The First Ancient Capital

Meet our guide at your hotel in the morning and depart for Ninh Binh, a city about 2.5 hours south of Hanoi, where you will enter the stunning Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex, also known as ‘Inland Ha Long Bay'. Much of the topography consists of soaring karst mountains, which some consider being even more spectacular than Ha Long Bay itself, hence the name. Here, you will visit the Tam Coc grottoes and enjoy the spectacular, peaceful scenery of Trang An while gliding along a river among the rice paddies and karst limestone mountains. After the boat ride, you stop off at Thai Vi temple, and then take a bike ride through the mountains and villages. You then enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, before heading on visit Hoa Lu, the former capital of Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries when Vietnam was under the Dinh and Le dynasties. If the weather is good you can hike up to the top of Ma Yen Mountain to enjoy the panoramic view of the Sao Khe River and Truong Yen village below. You then transfer back to Hanoi, arriving there in the early evening.