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Ninh Binh
Ninh Binh is a small city about an hour South of Hanoi and is sometimes described as Halong Bay on land. There is beautiful scenery here and you can take a boat trip down the Trang An Grottoes or Tam Coc as well as climb the many steps at the Mua Caves. Aside from some incredible scenery they have their own cuisine which is unique to the area due to the environment and resources available in the area. Ninh Binh is definitely worth at least a two day trip while in Vietnam if not longer.
Trang An Grottoes are one of the main attractions in the area and are famous for being the place where King Kong was filmed. Here you can take a boat trip in a small little boat through tunnels, and naturally shaped limestone mountains that have temples scattered throughout them. It's quite spectacular and is my favourite of the two grottoes in Ninh Binh. I did find it slightly more commercialized and crowded than Tam Coc but it's still worth the visit. The ticket price was 200,000 vnd if I recall which is less than 10 usd.
The Mua Caves are another great place to visit. However I'd argue that the caves themselves aren't the main attraction rather the hundreds of steps up to the dragon sculptures on the mountain top. The top of the mountain here offers the best scenic views of the town and the surrounding mountains and waterways. This is a must go place while in Ninh Binh. There are also some caves you can explore as well as a large field full of lillypads which gives a very unique photo taking opportunity.
Tam Coc is a flooded cave karst system near the city of Ninh Binh. Similar to the Trang An Grottoes you take a little boat tour that takes you through the karsts and tunnels. Here they don't wait for 4 people to fill up the boat and it's possible to get a little boat all to yourself with a guide. The trip itself was a bit shorter than Trang An but gives you a great view of the area and offers a bit more tranquility as there are typically less tourists here compared to Trang An. Also I recommend staying in the area adjacent to where the tours for Tam Coc leave so it's easily accessible, particularly for those who don't drive a motorbike.
Due to the landscapes of Ninh Binh there are many mountain goats and this is the main culinary feature of the area. You can find some delicious goat meals in restaurants. If you like goat or want to try something not as common in other parts of the country you can try it here. In Vietnamese, goat meat translates to Thịt dê (pronounced thit ye). There are many restaurants in the area of Tam Coc that serve this local specialty as well as other foods that tourists typically enjoy like pizza or tacos.
Tam Coc Holiday Hotel and Villa is where I stayed for a night. It's a very affordable hotel that comes with good facilities for the cost. It's close to the Tam Coc tour launch area and is also near many restaurants and other hotels and tourist places. I enjoyed relaxing by the pool here and found the staff to be very friendly and helpful. They can help to arrange things like tours as well as motorbike rentals.
