What to expect on the Trang An Boat Tour in Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Last updated on March 15th, 2024

Want to see Ninh Binh’s striking limestone towers from the water? Learn what to expect on the Trang An boat tour, including the costs, route options, and more!

One of the best things to do in Ninh Binh, Vietnam is the Trang An boat tour. Ninh Binh is nicknamed “Ha Long Bay on land” and this boat tour makes it very clear why. Over the course of 2.5 to 3 hours, you’ll be paddled among lush limestone towers, through caves, and have the chance to witness and explore multiple temples. It is a magical experience!

Watch our two days in Ninh Binh where we took a Trang An boat tour, visited the Mua Caves, the Bich Dong Pagoda, and more! 

While there are multiple boat tour options in Ninh Binh, including the famous Tam Coc, in our opinion, Trang An is the must-do experience. And in this guide we’re sharing all of our reasons why, plus everything you need to know before you hit the water. Such as the cost, how to get a private boat, the different routes, and what to expect along the journey.

What is the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex?

The Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage site, just minutes from Ninh Binh, Vietnam. It is a gorgeous landscape of limestone karst peaks, covered in thick rainforest jungle, which reach heights of almost 200 meters (~650 feet). Between these towering rocks you can find flat valleys, winding waterways, temples, and caves.

Besides its obvious scenic beauty, this protected area is also recognized because of the archaeological findings in the caves. These findings reveal that there has been continuous human activity in this area for over 30,000 years!

Note: During our visit to the area we heard locals pronounce Trang An as “Chahng Ahn.”

Trang An Boat Tour- Cost & Logistics

Here’s a quick glance at the Trang An boat tour logistics. We’ll cover everything in more depth throughout this guide!

Location
The Trang An boat wharf is a bit north of the Tam Coc area in Trang An. This is where you’ll park, purchase your tickets, and get on the boat. 

Hours
The Trang An boat tour is open everyday from 7 AM to 4 PM. 

Parking
Parking costs 15,000 VND for a motorbike and 10,000 VND for a bicycle. Make sure to have cash! 

Cost 
The Trang An boat tour costs 250,000 VND (~$10.25 USD) per person, plus a tip, which we will share more about later. 

Are the boats private?
The boats are not private. They can carry up to 4 passengers, plus the driver, so you could have strangers in the boat with you. If you’d like it to be private you would need to pay for the other spots, which would cost a total of 1,000,000 VND (~$41 USD) per boat. This is what we did!

How to get Trang An boat tour tickets

After parking your motorbike or bike, you will want to head to the ticket office. There are no reservations or set boat times, so you can arrive whenever you’d like. Once at the counter, you do not need to know which route you want to take. The only information you will need to provide is how many people are in your party. 

If you want a private boat, this is where you tell them, because you’ll need to pay for the entire boat. It costs 250,000 VND (~$10.25 USD) per person and the boats carry 4 passengers, so you’ll pay 1,000,000 VND (~$41 USD) at the ticket counter. You can pay in cash or card, which is nice.

After purchasing your ticket, you’ll be given a receipt. From here, you’ll go down some stairs and through a tunnel to get to the other side of the road. When you pop back out, you’ll be right by the water and by where the boats leave.

Trang An boat tour route options

Now for the tough part…choosing which route to take! There are three route options to choose from for the Trang An boat tour. They all cost the same and last between 2.5-3 hours, but each offer a slightly different experience. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of all three route options!

Route 1 (9 caves and 3 temples)

Route 1 takes you through 9 caves and 3 temples. So if you want to go through as many caves as possible, then this is your pick!  

Temples on this route: Trinh Temple, Tran Temple, Khong Palace, Bao Hieu Temple
Caves on this route: Toi Cave, Sang Cave, Nau Ruou Cave, Ba Giot Cave, Seo Cave, Son Duong Cave, Khong Cave, Tran Cave, Quy Hau Cave

This is also the longest of the three routes. If you aren’t comfortable in tight spaces for extended periods of time, you might want to choose 2 or 3.

Route 2 (4 caves and 3 temples)

Route 2 is possibly the most popular route because it is a middle length option in terms of time. It’s a great mix of caves and temples! 

Temples on this route: Thanh Cao Son Temple, Suoi Tien Temple, Hanh Cung Vu Lam Temple
Caves on this route: Lam Cave, Vang Cave, Thanh Truot Cave, Dai Cave 

One interesting thing about the area is that parts of the movie “Kong: Skull Island” were filmed here. For a couple years after the release (2017) there was a movie set you could tour on Routes 2 and 3. They have since torn down the movie set, but your boat driver will surely point it out to you. 

Route 3 (3 caves and 3 temples)

Route 3 is best if you want to see the least amount of caves and spend most of your time outside enjoying the scenery. It is the shortest of the 3 routes, but it does include the Dot Cave which is the longest cave in the area at 1 km long! 

Temples on this route: Trinh Temple, Suoi Tien Temple, Hanh Cung Vu Lam Temple
Caves on this route: Dot Cave, Van Cave, Dia Linh Mountain, Dai Cave  

What is the best route? 

No matter what route you take you’ll see a great mix of caves, temples, and immaculate scenery. So there really is no “best route.” It all depends on what you are more excited to see! We had a tough time deciding which to go with, but we ultimately decided to go with Route 3. 

What made our decision was we had just got done with a big cave adventure the previous few days, so we wanted to spend more time admiring the outside scenery than seeing more caves. Plus, we thought going into the longest cave sounded pretty cool…and it sure was!

What to expect on a Trang An boat tour

Getting to the boats

After getting your ticket, crossing the street, and figuring out which route you want to take, you’ll want to head to the boats. You will tell them which route you want and they’ll give you a driver.

Depending on how busy it is, you may have to wait in line for the next available boat. Or if it isn’t very busy, you may have to wait for your boat to fill with the required four people.

Once you are assigned to your boat and driver, you’ll put on your life jackets (mandatory) and off you go!

Experience on the boat

Regardless of the route you choose, the overall boat experience is about the same. Your driver will paddle you through the water (you can help them if you’d like!) and possibly point out major landmarks. Our driver did not speak English, but she knew a few words, like “King Kong” and we also used Google Translate to speak with her. She was very kind and offered to take multiple photos of us. We had a great experience with her!

Along the tour, your driver will paddle you through the tight caves (they are pros!) and up to the different temples on your route. Whenever you get to a temple, your driver will stop and let you off the boat to explore. You typically get about 10-15 minutes at each temple, before meeting your boat driver back at the boats. 

Since all of the drivers wear the same shirt, you may wonder how you’ll find your driver again. Ours always remembered who we were and each boat is numbered, so we suggest learning your boat number.

Going through the caves

Besides the scenery from the water, the caves were our favorite part of the tour. It’s pretty impressive how well the drivers can maneuver these boats through the tight caves. They know the perfect line to take and how to get through without even bumping a wall!

But be warned: some of the ceilings of the caves are very low and you’ll need to duck your head!

For Route 3, going through the 1 km long Dot Cave was such a neat experience! It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get through the cave, which feels extremely long, especially compared to the others on the route. We loved it and are very glad we chose Route 3 so that we could go into this one. 

Visiting Temples

When visiting the temples on the Trang An boat tour, make sure to be respectful and follow all rules. According to the signage at the temples, you are not allowed to take photos inside, smoke, talk loudly or talk on the phone, and eat food. You also need to cover your shoulders and knees.

On Route 3, we got to see three temples. And each one was very different! The first (Trinh) was a quick stop, right where the boat dropped us off. Temple number two (Suoi Tien), required us to walk a bit to get to, as it was tucked into the mountains. And the third temple (Hanh Cung Vu Lam) had multiple buildings to check out, plus a pagoda on an island.

Food and toilets

There are a couple restaurants in the main ticket area, along with an ATM and toilets. Along the route, specifically at the temple stops, you will find a snack stand and toilets as well. 

Should you tip your driver?

Tipping isn’t technically required at the Trang An boat tour, but you should tip your driver. They work VERY hard to paddle! 

Unlike the Tam Coc boat tour, where drivers can be aggressive about tips, you will not find that here. Our driver did not ask for a tip, but they will expect one. 

We read that it’s customary to tip at least 25,000 VND (~$1 USD) per person. However, we would suggest 50,000 VND (~$2 USD) per person at minimum. Personally, we tipped 250,000 VND (~$10 USD) total. And there were a few reasons for this:

1. We had the entire boat to ourselves. In theory, this would have meant less of a tip for our driver, since she only had two passengers.
2. Our driver was very patient with us filming. We for sure took longer than we were supposed to at many of the stops.
3. In Vietnam, we personally preferred to tip extra. What may seem like a small amount to us can mean a lot to them.

Is the Trang An boat tour worth it?

We think the Trang An boat tour is 100% worth it! The serene, tranquil beauty, with the towering limestone peaks, temples, and caves, make this a must-do as part of any Ninh Binh itinerary. It was one of the most beautiful activities we did in all of Vietnam.

Should you do the Trang An or Tam Coc boat tour?

There is a similar boat tour in Tam Coc, which leaves from the Tam Coc Van Lam Pier. On this tour, you will be paddled through a valley, with fields and limestone peaks surrounding you, as well as go into caves and see temples. And while it is shorter and cheaper than the Trang An boat tour, it comes with some drawbacks. 

On this boat tour you’re likely to encounter hassling from vendors, both before the tour and on the boat ride. Sometimes, boats will pull up to your boat and basically corner you until you buy something from them. Your boat driver may even try to guilt you into buying them a snack or drink from the vendors. 

We have also read some pretty bad stories about boat drivers stopping the tour half way and demanding a tip or they will refuse to paddle back. They will also demand a tip at the end of the ride. 

Of course, not every experience is the same and you may have a positive experience on the Tam Coc boat tour. But from our experience and many others, the Trang An boat tour is hassle free. Since Trang An is inside a UNESCO World Heritage site, it is very well managed. You won’t experience any haggling from vendors, parking scams, or other common tourist scams. So for all of those reasons, we’d highly recommend the Trang An boat tour over the Tam Coc boat tour.

How to get to the Trang An boat tour

The Trang An boat tour is located in Trang An, a smaller town just north of Tam Coc. 

By bike or motorbike

Getting to the Trang An boat dock is very easy by bike or motorbike from Tam Coc, Ninh Binh, and the surrounding homestays. Many homestays and other accommodations offer to borrow bicycles for free and motorbikes for a small fee. We stayed at Trang An Lamia Bungalow which is a bit north of the boat tour and it was an easy ride on the road.

Once you get to the Trang An boat tour, there is lots of parking.

Tour from Hanoi

If you’d prefer to visit the Ninh Binh area through a tour from Hanoi, you have several great options.

Deluxe Hoa Lu Trang An Mua Cave Small Group – Cruising, Biking,Hiking, Limousine
This action packed small group tour includes the Trang An boat tour, lunch, a bike ride, the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, a guide up the Mua Cave, and more! Entrance fees are included in the price.

Private Ninh Binh – Mua Cave – Trang An – Bich Dong Full Day Tour
This private tour includes travel in a very nice limo (van) to Mua Cave, Trang An boat tour, bike ride, lunch, and more!

Deluxe & Small Group- Bai Dinh Trang An Mua Cave Tour with Limousine Transfer
Included in this small group tour is Trang An boat tour, a visit to the Bai Dinh Pagoda, Mua Cave, lunch and more. 

Want to save some money on this tour or experience? Join Tripadvisor Rewards to earn 5% Trip Cash on any hotel or experience booking made in their app, which can be applied to future in-app bookings!

When is the best time to visit Trang An?

Like much of Vietnam, Ninh Binh experiences two main seasons, rainy season and dry season. We would recommend visiting in the dry season during the months of November through April! The rainy season typically begins in May and ends in October. We visited in late March and the weather was just getting to be pretty warm, but not unbearable. Although we did have some cloudy days, we didn’t experience any rain. 

You can still have a wonderful time in Ninh Binh during the rainy season. One perk of visiting during the rainy season (June especially) is that the surrounding rice fields will be lush and green! Also, the lotus and water lilies will be in full bloom! However, it will be very hot and humid in the summer. And there is no shade on the boats.

If visiting during the rainy season, make sure to pack the right gear, including a rain jacket, for your boat ride. And possibly an umbrella, but only under one condition. And that’s if you paid for a private boat. 

The boats aren’t very big, so if you’re sitting at the front of the boat, your umbrella will be in the couple’s faces behind you blocking their view. And if you’re sitting behind them, then your umbrella will be in the boat driver’s face. If you’re the only two on the boat, then we’d say an umbrella is a great idea.

When is the best time of day to do the Trang An boat tour?

We’d recommend visiting as early as possible for the most peaceful experience. By midday, the tour groups will have arrived and it will be extremely busy!

We got here early in the morning (around 8 AM) so we could avoid the crowds as much as possible. There were a handful of people, but it was very calm compared to some pictures we’ve seen.

What to bring on the Trang An boat tour

Sun protection

There is no shade on the boat and very little relief from the sun along the ride, except for temples and caves. Make sure to bring a hat to cover your face from the sun, as well as sunscreen!

Temple Attire

If you plan to go inside the temples, make sure to have something to cover your shoulders and knees! We suggest something lightweight. I wore a cardigan and it was VERY hot.

Cash

While you can pay for your ticket with a credit card, you will want cash to tip your driver.

Snack 

While there are some restaurants and snack shops on the complex, you might want something to snack on during the ride. We’d suggest packing a snack just in case you get hungry.

Water 

Even in the cooler months, it is still warm (and humid) in Ninh Binh. Make sure to pack some water to drink along the way!

Camera

You’re going to want to take loads of photos, so bring your camera! You can see what camera we use here.

Looking for more things to do in Ninh Binh?

If you have more time in Ninh Binh, check out our guide with 9+ AMAZING things to do in Ninh Binh. In this guide we share a two day itinerary, plus a bunch of suggestions of where to eat and stay, including a beautiful bungalow with a private plunge pool!

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