A night in the karsts, so the boats go out early

Day 1

Hanoi to the valley: Hoa Lu, bicycles and the climb at dusk

Pick-up at your Hanoi hotel at 08:00. The drive south on the expressway takes about two hours, and the karst appears quite suddenly on the right. First stop is Hoa Lu, capital of the country for a few decades in the tenth century: two temples, a gate and some context from the guide that makes an hour worthwhile.

Lunch at your lodging, then bicycles. The lanes around Tam Coc and Bich Dong are flat and quiet, and an hour and a half of pedalling past duck farms and cemeteries in the rice is the best way to understand how the place works. Bich Dong pagoda, built into a cliff in three levels, is a short stop on the way.

At about 16:00 we drive the ten minutes to Mua Cave and climb. It is roughly 500 stone steps and takes twenty to thirty minutes; the view from the top across the river bends is the one on every postcard of Ninh Binh. Down again by dark, dinner at the lodging.

Day 2

Trang An on the first boats, then back to Hanoi

Breakfast early and at the Trang An pier as the boats begin. The route runs for two and a half to three hours through a series of caves cut beneath the limestone, with stops at temples reached only by water. The rowers work on an official rota; the fee is fixed and a tip at the end is expected.

Late morning you have a choice: an hour at Van Long, a wetland reserve where the boats are fewer and there are sometimes langurs on the cliffs, or lunch and an early road back. Either way you are at your Hanoi hotel by about 16:30, or dropped for the overnight train to Lao Cai if Sapa comes next.