Picture this: a sleepless night on a £9 sleeper bus, a harsh light wake up call, and all but being abandoned at 5:15 at the side of the road. Hope you didn’t forget anything, because that bus was not sticking around! The smell of coffee from a local vendor, which you wrap your hands around in search for warmth. And then you sit, and take it in. The bird song echoing through the limestone cliffs. As you watch the sunrise over the misty mountains, you thank your early drop off as the town begins to come to life.
If this sounds like a bit of you, add Tam Coc to your Vietnam itinerary; also known as Ha Long Bay on Land.
How to get here
If you’re travelling Asia for the first time, or if you’re a return traveller, 12Go is a handy website for booking transport around Asia!
We got an overnight bus from Da Nang which cost £22 per person – pricey, but at least it’s transport and a nights accommodation wrapped into one.
If you’re coming from Hanoi, the journey is around 2 hours and costs less than £10.
Where to stay
For some people, your room is ‘just for sleeping’ – and believe me, we have said this before and stayed in budget squalor. However, during our time in Tam Coc, we splurged ‘a little’ and spent a whopping £24.50 a night (£12.25 each). Not a bad price for a private, waterfront bungalow, with breakfast included and a pool. Right?
Check it out here.
If you don’t wanna put your hand in your pockets for that, there are a few cheaper options. Though you do get what you pay for!
- Tam Coc Sunshine Hostel looks like a good option for tight travellers. Only £2 a night for a bunk bed in a 10 bed dorm! Hope you brought your ear plugs.
If you’re looking for a budget private room:
- You could stay at Hang Mua Happiness Homestay for as little as £6 a night!
Important to note: the above 2 haven’t been tried and tested, just places that these tight travellers would consider!
If you’re wanting to stay a bit more ‘off the beaten path’, check out accommodation in the nearby Trang An! Although, it didn’t seem quite as ‘off the beaten path’ as people say.
Book on Booking.com or Trip.com.
Things to do
Now if you’re like us and about to crash by lunch time after last nights journey, spend the morning having a reccy in town and get yourself some good food. Have a slow day and make use of your hotel pool!
- Hire a bicycle: Spend a day cycling through the limestone mountains and rice fields. You can make multiple paid stops, or if you’re being cheap like us, cycle to pagodas and take rests by the lake listening to bird song (and potentially monkeys!).
- Hire a motorbike. We did both as we wanted to go further afield. We drove to the nearby Trang An, but then through it as we looked at the lines of tourists. We ventured further out into rice paddies and did a boat trip away from the crowds.
- Do a boat trip. The boat trip in Tam Coc is 350,000 per person (!) and as we cycled through previously we saw the sea of orange life jackets take over the river and decided it’s not for us. The nearby Trang An is supposed to be quieter, especially if you do option number 3. However, we opted not to do this one either.
We stopped at Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve and paid 100,000 each for an hours boat tour. You could count on one hand how many other tourists we saw! If you need another reason to head of here apart from not being surrounded by hundreds of orange life jackets, this is the only place you have the opportunity to see the rare Delacour’s langurs. (We didn’t see them; but we also didn’t have the best weather.)
- Lastly, don’t forget to stop at one of the many duck cafe’s. Most have free food for them when you order.
Enjoy your time in the nature, especially if you’re heading to Hanoi or Hoi An after. The difference between them is mega!
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Tight Travellers 