Ninh Binh: Wind Bell Pagoda, Ancient Hoa Lu & a Rowboat Afternoon · Small Group, Max 9 Guests, No Shopping

Ninh Binh is about 2 hours from Hanoi. With the drive back, you spend around 4 hours on the road today.

That's why we travel in a VIP DCar, with comfortable seats that lean back and max 9 guests on board.

Your guide and driver pick you up in the Old Quarter between 07:30 and 08:00. On the way, your guide tells the story of Hoa Lu, the ancient capital, before your first stop at Wind Bell Pagoda.

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Long before its new name, this was Chua Dung, a pagoda founded under the Ly dynasty around the 11th century at the foot of a pine-covered hill, and later associated with the Truc Lam school of Zen founded by the Tran kings.

War and neglect left it in ruins until restoration began in December 2015 under the Venerable Thich Minh Quang. He chose unfired clay over bronze or wood for the statues, reviving an old Vietnamese spirit of simplicity and authenticity.

Today, clay Buddhas and monks with gentle Vietnamese faces sit among pine trees, lotus ponds and carefully designed paths, while the soft sound of wind bells moves through the temple grounds. Every detail feels intentional — reflecting a philosophy of integrity: harmony with nature, simplicity without excess, and beauty through restraint.

The main hall honours Dia Tang (Ksitigarbha), the bodhisattva who vowed to guide every lost soul. Your guide gives you time to wander in silence first, listen to the bells and take in the stillness, then shares the full story on the drive to Hoa Lu.

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Few stories in Vietnamese history are as extraordinary as Queen Duong Van Nga — a woman who became the wife of two emperors from two different dynasties. After the death of King Dinh Tien Hoang, she later became the wife of Le Dai Hanh, helping secure the transition between the Dinh and Early Le dynasties.

In 968, Dinh Bo Linh ended the chaos of the Twelve Warlords, crowned himself Dinh Tien Hoang and named the country Dai Co Viet, ruling from this limestone-walled valley. After his death, Le Hoan took the throne as Le Dai Hanh and famously defeated the Song invasion in 981. The royal court remained here until 1010, when Ly Thai To moved the capital to Thang Long, today's Hanoi.

Today, you visit the temples of both kings, with their carved wooden halls rebuilt in the 17th century. King Dinh's shrine also honours his three sons; King Le's honours Queen Duong Van Nga, remembered as the woman at the heart of two dynastic transitions.

In front of King Dinh's temple lies a remarkable dragon bed carved from a single two-tonne stone slab, recognised as a National Treasure since 2017.

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Lunch on this tour is planned around you, not around a buffet. Before the tour, our operations team contacts you. They ask what you eat, what you don't eat and if you have any allergies. Vegetarian, no pork, no seafood, a nut allergy or a child who can't eat spicy food: just tell us. We write it all down and send your notes to the kitchen before you arrive.

On the day, you eat in a private dining area, away from big tour groups. Families get their own table, so you can talk and eat at your own pace. Your dishes come to your table, not from a buffet line. The menu can include Ninh Binh favorites like mountain goat and com chay, the region's golden crispy rice. You have 90 minutes, so there is no need to rush.

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After lunch, you ride a bike on a gentle loop around Tam Coc. The road follows the Ngo Dong River, then runs between green rice fields and limestone cliffs.

Your ride ends at Thai Vi Temple, an ancient temple from the 13th century that honours the Tran kings. The whole route is about 6 km and takes around 30 minutes. It is flat and quiet, so it feels easy for most guests. From here, you continue to the afternoon option you chose when booking.

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Van Lam, the village at the foot of the Tam Coc cliffs, has embroidered for more than 700 years. Legend credits Tran Thi Dung, wife of the Tran court's grand chancellor Tran Thu Do, who had palace women teach the villagers their needlework in the 13th century.

Their stitches once went into royal robes and temple hangings; in 2024 the craft was recognised as National Intangible Cultural Heritage.

A local embroiderer shows you how a design is traced onto fabric and walks you through the core stitches, then stays at your elbow while you finish a small motif of your own. You take it home in a Meetup cloth bag.

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Why Van Long? Because the best place to end a day is often the place that has changed the least. Van Long is still very natural. There are no big tourist buildings, no concrete walkways and no rows of souvenir shops. There are also far fewer visitors. Here, the scenery still feels wild, quiet and fully its own.

We come here late in the afternoon on purpose. The light gets softer and the limestone mountains turn gold. Small boats glide almost silently across the still water, and the wetlands reflect the sky and cliffs around you. In the winter months, the sun sets while you are still on the water. For us, Van Long is not just another stop. It is the moment to slow down and enjoy Vietnam without the crowds.

Van Long covers about 2,700 hectares of limestone cliffs, wetlands and reed beds. In 2019, it became Vietnam's ninth Ramsar Wetland of International Importance. In 2020, it was added to the IUCN Green List, a sign of how well its nature is protected. We save Van Long for last, because this is when the reserve feels most alive and most peaceful.

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In 2014 UNESCO inscribed the Trang An Landscape Complex as Vietnam's first mixed natural and cultural World Heritage Site, and the first in Southeast Asia. Archaeologists have traced human life in its caves back more than 30,000 years.

A local rower takes you through flooded valleys, into water caves that run straight under the mountains, and past small temples on islands in the lagoons.

Hollywood came for the same scenery: Kong: Skull Island (2017) was filmed among Ninh Binh's karsts. The loop takes about 2.5 hours, with a short stop at a temple along the way.

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Straight after the boat, we drive about 10 minutes to Mua Cave. A stone stairway of around 500 steps climbs the limestone ridge to a small shrine and a stone dragon on the summit.

From the top you look down over the Ngo Dong River winding through Tam Coc's rice fields and karsts.

We arrive late in the afternoon, when the light is softest and the midday crowds have gone. Allow about 45 minutes to climb, take photos and come back down, before the drive to Hanoi at 17:30.

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The Ngo Dong River winds between rice paddies and sheer karst walls, then runs straight through three caves: Hang Ca, about 127 m long, then the shorter Hang Hai and Hang Ba.

Many rowers here push the oars with their feet, a local technique that keeps their hands free and their backs rested on the long pull home.

In late May and early June the fields turn gold just before harvest; the rest of the year they are a patchwork of green water and young rice. The ride takes about 1.5 hours, timed for the soft late-afternoon light on the cliffs.

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