[Private] Tam Coc Boat-ride & Bich Dong Pagoda - Day tour

Awesome boat ride, be prepared for the steps afterwards at the Fairy Cave & the temple.

We joined the queue of people and stepped onto the little boat. The "rower" then began rowing with this weird but effective get technique! From here the scenery was amazing! Definitely what we wanted with loads of photos taken and little tunnels gone through. The electric bus took us to the Fairy Cave then the temple up the hill - both involved a few unexpected steps as we were in things/ flip flops! They were worth it though and they finished off a great morning. Recommended? Hell yes for those views!

Response from the operator: Hi Coogee, this made us smile - what a great way to describe the experience. We’re so glad you enjoyed the boat ride and those incredible views, it really is something special. Sounds like the steps to the cave and temple were a bit of a surprise, but worth it in the end. Thank you for sharing your experience and for the enthusiastic recommendation!

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GREAT Private day in Ninh Binh

We booked a private day tour from Hanoi to Ninh Binh and thank you very much for this perfect day! Car was perfect and the day organisation too We had the chance to have Mr Thành as our guide and was very helpful and explained a lot of things about Vietnam. All the entrance fees was included and the lunch too We did the boat in the morning than visited pagodas in the afternoon Thank you

Response from the operator: Hi Jennifer, we’re so glad to hear your day trip to Ninh Binh was such a perfect experience! It’s great to know everything—from the car and organization to the boat ride, pagodas, and lunch—came together smoothly. Mr. Thành will be happy to hear how much you appreciated his guidance and insights. Thank you for choosing to explore with us!

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Fabulous company and amazing day tour.

We had such a fantastic day with Liam (and his driver) on our one day private Ninh Binh tour. We arrived at Ninh Binh after about 2 hours (stop included) and chose to do the bike ride to the pagoda first. It was so lovely to cycle enjoying the wonderful scenery as we went. We weren't rushed and were able to take photos as we wished. The pagoda was stunning and Liam was incredibly informative and very fun to be around. As we had a bit of time on our hands we cycled through countryside to a lake and temple, very peaceful and very beautiful. We enjoyed lunch at a local restaurant which was delicious. After lunch we enjoyed our tam coc boat ride. This was amazing, so peaceful,pretty and serene. A highlight of our holiday. The trip was easy to arrange and Rosie was especially helpful when we were booking the trip. I would highly recommend and would use this company again in the future.

Response from the operator: We’re so happy to hear your Ninh Binh day was such a highlight of your holiday! Rosie will be delighted to know her help made planning easy, and Liam (and our driver) will love hearing how much you enjoyed their care and company. It’s wonderful that the cycling, boat ride, and peaceful countryside gave you such special memories. Thank you for sharing your experience and for the kind recommendation — we’d love to welcome you again in the future!

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Very professionally well run tour - both with the travel consultant and on the day itself

Before booking our day tour to Tam Coc and Bich Dong, the travel consultant Ms. Rosie, answered all my email queries (there were over 10) regarding price, tailoring the itinerary, weather etc. The most important thing, which I didn't realise until I started doing other day tours in Vietnam was that Ms Rosie arranged for our group of three (my parents and I) to have a 16-seat van. Initially, I thought it was too big given that we only had three people. However, as she rightly pointed out, if we only had a standard 7-seat SUV, by the time you have the tour guide in the front passenger seat, one of the three of us would have to sit in the back row, which as we found out on other tours is very uncomfortable when on a long drive. On the day prior to our tour, Ms Rosie email and WhatsApped me to make sure that everything was in order for the following day. Our allocated tour guide was Mr Vu who was very knowledgeable, providing commentary as we made our way out of Hanoi to Ninh Binh. He explained the historical significance of the Hoa Lu Citadel, which we would not have learned if we had visited by ourselves. Next stop was the Bich Dong Pagoda which has a number of steps that my parents navigated with Mr Vu's guidance and care. After lunch, we visited Tam Coc which was the highlight of the trip. Even though the weather was very overcast, thankfully the rain held off and we were able to still enjoy the 90-minute boat ride which was expertly paddled using the rowers feet (not hands), which I had never seen before. I can only imagine how much more stunning it would look on a sunny day. Having said that, the overcast conditions meant that it was not hot and uncomfortable on the boat, but rather it was rather chilly (we visited on 6 March). All in all, we were very happy with the service received and would recommend this tour and Custom Asia Travel to anyone visiting Vietnam.

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Tam Coc vs Trang An? Tam Coc hands down!!!

Went to both Tam Coc boat trip (including electric bus trip to Bich Dong pagoda) and the Trang A boat trip. In my opinion the Tam Coc trip was far superior and I’ll tell you why. We were able to buy tickets directly at the kiosk next to the lake quickly and efficiently with the option of having the bus trip added or not, and the little boats there were perfect for 2 people. You didn’t have to have life jackets if you didn’t want them although most people did. The whole experience was calm, relaxing and professional with no hard sales on embroidered pictures on the way. We were offered them halfway round but declined with no offence taken. It was shorter than the Trang An option (around an hour for the ride as opposed to 3 hours at Trang An) but I felt that was enough. Our lady rower did expect a tip and we gave her 100k Dong but we felt she deserved it as it’s hard work rowing with your feet!

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