Tam Coc Boat Ride is the 2nd most popular boat ride in Ninh Binh, just after Trang An Boat Ride. Taking the Tam Coc Boat Ride is one of the top things to do and see in Ninh Binh.
I enjoyed my boat ride in Ngo Dong river in Tam Coc with breaktaking views of the limestone karts, rice fields, lily & lotus flower, caves, ancient temples, and viewpoints.
In this detailed guide about the Tam Coc Boat Ride, I will show the location, the price, opening/ closing hours, how to buy the ticket, the map, the routes, and the duration of this beautiful boat ride in Ninh Binh.
Is it worth taking Tam Coc Boat Ride?
While Trang An Boat Ride is the most popular boat ride in Ninh Binh, I highly recommend taking the Tam Coc Boat Ride if you enjoy a shorter boat ride but still experience most things that Trang An has to offer.
I did both boat rides, and I prefer The Tam Coc ride more due to its shorter duration and stunning natural scenery. Even though I had some negative experiences such as the boatman asking for tips and trying to sell souvenirs, it’s still well worth taking the ride.
The natural beauty of Tam Coc still easily outweighs these few frustrations with the boat service. If you did a little bit of research before the ride, expect what can happen, know your rights at each stop, you can have a wonderful experience.
Tam Coc stands out from Trang An because of its two stunning viewpoints May Peak and Khe Gioi Viewpoint. These viewpoints are located on the mountainside next to the caves, offering magnificent views of the Ngo Dong River with the rice fields and limestone karsts on two sides.
Within 1.5-2 hours round boat trip, you can see beautiful scenery that the region has to offer. It’s a peaceful boat ride through a quiet river surrounded by rice fields and limestone mountains. You will have a chance to stop at two viewpoints, pass 3 caves, and temples along the way.
In addition to the boat ride, you can purchase a combo ticket option, which allows you to use the boat ride and electric car service to visit other 3 on land attractions: Thai Vi temple, Bich Dong temple, and Fairy Cave.
Another advantage of taking Tam Coc Boat Ride is its central location, right in the heart of Tam Coc town, which is the tourist center of Ninh Binh. Many hotels are located in this area, and if you stay here, you can easily walk or ride a bicycle to the pier for the boat ride.
You can read more at Should You Take Trang An or Tam Coc Boat Ride? to see my compassion between Trang An and Tam Coc.
Tam Coc Boat Ride Location
The Tam Coc Boat Ride runs along Ngo Dong River from the center of Tam Coc town to the Temple of Quy Minh Dai Vuong on the upper stream of the river.
The Tam Coc Boat Station is located in the heart of Tam Coc, which is the tourist town of Ninh Binh. It’s located on Tam Coc Road, off the main tourist strip DT491C Road.
You can search “Bến Thuyền TAM CỐC” or “Tam Coc Van Lam Pier” or “20.216540703678255, 105.93745943579694” on Google Maps for the location of Tam Coc Boat Pier.
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Tam Coc Boat Ride Map
The Tam Coc Boat Ride has two routes: The water route and the land route. You can book the boat only ticket or purchase the combo ticket for both the combination of boat and land route.
I recommend taking the combo route if you don’t have your own vehicles. With an extra 100k VND, you can explore three more on land attractions by electric car. The price includes the car ride and entrance fee to all the sites which include Thai Vi temple, Bich Dong temple, and the Fairy Cave/ Linh Coc temple.
Here is the map of the Tam Coc Boat Ride including both the water route and the land route:
Opening and Closing time of Tam Coc Boat Ride
The Tam Coc Boat Ride is open all year around. The opening time is usually around 7.30 and the closing time of the ticket counter is around 5pm.
I recommend taking the early morning boat ride for more fresh air and tranquil atmosphere. When I arrived at the ticket office around 8am, there were still not many people around. If you go by yourself, you will likely need to wait for a bit for a shared boat to fill.
If you want to take the afternoon boat ride, don’t plan to take it at the last minute, as it’ll feel rushed purchasing the ticket and less time exploring each stop along the way. If you take a late boat ride, I recommend taking it around 3-4 pm for the relaxing pace.
Where to buy tickets for Tam Coc Boat Ride?
While you can buy the ticket online at an online booking platform, I recommend buying the ticket onsite right at the pier or the ticket counter before the ride. Your hotels and tour agencies on the main street can help you buy the tickets, but the best choice is directly at the pier.
You can buy Combo tickets at the Tam Coc Boat Pier and the Boat Only Ticket at the booking office area in the Dong Gung Bus Station.
The Tam Coc Booking Office is located inside the bus station on the main road DT491C. It’s around 350m and 3-5 minutes drive from Tam Coc Pier. The address is 20° 13′ 3.018″ N 105° 56′ 26.148″ E on Google Maps.
If you don’t know where the main office is, just ask to arrive at the pier and ask the staff there. They will navigate you to the free yellow EV car to get to the ticket office for free. After buying the ticket, you can jump back to one of those cars to get back to the pier for the boat.
Tam Coc Boat Ride Price
The Boat Only ticket is 250k VND per person, 120k VND per child 1-1.3 m tall, and free for children under 1m tall. The boat has a maximum capacity of 5 people. Along the ride, I usually see boats with 2 Westerners or boats with 4-5 Vietnamese/ Asian.
I was alone, so I shared the boats with other people. I came to the ticket counter early in the morning around 8am, not many people around, so I had to wait for around 15-20 minutes till there were enough people to share the boat.
The staff suggested purchasing the private boat for 500k VND if I don’t want to wait. But I decided to wait, and at the end, I shared the boat with two other Vietnamese.
The Combo ticket is 350k VND per person, 190k VND per child 1-1.3m tall, and free for children under 1m tall. The combo tickets are advertised in many places, and easier to buy at both the pier and the ticket office. The combo ticket includes the boat ride, the free EV ride to all attractions in land, and entrance fee to all sites.
I book the Boat Ride only because I’ve already visited all the land attractions in the combo ticket by scooter, so I don’t want to waste time and money on that. If you don’t rent a scooter or bicycle, it’s a good idea to take the combo ticket for just an addition of 100k VND to the boat ticket.
Tam Coc Boat Ride Route
The Boat Ride starts from Tam Coc Boat Station to Ca Cave, Cloud Peak, Hai Cave, Khe Gioi Viewpoint, Ba Cave, and The Temple Of Quy Minh Dai Vuong.
After purchasing the ticket, you will queue at the pier, take the life jackets, and the staff will assign you to a boat. From my observation, I can see each boat usually carries up to 2 foreigners and 4-5 locals depending on the total weight of the boat.
I didn’t have to wait too long in the queue during my visit early Sunday morning. The beginning of the boat ride was the colorful cafes and guest house along the banks of the river.
After a 10 minutes ride, we passed a small concrete bridge called “Cau Rong” and the limestone karts, water lilies, and rural landscapes started to appear on the two sides of the Ngo Dong river.
There is a group of boatmen on the side of the river after the bridge offering photography services. They did not approach our boat on the way to the temple, and offered a bit of offering on the way back to the pier.
We reached Bến Thánh wharf after a 20 minute boat ride from the Tam Coc pier. If you take the combo ticket, the boat will end here later, and you will be transferred to an EV car to visit Thai Vi temple, Bich Dong temple, and Fairy Cave.
Ca Cave
We passed the first cave, Hang Ca Cave, after a 25 minutes ride from the pier. It is the biggest and longest cave in the series of 3 caves of the Tam coc Boat Tour. It is 127m long and 20 wide. The cave has cool air breeze and different shapes and sizes of stalactites hang from the cave ceiling.
Right after Ca Cave is the Cloud Peak Viewpoint, we can see some boat stops there and the advertised sign of the viewpoint. My boatman ignored it and didn’t stop there, we questioned why, she said her job is only down the boat along the river.
We insisted that it’s included in the ticket, then she said she was going to stop at all the viewpoints for us on the way back.
Hai Cave
On the way to Hang Hai Cave, I spotted a cute little shop along the river under the limestone mountains. You can buy water and soft drinks from them if you don’t bring water with you.
We reached Khe Gioi Viewpoint after a 40 minutes ride from The pier and around 15 minutes boat tide from Ca Cave. Again, the boatman skipped this stop and we will check back on the way back.
The Hai Cave is only a 2 minutes boat ride from the stop to Khe Gioi Viewpoint. Hai Cave cave is 1km away from Ca Cave. It’s also a beautiful cave with a cool atmosphere and beautiful stalactites.
The length of the second cave is only half the length of the first Cave. It’s 60m long and 18m wide. There is lots of natural light and air inside the cave so you can feel fresh and take nice photos.
Ba Cave
The Ba Cave is only 5 minutes from Hai Cave. It’s the shortest cave of the three caves in Tam Coc. It also has a smaller ceiling compared to the other two caves but still very beautiful.
The temple of Quy Minh Dai Vuong
The temple is located at the end of Tam Coc boat tour boat route. The boat driver didn’t let us get off the boat to explore the temple. So I just have a quick photo of the temple from the boat. It’s a small spiritual place on the edge of the limestone mountains right next to the water. If you get off the boat to explore, it will take a few minutes to walk around to see everything.
The temple is delicate to Saint Quy Minh Dai Vuong and his wife. According to Vietnamese folklore, Quý Minh Đại Vương is one of the three sacred deities which include Son Tinh, Than Cao Son, and Than Quy Minh. While Son Tinh and Than Cao Son are two mountain gods, Quy Minh is the earth and water deity.
Khe Gioi Viewpoint
It’s a 10 minute boat ride from Temple of Quy Minh back to Khe Gioi Viewpoint passing Ba Cave and Hai Cave. We spent 20 minutes climbing up the viewpoint and taking photos.
There are around 200-300 stone steps from the boat stop to the observation desk. Some parts of the path were very narrow between the two limestone mountains. The hike is short, only a few minutes, but can be very tiring and sweaty on hot days.
There are several viewpoints along the way but the last one has the best views of the Ngo Dong River, the limestones, the row of tourist boats, and the greenery on two sides of the river.
I got back to the boat stop earlier than the couple on my boat. The scenery at this stop is beautiful and tranquil with an ancient feel of a small shrine next to it. It’s a good place to rest after the hike to the viewpoint.
May Peak Viewpoint
May Peak is a 20 minute boat ride from the Khe Gioi Viewpoint and Hai Cave. It was a smaller viewpoint compared to Khe Gioi, but it was very crowded and popular with people trying to take photos and videos for Instagram and tiktok.
The view is also stunning with striking limestone mountains on the two sides of the calm river. There are also rice fields and rows of tourist boats on the river, creating the colorful photos. To reach May peak, you can walk up around 50 steps, a very easy trail compared to Khe Gioi.
We spent around 10 minutes at Khe Gioi taking photos and enjoying the views. Get back to the boat, pass the Ca Cave, and finally the pier.
On the way back near Cau Rong Bridge, some photographers from other boats tried to approach us to offer their photo services, but we politely declined. Be aware that Photographers may take unsolicited photos and offer one print for 30k VND, only to print several and demand payment for all of them.
Tam Coc Electric Car Route
I didn’t take the combo ticket to visit the inland attractions around Tam Coc because I had already visited these places on my scooter at my own pace. But I skipped this part to save money and time.
After the boat ride, visiting all the caves, temples and viewpoints, the boat rower will take you back to Bến Thánh wharf (located 20 minutes from the pier) where you can start your onland journey.
From Bến Thánh wharf, you can continue your journey exploring the temples that are included in the ticket by electric car. Remember to keep your ticket to show to the drivers.
Thai Vi temple
Thai Vi Temple is located only 400m from the boat stop, so it’s an easy 5-10 minutes leisure walk. You can use Google Maps for navigation or show the ticket to the EV driver to get there.
Thai Vi tempe is an ancient temple, dedicated to the Tran Dynasty kings, particularly King Tran Thai Tong, who came to Hoa Lu (nowaday Ninh Binh) to practice Buddhism after the victory against the Chinese Mongol invasions.
The temple has a serene atmosphere, surrounded by limestone mountains. It is nestled against Coi Linh Mountain, facing the Ngo Dong River.The Thai Vi Festival is celebrated every year, on the 14th day of the third lunar month on the ground of the temple.
Bich Dong temple
The Bich Dong Pagoda is around 10 minutes drive from Thai Vi temple. It’s a beautiful temple complex including three ancient pagodas built on the side of a mountain. The ancient gate at the entrance, the small stone bridge, and the lily lake are beautiful places for photography.
To reach the upper pagoda, you need to climb numerous stone steps and walk through a cave. It has good views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.
Fairy Cave and Linh Coc temple
Linh Coc temple and Fairy Cave are located only 5 minutes drive from Bich Dong pagoda. Linh Coc Pagoda was first built in 1258, under the Tran Dynasty. The pagoda has undergone numerous renovations but still retains its ancient and sacred character.
You can climb some steep stairs to reach the entrance to the Fairy Cave. It’s a large cave where you can walk around to explore. But be mindful of slippery.
How Long does the Tam Coc boat ride take?
It took us around a 50 minute boat ride non stop from Tam Coc boat pier to the end of the boat route at The temple of Quy Minh Dai Vuong.
On the way back we spent 20 minutes at the Khe Gioi Viewpoint, 10 minutes at the May Peak, so it took us 1.5 hours on the way back.
The total time for the Tam Coc Boat ride for me is around 2.5-3 hours including time waiting for other people to fill the boat as I was by myself in the early morning and there were not many people to pair with.
I would say that 2.5-3 hours is the duration for the boat ride with the stop for exploration at Khe Gioi, Cloud Peak, and Temple of Quy Minh. This is without the sightseeing on land in the combo ticket. If your boat drivers only take you on the boat without any stop along the way, it will probably take around 1.5 hours round trip.
If you take the combo ticket to visit Thai Vi temple, Bich Dong temple, and Fairy Cave, I would recommend allowing 1-2 hours for these sites to explore and travel between places. It would take a half day to comfortably see all the things on the water and on land on the Tam Coc boat tour.
How to get to Tam Coc Boat Pier?
Tam Coc Boat Pier is centrally located in the heart of Tam Coc, which is the main tourist center of Ninh Binh, making it easily accessible by walking, bicycle, scooter, and ride share services such as GreenSM/ Grab taxi and bike.
By Walking
Many hotels and guest houses of Ninh Binh are located in Tam Coc and most visitors to Ninh Binh will stay in Tam Coc. If you stay here, you can easily walk to the Tam Coc Pier for the boat ride along the Ngo Dong River.
The last time I visited Tam Coc, I stayed in Tam Coc Center Friendly Hotel, which is just 3 minutes walk from the Tam Coc Boat Pier. I walked to the pier from my hotel for an early boat ride.
The square next to the pier also often hosts events in the evening, making it very convenient to stay near the pier for evening shows.
By Bicycle
Tam Coc is a bicycle-friendly town and riding a bicycle around the area is a popular activity for both locals and tourists. If you stay in the surrounding areas such as Hang Mua Cave, Trang An, and Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, you can cycle to Tam Coc Boat Pier.
The popular points of interest in Tam Coc region are only within a 15km radius, so you can easily get around on foot. The road is flat and easy to navigate. The countryside road has scenic views of limestone mountains, rice fields, and rivers.
You can rent a bicycle at your hotel or at rental agencies on the main roads. The price is usually around 50k per day. Some hotels and guest houses also offer free use of bicycles for its guests, especially mid-range and high-end hotels.
By riding a Scooter
I love riding a scooter in the Tam Coc – Ninh Binh region. It’s comfortable, cheap, and convenient, especially on hot days, as I don’t have to put much physical effort into it. It can take me to the place faster than a bicycle and I can travel further distance than having a bicycle.
I rented a scooter from my hotel for 150k a day. The scooter was in excellent condition and well equipped with a phone holder, which helped me navigate the road smoothly. You can rent at many travel agencies and rental shops in your area.
The price for a scooter ranges from 150k-200k per day. The shop’s owner will usually give you small petrol in the tank, so you need to fill it right after renting. I often filled 30k-50k per day during my time in Tam Coc. The main petrol station can be found on the main road in Tam Coc and along the highways during your travels.
Grab/ GreenSM taxi or motobike
You can use Grab and GreenSM taxi and motorbike in Ninh Binh and Tam Coc. They are operated widely in touristy areas such as Trang An, Tam Coc, Hang Mua, and Hoa Lu Old Town/ Ninh Binh City.
I love both apps and recommend installing them both on your phone. You can check the price of your ride from both apps to find the best option (cheapest and their availability).
Sometimes I found good deals from Grab, sometimes I found good deals from GreenSM, so it’s good to have them both on your phone.
If you prefer EV cars and motorbikes, you can use GreenSM. Grab also offers EV cars and motorbikes in addition to its traditional taxis and bikes.
Here are the cost, duration, and distance from Trang An, Hoa Lu Old Town, Hang Mua Cave, and Hoa Lu Ancient Capital to Tam Coc Boat Pier by Grab/GreenSM taxi and motorbike:
| Trang An to Tam Coc | Hang Mua to Tam Coc | Hoa Lu Ancient Capital to Tam Coc | Hoa Lu Old Town to Tam Coc | |
| Distance | 7 km -10 km | 4.5 km | 15 km | 9 km |
| Duration | 16-20 minutes | 10-15 minutes | 25-30 minutes | 15-20 minutes |
| Taxi Price | 130k-150k VND | 60k-80k VND | 180k-200k VND | 100k-150k VND |
| Motobike Price | 50k-70k VND | 25k-40k VND | 70k-90k VND | 50k VND |
Boatman and the tip at Tam Coc Boat Ride
There are hundreds to thousands of boatmen on Tam Coc, so each person has different experience than the boat drivers. The attitude of the boat drivers can affect the experience of the visitors.
I myself didn’t have a good experience with the boatman in Tam Coc. My boatman simply rowed to the end of the river and wanted to turn back without stopping anywhere. She only agreed to stop on the way back when we insisted that she stop at viewpoints.
In my opinion, these stops are a main part of the Tam Coc boat ride experience. There are many nice boatmen who will stop for you to get to the viewpoints and temples without you asking to do it, but in case your boatman ignores these stops, you should firmly and politely insist them to stop for you to explore and remind them that it’s included in the ticket.
Another thing that happened on the boat is that the boatman tried to sell us the handmade embroidery photos. She didn’t push us when we said no but I still felt uncomfortable. The item is 200k VND but you can find it elsewhere in town for around 70k VND.
The rowers may also ask for tips at the end of the tour. Tipping is entirely optional, and in my opinion, 50k VND was reasonable for solo passengers like me.
The stunning beauty of Tam Coc far outweighs these disappointments. The scenery is truly unforgettable and the atmosphere is calm and relaxing. It’s one of the most memorable places I visited in Vietnam.
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Even though there are a few negative points from the boat service, the landscape of Tam Coc alone makes it well worth visiting, and I would still highly recommend it to anyone visiting Ninh Binh. If you expect what will happen and know your rights when taking the tour, you will have a memorable trip in Tam Coc.