mua Cave. However, these caves are so small that they aren’t really worth a visit at all, except as a curiosity.
Explore the world underground – Thien Ha Cave (Galaxy Grotto)
Cost: Expect to spend VND 200k/pax (about $8) for a boat tour
That said, there are some decent caves in the area, for those who enjoy spending their time underground. The best known of these is Thien Ha Cave, which is also known by the English name Galaxy Grotto.
The cave itself is composed of two main parts: a dry, walkable cave around 200m (650ft) long and a 500m (1640 ft) wet cave that requires a boat to explore. Both sections of the cave are worth exploring!
The dry area has beautiful stone formations throughout, as well as a hole in the cave roof that lets sunlight shine in at parts. The wet section is darker, but has rock formations that glitter like stars in when seen by flashlight, which is where the cave gets its English name.
And while the cave itself is awesome, getting there also includes either a 1km long row boat ride along one of the area’s rivers!
Cúc Phương National Park
Entry cost: VND 60k/adult (about $2.30) | VND 10k/kid (about $0.39)
Tours and other activities in the park may cost extra.
While Cúc Phương National Park is a bit farther away from the other attractions in the Ninh Binh area, its dense forests and unique wildlife make it a must-visit for nature lovers.
Cúc Phương is a wonderful spot for jungle trekking and presents a completely different kind of experience from the typical Vietnamese tourist attractions. Here the focus is on the incredible biodiversity on display. Visitors to the park can visit ancient trees, including one huge specimen that takes 20+ adults holding hands to encircle which is said to be over 1000 years old!
The park is also home to endangered animals, including several species of langur. While it is unlikely that you will happen upon these unique primates while walking the forest on your own, the Endangered Primate Rescue Center, located just outside the park, is open to visitors and works with 15 different primate species with the goal of re-wilding them.
Other key attractions in the area include a turtle conservation center, the Cuc Phuong Botanical gardens, an excellent museum with exhibits covering many of the park’s diverse species, and even some caves with archeological evidence of early human habitation!
Learn about Vietnamese History and Culture in the Ninh Binh Region
As a mixed heritage site, the Trang An Landscape Complex has locations that are are valuable for their natural beauty and locations that are culturally important. Specifically, many of the cave systems in the area show signs of being used as dwelling places for pre-historic man, with neolithic era tools, tombs, and even bones having been discovered in their depths.
Caves of Prehistoric Man
A paper published in 2016 cites 30 different caves within the Trang An Complex that have been found to have hosted prehistoric humans, though because of the huge number of caves in the area, that number could theoretically be much higher in actuality.
The most famous of these caves is the “Cave of Prehistoric Man” located in Cuc Phuong National Park where skeletons and stone tools dating back more than 7,000 years were found. It is also one of the easiest of these caves to visit, as it is a common stop on tours through the forest!
Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
Entry cost: VND 20k/pax (about $0.79)
While UNESCO tends to focus on areas of “Universal Value” when assigning World Heritage status, Trang An also has historical sites that are culturally significant in a much more local sort of way. One such site is the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital site.
Hoa Lu was the capital seat of the Vietnamese King Dinh Bo Linh and is said to have been the first capital city of Vietnam.
The main attractions here are the King Dinh Temple (Dai Co Viet Dynasty) and the King Le Temple (Le Dynasty). While these temples are not original to the time of the ancient kings, they are modeled after the original temples and still date back hundreds of years to the 17th century. Architecturally, they show what the ancient architecture would have looked like, and remain fascinating examples of the building capabilities of early Vietnamese kingdoms.
Bai Dinh Pagoda – A Blending of the new and the ancient
Entry Cost: VND 100k/pax (about $4.30)
While not directly related to the UNESCO Cultural Heritage sites in Trang An, the Bai Dinh Pagoda complex remains extremely impressive for visitors interested in visiting religious sites around the world.
Bai Dinh is a Buddhist religious complex covering over 2 square miles of area and featuring over 500 different Buddha statues! In fact, it is considered to be the largest Buddhist complex in all of Southeast Asia.
The complex has 4 main temples and two pagodas, including the old Bai Dinh Pagoda that dates back to 1136 and the new Bai Dinh Pagoda which was built in 2003 and stands 34 meters (111 ft) tall.
Other Cultural Highlights in the Trang An Area
While the previous sections discussed some of the better known culture and history sites in the area, they are far from the only cultural highlights.
Smaller temple areas and pagodas are sprinkled liberally throughout the area and while most of them are newer and are therefore less historically important, all of them are great modern examples of how religion impacts the Vietnamese people today.
Many of the temples in the area are worth visiting for their beauty alone, like the Unicorn Temple or this unfinished temple in the middle of a lake. But I’ve also heard many stories of families being invited in to share meals with monks and listen to their stories!
Food in the area is another great cultural learning experience. Goat is much more prevalent on the menus here than in other parts of Vietnam, and, while it’s a bit more expensive than other options, it’s worth trying some before you leave!
Looking for an everything tour?
This tour takes you from Hanoi and guides you through Bai Dinh Pagoda, Tran An River Tour and the Mua Cave viewpoint, all in a single day!
I personally would recommend you come stay for a few days, instead of doing it this way, but if you're in a hurry, this one does do a lot of what makes Ninh Binh great.
Where to Stay when visiting the Trang An Landscape Complex
When deciding where to stay in Ninh Binh, I’ve found that there are two main factors to balance: convenience and natural beauty.
The vast majority of travelers stay in Tam Coc, which is a small city area outside of Ninh Binh. Tam Coc has all the conveniences that travelers need, including restaurants and convenience stores, all within a short distance of each other. It’s easy, inexpensive, and honestly not a bad choice.
However, if you opt to stay outside of Tam Coc, you’ll be able to spend your down time looking over rice fields or admiring the area’s many limestone cliffs!
We chose to stay at Chez Beo Homestay, which has a variety of small bungalows nestled between two limestone formations and located right on a river. It was a stunning view at an extremely budget price, and we even had a small raft included with our bungalow that my kids loved paddling around! However, it was also a bit rustic. We did not have air conditioning, nor did we have the same variety of restaurants accessible to us without needing to call a car. (They have one, and there’s two more on the same road, but we like a bit more variety.)
It worked for us, and it was really inexpensive for what we got, but I found myself heading into town to pick up food on the regular. (No Grab Food services.) It wasn’t a big deal, but it was a bit inconvenient.
Getting to Ninh Binh
Despite not having a nearby international Ninh Binh is still remarkably easy to get to!
Most people will choose to come either by train or by bus, depending on their schedule and where they are coming from. For instance, we visited Ninh Binh after spending an amazing week in Sapa, which means we didn’t have easy access to Vietnam’s railway. So, we booked an overnight bus. (We slept some on the bus, but did not arrive well-rested.)
You can book tickets for the train either in person at the station or via 12Go.com, if you prefer booking online. However, if you decide to book online, please book at least a few days to a week in advance, as we’ve sometimes had trouble booking last minute tickets online.
If you choose to book a bus, I highly recommend booking via 12Go as there are a huge number of options available.
Getting Around in Ninh Binh
Once you arrive, getting around is easy enough, with a few caveats.
If you’re in Tam Coc, it is fairly easy to get a Grab (like Uber) within a few minutes. However, the farther out you get from town, the less likely that is, and for some of the places in this article it isn’t possible at all. However, the drivers know that, and they will often either offer to wait for you or will give you their phone number so you can contact them. (Most drivers use WhatsApp. If you don’t already have a WhatsApp account, you’ll want to go ahead and sign up while you have access to your regular cell phone number.)
Most often, drivers will charge the same rate back as what Grab charged you to get there. This is a deal for you, because you don’t get stuck without a driver and it’s a deal for them because they don’t have to share their profits with Grab on the way back. Win-win.
Another good choice is just to ask your hotel if they know a driver. Usually they do, but make sure to negotiate your price before getting in the car!
