Must do things in Tam Coc, Vietnam

Tam Coc the town where the magic happens in Ninh Binh. Navigate its canals, lakes, climb up to its unreal lookouts, taste the incredible food, explore the caves and ancient temples surrounded by an infinite number limestone cliffs decorated by thick green forest.

This blog series will show you all MUST things you can do while in Tam Coc. Situated in north Vietnam, it is about 2 hours south from Hanoi.

Let’s dive in!

How to move around

Hiring a bike is the best way to explore Tam Coc. It will give you all the freedom you need and allow you to experience plenty many more places, even those not in the maps.

By bicycle, you can also hire one at a very cheap cost. Not as perfect as the bike, but still will give you plenty of autonomy. Several of the great places to visit are not too far.

Note: Tam Coc, is a tiny town, it does not have a public transportation system well developed.

What to do in Tam Coc

These are some of the MUST VISIT places not too far from town:

1 Check out Thung Sen Tam Coc Glamping & Restaurant: this restaurant / café venue is situated in between several limestone cliffs and Lotus gardens. They serve some serious food, coffee and drinks. Situated only 6 min bike drive from Tam Coc Pier. I would come here all the time, at night for a late coconut coffee, lunch, breakfast, etc. Loved it. They also have a lookout you can climb too or explore the lotus gardens and ponds

Thung Seng Café

2 Get a boat ride to Thung Đồng Làng Perhaps the main attraction for many. Catch a boat from the Pier, they would take you on a ride across the rice fields surrounded by giant limestone cliffs. The ride takes about 1.5 hours to complete.

Thung Đồng Làng rice fields

Pro Tip: If you want to see the rice fields from the lookout like on the image on the left, ask your boat skipper to drop you right before the second Cave. If you want to experience the view from the photo from the right, ask the skipper to drop you after the first cave. Note, in both cases you’ll have to pay some extra, the skipper will pick you up afterwards or wait for you.

3 Just ride around Any road you take can take you to some unique unbelievable places. You’ll find plenty of hidden lovely cafés surrounded by unique beauty and super fresh food.

Ride around without a destination, get lost in its beautiful trails, find unique hidden cafés

4 Climb Hang Múa an absolute MUST when in Ninh Binh. A short bike ride (around 10/15 minutes) from the main Pier. This park requires an entry fee. Once in there, there are plenty of things to visit, Lotus fields, Múa Caves, statues, and of course Núi Ngoạ Long (Lying Dragon Mountain)

View from Núi Ngoạ Long

Chùa Bích Động — Tam Coc, Ninh Binh

Enchanting ancient temple surrounded by caves and lakes.

*Bonus tip: If you follow the signs, there’s a nice cave to visit absolutely full of bats ;) called Dộng Thiên Cung

Hope you get to visit Tam Coc ASAP! and I hope you enjoyed this post!

Finally, if you enjoy exploration, adventure and travel as much as I do :) join me in my Instagram account for some great genuine content about all that :)

IG: @crs.world.explorer

Au revoir!