Best Private Day Trip Hanoi to Ninh Binh: Multiple Options

The reason why 2 stars instead of 1 are the tour team: driver Quan (written aurally, sorry if it's wrong) and guide Double. They were really friendly, helpful, and nice, except one thing in the end, which completely ruined our impression about the tour. But first things first - we ended up to be very unlucky to book this tour on one of Lunar New Year holidays. Both of us are foreign tourists and on the moment of booking we weren't aware of how long these holidays are. Here's what we've got. 1. Nearly 8 (yes, eight) hours spent just sitting in the car in traffic jams: 3 hours on the way there, 3 hours on the way back, and 2 hours on the ways between the sights. JFYI: we've departed on 7:30 am from the hotel. 2. Speaking of sights - filled with crowd: long queues and people were almost knocking us out from the upper viewpoints. Mua Cave, for example. We've visited only the Peak on the right from the point where the stairs divide and decided not to climb up to the Dragon. A crazy and chaotic mess - is a very complimentary description of what were happening there. 3. Due to Trang An was already extremely busy they have closed this area before we even reached Ninh Binh. Our guide recommended us to change the boat cruise location from Trang An to Tam Coc. He told us Tam Coc is no big difference to Trang An except the duration: 1.5 hours in comparison to 3-4 hours. And we were very disappointed because it was not nearly the same as what we were hoping to see in this tour. Tam Coc is located in a small city, so we ended up riding a boat in a narrow and sometimes dirty area (the nature is not so untouched there). Most of the boat drivers are crazy old ladies ramming each other's boats and mooching money from tourists as tips during the entire way back. Of course, the tour operator is not responsible for a crowd or busy days. However, for customers to have the better experience they could have recommended us at least to move the booking to another date and avoid accepting any booking on the holidays. Taking people there during this period is a completely wrong idea leading to the only possible impression: the tour was a complete waste of time and money. And there is absolutely no desire for returning to Ninh Binh to re-do the sightseeing properly. 4. After "the boat cruise" with mad old ladies we've got "the delicious set menu lunch" in a local restaurant with a terrible food. It was an awful choice made solely by the tour operator. Gladly before that we had a bite and coffee in some other place (we chose solely) while our driver was moving in a traffic jam. Finally, after we returned to the hotel our tour guide asked us to fill the paper feedback form with "a happy review" and we agreed. Tired and exhausted, we spent a few more time waiting for him to have the feedback form printed (because he forgot it in some other place). And in the end, he began mooching money as tips too =.

An excellent day from start to finish. Phil our guide was amazing and explained everything we asked. He was very patient when we went up the 500 steps at Mua Caves. The food at lunch time was perfect. An amazing day. Thank you

Had an amazing trip with Son. The guide was great and the activities were insightful and fun to do. The driver was professional and the car in pristine condition, brand new basically. At midday we were served lunch in and amazing hotel and all food and entries were paid for. 10/10 would recommend!!!! Try to get it with Son, he’s a fun dude:)

An experience of a lifetime! The day was planned to see the real culture of the area.Our guide was very knowledgeable, respectful and understanding of our personal needs and wishes.

It was a great experience. Our guide, Son, was very good, kind and helpful. We took part in this private tour and he showed us the beauties of Ninh Binh, had a lot of patience and especially helped my 73-year-old mom in the most strenuous stretches. Good English. The car used was also very clean and comfortable.

Great daytrip with different activities and sights, including beautiful nature. Comfortable car and nice guide with small group

We had Son as our tour guide, and it was wonderful. Extremely thoughtful and our family of 7 enjoyed every second of it. Thank you!

Excellent tour to see many beautiful sights in the Hanoi region. Out tour guide was very knowledgeable and full of info about history and the sights visited. Our driver safely navigated the terrain to get us there safely. The lunch was o. Redo me and the entire trip was simply first rate

Everything was extremely smooth and well organized. One of the best and safest drivers we have experienced in Asia. Guide was super friendly, informative and with great sense of humor, speaking perfectly in English. We would highly recommend to anyone. We managed to avoid crowds which was a massive plus traveling in peak season.

Loved that we were able to customize the entire experience. Son, our guide was fabulous. So knowledgeable and was so willing to answer all of our questions. We took a day trip to Ninh Binh and it was a highlight for sure. Definitely would recommend.