Should You Take Trang An or Tam Coc Boat Ride?

Ninh Binh is a popular tourist destination near Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. It has a beautiful natural landscape and rich cultural attractions with striking limestone mountains, rivers, rice fields, and ancient pagodas.

Trang An and Tam Coc are the two most famous boat rides in Ninh Binh. If you’re visiting Ninh Binh on a day trip or traveling on a budget, you’ll likely need to choose between these two boat rides to add to your itineraries.

In this article, I will compare Trang An and Tam Coc boat rides and give you recommendations on which one is the best one to take in Ninh Binh. I’m a local Vietnamese and have taken both boat rides several times, so I hope to share with you some useful information.

Is it better to take a Trang An or Tam Coc Boat ride?

I’ve tried both the Trang An Boat Ride and Tam Coc boat ride and I enjoyed both of them. Each boat ride offers a different atmosphere that I personally think you must experience while visiting Ninh Binh. I recommend trying them both if your time is allowed.

For those staying overnight in Ninh Binh:

If you stay overnight in Ninh Binh, I recommend taking both Trang An and Tam Coc boat rides. I suggest spending at least a night in Ninh Binh and doing the boat rides in two separate days.

You will need at least 2-3 hours to half a day for each boat ride for leisure pace. Taking the two boat rides within a day is doable but it can be tiring and rushing.

While the scenery is breathtaking, it’s unpleasant to sit on the hard seat on the boat for a few hours. If you’re visiting in the summer, the heat can also be quite unpleasant, especially when spending long periods outdoors.

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For those taking a day trip to Ninh Binh:

Okay, but not all people have time to stay overnight in Tam Coc/ Ninh Binh, so they will need to choose either Trang An or Tam Coc boat ride for their day trip, in combination with other attractions in the area.

If you ask this question in the 2010s and before that, most people will recommend you to Trang An because it was recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, and attracted more visitors from its status and its professional management services.

Trang An boat ride in the 2010s was very popular for company’s summer holiday and group of friend’s weekend getaway from Hanoi. Tam Coc Boat ride was still a lesser-known destination at the time for both domestic and foreign visitors.

Nowadays, Tam Coc Boat Ride is more developed with more cultural attractions added to the routes, making it a strong competitor to Trang An Boat Ride.

In my opinion, I recommend choosing Trang An Boat Ride if:

1) You want a classic boat ride experience with a very well organized boat service, and good combinations of natural and cultural attractions. The boat will take you to many caves and ancient temples.

2) You want a variety of routes to choose from. If you want to visit the longest cave in the area and the water pavilion (one of the most popular check in spots in the area), you can choose Route 3. If you’re a cave explorer, you can choose route 1, which takes you to 9 caves. If you want a bit of a short boat ride and a good combination of caves and temples, route 2 is a good choice.

3) My personal experience. I prefer Trang An more due to its professional tourism services. Everything in the complex is very well-organised, from the parking area, buying entrance tickets, finding the way to the wharf, and services from the boat driver are more pleasant than in Tam Coc.

In Tam Coc, the boatman sells embroidered goods, and some of them demand tips. There are other boats at some points that try to offer their printed photos services. You can politely decline, but it can be a little uncomfortable if you prefer a quiet experience. Buying a ticket at the Tam Coc is somewhat overwhelming for some people.

I recommend choosing Tam Coc Boat Ride if:

1) You want an easy distance to the boat dock from your hotel. Tam Coc is the tourist center of Ninh Binh where many hotels, shops, and restaurants are located. Most visitors stay in this part of the city, so you can just walk to the dock for the boat ride. If you stay in Tam Coc and take the Trang An boat ride, you have to travel for around 15-20 minutes on the car/ scooter.

2) You want good viewpoints and a bit of physical activity such as hiking to the May Peak and Gioi Ravine viewpoints instead of sitting long in the boat doing sightseeing. In Trang An, you can get off at some temples, but it’s just a leisurely walk around.

3) I prefer the boat duration in Tam Coc. It is sufficient time to see all the beautiful viewpoints, caves, and temples without being too tired sitting for a long period on the boat. In Trang An, I sometimes wish the boatman could speed up and get back to the dock sooner after seeing all major sights, but she can’t because the boat is operated by hand.

4) The combo ticket is a plus for choosing Tam Coc, offering a good opportunity to explore major attractions by boat and electric car. If you have had the chance to see Thai Vi, Bich Dong temple, and Fairy Cave on land, you can choose this option. Otherwise, you can choose the boat only ticket to save money and time.

If I have to choose one, I will choose Tam Coc over Trang An. I think Tam Coc has more beautiful viewpoints, natural caves, and good opportunities for short hiking. There is also an ancient temple at the end of the route, creating an old-world atmosphere. If you buy the combo ticket, you can see more temples to explore on land.

Another reason to choose Tam Coc over Trang An is that it is a shorter boat ride than Trang An. Sitting on the hard seats on the boat for a long period of time and seeing notorious scenery can be boring at Trang An. Even though Tam Coc has its own cons, I still prefer Tam Coc if I have picked one. But if you have time, I definitely recommend visiting both.

Location and accessibility- Is Tam Coc easily accessible than Trang An?

Tam Coc has a more central location and is easily accessible than Trang An. Tam Coc wharf is located right at the heart of the Tam Coc area, which is the tourist heart of Ninh Binh.

Most hotels, restaurants, and shops are located within 1km distance to the dock, so it’s very convenient to just get to the dock by walking, bicycle, or scooter.

Trang An is located around 15 km north of Tam Coc. So, if you stay in Tam Coc, you will have to travel for around 20minutes. You can use Grab or GreenSM apps to travel to Trang An. The scooter ride is around 50k VND and the taxi ride is around 150k VND per ride.

My hotel is Tam Coc Center Friendly Hotel located just a couple of minutes walk from the boat docks, so it was very convenient to just walk to the dock anytime to take the boat tours.

Entrance ticket: Is Trang An more expensive than Tam Coc Boat Ride?

Whether Trang An or Tam Coc is more expensive depends on your route. The ticket in Trang An is 300k VND for all routes, while in Tam Coc, it’s 250k VND for boat ride only, and 350k VND for a combo ticket.

The entrance ticket to Trang An is 300k VND for adults and 150k VND for children (1m-1.3m). Children under 1m have free entrance. The ticket included the boat ticket and entrance to the sightseeing area. You can buy a ticket online or simply just buy it onsite at the entrance.

Tam Coc has two ticket options: the boat ride only ticket and the combo ticket. The combo ticket includes the boat ride and electric car ride.

The combo ticket is 350k VND/ adult and 190k VND/ child (1m-1.3m). It included the sightseeing ticket in Tam Coc, Thai Vi temple, Tien Cave, Bich Dong pagoda, and electric transit vehicle. You can easily buy the combo ticket directly right at the dock.

The boat only ticket at Tam Coc is 250k/ person. They don’t sell this ticket at the pier. You need to jump into the electric bus to get to the ticket office in town, which is a 5 minutes ride away to buy it.

The boats have at least two people on the boat. I was by myself in the early morning. The staff suggest that I can pay 500k VND for a private boat, otherwise I would have to wait until the boat is filled up to 4 passengers. For foreigners, I think they put two people on a boat.

Boat routes at Trang An and Tam Coc Map

At Trang An, you can choose 1 of the 3 routes:

Route 1 (the cave route): take you to 9 caves and 3 spiritual sites dating back to the Dinh dynasty and Tran dynasty. The route takes around 3 hours.
Route 2: take you to 4 caves and 3 spiritual sites. This route is around 2-3 hours.
Route 3: (the popular route): take you to 3 caves and 3 temples, which include the longest caves in the complex (1km long) and the Water temple (popular check-in spot). This route is around 3 hours.

At Tam Coc, you can choose one in two options:

The boat ride only: take you to two viewpoints, one temple, and 3 caves. Make sure to have the map and tell the boatman to get off at these stops: May Peak, Khe Gioi Viewpoint, and Temple of Saint Quy Minh Dai Vuong.
The combo ticket: That includes the boat ride + the attractions on land by electric car such as Thai Vi temple, Bich Dong temple, and Fairy Cave.

Cave system in Trang An and Tam Coc

Trang An has more caves than Tam Coc. The longest cave is Dot Cave, 1km long. Other popular caves are Dark Cave, Bright Cave, and Wine Brewing Cave. All the limestone caves are breathtaking with numerous stalactites hanging from the ceiling in a variety of shapes.

Most caves in Trang An are only accessible by boat. If you’re taking route 2 and route 3, I recommend checking out the cave connecting Suoi Tien temple and Thung Voi temple. You can walk for around 10 minutes inside the cave then reach the tranquil Thung Voi temple, which only few tourists know about even though it’s mentioned on the map.

Tam Coc has three main caves (Ca Cave, Hai Cave, Ba Cave). They’re cooler, more airy, and have a more natural feel than in Trang An.

Hang Cả (Ca Cave) is the first cave you’ll see from Tam Coc pier. It is the biggest and longest cave in Tam Coc complex, around 127m long. The entrance to the cave is 20m wide.

Hang Hai (Hai Cave) is the 2nd cave from the pier, 1km away from the 1st cave. It is only 60m in length but has beautiful stalactites like other caves. Hang Ba (Ba Cave) is the smallest cave, only 50m long, but the most beautiful caves in the area.

The caves in both places are low, so you need to pay attention to bow your head down low when inside the caves.

Cultural and Historical Attractions

The Trang An area is also home to more ancient temples than the Tam Coc area. This temple can easily be along the river while getting off the boat ride. In Tam Coc, there is one temple at the end of the route, but if you take a combo tour, you can see many more temples on land.

These historic sites showcase the rich cultural and historical heritage of Vietnam, where you can learn about the stories and legends associated with the land of Ninh Binh.

On route 1 of Trang An, you can visit Trinh Temple,Tran Temple, Khong Palace to learn about the history of the Dinh dynasty from 968-980 AD as well as Tran Temple with history of the Tran Dynasty from 1225 to 1400.

On route 2, you can visit Cao Son Temple, Suoi Tien temple, and Vu Ham Royal Steps. Cao Son Temple honors one of the three guardian deities of Hoa Lu Ancient Capital. Suoi Tien Temple is delicate to the legendary national hero Saint Quy Minh, a general from the reign of the 18th Hung King.

On route 3, you can visit Trinh temple from the Dinh dynasty in the 10th century, Vu Lam Royal Steps from the Tran Dynasty from 13-15th century, as well as Suoi Tien Temple, Thung Voi temple, and the iconic Water Pavilion.

Along Tam Coc river, there is only one temple at the end of the route, delicate to Saint Quy Minh Dai Vuong. The temple has an ancient feel and a peaceful place to rest.

If you take the combo ticket, you will have a chance to visit more ancient temples on land around Tam Coc River. The Thai Vi temple dates back to the 13th century during the reign of the Tran dynasty.

The Bich Dong pagoda is the three layer pagoda on the mountain with a beautiful entrance gate dating back in 1428 during the reign of Emperor Ly Thai To. I also recommend checking the Fairy Cave temple near Bich Dong temple for more historical and cultural attractions.

Viewpoints Trang An vs Tam Coc

If you’re after beautiful viewpoints, I recommend choosing Tam Coc over Trang An. Trang An doesn’t have any beautiful viewpoints along the river while Tam Co has two breathtaking viewpoints which include May Peak and Khe Gioi Viewpoint.

These two viewpoints are located between the three caves and offer stunning views of the Ngo Dong river, limestone mountains, and the rice fields. I recommend to keep these viewpoints on note and ask the boatman to stop for you to visit these places.

Some boatmen just ignore the stops on the boat because they want to finish their boats early to get back to the dock for other passengers.

Dinh May Viewpoint is after the first cave. After disembarking the boat, you will need to climb 50 stone steps to reach the observation deck. It’s popular, small, and busy check in spots so it can be crowded at the time, but well worth checking out.

Khe Gioi is situated before the second cave, 1km from Dinh May. You will need to climb some of the 200 -300 narrow stone steps between the limestone mountain to reach the observation deck.

Hiking and Walking: is Trang An or Tam Coc better?

If you enjoy hiking, you better head to Hang Mua Cave nearby, Cuc Phuong National Park, and Bai Dinh temple. But to compare Trang An and Tam Coc for hiking and walking, I recommend choosing Tam Coc, as it has two beautiful viewpoints that require a bit of walking up and down through stone steps.

It’s a few minutes hike but can be challenging in the hot and humid days. Hiking is a great way to stretch your leg after sitting long on the boat.

The attractions around Trang An river are mostly in the flat terrace, so you can easily walk while getting off the boats and explore the grounds of temples and pagodas in this complex.

Limestones mountains and Rivers

Both places have stunning views of the limestone mountains along the river. They both have the feel of Halong on land. There are more chances to spot wild goats climbing on the striking rock mountains in Trang An area.

The surrounding areas of Trang An is more rural with only natural landscape, while the beginning of Tam Coc starts from a touristy area, so you can see many hotels and cafes along the banks, but it still gives a peaceful atmosphere.

Boatman – Is the boat driver in Trang An nicer than in Tam Coc?

Boatman in Tam Coc row the boat with their legs

I had a great experience with the boatman the last time I visited Trang An. She always smiled and gave us some information about each stop. But the time before that, the boatman demanded the tip and asked us to row the boat with her throughout the entire journey.

The boatman that I had in Tam Coc wasn’t friendly. She ignored all the stops along the way, which includes the viewpoints and temple. We had to ask her to stop at each stop, and she said we will do that on the way back to the pier.

The boatman at Tam Coc (like all other boatmen in this area) will try to sell you souvenirs and the embroidered pictures but she didn’t insist when I refused to buy. They usually sell it for 200k VND per A4 size.

Demanding a tip can happen on both Trang An and Tam Coc boat rides, depending on the boat drivers. Many people have better experience with boat drivers in Trang An, while in Tam Coc, more visitors experienced the driver asking for tips. We are going to tip anyway, but demanding a tip makes the visitors experience uncomfortable.

If you’re aware of what to expect, everything is fine. There might be boatmen insisting on the tip, people try to sell you photography services, or souvenirs. Just ignore them, say no politely, and enjoy the scenery, don’t let it ruin your experiences.

About the tip, I usually tip 50k as a solo, and 100k as a couple. The special thing about boatmen in Tam Coc is that they row the boat by legs, and in Trang An, the captains row the boat by hand.

Duration of the boat ride: Trang An or Tam Coc shorter?

Tam Coc has a shorter boat ride than Trang An. The round boat trip in Tam Coc is around 1.5-2 hours depending on how quick the boatman row and how long you spend at each stop. If you take the combo tour which includes visiting the on land attraction, it’ll take a couple of hours more to explore them.

The boat ride in Trang An is around 2-3 hours depending on the route you choose. I recommend spending at least a half day in either Trang An or Tam Coc to explore each place, these include time travel to the pier, buying the ticket, queuing for the boat, and time for exploration.

If you want a short boat ride but still see the charming scenery, I definitely recommend choosing Tam Coc boat ride.

The Management services

The Trang An area is very well organized, from ticket counter, to the parking, and the pier. There are ticket counters and auto ticket machines where you can buy tickets at the pier.

After buying the ticket, you can follow the tunnels head to the boat areas. There are many staff there to guide you where to go. As it was a more popular boat tour, I didn’t have to wait too long to get to the shared boat with other people. Everything was a smooth experience.

In Tam Coc, you cannot buy boat tickets only at the pier. I went to the ticket counter at the pier to buy the ticket, but they were redirected to another location to buy their electric car. They only sell the combo ticket at the pier.

It was fine for me as the ticket location is just a 5 minutes drive away from the pier and they offer free electric car rides. I was alone and they told me to wait until they filled about four people in the boat. I think I have to wait for around 15-20 minutes to get the boat ticket with other people.

Best time to visit Trang An and Tam Coc

Both places are busy all day, but the best time to visit is early morning to avoid crowds and the heat (if visiting in the summer time). Weekends and public holidays are often packed with people, so if you want a quieter atmosphere, I recommend visiting during weekdays.