Beautiful scenery
Ninh Binh is also known as the Ha Long Bay on land for an obvious reason, it looks like Ha Long Bay but on land instead of water. There are hundreds of limestone monoliths topped by dense greenery that emerge from the ground, scattered around the city with rivers flowing through them and caves formed in them. While the mountains are in the west and northwest, the east and south have coastal parts.Plenty of options for day trips
If you arrive at Ninh Binh at a very early hour, there are plenty of opportunities to sign up for one or more day trips which can include the nearby pagodas, Trang An and Tam Coc. Also, there are places like the stunning Gothic Phat Diem Cathedral, which is a journey time of about 40 minutes from the city centre.While it can benefit to stay in Ninh Binh for longer than 24-hours, for travellers with limited spare time on the travel schedule, there is the option to travel to this city as a day trip from Ha Long Bay or Ha Noi.
Gives you the chance to use the Reunification Express
While the train option between cities far away from one another is sometimes slow, uncomfortable, with problems and delays, this is not the case for Ninh Binh. Since Ninh Binh is only three hours away from Ha Noi, you should definitely visit there on the Reunification Express.Convenient location
Ninh Binh is only 95 kilometers away from Ha Noi (about a 2-3-hour journey) and makes for a good first stop for those making their journey slowly from Ha Noi to Ho Chi Minh City in the south. You can even get here quite conveniently from Ha Long Bay. Catching overnight buses from Ninh Binh to other cities is pretty easy too, you can ask your hotel reception and they will help you out.Explore cave systems
Vietnam has plenty of cave systems that are artificial or naturally formed inside the limestone mountains. Any boat tour of Trang An can include exploring the caves with eight in this region that can be toured in the boat. However, the caves do not give much head room with plenty of rock formations that are low and pointy. So, it is necessary to be cautious when making your way through some of the cave systems.Delicious and unique cuisine
There are many tasty foods you should try including goat meat, Com Chay Ninh Binh (Ninh Binh rice crust), fish salad, Ninh Binh mountain snais, Ruou Can Nho Quan (Nho Quan wine drunk out of a jar through pipes), Nem chua Yen Mac (Yen Mac Fermented Pork Roll), etc. Some foods you can buy as a gift for your relationship such as Com Chay Ninh Binh, Shrimp Sauce or some local cakes.