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The sound of cicadas, the soft slap of oars, crystal clear water surrounded by dramatic limestone karst peaks, gliding through lantern-lit caves.
This could be a typical description of Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay, a location visited by 2.2 million international arrivals in 2025, but as you might have already guessed by this story’s headline, it’s not.
I’m in Ninh Binh, less than 100 kilometres south of Hanoi, and while the rocks emerging from the tranquil landscape are just as imposing as those in Ha Long Bay, the karst towers here are surrounded by lakes, rice paddies, villages and forests.
Sitting in a traditional wooden sampan, I’m being rowed through the Trang An landscape. On the 2.5 hour circuit, we pass tall karst islands, forests, temples, and at one point, a watery field of pink lotus.
In the summer heat, other boats are easily spotted by their canopy of colourful parasols. I only lower mine when the boats float into the many spectacular caves, and we all lean forward to safely clear the rock.
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The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Trang An landscape on the Red River Delta is a relatively new tourism attraction in Vietnam. The official tourist circuits in Trang An began in 2014, the year it became a UNESCO site. Independent kayaking only became an option in 2020. That late start has allowed Ninh Binh to learn from the experience of Vietnam’s other tourist hot spots and, hopefully, preserve the qualities that make this region so special.
It’s not a tourism utopia, but if I compare it to my cruise experience on Ha Long Bay, the difference is stark. Here the water is clean, the environment protected and free of rubbish, and the atmosphere serene.
In Ha Long Bay, there was a greasy sheen to the water from oil, rubbish floating by the boat, and massive freighters interrupted the view of the horizon. Yes, that trip was a decade ago, and while my negative experience may have been bad luck, development has continued apace, and the damage caused by pollution still makes headlines, despite efforts to improve the tourism experience and protect the environment.
Ninh Binh is not under the same environmental pressures as Ha Long Bay, and it’s also better able to disperse visitors. Over the four days I spent there, I biked and boated, visited pagodas and ancient cities, hiked up a mountain, experienced a little of traditional village life and culture, ate in small family restaurants and drank ice-cold beer by the lantern-lit river.
My e-bike tour guide Nga Tran, who has a master’s degree in sustainable tourism, knows that many people will see Ninh Binh’s growing popularity as a chance to make easy money. She’s hopeful that the nature-focused tourism that supports local villages and cultures will be supported.
She’s doing her bit – organising the cooking lesson and lunch with a local family we enjoyed as part of our tour – to help create demand for authentic and sustainable experiences.
Cycling through the rural landscape, we pass lounge chairs lined up at the edge of the river near a local guesthouse.
In Ninh Binh right now, simply watching the sunset over the rice paddies is the number one evening activity, and long may it be so.
THE DETAILS
VISIT
Boats destined for Trang An Landscape Complex leave Trang An wharf from 7am. The last boat leaves at about 3pm. Adult tickets cost VND250,000 ($14). Tam Coc offers a shorter, but equally scenic trip. The ticket office at Van Lam Pier in Tam Coc opens 7.30am, the last boats leave at about 3.30pm. Rent a bicycle or e-bike and tour independently or join a guided bike tour to combine culture and landscape. See vietnamebiketravel.com
FLY
Vietnam Airlines offers non-stop flights from Melbourne and Sydney to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City starting from $475 one way. See vietnamairlines.com
STAY
A superior room at Pullman Ninh Binh costs from $130. See pullmanninhbinh.com
The writer was a guest of Pullman Ninh Binh.
