10 Fantastic Things to do in Tam Coc

Tam Coc is often referred to as, “Halong Bay on land”. 

However, I’ve visited Halong Bay two times (and loved it both times), yet I still found Tam Coc and its nearby areas far more superior in beauty.

There are so many reasons why you should visit Tam Coc on your trip to Vietnam. 

But if I have to boil it down, I would say that you should visit Tam Coc if you’re looking for beautiful landscapes, friendly locals, and pure serenity.

Plus, Tam Coc is not that far away from Hanoi, so you can easily join a day tour if you want to get out of the hustle and bustle of the big city for a day.

Let’s get started on the best things to do in Tam Coc.

1. Tam Coc Boat Tour – From the heart of town
2. Den Thai Vi temple – A short walk from Tam Coc
3. Bich Dong – A pagoda in a cave
4. The secret cave temple – A small hidden gem
5. Mua caves – A fantastic viewpoint over Tam Coc
6. Thung Nham bird park – For the bird enthusiasts
7. Trang An Boat Tour – An amazing UNESCO experience
8. Hoa Lu – Historical heritage near Tam Coc
9. Bai Dinh – The largest pagoda in Vietnam
10. Go get lost among the limestone cliffs!

1. Tam Coc Boat Tour – From the heart of town

From the heart of Tam Coc, you can do a boat tour and explore the area from the river.

Since we did the Trang An boat tour instead of the Tam Coc boat tour, we have no experience to share of this.

But it should be a beautiful ride on the riverbanks of Tam Coc where you go through caves and see the Mua Caves viewpoint from a different perspective. The tour lasts around 2 hours.

So if you don’t want to go all the way to Trang An, a boat tour in Tam Coc should be a great alternative.

Fun fact: The people that sail you around have learned to row the boats with their feet! Crazy, right? The Vietnamese people are so impressive and inventive.

Distance from Tam Coc to the boat tour	0 km
Tam Coc boat tour Opening Hours (2022)	8 AM – 6 PM

 

 

2. Den Thai Vi temple – A short walk from Tam Coc

The Den Thai Vi temple is only a short walk away from Tam Coc. And it’s such a beautiful trail – the scenery on this route is just amazing!

The road to Den Thai Vi actually gave us some of the best photo opportunities in all of Tam Coc, so it’s a must if you’re looking for the perfect photography spot in this beautiful place in Vietnam.

The Den Thai Vi temple is only a short walk away from Tam Coc. And it’s such a beautiful trail – the scenery on this route is just amazing!

The road to Den Thai Vi actually gave us some of the best photo opportunities in all of Tam Coc, so it’s a must if you’re looking for the perfect photography spot in this beautiful place in Vietnam.

 

 

3. Bich Dong – A pagoda in a cave

Confession time! We actually never made it to Bich Dong Pagoda in Tam Coc…

We heard that it was free to enter, and yet we were asked to pay for parking our bicycles.

At this point we had paid so many ridiculous parking fees that we actually just left again.

Pretty stupid I know, but sometimes you just get fed up with paying for all these small things and it just feels like you constantly get scammed by a random guy who invested in a yellow vest and a whistle…

However, if you have the time to visit the Bich Dong Pagoda, then you definitely should! It’s supposed to be a beautiful temple in a mountain cave – what’s not to like about that? Plus the entrance to the pagoda is very pretty with its small archway on the riverbank.

Next time I go on a trip to Vietnam and visit Tam Coc, I will definitely pay the Bich Dong pagoda a visit! And add a picture to this blog post – sorry, but I don’t have one for obvious reasons.

 

 

4. The secret cave temple – A small hidden gem

It was a coincidence that we stumbled upon this small cave temple. And we loved it!

It didn’t take us longer than 10 minutes to visit this little hidden gem, but it was worth it.

Especially if you’re already heading towards Bich Dong Pagoda or the Thung Nham bird park – it’s kind of on the way.

We parked our bikes right in front of some steps leading into a small cave opening.

We entered the cave and it was FULL of bats! How exciting?! There was also a small shrine in the cave for those who wants to pray.

If you climb onto some of the rocks before you enter the small shrine, then you can get a nice little viewpoint over the river and limestone cliffs in front of the cave.

I totally recommend this small stop if you have a few extra days exploring Vietnam’s wonderful Tam Coc.

If you want to find this small cave temple, you have to download Maps.me on your phone and look around for interesting spots on the map not far from Bich Dong pagoda.

Then you should find a pinpoint to this hidden cave temple. I can’t really explain it better… Sorry.

 

 

5. Mua caves – A fantastic viewpoint over Tam Coc

Mua caves is probably the most popular tourist spot in all of Tam Coc. This is where you will find the incredible viewpoint over limestone cliffs and rice fields.

The viewpoint can be reached by walking up the almost 500 steps. It seems like a lot of work, but it’s completely worth it!

There are actually a lot of things to see at Mua Caves apart from the viewpoint.

Once you pay the entrance fee, you walk into a recreated park full of small sculptures, swings, ponds, caves and whatnot. It’s honestly a bit odd, but we liked it!

Apart from the viewpoint, another highlight at Mua Caves is the lily pad trail that’s shaped like a heart. This is a great place to take some pictures.

In my honest opinion, I think Mua Caves is one of the top viewpoints I have ever been to!

However, the place gets overly crowded by sunset. So why not try to visit this attraction very early in the morning instead – maybe after sunrise when the Mua Caves opens? You can also stay in a hotel in Mua Caves.

 

 

6. Thung Nham bird park – For the bird enthusiasts

Not far away from Tam Coc is the Thung Nham bird park.

To be honest… I skipped this trip in exchange for some leisure time in Tam Coc, however, Glenn went instead.

He said that it looked like a recreational park made for tourism, and it definitely wasn’t a highlight in our Vietnam trip.

HOWEVER, the Thung Nham bird park still earned a spot on the list of the best things to do in Tam Coc because of its impressive amount of storks and intriguing limestone cave.

So if you want to walk through a 500 meter long cave, explore a garden with beautiful scenery, and see a lot of storks nest – then you should visit the Thung Nham bird park on your trip to Tam Coc.

 

 

7. Trang An Boat Tour – An amazing UNESCO experience

The boat ride in Trang An is one of my absolute favorite things to do in the Tam Coc area! It’s such an incredible experience – it’s no wonder the area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

There are 3 different boat tours in Trang An and they all cost the same. You choose the boat tour according to how many caves and temples you want to see on the way.

We’ve tried tour 1 and tour 2 and they were both amazing! So I don’t really think that you can choose wrong.

Just go for what sounds most interesting to you, or settle it like adults with some rock paper scissors (That’s how Glenn and I make big life decisions).

The boat trip takes around 3 hours, and it guides you through many caves in the limestone cliffs and past a handful of old temples.

At some of the temples, you can even get out of the boat to stretch your legs and do some exploration.

 

 

8. Hoa Lu – Historical heritage near Tam Coc

1000 years ago, Hoa Lu used to be Vietnam’s capital. Therefore Hoa Lu is probably the most historical place you can visit near Tam Coc.

If I have to be completely honest, I actually don’t know much about the history of this place.

But I do know that you can visit two very old temples which tell stories that are hundreds of years old.

So if you want to discover Hoa Lu the right way, I suggest that you get yourself a guide.

We visited the place without a guide, and we would have loved to know more about the beautiful stonework in the temples and the many artefacts.

But with our without a guide, Hoa Lu is still worth a visit!

 

 

9. Bai Dinh – The largest pagoda in Vietnam

Just about 20 kilometers away from Tam Coc, you can visit the largest Pagoda in all of Vietnam – it’s actually one of the largest Buddhist complexes in all of Southeast Asia!

Bai Dinh is a massive religious site and you can easily spend a full day exploring the many temples here.

The highlights of Bai Dinh are the big main temples, the 10 meter tall Buddha statue made of bronze, and of course the 100 meter tall Pagoda with an AMAZING 360 view of the whole temple complex.

If you want to know more about the place, then you can easily hire a guide.

However, the guides are a bit expensive, and if you’re a budget traveler like me, you can always just go explore the place by yourself.

When you arrive at the Bai Dinh entrance, you have the option to buy a seat in a golf buggy to take you to the religious complex.

But it’s actually only a 10-15 minute walk, so I suggest that you just walk there by yourself. It’s super easy – just ask for directions.

 

 

10. Go get lost among the limestone cliffs!

I think that one of the ultimate best things to do in Tam Coc is to just go get lost on a motorbike.

We often went down small dirt roads on our scooter and found some of the most beautiful sceneries I’ve ever seen.

Sometimes there was even a bar in the middle of nowhere next to these beautiful landscapes! A cold Bia Hanoi amongst limestone cliffs, rice fields, and riverbanks. What’s not to like?

So after you’ve spend a few days exploring all the things there is to do and see in Tam Coc, why don’t you end your time in this wonderful place with some random riding around the dirt roads?

Tam Coc is one of the few places in Vietnam where I actually enjoy getting lost!