Tam Coc Boat Tour, Ninh Binh

Tam Coc means three caves including Hang Ca, Hang Hai & Hang Ba. It has been a famous attraction in Ninh Binh for a long time and attracted many local & international tourists. Rowing boat trip (1,5 hours) is a  very nice way to contemplate those three natural caves, magnificent limestone mountains & authentic farming activities along the journey.

Located far from Hanoi only 90km, Ninh Binh province is an ideal off-the-beaten-track in Vietnam.  It’s is known as an ancient land of Viet Nam with unspoiled nature formed by majestic karst mountains. There are daily buses from Hanoi to Tam Coc and they cost around $7.

With a natural area about 350 ha, Tam Coc is totally worth visiting by the pristine, majestic beauty of mountains, rivers, and forests. Following the call of nature, we will harmonize with the gentle rhythm of poetic Ngo Dong river, contemplate hanging-down stalactites in various shape.

There are a lot of boat rides at Ninh Binh but what makes it stand out than others is they are using legs to row a boat instead of hands. They make it looks so easy and I have tried it myself and it just doesn't work the way I thought it supposed to. Actually, if you know how to use legs, it is much easier than using hands. It is less tiring, avoid bristles on your hands and prevent backache.

Booking tour will save you a lot of time booking and waiting for a boat since the cost is included. If you go by yourself, you'll have to buy an admission of 120,000VND per adult (60,000VND per child) for a route and hire a boat for another 150,000VND (per two-seat boat).

As I mentioned earlier, one boat for 2 seats is actually for foreigners only. If for Vietnamese, a boat can accommodate up to 4 pax. The reason is usually Vietnamese people are smaller sized than any other foreigners.

Boat trip in Tam Coc offers you the view of rice fields & authentic farming activities along the river banks: fish catching, rice planting, plowing with buffaloes or harvesting. Actually, many beautiful photos of golden rice fields surrounded by limestone mountains are taken from Tam Coc area (advertising pictures of Ninh Binh). To get this impressive stunning view of yellow rice fields, we suggest you visit Tam Coc in summertime ( from the end of April to the beginning of May when the rice turns from green to golden color).

Common Boat Routes: 

1. Boat Wharf - Ngo Dong River - Tam Coc (3 caves)
2. Linh Coc Wharf - River Cave to Bich Dong 

There are actually 2 more other routes but the above two are the famous one. We did the first route. First, we will arrive at 3 caves formed by Ngo Dong river going through mountain chains. Stalactites hang down so far, creates unique and extraordinary beauty. However, sometimes we need to bow ahead a little to avoid the risk of hitting stalactites.

Tam Coc is under the government management that they use local villagers who take in turn with their serial numbers serving tourists to make additional incomes. In low season, they only have a chance to row once or twice in a month. Most of them do not know English but are friendly & hard-working with special boat paddle by feet. On your boat trip, they invite you to buy their local embroidery products. If you like any item, you may bargain & buy it for them. If you do not like it, you just refuse them politely.

Another thing that you should know is tipping. When you are on the third cave ( Hang Ba), there is a fleet of small boats loaded with fruits, sweets & drinks. The owners of those selling boats try to invite tourists buying their stuff with over-priced rates as a tipping gift to your boat driver. Our suggestion is to say “No” with them in a friendly way and then say or signal your boat driver that you will tip later at the end of the boat trip. In fact, you pay the boat & entrance fees when having a rowing boat trip.

One more thing, most of the time you will meet the boatmen offer their service to help you to take some photographs using your own camera or phone. Please aware that, they expect you to tip them more by the end of the tip when doing that. I planned to just tip 20,000vnd but in the end, I was forced to tip 50,000vnd. If I don't, I will get cursed by them in Vietnamese. Well, if you do not understand Vietnamese, you can choose to ignore them and walk away and let them keep yelling at your back in Vietnamese. 

Overall, I really like the scenery and how they row using their leg. However, I dislike how they force the tourists to tip them the amount they want. It is really bad and unlike other boat rides that I had. The boatmen here tend to be more aggressive. I would recommend skipping this boat ride if you wish because Trang An boat ride can offer something similar but it is just they row the boat using their hand.

Total Damage: 150,000vnd for a boat + 120,000vnd per person.

Ambiance: 4/5

Service: 1/5

Price: 2/5

Recommended?: No

Opening Hours: 8.00am - 6.00pm (daily)