The Trang An boat tour is the number one thing to do in Ninh Binh, and it’s the one thing people asked us about the most after our trip. Short answer, yes, it’s worth it. Ninh Binh gets called Vietnam’s version of Ha Long Bay, except here you glide through it on a small hand…
I’ll be upfront about something. I did not expect Ninh Binh’s hotel scene to be this good. Everyone talks about the scenery here, the limestone karsts that rise straight out of the rice paddies, the boats gliding along the Ngo Dong River, the ancient capital of Hoa Lu tucked into the hills. What nobody mentions…
I never travel without hunting down the best coffee shops wherever I land, and Ninh Binh was no exception. Waseem and I spent two days based in Trang An, surrounded by karst mountains and quiet rice paddies, and in between the boat tour and the cave hikes, I made sure we carved out time for…
Vietnam is for sure one of my favorite countries to explore, from the chaos and street food of Hanoi to the quiet limestone landscapes around Ninh Binh. Waseem and I visited Ninh Binh right after Hanoi for two days and the contrast was apparent. Since we work online full-time as digital nomads, a reliable connection…
Honestly, I did not expect much from Ninh Binh at first. I had seen the photos online: the limestone mountains, the rice fields, the little wooden boats drifting through caves, and part of me figured it was one of those places that look better in pictures than they do in person. I could not have…
Where to stay in Ninh Binh comes down to one big decision: base yourself near Tam Coc or near Trang An. Limestone mountains shoot straight up out of flooded rice fields, and little wooden boats glide into caves like something out of a movie. If you’re still deciding whether the trip is even worth it,…
Waseem and I only had two days in Ninh Binh. We had just spent two days in Hanoi before that, and I remember thinking there was no way a short stop like this could shift how I felt about an entire country. But it did. I had seen the photos everyone posts online. Towering limestone…
If you’ve been scrolling through Vietnam travel content lately and keep seeing dramatic limestone mountains rising above rice paddies, wooden walkways winding through lotus ponds, and tiny boats drifting silently through ancient caves, that’s Ninh Binh. And I can confirm it’s every bit as stunning in real life as it looks online. Waseem and I…
Waseem and I just got back from Hanoi and Ninh Binh, and honestly, Vietnam hit differently than I expected. Between navigating the chaotic Old Quarter streets, cafe hopping through hidden alleyways, eating banh mi and street food at every turn, and trying to figure out how on earth to book a bus to Ninh Binh…