
Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch
Traveler rating
4.9/5
Based on 69 traveler reviews. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
Quick answer
Is Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch worth booking?
Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch is a 12-hour experience in Hanoi, Vietnam, from $47 per person. It scores 77 out of 100 on the Outty Ranking, which we label “Strongly Recommended”, based on a 4.9/5 rating across 69 reviews. Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before the start time. Same-day spots are currently showing.
- Outty Ranking
- 77 / 100
- Rating
- 4.9/5 (69)
- Duration
- 12 hours
- From
- $47 per person
✔️ Small Group (Max : 17-20Pax) - Limousine Bus Transfer via New Express Way ✔️ Feast on Ninh Binh cuisine with Buffet Lunch. ✔️Join most interesting activities: Cycling, Hiking, 2 hour boat trip ✔️ Trekking to peak of Mua Cave where best place to overview and sightseeing.
What you get
About this experience
✔️ Small Group (Max : 17-20Pax) - Limousine Bus Transfer via New Express Way ✔️ Feast on Ninh Binh cuisine with Buffet Lunch. ✔️Join most interesting activities: Cycling, Hiking, 2 hour boat trip ✔️ Trekking to peak of Mua Cave where best place to overview and sightseeing.
What's included
Included
- A bottle of mineral water/pax on bus
- Lunch
- Cycling, Hiking, Boat trip - 1.5 hours
- English speaking guide with very good skill
- Pick-up and and drop off at your hotel by Limousine Bus in Hanoi Old Quarter Area
- All Sightseeing and Entrance fee tickets
Not included
- Travel insurance, drink, vat
- Personal expenses.
What you'll see and do
Hanoi
7:20 – 07:40: Our guide and bus come to pick up at Hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter and transfer to Ninh Binh via highway (1.5 hours, stop ~20 minutes to restroom)
Pass by without stopping
Hoa Lu Temples of the Dinh & le Dynasties
✔ 10.25-10.45: The tour guide will take you to Hoa Lu Ancient Capital, founded in 968, it remained capital until the early 11th century when Emperor Ly Thai To moved it to today’s Hanoi . ✔ Arriving in this beautiful mountainous landscape, you’ll walk 300m to the temples of the Dinh and Le Dynasty ✔ 12.10: Enjoy special food at local restaurant in Tam Coc with Buffet Lunch
120 minutes here · Admission included
Tam Cốc-Bich Dộng
✔ 14.00: The trip starts at Tam Coc area. Taking a rowing Tam Coc Boat Tours from Tam Coc wharf. The boat tour is arranged by local people with their both hands and legs. ✔ Visit 3 Magical Grottos: Hang Ca (First Grotto), Hang Hai (Second Grotto), Hang Ba (Third Grotto) during Tam Coc River Tour ✔ 16.30: Relax with Biking around Tam Coc in 30-45 minutes. If you travel during harvest season, you will see many rice fields in golden colors
180 minutes here · Admission included
Mua Caves
✔ 17.05: The last destination, Mua Cave. The cave is compared with “Great wall of China”. Here you walk 500 steps to reach the top of Mua cave then take a lookout of a splendid overview of Ninh Binh ✔ 18.10: Relax and get on the Limousine Car for returning to Ha Noi ✔ 19.45-19.55: Arrive Hanoi and Drop Off at your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter! Thank you so much for your memorable trip! NOTE: The Itinerary can change the schedule, time, places to visit depending on the weather and the actual situation to ensure safety for visitors. To ensure the most comfortable visit, in some cases the tour guide will not accompany you during the tour.
120 minutes here · Admission included
Hanoi
19.00pm - 19.30pm: Arrive back at your hotel in the Old Quarter.
Pass by without stopping
Where it starts and ends
Meeting point
Hanoi
If customer stay outside Hanoi Old Quarter Center, Please should be ready at our office at 07.20am to join the tour - Address : 33 Ngo Huyen Str, Hoan Kiem Dist, Hanoi
Hotel pickup
Pickup is available for selected locations.
Ends at
If customer stay outside Hanoi Old Quarter Center, Please should be ready at our office at 07.20am to join the tour - Address : 33 Ngo Huyen Str, Hoan Kiem Dist, Hanoi
Options you can book
Deluxe Small Group 17-20Pax
Deluxe Small Group 17-20Pax: Experience a Small-group adventure with max 19Pax on a luxurious Limousine bus, complete with a delicious Buffet Lunch Limousine Bus Max 20Pax: Limousine Bus Max 20Pax Pickup included
Luxury - Small Group- Max 9Pax
Luxury - Small Group- Max 9Pax: Enjoy an exclusive VIP small-group experience with Max 9Pax in a luxurious van featuring a set menu with specialty foods Limousine Dcar: Maximum 9Pax: Smallest Group - Limousine Bus - Max 9Pax Pickup included
Before you book
- Cancellation
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
- Languages
- en
- Ticket
- Mobile Only
- Runs on
- Every day
- Group size
- Up to 15 travelers per booking
- Operated by
- Hanoi Explore Travel
Know before you go
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Please confirm your address detail on the booking
- WHAT SHOULD TO BRING ON OUR TRIP
- A Cemara & Sunscreen & Sunglasses
- An Umbrella or raincoat
- Appropriate clothing for the season
- Please not wearing shorts into temple
Photos






What travelers are saying
Outty’s summary of the themes that recur across 69 traveler reviews. Written by us, not quoted from reviewers.
The guide
9 mentionsTravelers single out the guide as the reason the experience works.
Knowledge and storytelling
6 mentionsReviewers describe the commentary as informative rather than scripted.
Photo opportunities
5 mentionsThe views and photo stops come up again and again.
Food and drink
3 mentionsThe tastings and food stops are a highlight for most reviewers.
Physical effort
3 mentionsExpect real walking or climbing: reviewers mention the effort involved.
Organization
2 mentionsPickup, timing, and logistics are described as running smoothly.
Traveler reviews
69 verified traveler reviews for Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch. Ratings and reviews provided by Viator and Tripadvisor.
5/5 Day well spent!
luca is a very attentive and accommodating tour guide. very informative tour and well planned. tour was fun and the river ride was beautiful.
via Tripadvisor
King Kong views...
Our tour guide, Boa, made the trip a 5 plus with his sense of humor and knowledge of destinations. Ninh Binh is a treasure in itself with a spectacular view from above. After climbing 400 steps, you are awarded with a postcard view of the land. The boat ride from Cam Toc offered a fun ride through caves, and the person rowing you down the river uses his/her legs instead of arms. King Kong was filmed here. Lunch buffet is generous in selections of food, including their famous goat dishes. Don't miss out on this tour if you are in Hanoi.
Response from the operator: Dear Ms Sherry Many thanks for taking your time to give us such a wonderful review here on Tripadvisor It is truly rewarding to receive your positive feedback regarding the recent experience you had with Hanoi Explore Travel. Our team is very happy to hear that you enjoyed our tour and our tour guide. Your contribution help us a lot and encourage us to maintain our services as well as raise it better and better. Once again, thank you for your feedback and we look forward to welcome you again in the nearest future ! Best regards, Hanoi Explore Travel Team !
via Tripadvisor
Great Tour
Great tour overall and a good value for the price. Our guide Thao was very kind and personable and spoke great English. Hoa Lu was honestly not as interesting as I anticipated, but it was still a good way to learn about more about Vietnam’s history and culture. The bike ride was very fun and had great views. I would have loved it were longer, since it was only about 30 minutes. The buffet lunch was great and had a huge variety of foods available. The boat ride through Tam Coc was a bit long, but it’s very pretty and a nice way to relax while supporting the locals who do the rowing. My favorite part was the short hike at the end, which had amazing views of Ninh Binh, and Tam Coc in particular, at the top and was a fun little workout (though there’s also a shorter option with it’s own views if this isn’t your thing). There’s also a ton of ice cream and cold beverages at the bottom, which are extra refreshing after the climb. The hike is just stairs, so no need to bring special shoes. The only thing that was annoying was the pickup/drop off. While it sounds nice to get picked up from your accommodations, what it means is that you have to wait in the bus as it struggles to weave through the chaos of old quarter to pick everyone up. I would’ve preferred if they picked us all up from (and dropped us all off at) a designated meeting spot, which would be easy for everyone since the old quarter is pretty small anyway. This might already be an option when you sign up, but I don’t remember.
Response from the operator: Dear ms Joshua! Greetings from Hanoi Explore Travel team. We want to express my deeply appreciation to your excellent review. Thank you for your beautiful words and descriptions of our tour and how wonderful that you had a great tour with us. This is our goal to ensure that our customers have a memorial tour. It's rewarding to hear that you felt our tour was great and the tour guide was very good and enthusiastic. Thank you in advance, We hope that we will have a pleasure of welcoming you back in the near future Best regards,
via Viator
Wonderful Experience !!
We had a very pleasant experience with Thao. She is very sweet and she was very informative about Ninh Binh. She was kind enough to invite us to her home and help her cook various vietnamese dishes. She made our two night stay in Ninh Binh a wonderful experience. Will definitely recommend !
Response from the operator: Dear Mrs Andread Thank you very much for your excellent review. We are happy to hear that you enjoyed our tour. We always try our best to provide best service to our travelers. One again we proudly want to thank you for your contribution, your time and your trust in our company. Hope to see you again Best regards,
via Tripadvisor
Tam Coc & Ninh Binh Big Day
There are a lot of tours doing this itinerary so there is always a crowd at each stop regardless of your group size. Lunch is in a restuarant used by many groups. It's a big day and the guide did a reasonable job of herding us around. Watch out for the rowers who will try to extort a large tip out of you before they return. Ours stopped rowing until we 'tipped' her. Touters everywhere as to be expected and they do get physical. Try and get a precise pickup time otherwise you run the risk of the driver turning up at 7.20am before you have had breakfast. It isn't a 8am start.
Response from the operator: Dear Ms Chrisu632 It is with great regret that I received your complain and it surprises me that such an unfortunate incident has happened to one of our valued customers. I can’t describe to you how sorry and shocked I am to know about this. Hanoi Explore Travel owes you its deepest apologies. We take pride in our customer satisfaction and these mistakes are not in line with our philosophy. A lot of time has been invested to determine the root cause of this error and my team and I reached the conclusion that this was mainly the result of us . Of course, none of this is your fault and we take full responsibility for this error. We hope this is sufficient to solve the issue and clear any remaining inconvenience. Also as part of our continuous strive for perfection, we are implementing a number of checks and measures to ensure mistakes like these do not occur again. You deserve the best and we will make sure that you will get it with us. Thank you for raising this matter and giving us an opportunity to perform even better. We are deeply sorry in advance, Best Regards,
via Tripadvisor
Good to know
- Duration
- 12 hours
- Free cancellation
- Up to 24h before
- Minimum age to book
- All ages
- Availability
- Bookable today
- Runs on
- Every day
- Price range
- $47 to $72
- Hotel pickup
- Available for selected locations
- Booked in 30 days
- 24
- Verdict
- Strongly Recommended
Who runs this experience
Operated by Hanoi Explore Travel, who run 8 experiences we rank across 1 city, with an average Outty Ranking of 69.1.
See everything Hanoi Explore Travel runsWhy this scores 77
The Outty Ranking is a weighted composite. Here is how this experience performed on each component.
Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch: questions travelers ask
Practical detail on this experience, plus the wider planning questions for Hanoi.
How much does Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch cost?
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Prices start at $47 per person. The final price depends on the date, the time slot and the number of travelers, and peak weekends in Hanoi usually price higher than midweek mornings. Live pricing and remaining availability are confirmed on the booking screen before you pay.
How long does Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch take?
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Plan for about 12 hours from start to finish, not counting travel to the meeting point. Most travelers leave another 30 minutes on either side so the rest of the day in Hanoi is not rushed.
Is Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch worth it?
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It holds an Outty Ranking of 77 out of 100, which we label "Strongly Recommended". That score blends traveler sentiment (4.9/5 across 69 reviews), the depth of that review evidence, recent booking momentum, value for money against comparable last minute in Hanoi, and how flexible the cancellation terms are.
Can I cancel or reschedule Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch?
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Yes. Cancel free up to 24 hours before the start time for a full refund. Inside that window the booking is non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded.
Is Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch suitable for kids and families?
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Yes, all ages are welcome. Families should still weigh the 12-hour running time, and strollers are easier on the earlier, quieter departures.
How far in advance should I book Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch?
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Around 24 people booked this in the last 30 days, so popular slots go early. Two to three weeks ahead is comfortable in shoulder season, while summer weekends and holidays in Hanoi can sell out a month out. Same-day spots do open up when other travelers cancel, so it is worth checking if you are already in town.
What should I bring or wear?
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Bring photo ID, your booking confirmation on your phone, a refillable water bottle and comfortable shoes. Dress for the weather in Hanoi and add a light layer if any part of the 12-hour experience runs outdoors or after sunset.
Where does Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch start and how do I get there?
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The exact meeting point and directions are on your voucher once you book, and they sit in central Hanoi within reach of public transport. Arrive 15 minutes early: late arrivals are treated as no-shows by most operators.
What are the best things to do in Hanoi?
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On Outty we rank every Hanoi experience on the same 0 to 100 scale, and alongside this one the highest scorers right now include Ha Giang Loop 3-Day Small Group - from Hanoi, (Group/Individual) HANOI STREET FOOD TOUR, Incense Village Quang Phu Cau, Hat Village and Hanoi City Tour. The city page groups everything into most popular, highest reviewed, last minute and family-friendly so you can build a day around what actually delivers.
When is the best time to visit Hanoi?
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Booking patterns follow the same curve: prices and queues climb in peak weeks, while shoulder season gives you better availability on the top-ranked experiences and more room to change plans.
How many days do you need in Hanoi?
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Three full days covers the headline sights without sprinting. A workable rhythm is one anchor experience each morning, such as this one, an unhurried afternoon in a single neighborhood, then a food or nightlife booking in the evening. Five days lets you add a day trip outside the city.
Do I book through Outty or through the operator?
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Outty ranks and explains the experiences, then hands you to Viator to complete the booking with the operator directly. The price is the same as booking on Viator yourself, and Outty earns an affiliate commission on the referral, which is how the rankings stay free to read.
What is included in Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch?
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Included: A bottle of mineral water/pax on bus; Lunch; Cycling, Hiking, Boat trip - 1.5 hours; English speaking guide with very good skill; and Pick-up and and drop off at your hotel by Limousine Bus in Hanoi Old Quarter Area. Not included: Travel insurance, drink, vat; and Personal expenses. Always check the voucher for the final list before you travel.
Does Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch include hotel pickup?
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Yes, pickup is offered, or you can meet at the start point instead from 924 listed pickup locations in and around Hanoi. You can also enter a custom pickup address when booking.
What languages is Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch offered in?
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It runs in English. Pick your language when choosing a date and time, as not every departure runs in every language.
Will I get instant confirmation and a mobile ticket for Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch?
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Confirmation is sent by the operator after booking, usually within 48 hours; if it is not confirmed you are not charged. Mobile tickets are accepted, so you can show the voucher on your phone.
What happens to Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch if the weather is bad?
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It generally runs rain or shine, so dress for the forecast in Hanoi. Standard cancellation terms apply: free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start.
What do travelers say about Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch?
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Across 69 reviews averaging 4.9 out of 5, recurring themes include the guide, knowledge and storytelling, photo opportunities. Travelers single out the guide as the reason the experience works. One thing to know: Expect real walking or climbing: reviewers mention the effort involved.
What booking options are available for Ninh Binh Full Day Tour to Hoa Lu Tam Coc Mua Cave Buffet Lunch?
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There are 2 options to choose from, including Deluxe Small Group 17-20Pax, Luxury - Small Group- Max 9Pax. Prices and start times differ by option, so compare them on the booking screen.
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