Tam Coc – Bich Dong in Ninh Binh Province is a new famous tourist destination in Vietnam. It attracts many visitors to come here to explore the beauty of the landscape. Vietnamdrive will introduce you about the experiences in Tam Coc – Bich Dong to help you plan your journeys better.
Check useful information about journeys to Ninh Binh:
Visit Bai Dinh Trang An in Ninh Binh one day from Hanoi
2 days from Hanoi to Ninh Binh and Halong Bay
travel from Hanoi to Cuc Phuong National Park
How to travel from Hanoi to Ninh Binh
Location of Tam Coc Bich Dong
Tam Coc locates at Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. About 100km south of the capital Hanoi, Tam Coc is well-known as “Ha Long Bay on Land”.
From Ninh Binh city center to Tam Coc is 7km, and right in the area of Trang An landscape, Tam Coc has incredible beauty of nature. Many guests travel from Hanoi to Tam Coc Bich Dong to explore nature or relax for 1 or 2 days, especially during weekends.
Best time to visit Tam Coc – Bich Dong
All year round, Tam Coc – Bich Dong has its own unique beauty. It depends on your hosting
- If you like to cool weather and festival activities, from January to March is suitable for you. The sky is clear; it’s little rain; so it is convenient for sitting on the boat and visiting scenic spots. And, many festivals are held during this time, making Tam Coc more colorful.
- If you want to see the green rice fields, you will come here after the Lunar New Year (in the second or third of lunar month), in March or April (solar calendar). That is the right time.
- If you want to admire a beautiful picture of Tam Coc with the yellow color of the rice field, you should travel to Tam Coc at the end of May or early June.
- Different time of the year, it’s really hot with many Vietnamese travelers, or it rains (often from October to December).
Transportation to Tam Coc – Bich Dong
Most of the guests visit Tam Coc – Bich Dong from Hanoi capital. Thus, Vietnamdrive will show you the way to travel to Tam Coc from Hanoi, the main destination to depart from.
There are many kinds of transportation to Tam Coc including trains, buses, motorbike, taxi, and a private car. The most suitable vehicle is a private car, which can support you with the door-to-door service.
To save your budget, you can choose a shared bus with Limousine online from Hanoi – Ninh Binh. Price of a ticket is from 250,000VND / way to Tam Coc, and from 200,000VND/way to the city of Ninh Binh. But, you need to tell them where to get on the bus and where to drop-off.
For train travel, as mention above, trains are not convinient to travel from Hanoi to Tam Coc. Check the reasons:
- It is because you have to move from your hotel to Hanoi Railway Station (Ga Ha Noi) at 120 Le Duan Street.
- Then, you will stop at Ninh Binh Railway Station at 1/41 Hoang Hoa Tham Street, Ninh Binh City.
- It means that you need the transfer from the train station in Ninh Binh to Tam Coc Bich Dong after train stop.
- This takes you more time, and Vietnamdrive really does not recommend for travelers who have a short time in Vietnam.
- If you have a plan to stay in Ninh Binh at least one night, the train from Hanoi to visit Tam Coc, stop at Ninh Binh city is alright to choose.
- Ticket price is cheap from 80,000VND/way/guest – 190,000VND/way/guest, depending on the kinds of seats or beds, from a hard seat to a soft AC soft bed.
Tourist attractions in Tam Coc and nearby
Tam Coc means “three caves”, including Hang Ca (the first cave), Hang Hai (the second cave) and Hang Ba (the third cave). All three caves are connected with each other by the Ngo Dong River, combining with beautiful ranges of the mountains.
- Ca cave (the first cave): is the largest and longest cave in Tam Coc system, with a width of over 20m at the cave entrance, and more than 127m in length.
- Hang Hai (the second cave): It is a small cave with a length of only about 60m, and 1km from Hang Ca downstream of the Ngo Dong River.
- Hang Ba (the third cave): is the smallest cave, only 50m long, but Hang Ba is the most beautiful cave compared to the others. Here, you will see a stone arch which is skillfully honed with sophisticated details, creating a typical and fantastic beauty for the third cave.
The cost of visiting includes 2 categories: Sightseeing tickets (entrance tickets) and ferry tickets.
- Entrance ticket is 120,000VND/guest/time;
- Ferry ticket is 150,000VND/boat (for max 4 Vietnamese guests); 150,000VND/ boat ( for max 2 foreign guests).
- Free for children under 3 years old. Time to fully explore Tam Coc takes you at least 3 hours.
In addition to visiting Tam Coc, you can visit the nearby tourist sites such as:
- Bich Dong Pagoda: is also called “Nam Thien De Nhi Dong”, it means the second beautiful cave of Vietnam, (the first cave pagoda is Huong Tich in Ha Tay).
- Hang Mua: Only 3km away from Tam Coc, you have to climb through 486 stone steps to get to the top to see the panorama of Tam Coc area with vast rice fields and panoramic of the Ninh Binh City. The entrance ticket is 100K / person, and the travel time is at least 2 hours.
- Viet Co Village: It is also called Co Vien Lau, you will experience the peaceful countryside with the characteristics of Vietnamese villages in the XVIII-XX century.
Places to stay when traveling to Tam Coc
In the Tam Coc tourist area, there are many kinds of accommodations such as hotels, homestay, bungalow, hostels, or resorts.
- The highlight of budget accommodation is Homestay Tam Coc and especially Tam Coc Bungalow. In Tam Coc Bungalow, there are shared rooms for you to stay with a very low budget, a price of about $ 6, including breakfast. Check this link to book online Tam Coc Bungalow!
- Tam Coc Victoria Hotel is a small hotel suitable for tourists to vist Tam Coc – Bich Dong. Just 2-star hotel standard, so the budget is very good for most of travelers.
- Ninh Binh Hidden Charm Hotel and Resort is a luxury resort for your comfortable stay in Ninh Binh. This is one of the top rank hotels and resorts in Ninh Binh.
Itinerary suggested to see the yellow rice field in Tam Coc
This suggested plan is for someone who has budget travel with the shared bus. For a private tour or luxury travel, please tell us, and Vietnamdrive is happy to range it for you.
Day 1: Hanoi – Ninh Binh – Tam Coc – Bich Dong – Hang Mua – Countryside – Ancient Town
In the morning:
- 6:00 am: a shared bus will pick you up at the meeting place
- 7:30 – 8:00am: Arrive in Tam Coc and rest at Tam Coc Bungalow
- 8:00am – 10:00am: Take a boat to visit Tam Coc Cave
- 10:00-11:30am: Visit Bich Dong Pagoda
At noon, go back to check in the hotel, and have lunch buffet at Bungalow or a local restaurant in Tam Coc. Take a lunch break at the hotel.
In the afternoon:
- 14:00 -16:00pm: Trekking to Mua Cave, about 3km from Tam Coc Cave. Mua Cave is a place that is not missed for taking pictures. You have to make sure that you can climb 489 steps to the top, where you will see the whole view of Tam Coc ripe rice.
- 16:00 -17:00pm: Go back to Tam Coc to rest.
- If you want to explore the countryside, you can do an option such as riding a bike for 1 hour or motorbike round of village and fields. This is also a great experience to add with your trip to Tam Coc.
In the evening are other options:
- Walking around the ancient town of Tam Coc about 500m from the Bungalow
- Or, travel about 2 km away to the Trang An gate which is also beautiful at night. After that, go back to Bungalow for the night.
Day 2: Tam Coc – the temples of Kings Dinh & Le – Tuyet Tinh Coc – Bai Dinh pagoda
Some guests also choose to travel to Trang An. But, with our experience, Trang An and Tam Coc are nearly the same activity, sitting on boats and enjoying the landscape on both sides of the river. The difference between Trang An and Tam Coc is that Tam Coc has a section of yellow rice on both sides of the river, but less route to move on the boat and shorter cave when visiting Tam Coc.
But, to see the yellow rice field, the end of May or June is the best time to visit Tam Coc. You can choose Trang An (and Kong movie field) to visit for another time.
Now, we will start on the second day.
In the morning:
- 7:00 am – 8:30 am, have breakfast, coffee at Bungalow.
- 8:30-11:00am: Travel to visit the temples of King Dinh & King Le temple, about 12km from Tam Coc. Then, you transfer about 2km to Tuyet Tinh Coc in Ninh Binh.
At noon: There are 2 options for lunch:
- if you want to taste goat meat (great local food of Ninh Binh), you will stop at Huu Nghi restaurant, about 3km from Tuyet Tinh Coc.
- If you want to have a light lunch, you can choose to go to Bai Dinh Pagoda, which is nearly 10 km away, to eat vegetarian at the temple.
In the afternoon:
- Visit Bai Dinh Pagoda, which is the most significant spiritual tourism area in Vietnam. Bai Dinh Pagoda is a complex of pagodas with many Vietnamese records such as the largest area of the pagoda, the biggest bronze statue of Buddha, and the most statues La Han…
- 17:00: Come back the bus to travel back Hanoi.
- 19h00: Arrive in the center of Hanoi, finish the 2-day tour of Tam Coc with the most beautiful memories.
Thank you for checking the article about the experience of Tam Coc – Bich Dong in Ninh Binh. If you have more questions, please leave it at the comments or send an email to us. The team of Vietnamdrive is willing to support you to explore Tam Coc Bich Dong easily, to get great memories.