Northern Vietnam Freewheeling Trip Day 7 | Ninh Binh Day Tour: Trang An Boat Ride × Mua Cave Hike × Thung Nham Bird Garden

We had an especially hearty breakfast, because today was the final leg of our North Vietnam trip — the Ninh Binh Day Tour.

At 7:45, the travel agency's private car arrived at the hotel right on time to pick us up for departure.

Custom itinerary: from the classic Trang An tour to an exclusive small-group exploration A typical Ninh Binh day tour usually costs around 60–65 USD, including the Trang An boat ride, temple visits, and cycling. However, since I had already joined this kind of tour before and felt that the temple and countryside cycling parts weren't very fresh, this time I specifically paid an extra 450,000 VND per person to customize the itinerary and take a different route. 💡 Today's itinerary Trang An boat ride (the filming location of Kong: Skull Island) Lunch Buffet Mua Cave Climbing Thung Nham Bird-Watching Area This kind of arrangement covers the essence of Ninh Binh — after actually experiencing it, I highly recommend it. Trang An Boat Ride: The Beauty of the Land Halong Bay as the Mist Clears At around 10 o'clock, we arrived at the Trang An boarding point. The clear weather made the entire landscape of mountains and water look especially crisp, and from the bridge we could see one small boat after another slowly setting off — a truly spectacular sight.

The tour guide explained that there are three routes here in total, the small loop takes about 1 hour and the big loop takes about 1.5 hours. We chose the small loop route.

The 10 of us set off in three boats. We hadn't paddled for long when the sky suddenly opened up into heavy rain, but luckily each boat had thoughtfully packed umbrellas. Our first stop was a limestone cave carved out by erosion. The cave was quiet and mysterious inside, and it became our temporary shelter from the rain.

Not long after, the rain stopped and the clouds parted. Sunlight spilled across the water's surface, and the scenery of "Halong Bay on Land" finally revealed itself in full — lush green mountains reflected on the emerald water, breathtakingly beautiful.

Along the way, you'll also pass by a small temple, a spot that visitors often like to take photos of, with many boats circling around it here.

We later realized that the entire route was actually a loop that started and ended at this temple.

Finally, we docked at a small pier, where we could briefly disembark to pay our respects.

We returned to the boat dock about an hour later. When we visited Tam Coc/Trang An in April before, it was shrouded in fog, but this time we finally got to see the scenery of Tam Coc the way we'd hoped. Climbing Mua Cave: Ninh Binh's most beautiful bird's-eye viewpoint Lunch was a buffet at a nearby resort. Although there weren't many options, the meat and vegetarian dishes were clearly separated, which was very considerate for the vegetarian member of our family.

第二站是Mua Cave（舞洞山），這幾年因網紅打卡而爆紅的景點。 入口處開始就是階梯，坡度雖陡但不算太長，大約30分鐘即可登頂。中途會分岔成左右兩條路，右邊通往石塔、左邊通往龍階梯，我們選擇左側路線。

The higher we went, the more open the view became. From the summit we could see tiny excursion boats weaving through the valley on the distant river — that was actually one of the boats we had ridden on earlier, and now looking down at it from above was really fascinating.

Also, take a close look at the nearby cliffs — you might just spot Ninh Bình's signature feature: goats!

At the top, there is a Guanyin temple and a stone staircase carved with dragons, facing the towering peak on the opposite mountain in an impressive standoff.

Thung Nham Bird Reserve: A Serene Ecological Paradise The final stop is Thung Nham Bird Park (Thung Nham Bird Reserve). There are fewer foreign tourists here, and it's mainly local Vietnamese families coming to vacation. First, you take a short boat ride of about 15 minutes, then walk along the park's trail to the second boarding point.

It's now around 4:40 in the afternoon, the sky is gradually darkening, and the sunlight slants across the lake surface — utterly poetic.

The boat ride that followed took us into the conservation area, where trees were filled with egrets and seabirds returning to roost — the guide told us this was exactly the time they came back from foraging. Although we didn't get to see the sunset, the tranquil atmosphere was all the more enchanting for it.

The whole journey takes about 30 minutes, and afterward we take a group photo together on the shore, bringing this nature ecology tour to a fitting close.

17:30 depart back to Hanoi, arriving in the city around 7:30 PM. Summary: A perfect day trip This Ninh Binh itinerary was incredibly rich — from majestic mountains and rivers, to climbing high for panoramic views, to the tranquil migratory bird lake, each section had its own distinct scenery and rhythm. Even though the weather was unstable this trip, with several heavy rain showers, the scenery was especially moving whenever the sky cleared. The next morning at 8:30, the travel agency arrived right on time to take us to the airport, putting a perfect finishing touch on this Northern Vietnam journey. If I have the chance to visit again next time, I think I'd arrange to stay another night in Ninh Binh, slowly taking in the morning mist and sunset over this "Little Halong Bay on land." Previous post ← North Vietnam Freewheel Trip Day 6 | Crossing the Yao-Miao Protected Area, a Farewell in the Fog 🔗 Further Reading | North Vietnam Freewheel Trip Series 【Travel Journal】 North Vietnam Freewheel Trip Day 1 | Hanoi's Hoan Kiem Lake × Ngoc Son Temple × St. Joseph's Cathedral × First Water Puppet Show Experience North Vietnam Free Trip Day 2｜From Hanoi to Sapa × Visiting Cat Cat Village × Overlooking Beautiful Rice Terraces North Vietnam Free Trip Day 3｜Ascending Fansipan, the Roof of Vietnam × Taking on the Rong May Glass Bridge Above the Clouds North Vietnam Free Trip Day 4｜Sapa Hiking × Mountain Rice Terraces × Exploring Ethnic Minority Villages North Vietnam Free Trip Day 5｜Passing Through Yao Ethnic Villages × Bamboo Forest Trails × Hidden Waterfall Wonderland North Vietnam Self-Guided Trip Day 6｜Crossing the Yao-Miao Protected Area, Farewell in the Mist North Vietnam Self-Guided Trip Day 7｜Ninh Binh One-Day Tour: Trang An Boat Ride × Mua Cave Climb × Thung Nham Bird Sanctuary 【North Vietnam Travel Guide Compilation】 Hanoi Travel Complete Guide｜Must-Visit Attractions × Itinerary Planning × North Vietnam Extended Trip Ideas (2025 Updated Edition) Vietnam Sapa Travel Guide｜The Hidden Terraced Fields and Ethnic Minority Culture of North Vietnam Ha Long Bay Travel Guide: One-Day Itinerary, Best Season, and Classic Attractions Vietnam's Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site: Best Travel Season and Recommended Three-Day Itinerary