Trang An or Tam Coc?
Trang An or Tam Coc with Mua Cave: the two rowing-boat rides compared on caves, price (300,000 or 250,000 dong), distance from Mua Cave and which day tours use each.
Trang An and Tam Coc are both rowing-boat rides through limestone caves in Ninh Binh, a few kilometres apart, with Mua Cave between them. Trang An is the bigger network of rivers, caves and temples at the heart of the World Heritage area, 300,000 dong for an adult; Tam Coc is the valley you see from the top of Mua Cave, three caves on one river, 250,000 dong. The day tours on this site row you through Trang An.
The calendar above is the day from Hanoi with the Trang An boat and Mua Cave, from $48 in current promotion (usually $55) a person (checked November 2026).
Side by side
| Trang An | Tam Coc | |
|---|---|---|
| Ticket, adult (over 1.3 m) | 300,000 dong | 250,000 dong |
| Ticket, child (1 to 1.3 m) | 150,000 dong | 120,000 dong |
| What you row through | Three numbered routes through caves, temples and flooded valleys | One river through three caves, Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba |
| From the Mua Cave gate | 5.4 km by road | 4.4 km by road, 3.5 km on foot |
| On the day tours here | Yes, about 1 hour 40 minutes to 2 hours | No |
| Boat | Up to four guests and a rower | Rowing boat |
Tickets from the Trang An heritage management board’s list, read November 2026; distances by road and on foot from a routing engine; boat times from the listings.
Check dates for Trang An and Mua Cave
Trang An
Trang An’s wharf is the start of three numbered routes through the caves and temples of the Trang An Landscape Complex, the 6,226-hectare property UNESCO inscribed in 2014. On the day tours you share a boat with up to three other guests and a rower for about two hours; guests on the hero tour call it the highlight of the day, and some take a turn at the oars. It is the boat that floods first: the board closed route 3 from 31 July to 2 August 2026, the whole site from 23 August during storm Narra, and again from 17 September, after running an adjusted route on 16 September.
Tam Coc
Tam Coc is the valley at the foot of Mua Cave: from the summit you are looking down its river. The boat rows to three caves and back. In September 2026’s floods it kept running on a shorter route that turned back at the mouth of Hang Hai, with no Hang Ba, and with the electric car to Bich Dong pagoda stopped. Its ticket with that electric car is 350,000 dong. If you stay a night near Tam Coc, the wharf is 3.5 km on foot from the Mua Cave gate.
Which one
Take Trang An if you want more caves and the World Heritage core, and want it arranged: every tour on this site includes it. Take Tam Coc if you are staying near it and want the valley you saw from the top of Mua Cave, on your own, for 50,000 dong less. Nothing stops you doing both on two days.
Pick your boat day
Hanoi: Ninh Binh, Bai Dinh/Hoa Lu, Trang An, & Mua Cave Tour
From Hanoi; the boat at 13:30, the climb at about 16:00, entrances included.
Check dates →Hanoi - Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Trang An Boat Ride & Mua Cave Tour
From Hanoi; Hoa Lu and a bicycle ride before the boat and the steps.
See this day →From Ninh Binh: Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh, Trang An, Mua Cave Tour
Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh, the Trang An boat at 13:30, Mua Cave at about 15:30.
See the Ninh Binh 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.
Other 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.
Trang An by Rowing Boat, Then Mua Cave
The day tour from Hanoi rows you through the caves of Trang An after lunch and climbs Mua Cave after that.
Check dates