I thought these two places would be very interesting daytrips from Hanoi. Which one did you like best? Appreciate rants, raves and good to know info.

I went to Vietnam a couple of years ago and only visited Tam Coc, not the Perfume Pagoda. I thought Tam Coc was an amazing place and highly recommend it.

I have visited both and would definitely choose Tam Coc which is much more unique. If you have travelled elsewhere in asia you will find the temples of Vietnam to be marginal -- definitely not the most interesting thing the country has to offer.

We very much enjoyed our trip to the Perfume Pagoda. We had been told that at times there are so many people it "circus-like" (from the Lonely Planet Guide) but there were few people when we were there in November. We didn't go to Tam Coc.

The Perfume Pagoda is a series of temples, culminating in a huge cave near the top of the mountain. This has been a pilgrimage site for centiries.

Thanks - I will go to Tam Coc for sure. May do the Perfume Pagoda if time permits.