Hanoi to Ninh Binh Full-day Motorbike Tour

Hoa Lu Ancient Capital

This is actually our very first stop in the one-day motorbike trip. Hoa Lu is known as the ancient capital city of Vietnam from the 10th to 11th centuries. Passing through the ups and downs of Vietnamese history, Hoa Lu, along with its special meaningful historical and cultural values, is deemed one of the top tourist hotspots of Vietnam in general and of Ninh Binh in particular.

Here, tourists will feel a calm and tranquil space covered by magnificent breathtaking views where endless significant events in the past took place under the witness of local people of the previous dynasties. Hoa Lu ancient capital is a 300-hectare landscape including three main areas: South City, Inner City, and Outer City. All regions are shaped together to create a unique area like the number 80. In the past, people built imperial buildings in the Inner and Outer Cities. That’s why the area is named Hoa Lu Citadel. South City, which is a significant military base, is commonly called Trang An Citadel.

Le and Dinh temples

Today, there are tons of historical sites and ancient temples that are carefully preserved in Hoa Lu’s ancient capital through changes in history.

Of all the structures built in the capital base, the two most popular places that tourists must visit on your Ninh Binh motorcycle trip are Dinh & Le temples. The Dinh temple was built to worship King Dinh Tien Hoang. With the unique architecture made of 100% stone carving and wood, the work makes a deep impression on the souls of everyone coming here. The whole temple includes 3 areas: Ngo Mon Gate, Thien Huong in the middle region, and the worshiping area for King Đinh Tien Hoang.

Continue riding a few km far from the Dinh temple, people will reach Le Temple, another place to worship King Le Dai Hanh. Though the two temples have the same architectural style, Le temple looks smaller. Three parts of the temple are the shrine at the front, Thien Huong House in the middle, and King Le’ worshiping sanctum. Both temples indicate the gratitude and respect of Vietnamese people for their greatest kings who greatly contributed and paid great efforts to the protection, construction, and development of the nation.

Bai Dinh pagoda

You and the whole crew will depart from the Dinh and Le temples to Bai Dinh around 11 am. This time, we will hire electric cars for the religious site. Ensure you have lunch to regain enough energy before visiting the next destination. Bai Dinh pagoda is considered the most important Buddhist complex in both Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Covering a large area of about ​​539 ha, Bai Dinh has a lot of interesting things to discover. You will have to climb up to the top of Bai Dinh mountain to reach the sacred place with its magnificent architectural works, and impressive natural sceneries. In this pagoda, tourists will find a lot of antiques and architectural symbols and the fascinating historical-cultural combination of the illustrious Ly dynasty.

The new area of Bai Dinh is built with nearly 800 m in 2003, and the main materials to make it is taken from nearby craft villages. On this site, there are tons of temples and over 500 Buddha statues that are skillfully carved with unique details. The most special work among all is a 10-meter big bronze statue.

Trang An complex

It’s time to explore Trang An which is honorably known as “Halong Bay on land”. You will have to join a one-hour trip from Bai Dinh pagoda to Trang An which is also recognized as the first mixed-world heritage site in Vietnam. This glorious landscape is a special place to preserve endless wetland ecosystems, majestic limestone forests, important archaeological sites, and great cultural and historical relics. Once you’ve come to Ninh Binh, you will be greatly impressed with the wide forests along with stunning caves, rivers, and majestic limestone mountains.

The best way to sightsee and explore Trang An is to take a boat tour through mysterious caves in all shapes and sizes, winding mountains around the streams, creating a magical beauty for this site. The limestone mountain ranges and steep cliffs shine down on the clear-blue water creating a paradise-like water painting of nature. Each cave here has the unique look like how they are called with multiple changeable stalactites and water flowing out from the ceiling, keeping the air always cool and fresh.

Your boat tour to explore Trang An will finish at 4:00 pm so that the whole crew can jump on the motorbike again to backtrack to the capital city. Returning home before the rush hour will be great. We ensure your 1-day motorbike tour from Hanoi to Ninh Binh will be full of memorable moments, fun, and surprises.