Tam Coc: Halong Bay on the rice paddies
January 20, 2016
Location: Vietnam
Tam Coc is near Ninh Binh, city in the Red river delta, 90 km south of Hanoi.
My Experience
I stayed in Ninh Binh just for a couple of days, enough time to see its beautiful landscape. To experience Tam Coc at its best my suggestion is to rent a scooter as I did. Just go around as much as you can and enjoy this wonderful nature. I spent 2 days simply getting lost amongst the hills and looking at its huge formations jutting out of paddies and creating a breathtaking scenery.
Wildlife and landscape around Tam Coc Vietnam
Not the best weather there, but still stunning landscape. Tam Coc Vietnam
Wonderful view. Tam Coc Vietnam
Tam Coc is a network of three beautiful caves carved by the local river and surrounded by karst and rice fields. The biggest cave has thousands of stalactites inside and the legend says that each stalactite is a symbol of life.
The only way to see Tam Coc is by row-boat which will take you through karst caves on a beautiful 2 hours trip. I spent about 6$ AUD, it was amazing to watch local people rowing with their feet. The caves and cliffs are fantastic and don’t even seem to be real. I was lucky in this day tour because I met lovely local people, they were helpful and friendly. Both days were beautiful, I tasted some good local dish and I met fantastic travellers from everywhere. Tam Coc is a must see place.
A lonely boat around amazing scenery. Tam Coc Vietnam
A local fisherman just finished his working day. Tam Coc Vietnam
How to get there, best time and cost
There are regular bus from Hanoi to Tam Coc area that leave every 15 min for about 5$AUD. This city was my first stop after Hanoi in my journey around Vietnam. The bus took about 3 hrs for a 90 km trip. Take a look my experience in Southeast Asia, you will also find something about other top destinations of Vietnam.
uTips
- In Ninh Binh, there are a number of cheap hotels just outside the train station and next to the bus station.
- I think that Tam Coc is one of Vietnam’s most beautiful sights, its an easy bicycle ride here from Ninh Binh.
- Take the boat ride in the morning before the excursion groups arrive from Hanoi, otherwise is going to be crowded.
- Don’t worry about the weather conditions like rain, sun, wind or clouds. Visiting beauty spots in Tam Coc area is not affected because the river, mountains and caves are still beautiful as normally.
- My last tip: Don’t get stuck with the thing that ruins your day, life is too short to be wasted in your crap. Smile and be positive because there are so many beautiful reasons to be happy, one of those is travelling.
Author of this post: Davide
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Thanks Jim, keep following us around the world!! 😀
I could not resist commenting. Exceptionally well written!
Thanks, amazing experience there and wonderful location! I would like to get back one day…. 😀
I wanted to thank you for this fantastic read!!
I absolutely enjoyed every little bit of it. I have you book-marked to look at new stuff you
Thank you for commenting here 😀