The sampan
You board at Đình Các and ride sông Ngô Đồng through three caves, back to the same pier.
The three caves
Tam Cốc means three caves. You board at the central pier, duck through the rock, and come back to the same landing. The caves are also called hang Ngoài or hang Lớn, hang Giữa or hang Trung, and hang Bé. Hang Cả is the long first cave: about 180 m, about 30 m wide, ceiling higher than 5 m, and also measured at 127 m with a mouth wider than 20 m. Hang Hai follows, about 90 m and also measured at 60 m, nearly 1 km on. Hang Ba is the last, more than 80 m and also measured at 50 m, with a ceiling under 3 m.
The boat turns at a temple near the last cave, đền Nội Lâm or đền Thần Nông. You can step off at bến Kẽm Gió and walk. Other landings on this water are Thung Nắng, Xuyên Thủy, and Thạch Bích.
The combined ticket
Buy one ticket for the sampan, Đền Thái Vi, Động Tiên, and chùa Bích Động. Hotline 19009157. Take the electric shuttle between the stops, or stay on the boat and walk the 2 km to Bích Động and Thái Vi. Tràng An is a different ticket and a different river.
Bích Động, Thái Vi, and the hamlet
Chùa Bích Động stands on núi Bích Động, 2 km from the pier: halls Hạ, Trung, and Thượng, a branch of sông Ngô Đồng, and the rice in front. It was formerly Bích Sơn. Sources date it to 1428, to the early Hậu Lê with an enlargement under Lê Hiển Tông (1740–1786), or to a Lê Trung Hưng founding by the monks Trí Kiên and Trí Thể. The “Bích Động” carving is dated 1774 and also 1773. Xuyên Thủy Động, the water cave through the hill, is about 350 m and is not on the combined ticket. Động Tiên, a dry cave of three chambers about 1 km from the pagoda, is on that ticket. Động Thiên Hương, also called Động Trời, is the cave on the walk to Thái Vi, with a shrine to Nguyễn Thị Sen.
Đền Thái Vi is a Nguyễn-style temple in the old Vũ Lâm base, one hall on 28 stone columns and a two-storey bell tower, a national historic relic since 1994. The altar names Trần Thái Tông and Trần Thánh Tông, and also Trần Hưng Đạo, Trần Quang Khải, and Trần Thị Dung. It is on the combined ticket.
Cố Viên Lầu is a yard of old houses, mostly from the Nguyễn period onward, collected in Ninh Bình and the Red River Delta, beside the pier and on the way to Thái Vi. The culture office added it to the site in 2008. It is not on the 2026 Tam Coc ticket. Làng thêu Văn Lâm is the stitch in the same hamlet, handbags and pictures beside the river.
The other tickets
Thung Nắng is a second boat. Walk more than 500 m from bến Đình Các to bến Thạch Bích, then about 3 km by boat toward đền Thung Nắng and đền Vối. The afternoon is the time for white egrets. The scenic ticket is 20,000 đồng for an adult and 10,000 đồng for a child aged 6–15 or a person 60 and over. The boat is 160,000 đồng a trip, four people on a domestic boat and two on an international boat. Call Chị Phương on 0392232363. The Tam Coc ticket does not buy this boat.
Thung Nham is another valley, at thôn Hải Nham, with the bird garden at thôn Đam Khê, about 5 km west of chùa Bích Động. You climb động Vái Giời, 439 stone steps, about 5,000 m² on three levels, then the bird garden. The adult ticket is 250,000 đồng and a child from 1 m to 1.3 m is 150,000 đồng. That 250,000 đồng is not the Tam Coc fare. The electric car for the whole route is 40,000 đồng a person, and a child under 1 m rides free. The pool is 100,000 đồng for an adult and 50,000 đồng for a child from 1 m to 1.3 m. Phones 0912.900.887 and 0886.768.868.
Hang Bụt, Hang Chùa, and Hang Ghé share one ticket, Linh Cốc–Hải Nham. Hang Bụt sits in núi Tướng, thôn Hải Nham, 8 km from the Hoa Lư city centre and 1 km from chùa Bích Động, and the current visit is also in Sơn Hà. The cave runs nearly 500 m, with a stalactite compared to a Buddha, 1.5 m high and 2 m wide. The scenic ticket is 20,000 đồng for an adult and 10,000 đồng for a child aged 6–15 or a person 60 and over. The boat is 120,000 đồng a trip for an adult and 60,000 đồng for a child aged 6–15 or a person 60 and over, four people on a domestic boat and two on an international boat. Call Anh Chung on 0387584495. On that visit you cook the cá rô nướng, canh cua, and cà muối yourself. That meal is not a restaurant in thôn Văn Lâm.