Hoa Lư Tam Coc & Mua Cave full day Including Buffets Lunch
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Hanoi, Vietnam
- 10 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Learn about northern Vietnamese history and rural life on a full-day tour to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc from Hanoi. See the Hoa Lu temples in the ancient capital of Vietnam, then go to Tam Coc for a sampan ride on a slow-moving river with a landscape of karst formations and caves. Finish up with a bike ride through rural villages. Includes buffet lunch, transportation and guide, all activities, and hotel pickup and drop-off in the Old Quarter of Hanoi.
- Full-day tour of Hoa Lu and Tam Coc, from Hanoi
- Visit the Hoa Lu temples and take a sampan ride through the caves in Tam Coc
- Buffet lunch included
- Led by a local guide
What's Included
- Pick-up and drop off at your accommodation in Hanoi’s Old Quarter
- Round-trip transport between Hanoi and Hoa Lu/Tam Coc
- Complimentary bottles of water on the bus
- Buffets lunch featuring Vietnamese cuisine
- English-speaking tour guide during the trip
- Biking from Tam Coc to Bich Dong
- Boat trip on the Ngo Dong River
- Beverages
- Pick-up and drop off outside Hanoi’s Old Quarter
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
Pickup details
We pick our all our clients if they staying in hotel,hostel,airbnb in old quarter city center If out of city center please contact us for appointment at meeting point
Operating hours.7:00 am
Itinerary
After early morning pickup in Hanoi, head to Ninh Binh province, a scenic drive that takes about one hour.
Start by visiting the ancient capital's Hoa Lu temples, built for the Dinh and Le dynasties. Then go to Tam Coc wharf where you enjoy a buffet lunch of Vietnamese cuisine.
Next, step into your sampan boat and relax as your guide rows you to the caves, a ride of 90 minutes. When you return to the dock, take a short break before hopping on the provided bicycle for a leisurely 45-minute ride through picturesque rural villages to Bich Dong.
In the late afternoon, return to the city where your tour ends with drop-off at your accommodation in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
Start by visiting the ancient capital's Hoa Lu temples, built for the Dinh and Le dynasties. Then go to Tam Coc wharf where you enjoy a buffet lunch of Vietnamese cuisine.
Next, step into your sampan boat and relax as your guide rows you to the caves, a ride of 90 minutes. When you return to the dock, take a short break before hopping on the provided bicycle for a leisurely 45-minute ride through picturesque rural villages to Bich Dong.
In the late afternoon, return to the city where your tour ends with drop-off at your accommodation in Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
1
Tam Coc
4 hours • Admission Ticket Free
2
Hoa Lu temples of the Dinh & Le Dynasties
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- Be sure to bring sunglasses, sun cream, and your camera. You’ll also need shoes and short trousers for the cycling part of the tour.
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- Most travelers can participate
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 25 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Rossella_C
It was an amazing day, beautiful landscapes and experiences. Our guide has been fantastic all day long, very polite, funny and polite, even with some of participants that were not very respectful
Reviews
4.3
based on 144 reviews
Rossella_C, Nov 2022
It was an amazing day, beautiful landscapes and experiences. Our guide has been fantastic all day long, very polite, funny and polite, even with some of participants that were not very respectful
Charles_Y, Oct 2022
A day well spent with the highlight being the the afternoon boat ride. Stunning scenery all around. Excellent lunch as well as time for bicycling along the river. Highly recommend.
Nicua_K, Aug 2022
This was our second tour from Hanoi and as our first one was so great and this one was advertised in the same level, we were excited to have another amazing day.
It was not amazing at all...
Started with our pickup being about an 30-40 minutes late. That was followed by another 30 minutes of getting the other members of the tour - straight off there was not enough space. The tour was overbooked, the bus was cramped and uncomfortable.
Our Tour guide, Harry, was great, he really did his best but he had too many clients, not enough time and was completely under scheduled. He tried to keep on top of things but because of overbooking on under planning, he was often getting the short end of the stick. A lot of people complained to him and he always was polite and kept his cool despite the problems not being his, he tried his best to smooth things.
There was definitely not enough water supplied. We received a bottle each after leaving Hanoi. A 2.5 hour drive followed with a short but very busy rest stop inbetween. We then made our way to the first location - Le King's Temple.
The temples were beautiful and such a treat to visit. But because of overbooking there were 2 in one tours. I thought I had booked and paid for the whole tour but apparently there was another tour on top of ours so we were left at the temples while the rest of the group went off to climb up a mountain to see another temple - something I would liked to have done if I had known it wasn't included.
We were left at the temples with no access to the water stands outside the area because if we left the area we couldn't get in - our guide had our tickets. He told us they would be back in 1 hour to 1.45 hour... we waited 2 hours and 20 minutes in the hot sun with no water. They finally arrived to pick us up - it was midday, we were dehydrated, dizzy and hungry. as we were making our way over to the bus the driver stood on the horn loudly right after pulling up. The driver was consistently rude and unpleasant.
We finally reached our lunch spot which was extremely underwhelming. Still no water supplied (although advertisement says that water is supplied through the day). The food was ok but lacked in variety or flavour.
We then went on and the other group was dropped off again and we had a short drive to Tam Coc. That part of the trip was really great, enjoyed the experience.
There was very little communication as to what was happening next, great confusion with the two groups and severely overbooked tour. It was unpleasant, uncomfortable and left us dehydrated, heat exhausted and wishing the trip was over half way through the day.
Definitely take a tour into this area as it is very beautiful, but try find a different tour company. I would not say this one was Deluxe in any way. Take hats, extra sunblock and an umbrella.
anna_p, Aug 2022
Really nice day trip. Good value for money. Just lunch could be improved a little, but the rest was fun
Dave_R, Feb 2020
Very interesting, and fun. The guide was great. The history, the bike ride through the rice field, and the river trip, must see.
All for $ 39!
Graham_M, Feb 2020
A long day tour but worth the journey- the driver was very professional and the guides were awesome. Lunch was delicious. The bikes 🚲 used were awful and service at the bike shop dreadful.
katandshane, Feb 2020
Transport was efficient what was disappointing was our bus had 3 tours going on which was a little frustrating. The sites we visited was good. Description said water on bus, please note they only give you one bottle at start of day.
Lunch was a massive "sizzler" style food hall, which wasn't very nice.
tungjane113, Sep 2019
We were caught in a bad weather on our trip to Tam Coc. Socked wet! However the boat trip is still on and we were taken out during the downpour. Cant see much of the Majestic Tam Coc due to the weather. In general the trip is worth going with reasonable price and simple food.
nican0rc, May 2019
if you have to choose between this and Halong Bay, choose this one. the experience is more profound and intimate. it feels surreal to see the outcroppings as you float along the river. the biking experience around town was also a good experience to cap the whole trip. highly recommended.
Christine_A, Jan 2019
This tour involved a 2 1/2 hour bus trip in each direction which was fine except that the bus was cramped and uncomfortable and completely unsuitable. Too much time was wasted on a "bathroom break" at a souvenir outlet and at lunch. The bicycle ride in Tam Coc involved the use of old, rusty bikes with ill fitting seats. No bike helmets were provided. My husband and I elected not to participate in the bicycle ride as a result. The only redeeming feature of the tour was the boat ride which was very picturesque. Was it worth the 5 hour journey in cramped conditions? We think not.
DavidRoss_C, Oct 2018
Temple & history by Duc very interesting boat ride good would have been better when water level was down & rice paddies could be seen only on June July. Bikes were crap but still fun. We new the drive there & back was going to be long & it was unfortunately takes the shine of the day. Didn’t get back to Hanoi till 7/30 big day & the traffic was supposedly good.
PS3_18, Aug 2018
Must do when in Hanoi. The drive and boat ride was great fun ! The guide was friendly and knowledgeable.
SiewLi_C, Aug 2018
Tour Guide by the name Duc who speaks fluent English. Hoa Lu and Tam Coc a must visit in Hanoi. An enjoyable boat ride with awesome scenic route in Tam Coc, but quite hot sunny weather so an umbrella is allow on boat and also enjoying the bicycle riding. Lunch is provided so need no worry where to have your meal.
Doug C, May 2018
I am not very good at the description. I uploaded four photos to help you see what you will during this tour.
Jessica L, May 2018
Love the Bike ride through the Padi fields. Highlight of the day!
Jonathan E, Apr 2018
Excellent value for money and very good tour guide Quoc... Ninh Binh Province with Tam Coc and Hoa Lua provided an excellent insight into the areas and also history.
The food was good and the bike rides, river rides and photo opportunities were superb.
All in all, an excellent trip.
Alan d, Apr 2018
We had an excellent young guide who was very knowledgeable about the history of Vietnam. He was happy to chat with any and all of the people on the tour, and organised our entry into each of the sites that we visited, quickly and efficiently. The smorgasbord lunch was fine and the overall experience was good value for money.
Jeroen B, Apr 2018
When staying in Hanoi for a few days this is a good tour to add to see something outside Hanoi. We booked this tour based on the Viator reviews and we weren't disappointed. This tour is value for money.
It is a full day tour. It might even last a bit longer then indicated due to traffic etc. The tour guide asked us if there was someone in the group that had to be back at a specific timing.
Depending on your hotel location in the old quarter the tour will pick you up from the hotel. Some hotels can't be reached by bus.
During the ride the guide provided us with all sorts of information. It was good and entertaining.
The tour will make a pit stop at a souvenir store/ restaurant when disabled people make all sorts of nice souvenirs of good quality. There is no pressure to buy.
First attraction is the ancient capital of Hoa Lu with two temples. This was nice to see but a bit crowded since all tours pass this point.
Next stop is Tam Coc wharf where you can enjoy an extensive buffet lunch. There really was a lot of food choices.
The highlight of the tour is the Sampan boat trip through the caves . This is really amazing. Since it is quite sunny we did buy a hat from one of the many shops to protect us a bit from the sun.
It can become a bit crowded since more tours will do the same boat ride there. It is usually 2-3 persons per boat.
You can tip the rowman which is quite a common practice. Downside is a bit that they ask for more tips even when you tip.
Last attraction is a bike ride through the countryside. This is only a short ride. The country side roads aren't the best. They provide all sorts of bikes. It is best to choose a mountain bike. During the bike ride you can stop to take pictures of the beautiful surroundings.
Then the tour returns to Hanoi with a pitstop at the same souvenir shop so if you haven't bought in the morning you can still do so in the afternoon.
The return trip might take a while due to traffic.
Overall the tour is value for money and a good choice to do while staying in Hanoi.
Balazs F, Apr 2018
Good and friendly guide, nice experience, beautiful landscapes. Highly recommended.
Alexander_E, Mar 2018
Tour guide really made the trip something, however I was disappointed by the quality of the boat we were on as every other boat that passed by us looked like yachts. However, we were there for the bay and it doesn't dissapoint.
Jeffrey_D, Mar 2018
This was an excellent excursion that shouldn't be missed. The scenery is amazing and the opportunity to ride a bicycle through the area is a memorable one. However, it was a LONG day on a crowded minibus. Fortunately, I was the last traveler picked up and the first one dropped off!
David_A, Mar 2018
Fantastic places to visit, but the weather was poor grey and cold with a little rain and the service was disappointing. The guide was also the owner of the restaurant and this felt like a money-making operation rather than a well-established tour with customers as its focus. Examples: bus was dirty when arrived, making it harder to see out, yet the bus stopped for a wash on the way back there was little commentary as we drove along or when we arrived at the two destinations the journey back took ridiculously long snarled up with holiday traffic drop-off at the end of the day was chaotic and the lunchtime food, whilst plentiful, was poor quality. Better service would have gone a long way to make the weather and traffic more bearable!
Anthony_M, Mar 2018
Great tour and wonderful sights, the guide gave every opportunity to give everyone the best photos.
The 90min boat ride was amazing, just to watch them row with there feet is truly mesmerising.
Cycle is none too strenuous and the buffet lunch is very good.
Anthony_B, Mar 2018
This was a very good value day out and well organised by the operator. Although we were picked up about 15 minutes late from our hotel we were telephoned so we knew that the pick-up would be delayed. The small bus used was a little cramped but our English speaking guide was very clear an informative as he showed us round the Hoa Lu Temples. The lunch buffet was very good and we had free use of the restaurant's toilet facilities throughout the afternoon while we were at Tam Coc. The boat tour lasted around an hour and a half with just two of us per boat and we saw some great scenery as we passed through rice paddy fields flanked by karst outcrops and through three caves. Some went on a bike tour for around one hour while we went for a walk along paths shown us by our guide. The day started at around 8.30am and we didn't get back to Hanoi until around 7pm.
Emma M, Feb 2018
Already prepared for the dire weather but did not let it hamper the trip. Beautiful region and peaceful temples. However the tour operator itself was not the best. Not great transport, a confusion with one of the guests left us sitting for some time on the side of the road, buffet lunch which was OK, drinks not provided and was violently sick that evening on return. Tour guide was knowledgable but spoke little english. Boat trip was pleasant but over crowded with tourists as you would imagine. Would love to revisit in the summer but maybe consider a private, smaller tour.
Jonathan C, Feb 2018
While the lunch was mediocre, the bike ride and the ride down the river was a great experience. Great experience outside Hanoi!
Samantha_S, Jan 2018
Pros: awesome guide who let us do our thing and was just like be back at blah blah time. Tam Coc is BEAUTIFUL. The lunch was buffet style and fantastic.
Cons: The boat is very uncomfortable and the bikes are worse. Only one break and a broken pedal. And the ladies nag you to buy stuff at the end.
Stuart_A, Jan 2018
We were collected from the hotel 45mins before the agreed time and then spent 60mins driving around Hanio collecting other people ,who it turned out to be two trips going on the same coach.The coach was totally full with the guides sitting in the ailes.
The trip appart from the above was OK , the guide was not very good and just went through the process of taking and dropplng peope off.
Thirumurugan S, Jan 2018
This was an amazing trip. The tour guide Mr.Quin gave lot of informations about the place and history. The lunch was good. Bamboo boat ride in the Tam Coc river was wonderful.
Gregory M, Jan 2018
Great tour, boat ride down the river and through the 3 caves was awesome. The scenery was beautiful, including the dragon temple on top of the mountain. Tour Guide Duc was outstanding, he did a great job keeping track of all 29 tour participants and provided some good historical and cultural information on the sites. Highly recommended tour.
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