Top 20 Amazing Things to Do & See in Ninh Binh 2024

If you are keen on beautiful natural landscapes with a harmonious combination of rivers, hills, caves, and so on, you have to take a look at Ninh Binh. It’s like a special gift from the Motherland to the Vietnamese. Not only having gorgeous landscapes, but Ninh Binh also has a comfortable climate, where you can travel almost around the year. 

Top Ninh Binh Activities

1. Conquer Mua Cave & Mua Viewpoint

• Address: Khe Dau Ha village, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 9 p.m
• Ticket price: 100.000 VND per person (Free for children under 10 years old)

Traveling to Ninh Binh, you can’t miss Mua cave, one of the most wonderful landscapes in Ninh Binh. Unlike other famous caves in Vietnam, the factor making Mua cave is not famous for the beauty inside it. Tourists come here to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery around this cave. In other words, Mua cave viewpoint is exactly what visitors long to see when they arrive here.

The special highlight is the 486 steps you have to conquer to arrive at the top of Mua cave, giving an incredible viewpoint that never makes your effort wasted. At the top of this famous cave, there is a small old towel where you can pose and take some photos with antique style. 

Mua Cave Ninh Binh

2. Take a boat trip in Trang An

• Address: Trang An eco-tourism area, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 4.30 p.m
• Ticket price: 250.000 VND per person; 120.000 VND for children under 1,3 m and free for children under 1 m.

Sao Khe river slightly flowing through Trang An makes boat trips the best choice for visiting this ecotourism area. Entrance ticket includes boat trip fee, thus you won’t pay anything more to get on a boat and take the Trang An trip in 2.5 to 3.5 hours. Up to the option you choose, you can be taken to see many exciting spots, mainly caves and temples such as Trinh Temple, Suoi Tien temple, Toi cave, Dai cave, etc. 

Besides classic boat trips, you can try the new type of boat trip to explore Trang An, Kayak. Each boat is for two people with a ticket of 250.000 VND for 2 hours and 300.000 VND for 3 hours in case of a single boat; respectively 350.000 VND and 400.000 VND in case of a double boat. You will be able to play rowing and travel at the same time. It’s one of the amazing things to do in Ninh Binh. 

3. Have a beer on the waterfront Ninh Binh

With a terrain of many rivers, Ninh Binh not just has a lot of beautiful landscapes, it’s also a great place for having a beer on the waterfront. What is more wonderful than enjoying cool, delicious beers in a cool space with a light breeze and charming scenery? 

Moreover, Ninh Binh also has many delicious types of fresh beer that you can’t find anywhere else. Many tourists come here and choose to enjoy beer to relax after a long trip or stressful working days. Thanks to that, along the beautiful riverside of Ninh Binh, there are many beer bars for you to choose from. It will never let you down. Try to make your Ninh Binh trip more memorable.

Have beer on the waterfront Ninh Binh

4. Biking Around Village & Fields

Besides boating, biking is also a popular choice for many tourists when coming to Ninh Binh. This is an indispensable part of ecotourism, where visitors can immerse themselves in a peaceful, fresh, and romantic natural space.

In Ninh Binh, Tam Coc - Bich Dong area is the best place for biking tours. Countryside scenery with beautiful fields dotted among limestone mountains, small peaceful villages, and small streets bring visitors to an open fresh space, with no traffic jams, no buildings, or no line of people squeezing each other on the street.

In fact, the tourist attractions are quite large, it will be difficult to explore all by walking as usual, so biking is a better choice for sightseeing. This activity brings you new experiences and makes your trip more complete. In general, the rental fee of a bike per day is between 50.000 VND to 70.000 VND.

Ninh Binh Biking

5. Hike to Silver Cloud Peak

• Address: Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 6 p.m
• Ticket price: 60.000 VND per person; 20.000 VND for students and 10.000 VND for children.

Silver Cloud Peak is located in Cuc Phuong National park. It’s an amazing spot you can’t skip when coming here. Not only the highest place of this national park, but Silver Cloud Peak is also an incredible viewpoint, where clouds cover the primeval forests, painting a picture like a paradise.

But the thing making it so fascinating to hike to Silver Cloud Peak is the natural scenery along the climbing way. To reach the top, you have to cross the forest, enjoy the fresh air and majestic scenery. This is an extremely suitable activity for those who love outdoor sports, combining climbing and traveling.

Hike to Silver Cloud Peak

6. Trekking in Cuc Phuong National Park

• Address: Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 6 p.m
• Ticket price: 60.000 VND per person; 20.000 VND for students and 10.000 VND for children.

Besides hiking to Silver Cloud Peak, trekking in Cuc Phuong National Park is another amazing activity you should try on your Ninh Binh trip.

Cuc Phuong is the first national park in Vietnam, having a wide range of creatures, both animals and plants. It’s a testament to the beauty of nature in Vietnam. With a large area, many types of terrain, and beautiful scenery, Cuc Phuong National Park is very suitable for trekking. This outdoor teamwork activity can give more exciting experiences than you think, not only for exploring a new land but also for exercising and team-building.

Trekking in Cuc Phuong National park

7. Boat trip to Galaxy Grotto

• Address: Quang Lac village, Nho Quan district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 7 a.m to 6 p.m
• Ticket price: 120.000 VND per person; 60.000 VND for children.

Galaxy Grotto is a beautiful cave located in Trang An eco-tourism area. Like its name, the beauty of Galaxy Grotto comes from the delusion of stalactites which are in the tectonic process. 

The boat trip to Galaxy Grotto starts at Muong Tho Ha, a small peaceful village. Moving on a small canal of Ben Dang river for 1 km, you will meet a 500-meters stone road leading to the entrance of this cave.

The entire journey will be led by experienced guides. Therefore, you can completely immerse yourself in a magical, beautiful space with stalactites of all kinds of shapes. It will definitely be an unforgettable experience.

Galaxy grotto

8. Relax at Hot spring at Kenh Ga Floating Village

• Address: Gia Thinh village, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 7 a.m to 7 p.m

From the mountain on Kenh Ga floating village, this hot spring water is created by the Motherland as a special gift for local people before flowing to Hoang Long river. It’s good for health, thanks to minerals and salt-rich such as sodium chloride, kalicloride, etc., and a stable temperature of 53°C.

Hot spring at Kenh Ga Floating Village is one of the 5 most beautiful open-air hot springs in Vietnam. Not only has a special source of water which is very good for health, but this hot spring also attracts tourists with its beautiful scenery. Hot spring bath services here are quite diverse with many prices up to service providers.

Kenh Ga hot spring

9. Try a Ninh Binh local homestay

A homestay has never become less attractive in terms of accommodation options, thanks to its safety, the right price, and along with the rest, giving you a chance to explore the daily lives of the local people.

Being a very famous tourist destination, the homestay service in Ninh Binh is rapidly developing, giving visitors a variety of choices to relax and experience. Here are some useful suggestions:

For You Homestay

• Address: 479B, Truong Yen, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
• Prices: From 26 $
• Best for: Service and facilities

Tam Coc Lake View Homestay

• Address: Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
• Prices: From 10 $
• Best for: View

Lotus Field Homestay

• Address: Khe Thuong, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
• Prices: From 30 $
• Best for: Room decór 

Trang An Central Homestay

• Address: Ninh Hoa, Hoa Lu, Ninh Binh
• Prices: From 22 $
• Best for: Location

Ninh Binh homestay

Top things to see in Ninh Binh

10. Visit Tam Coc

• Address: Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 6 p.m
• Ticket price: 120.000 VND per person; 60.000 VND for children.

Tam Coc is known as Ha Long Bay on land, thanks to the wonderful and romantic natural beauty. Like its name, Tam Coc is famous for the 3 unique caves and limestone mountains.

The harmonious combination among the sky, nice weather, slight river and rice fields interspersed among the rock mountains fully covered with tree buds make a gorgeous picture that can catch your breath at the first sight. 

You can explore Tam Coc by boat trips along Ngo Dong river. Small boats move slightly on the river with deep turquoise giving you a chance to immerse yourself in a peaceful, fresh space with incredible scenery, especially unique and impressive stalactites of all shapes and shapes in caves.

Tam Coc Ninh Binh

11. See Phat Diem Cathedral

• Address: Phat Diem town, Kim Son district, Ninh Binh Province

Phat Diem Cathedral is an attractive destination for those who are keen on spiritual tourism or discovering unique cultural features through ancient architecture. The entire architecture consists of 1 large church and 5 small churches, including a small one built entirely of stone, a church bell tower, lakes, and 3 artificial rock caves.

This cathedral is the unique combination between European architecture and traditional architecture in Vietnam temples and pagodas, all creating a sacred and artistic space. At the same time, it plays a role in creating diversity for Ninh Binh tourism which is not just the charming natural scenery.

See Phat diem cathedral

12. Explore Van Long Nature Reserve

• Address: Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 6 p.m
• Ticket price: 20.000 VND per person for entrance fee; 60.000 VND for boating fee

Van Long is the biggest wetland nature reserve in the North of Vietnam. Not only being the home of thousands of creatures and having diverse ecosystems, but Van Long is also an attractive eco-tourism destination for those who love majestic natural landscapes.

Unlike Trang An or Tam Coc, the watercolor in Van Long is clear and smooth, like a large mirror reflecting the shadow of majestic limestone mountains and showing the moss, fishes on the bottom, all creating a beautiful appeal.

Van Long Natural reserve

13. Go to Bich Dong Pagoda

• Address: Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh Province

Bich Dong Pagoda is a historical and cultural relic belonging to the Tam Coc - Bich Dong Trang An Scenic Complex which has been classified as a special national monument and recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. This destination is worth one of Ninh Binh's things to see on your trip. 

Being a pagoda in a cave, Bich Dong Pagoda possesses a different beauty compared to the ones in other regions in Vietnam, but it’s a popular type of pagoda in Ninh Binh. Up to now, the pagoda still retains its ancient beauty. It is the combination between the sacred space and the beauty of traditional cultural architecture. This is really a great choice to enjoy the beauty and explore the culture at the same time.

Bich Dong Pagoda

14. Learn Vietnamese History at Hoa Lu

• Address: Truong Yen commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh Province

Not only being a place with many beautiful landscapes, but Ninh Binh also keeps a lot of historical marks of the heroic periods of the ancestors with the most important place is the ancient capital Hoa Lu.

This place was the first capital of the Vietnamese feudal dynasty, including Dinh dynasty, Anterior Le dynasty, and the beginning of Ly dynasty. The ancient capital of Hoa Lu is a particularly important national monument complex of Vietnam and is one of the four core regions of the world heritage population of Trang An, which has been recognized by UNESCO.

Many architectures such as temples, mausoleums, communal houses, pagodas, and palaces are still well preserved. Thus you can explore extremely special royal patterns when coming here. This destination is definitely such a good place to learn Vietnamese history that you shouldn’t skip.

Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

15. See great size and imposingness Bai Dinh Pagoda

• Address: Gia Sinh commune, Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 10 p.m

Ninh Binh is a great destination for those who love spiritual tourism with countless beautiful pagodas. But more than that, Bai Dinh pagoda also impresses visitors by its scale, in addition to the inherently unique traditional Buddhist architecture. Bai Dinh pagoda still holds many records that it’s difficult for other ones to break. Some of them are the largest bronze bell in Vietnam, the tallest and heaviest Buddha statue in Asia, etc. 

This is also the space to hold many great Buddhist festivals. Come to feel the pure and immense beauty from this temple with an area of ​​more than 500 hectares and that will definitely make your Ninh Binh trip more meaningful.

Bai Dinh pagoda

16. Bird watching at Thung Nham Bird Garden

• Address: Hai Nham commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh Province
• Opening hour: 6 a.m to 10 p.m
• Ticket price: 100.000 VND per person; half for children 0.8 m to 1.3 m; free for children under 0.8 m 

Thung Nham Bird Garden is exactly one of the most interesting Ninh Binh things to see that you should try. In fact, there are not many tourist sites having diverse and unique ecosystems like Ninh Binh. Thung Nham is exactly a testament to that special appeal of this land.

Bird watching at Thung Nham Bird Garden is also suitable for families with young children. This is an opportunity for children to explore wild nature with the animals they often watch on television. For adults, enjoying the wonderful space with beautiful and unspoiled scenery also allows them to relax after stressful working days and find new inspiration.

Top food to try in Ninh Binh

17. Try the goat meat - Ninh Binh specialties

Goat meat is considered the top food to try in Ninh Binh. It’s so famous that in almost all the different regions of Vietnam, you will often catch goat meat stalls with the name Ninh Binh. 

It seems that thanks to the special climate and water resources, the raising of goats in Ninh Binh is very developed with the higher quality of meat. In addition, you can also easily find delicious goat restaurants in Ninh Binh. Let’s try this Ninh Binh specialty in its homeland to see the difference.

Try goat meat

18. Enjoy meals at the Snail Restaurants

It will be flawed if you ignore the special snail dish of this land. Ninh Binh specialty snails mainly live in the limestone mountains which are concentrated mainly in the area of Tam Diep, Yen Mo, Nho Quan.

In the dry season, this type of snail lives inside the rock cavities so it’s difficult to detect. The ideal time to catch snails is the rainy season. Thanks to the special living environment, this snail type is more delicious than the common one. In addition to the processing of local chefs, specialty snails with vegetables create extremely wonderful dishes. 

Therefore, enjoy meals at the Snail Restaurants when you have the opportunity to come to Ninh Binh to enjoy this specialty. It will never let you down.

19. Taste Ninh Binh the local food

Culinary is an extremely interesting part of travel. Therefore, besides enjoying the beautiful scenery, do not miss the opportunity to explore the culinary of the land you visit through local food. 

Not only an attractive destination with countless beautiful landscapes and unique architectures, but Ninh Binh also makes visitors excited by a lot of delicious local dishes such as goat meat or mountain snails. Let’s taste Ninh Binh the local food to make your trip more memorable.

20. Drink at Chookie’s Hideaway

• Address: 147 Nguyen Hue, Nam Binh precinct, Ninh Binh city
• Opening hour: 9 a.m to 10 p.m
• Price: 10.000 VND to 210.000 VND

Not only a delicious European and Mexican restaurant, but Chookie’s Hideaway is also a great place to drink something and relax. Located in the city center but with a special location, it has a quiet and suitable space to relax or chat with friends or family.

Drink at Chookie’s Hideaway

Ninh Binh has been one of the most attractive destinations in the North of Vietnam for many years. Choosing Ninh Binh for your next trip will never let you down, thanks to its countless charming natural landscapes, unique ancient architecture, or awesome local food. 

But you shouldn’t depart without a concrete plan about what things you will do and see, or even eat at this place. It will save you from wasting money, time and losing your travel mood. With much useful information, the top 20 amazing things to do and see in Ninh Binh [Y] introduced in this article hopefully bring you new and attractive suggestions for your upcoming Ninh Binh travel. Contact us for a wonderful Ninh Binh Tours. 

Choose the right things for you and make your trip so great and memorable. And don’t forget to leave all anxieties behind to enjoy your trip completely. Wish you have a happy trip. Thanks for your reading.

Nhat Anh

Image Source: Internet