Mua Cave · Ninh Binh · Vietnam
Mua Cave, Ninh Binh
About 500 stone steps up the Lying Dragon to a viewpoint over the Tam Coc valley, on a day from Hanoi with a rowing boat through the caves of Trang An and the temples of Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh.
- 4.8 / 5 11569+ Reviews
- 1 day Duration
- 150,000 dong The Mua Cave entrance fee for anyone taller than 1 m, listed by the Trang An heritage management board
- 100 km By road from Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi to the Mua Cave ticket gate
- Free Cancellation
The Experience
What the Day Tour Includes
Transport from Hanoi's Old Quarter, a guide, the Trang An boat, the entrance fees and lunch; drinks and tips are extra.
Highlights
- Pickup in Hanoi's Old Quarter by limousine or bus
- Morning choice: Hoa Lu with a bicycle ride, or Bai Dinh
- A rowing boat through the caves of Trang An
- The climb to the Mua Cave viewpoint in the late afternoon
- Buffet lunch and entrance fees included
What's Included
- Professional English-speaking guide
- Boat in Trang An
- Limousine/Modern Bus during the trip
- Entrance fees
- Electric car ride to Bai Dinh Pagoda entrance (Option Bai Dinh)
- Cycling activity (Option Hoa Lu)
- Buffet lunch at restaurant (vegetarian option)
- Mineral water on the bus
- Free usage of conical hat/rain-coat (if rainy)
Good to know: Since 1 July 2026, buses of more than 16 seats may not pick up in most of the Old Quarter between 6:00 and 9:00; the operator confirms a meeting point. · Children aged 4 to 8 pay the child rate; a child taller than 1 m pays the entrance fees on the spot. · A small-group car (nine guests) costs US$15 a person more on the Hoa Lu option. · Not Included: Drinks, Travel insurance, Tips and personal expense, Surcharge for Lunar New Year
The Day, Step by Step
From the Old Quarter to Ninh Binh, the sights, and back by evening.
Pickup in the Old Quarter
Pickup at 07:20 to 08:00 at your hotel or a meeting point in Hanoi's Old Quarter (since 1 July 2026 Hanoi restricts vehicles with more than 16 seats to off-peak hours in the core of Hoàn Kiếm ward; the operator names a meeting point), then about two and a half hours south by limousine or bus with a stop.
Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh
Chosen when you book: Hoa Lu's temples of King Dinh and King Le and a bicycle ride through the villages, or the Bai Dinh pagoda complex by electric car. A buffet lunch with vegetarian dishes follows.
The Trang An Boat
At about 13:30, a rowing boat for four through the caves and between the limestone walls of Trang An, about two hours on the water.
Mua Cave, then Back
At about 16:00, about 500 stone steps up the Lying Dragon to the viewpoint over the Tam Coc valley. Drop-off in the Old Quarter between 19:00 and 19:30.
Photo Gallery
The Steps, the Boat and the Valley
The climb, the caves of Trang An and the view from the top.
Book Your Experience
Check Availability & Prices
Select your preferred date and time. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.
Plan the Day
Mua Cave, One Question per Page
The viewpoint, the entrance fee, the road from Hanoi, Trang An or Tam Coc, Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh, and when to go.
Prices are each page's featured tour: GetYourGuide checked November 2026. Tour prices are per adult unless a card says otherwise; entrance fees are in Vietnamese dong.
Four Mua Cave Day Tours
Two leave from Hanoi, two from a hotel in Ninh Binh. What each does in the morning, what the price covers and who it suits. Prices from the listings, with the month they were checked.
| Feature | THIS PAGE From Hanoi, Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh | From Hanoi, Hoa Lu by bicycle | From a Ninh Binh hotel | Guide and van, fees extra |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What You Pay | From $48 per person (checked November 2026) | From $52 per person (checked November 2026) | From $53 per person (checked November 2026) | From $15 per person (checked November 2026) |
| Pickup | Hanoi Old Quarter, 07:20 to 08:00 | Hanoi Old Quarter, 07:00 to 07:45 | Ninh Binh hotel, 8:00 to 8:40 | Ninh Binh hotel, 8:00 to 8:30 |
| Morning | Hoa Lu with a bicycle ride, or Bai Dinh | Hoa Lu, then a short bicycle ride | Hoa Lu and Bai Dinh | Hoa Lu and Bai Dinh |
| Mua Cave | About 16:00 | After the boat | About 15:30 | About 15:30 |
| Entrances and Lunch | Included | Included | The four sights listed as included; lunch not listed | Not included: about 770,000 dong if you do everything |
| Back | Hanoi, 19:00 to 19:30 | Hanoi, about 19:00 to 19:35 | Your hotel, after 17:20 | Your hotel, about 17:15 |
| Best For | A day trip from Hanoi with a choice of morning | A day trip from Hanoi with a bicycle ride | A night or more in Ninh Binh, everything arranged | A night in Ninh Binh and paying as you go |
| Check dates | See this day | See the Ninh Binh day | See the budget day |
Other Mua Cave Days
More Ways to Reach the Viewpoint
Another day from Hanoi, and two days that start at a hotel in Ninh Binh. One card per tour.
HOA LU, BICYCLE, TRANG ANHanoi - Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Trang An Boat Ride & Mua Cave Tour
A day from Hanoi's Old Quarter (hotel pickup 07:00 to 07:45, or two meeting points outside the Old Quarter at 07:35), back at about 19:00 to 19:35. Hoa Lu's temples of the kings at about 10:00, a short bicycle ride before lunch (goat is the local dish; vegetarian and gluten-free on request), 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours by rowing boat for up to four at Trang An from 13:30, then nearly 500 stone steps up Mua Cave. Entrance fees, the boat, lunch, water and the guide are included; drinks and tips are not.
STAYING IN NINH BINHFrom Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh, Trang An, Mua Cave Tour
A day for people already staying in Ninh Binh: a van collects you from a hotel or homestay in Tam Coc, Trang An or Ninh Binh at 8:00 to 8:40. Hoa Lu at 9:00, Bai Dinh pagoda at 10:00, lunch at noon, the Trang An boat at 13:30, and Mua Cave's 500 steps at about 15:30 for the late light; back at the hotel after 17:20. The guide, the van and the four sights are listed as included.
FEES PAID ON THE DAYNinh Binh: Trang An Boat, Bai Dinh, Hoa Lu & Mua Cave Sunset
A guided day from a hotel or homestay in Tam Coc, Trang An or Ninh Binh (pickup 8:00 to 8:30, back about 17:15) in a small-group van: Hoa Lu's two temples, Bai Dinh pagoda, lunch, a two-hour boat through four Trang An caves, then Mua Cave at about 15:30. The low price is the guide and the van only. The listing names what is paid on the day: the Trang An boat 300,000 dong, Mua Cave 150,000 dong, the Bai Dinh electric car 150,000 dong, Hoa Lu 20,000 dong and lunch 150,000 dong.
Above the Tam Coc Valley
What a Day at Mua Cave Is Like
The climb, what the ticket costs, how the day from Hanoi fits the other sights around it, and the weeks the rivers close the boats.
Mua Cave, Hang Mua in Vietnamese, is a viewpoint above the Tam Coc valley in Ninh Binh, about 100 km by road south of Hanoi: about 500 stone steps climb the Lying Dragon mountain to a summit over rice fields, a river and the limestone towers of the Trang An World Heritage area. Most people reach it on a day tour from Hanoi. DGB - INDOCHINATODAYTRAVEL’s Hanoi: Ninh Binh, Bai Dinh/Hoa Lu, Trang An, & Mua Cave Tour is from $48 in current promotion (usually $55) a person (checked November 2026), with the guide, the Trang An boat, the entrance fees and lunch included.
The short answer
Take the day tour if you have one day in Hanoi and want Mua Cave with the boat ride. The bus leaves the Old Quarter at 07:20 to 08:00. The morning is your choice at booking: Hoa Lu, the 10th-century capital, with a bicycle ride through the villages, or the Bai Dinh pagoda complex. After lunch, a rowing boat for four through the caves of Trang An at about 13:30, then the climb to Mua Cave at about 16:00, when the light is lower. You are back in the Old Quarter between 19:00 and 19:30. The tour has 11,569 reviews (checked November 2026).
Check dates for the Mua Cave day tour
If you are already sleeping in Ninh Binh, the same sights, with both Hoa Lu and Bai Dinh in the morning, start from your hotel at 8:00 and reach Mua Cave at about 15:30: NB Luxury Travel’s day from Ninh Binh is from $53 in current promotion (usually $58) (checked November 2026).
Pick your day
Hanoi: Ninh Binh, Bai Dinh/Hoa Lu, Trang An, & Mua Cave Tour
Hoa Lu with a bicycle ride, or Bai Dinh; the Trang An boat, Mua Cave at about 16:00; entrances and lunch included.
Check dates →Hanoi - Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Trang An Boat Ride & Mua Cave Tour
Hoa Lu's temples, a short ride, up to 2 hours on the Trang An boat, then nearly 500 steps; entrances included.
See this day →From Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh, Trang An, Mua Cave Tour
Pickup in Tam Coc, Trang An or Ninh Binh; Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh, the boat and Mua Cave at about 15:30.
See the Ninh Binh day →Ninh Binh: Trang An Boat, Bai Dinh, Hoa Lu & Mua Cave Sunset
The cheapest price here covers the guide and the van; the boat, Mua Cave, Bai Dinh's car, Hoa Lu and lunch are paid on the spot.
See the budget day →Prices, ratings and review counts from the listings (GetYourGuide checked November 2026). Operators price by date and season, so treat the figures as the shape of the market, not a quote.
Where Mua Cave is
Hang Mua stands at the foot of Ngoa Long, the Lying Dragon mountain, in the village of Khe Dau Ha. The address has changed twice since 2024: the old Ninh Xuan commune was merged into Ninh Nhat on 1 January 2025, and Ninh Nhat into the new Hoa Lu ward of Ninh Binh province on 1 July 2025, under two resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee. Around it is the Trang An Landscape Complex, which UNESCO inscribed in 2014 as a mixed cultural and natural World Heritage property: 6,226 hectares of limestone karst, flooded valleys and caves, with the ancient capital of Hoa Lu inside it. By road, the Mua Cave ticket gate is 5.4 km from the Trang An boat wharf and 4.4 km from the Tam Coc wharf.
The climb
The steps start inside the ticketed grounds, which also hold a lotus pond, and climb about 500 stone steps to the summit; the day tours allow about an hour and a half for the climb and the photos. From the top the Tam Coc valley opens to the south, with the river looping between the karst. Guests call the climb short but steep, and hard work in the heat, which is why the tours save it for the late afternoon. The viewpoint has the route up and what to bring.
What it costs
The Mua Cave ticket is 150,000 dong for anyone taller than 1 m; under 1 m is free. The operator raised it from 100,000 dong on 1 April 2026, and the Trang An heritage management board lists the same figure. The day tours from Hanoi on this site include it with the boat; NINH BINH FOOTPRINT TRAVEL’s guided day from Ninh Binh is from $15 in current promotion (usually $16) (checked November 2026) because it leaves every entrance and lunch to you, about 770,000 dong more if you do everything. The entrance fee sets out every ticket of the day.
When the boats stop
The climb rarely closes; the rivers are what move. In 2026 the Trang An management board closed boat route 3 on 31 July when water rose in the caves and reopened it on 2 August; closed the whole site from 23 August during storm Narra; and closed it again from 17 September, when Tam Coc also cut its boat route short of the third cave. Reviews of the day tour from the second half of October describe the Trang An boat running again. When to go goes through the months and the Tet closures.
Getting there
Hoan Kiem Lake to the Mua Cave gate is 100 km by road, about an hour and a half in free-flowing traffic; the tour buses allow two and a half hours with a stop. From Hanoi has the pickup rules and the times. Trang An or Tam Coc and Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh help you choose the rest of the day. If you are going on to the coast afterwards, halongbaycruisehanoi.com covers the cruises on Ha Long Bay from Hanoi.
Five Hundred Steps above Tam Coc
Leave the Old Quarter in the morning, see Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh, row through the caves of Trang An after lunch, and climb the Lying Dragon in the late afternoon light. Starting from $48 per person in current promotion (usually $55).
See datesOther Dates, Other Operators
Ninh Binh Day Tours with Open Dates
Day tours to Mua Cave and Ninh Binh, with live availability. Times and cancellation terms are on each listing.
Mua Cave, Ninh Binh: Questions
The entrance fee, the steps, the time from Hanoi, Trang An or Tam Coc, and when to go.
150,000 dong a person. That is the figure the Trang An heritage management board lists for Hang Mua; the operator raised it from 100,000 dong on 1 April 2026. It applies to adults and to children taller than 1 m; under 1 m is free. The day tours from Hanoi on this site include it. See the entrance fee.
About 500 stone steps. They climb Ngoa Long, the Lying Dragon mountain, to the viewpoint over the Tam Coc valley. Tours give the climb about an hour and a half with the photos. See the viewpoint.
About 100 km by road from Hoan Kiem Lake, roughly an hour and a half in free-flowing traffic. The tour buses allow about two and a half hours with a stop: pickup at 07:00 to 08:00, back in the Old Quarter at about 19:00. See from Hanoi.
A day from Hanoi works if you have one day; about five of its twelve hours are on the road. With a night in Ninh Binh the tours start at 8:00 from your hotel and reach Mua Cave at about 15:30, closer to the late light. From Hanoi it is $48; from a Ninh Binh hotel, with the four sights listed as included and lunch not listed, $53 (checked November 2026).
Trang An for the caves, Tam Coc for the rice valley under Mua Cave. Trang An's routes run through a chain of caves and temples inside the World Heritage area and cost 300,000 dong; Tam Coc's boat leaves from below Mua Cave and rows through three caves, the Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba, for 250,000 dong. The day tours on this site row you through Trang An. See Trang An or Tam Coc.
Hoa Lu for history, Bai Dinh for scale. Hoa Lu is the 10th-century capital, two kings' temples, 20,000 dong and 4.9 km from the Trang An wharf by road; Bai Dinh is a vast pagoda complex 14.1 km away, reached on an electric car (150,000 dong return). The hero tour lets you pick one when you book. See Hoa Lu or Bai Dinh.
Most of the year, but floods stop them. In 2026 Trang An closed route 3 on 31 July, shut entirely from 23 August during storm Narra, and closed again from 17 September as the rivers rose; Tam Coc ran a shorter route without its third cave from the same day. Route 3 reopened on 2 August, and reviews of the day tours from the second half of October describe the Trang An boats running again. See when to go.
Still have questions? Email us at info@mua-cave-ninh-binh.com