Tam Coc is 9 km southwest of Ninh Binh. Follow Hwy 1A south and turn west at the Tam Coc turn-off. Ninh Binh hotels run day tours, but it is more fun to make your own way by bicycle or motorbike. Hotel staff can also advise you on some beautiful back roads that link Tam Coc with Hoa Lu. Budget cafés in Hanoi book day trips to Tam Coc and Hoa Lu; the fast-food version goes for about US$25, but it’s closer to US $40 with a smaller group, comfortable vehicle and professional guide.
Poetically penned ‘Halong Bay on the rice paddies’, the area around Tam Coc boasts stunning scenery. While Halong Bay has rugged rock formations jutting out of the sea, here they soar skywards from a sea of green.
Tam Coc (entry fee 30, 000d, boat 40, 000d) is named after the low caves through which the Ngo Dong River flows. The essential Tam Coc experience is to sit back and be rowed through the caves – a serene and scenic trip, which turns into a surreal dance towards the end.
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