Ninh Binh is one of the most popular day trips or weekend getaways from Hanoi. In this article, I show you the One Day in Ninh Binh Itinerary and top things to do in the city.
Known as Halong Bay on land, Ninh Binh is famous for its beautiful natural landscapes with breaktaking karst limestone formations, picture river, and river fields. Additionally, this city is also the former capital of Vietnam, home to several ancient temples and historical sights.
Is one day enough in Ninh Binh?
It is often recommended to spend a night in Ninh Binh but if you are short on time, one day is enough to see the top sights of the city. This will allow you to see famous places like Trang An, Hang Mua, and Bai Dinh pagoda.
Ninh Binh also has many other lesser-known attractions to visit and explore if you have extra days. They are Tam Coc boat ride, Cuc Phuong National Park, Van Long Nature Reserve, Thung Nham bird park, and Hoa Lu ancient capital.
You can consider renting a motorbike or bicycle to explore the countryside. If you don’t drive you can use a taxi, hire a private driver, or take an organized tour. Grab taxis are available.
If you want to take a day trip from Hanoi without a guided tour, you can catch a bus, use Grab Taxi, and take a private transfer from Hanoi to Ninh Binh. Within Ninh Binh, you can rent a motorbike to explore. You’ll need a good plan, take care of the transportation and navigation.
I highly recommend taking a guided tour if you don’t like the hustle and bustle of exploring the city by yourself. The guided tour is especially helpful if you have a short time during your holiday and you want to see the best of Ninh Binh as much as possible.
If you start from Ha Noi, I recommend The Full-Day Ninh Binh Highlights Tour from Hanoi and Small-Group Jeep/Vespa, which are very popular day tours from Hanoi. They will take you to all top sights of Ninh Binh, including Trang An, Mua Cave, Bich Dong, and Hoa Lu ancient town.
Additionally, these tours will help you to handle all kinds of transportation including transfer between Hanoi and Ninh Binh, as well as boat tours, and bicycle rides. If you want to experience a ride on a jeep tour and motorbike, choose the Jeep tour.
Where to stay in Ninh Binh for one night?
If you stay in Ninh Binh for a night, I recommend staying in Tam Coc. This is because Tam Coc is the tourist center of Ninh Binh. You can find many hotels, guest houses, homestays, and hostels along the main road and in its surrounding areas.
The main road of Tam Coc is lined with tourist facilities such as restaurants, bars, cafes, tour agencies. There are also many beauty salons and massage shops here where you can have a good massage after a long day exploring.
What to do and see in Ninh Binh in One day?
Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex
Trang An is the top attraction in Ninh Binh. Taking a boat ride on Trang An is a must for visitors. This complex is known for its breathtaking limestone karst formations, peaceful river, beautiful caves, and ancient temples.
The ride lasts from 1 to 3 hours. It has 3 different routes taking you to different temples, and caves. But basically, you will take a boat ride on the same river, explore at least a cave or a temple in each route.
When you buy a ticket at the entrance, they will give you a map, then head to the pier, and choose the route that you want. If you have time, I recommend taking the 3 hour route that take you to the longest cave. If you don’t want to sit on the boat too long, the 1-1.5 hour route is enough to give you a glimpse of this complex and landscape.
Hang Mua (Mua Cave)
Hang Mua Cave is a short taxi ride from Trang An Pier. You can climb to the top of the mountain for a panoramic view of the surrounding rivers and mountains. Remember to wear a hat, apply suncream, and bring water with you especially on hot days.
Bai Dinh Pagoda
Bai Dinh Pagoda is one of the top spiritual sites in Vietnam. It is a large complex with many temples, and towers. It also has stunning views of the surroundings. This is a must see if you are exploring at your own pace.
Many popular on day guided tours from Hanoi will take you to Bich Dong pagoda instead of Bai Dinh pagoda. Bai Dinh, in my opinion, is a more impressive temple complex.
Hoa Lu ancient town
Hoa Lu, part of Ninh Binh, is the former capital city of Vietnam, before Hanoi became a capital city. This town has several ancient temples of the Dinh and Le Dynasties. It is best explored with guided tours to have more insights of the history. Otherwise you just go sightseeing as there are no English explanations onsite.
Bich Dong pagoda
Bich Dong pagoda is an ancient temple in Ninh Binh, built in the 15th century. You’ll climb up to see different levels of the mountain to see different areas of Bich Dong pagoda. The upper part offers beautiful views of the surrounding countryside.
Other things to consider to visit if you have more time in Ninh are:
- Tam Coc Boat Ride
- Cuc Phuong National Park
- Van Long Nature Reserve
- Phat Diem Cathedral
- Thung Nham Bird Park
- Thung Nang
One Day in Ninh Binh Itinerary
There are many ways to spend one day in Ninh Binh. This is my suggestions for one day in Ninh Binh to see the best things in the city:
Morning:
- Have breakfast at your accommodations. Popular breakfast in the hotels include traditional Vietnamese foods like pho, pancake and fresh juice.
- Check out a nice family-run garden cafe for Vietnamese coffee
- Use Grab taxi, and rent a bike head to Trang to take a boat ride. If you have time, you can choose a 3 hour boat route that takes you to the longest cave of the complex.
Afternoon:
- Use Grab taxi to get to Bai Dinh pagoda, one of the biggest temple complexes in Vietnam. You can explore both ancient and modern temples in this area.
- Grab a taxi and head to Mua Cave, climb to its top, and enjoy stunning views of Ngo Dong river, rice fields and karts.
- Back to Tam Coc area where you stay, explore the town, check out Tam Coc pier.
Evening:
- Check a nice restaurant on the main road in Tam Coc for meals. Speciality foods in Ninh Binh are goat meal and snails, give it a try.
- There are many bars in the main road, you can party until late night
- Have an hour and two relaxing massages. Most Massage shops here are affordable and have very good reviews.
See more:
- Where to Stay in Ninh Binh
- 2 to 3 Days in Ninh Binh Itinerary
- 10 Best Things to Do & See in Ninh Binh
- Best Time to Visit Ninh Binh
Overall, you can see a lot of top attractions in Ninh Binh within one day, either you start from Hanoi or Ninh Binh. Famous sights to consider include Trang An, Mua Cave, Bai Dinh pagoda, and Bich Dong pagoda. You can spend some time in the main tourist area of Tam Coc for meals or drinks.