Me Again! We've decided to stay at the Hanoi Pearl Hotel in Hanoi. Close to the lake and pretty reasonable. To finish off our trip, we are going to Mua Caves Ecolodge in Ninh Binh, with a final tour to Halong Bay and return to Hanoi. Has anyone taken the bus to Ninh Binh from Hanoi? If so can you give us an idea of where the bus station is in relation to the Pearl? Also best way to get to bus station? I know taxi is an option, not sure of the logistics.
Thanks

Have a look at https://12go.asia/en/travel/hanoi/ninh-binh . There are many options, train, public bus, minibus, taxi.

The train would be my preferred choice as it is a great experience, but I don’t think the times are particularly convenient. Check them out on seat61.com. Normal buses are a hit and miss affair - you may be ok but as a foreigner, you may get the dubious prvilege of sitting in a special seat - a small plastic chair in the gangway.

A taxi all the way will be the most expensive but most comfortable. Ask your hotel for a price and the negotiate!

The final option is a minibus. Usually comfortable these days where they leave from depends on the company. If you go with this option, do arrive early as they sometimes leave before the allocated departure time.

Crellston,
As always, the perfect information!
Thanks

Another question! I went to the 12go.asia site and it didn't have a lot of options for trains, but then I went to the Vietnam Railways site and it showed many more options. Has anyone booked directly through the Railways site? Also we only have about a day and a half in Ninh Binh. There are a number of tours, around $50 per person to see Trang An grottoes and Bai Dinh Pagoda. Crellston has mentioned on a number of sites about hiring a car for the day for a fee. How easy is it to do that and does it make sense to take the tour, which has lunch, stops, fees for entering etc.
Thanks

The Vietnam Railways site did not used to accept foreign credit cards but that may have changed. If it has, I still would not use it without a VPN in place as it not a secure site!

The reason that the VR site shows more trains is probably that they block out some of the more popular trains and a lot of the seats offered to the agencies for the longer journeys and don’t release them until much nearer departure.

I have generally, always bought tickets I’m person at stations in the country. The only time this is a problem is usually around Tet and the school holiday season July-August . If you are going outside of those times then I would just identify the train you want and buy the tickets at any staion as soon as you arrive in Vietnam. Some hotels will by them for you in advance.

We used About Ethnic Travel | Ethnic Travel: insight into Vietnam to visit NB as part of a longer hiking trip and one night in NB was right at the end of a longer hiking trip through the mountains and villages. We pretty much covered all you mention plus an extra boat ride and bike ride before heading back to Hanoi. See our blog entry for details:

Realistically, the various sites will need a car or motorbike to get around. You could get a tour or private car from your hotel but I would check with Ethnic or other similar agencies for a tour from Hanoi for comparison of cost is nothing else. if you are going to return there after NB. IME it would be more efficient use of your time and more convenient (although the train is an experience!).

My last words on my blog were along the the lines of “go soon before it gets too busy" . With this in mind, if at all possible , avoid weekends when all the domestic tourists fill up the boats and avoid the main dock at Tam Coc. There are quieter places ( we saw very few , if any other tourists) but you need a guide that knows what they are doing.