Van Long Wetland Nature Reserve in Son La

Beautiful nature landscaping

A one hour quiet boat ride through the wetlands and brings you to see a cave entrance. 70,000 vnd boat ticket plus a 50,000 vnd tip. Rudimentary. The ticket can be bought on site, if you purchase through a hotel expect a large markup.

My favourite place in Ninh Binh. Have been here for about 40 times and still plan to visit again whenever I have chances. Peaceful vibe on boats seeing amazing landscape,birds, and special endemic langur.Just sometime feel a bit uncomfortable if some boat guides asking too much tip 😂 100% tips was still not satisfied for some guides lol.

Best for natural lover!!!

Not as busy as Trang An so a peacefull 1hr boat ride including a cave with bats.

Really nice if you wanna chill. A boat ride about an hour no too much to see but if you’re lucky maybe you can see monkeys. The view is beautiful. A small cave. Cheap and relaxing.

Loved the wide open space and the views so much. It was very serene. The cave was abit underwhelming, but the views were amazing.We weren’t pressured to tip the boat man but after tipping him, I think he seemed to expect more 😅 but other than that he was really nice.

Me and my friends took a boat tour for 70k vnd (2 people per boatin the Vân Long Wetland Natural Reserve, was a very nice experience. The guides didnt speak any English but still tried to do their best to show us things in our surroundings. Took about 45 minutes. Not a must-do but if youre in the area might as well check it out!

A pleasant experience. Very tranquil and doesnt take up too much time. An hour and a half or so for 120k VND (70k ticket price + 50k tip - this is requested by the boat person). The nature is typically Ninh Binh - beautiful! There is a cafe on site that is very cheap with great service.

Very unprofessional about tip. They want 50,000 dong. We paid 70,000 dong per person for boat. In total 140,000 dong.

Didn’t really see anything special. Tips are asked for and refused if you offer too little. Another tourist trap. Skip this and go to Trang An instead.

Astonishing natural reserve. We took the boat trip trough the limestone krasts... The trip is very beautiful and we even get inside a cave. Unfortunately we didnt saw any delacour lingurs there as they are a very endangered specie and not so many of them. The place is really peaceful and it does worth the visit. Great experience.

Actually beautiful reflection in the waters and beautiful water lilies make it photogenic. There are some birds you could see if your boat guide will point them out to you but not so many or so impressive, you will need a good zoom btw. You pay the ticket and then the person rowing the boat will also expect a good tip usually more than the ticket price..oh well...

This is a mind-blowingly beautiful place and apparently the set for the recent movie King Kong. This area is protected due to globally endangered Delacours langur monkeys which are very cool looking with black and white and mohawk hair. Incredibly the cement factory nearby wants to destroy this place and turn it into cement! Fortunately the local environmentalists have managed to stop it with the help of local people who make a good income from ecotourism by taking tourists to the cliffs in traditional wooden boats to see the monkeys. This is an experience not to be missed!

I was disappointed by the reserve and boat trip as I expected the area to be wilder and there to be more emphasis on the birds and wildlife whereas it was just another boat trip in a very small area with lots of other boats and the oars ladies shouting to each other. Tips also expected and asked for. I enjoyed and preferred simply riding around the back roads looking at local life on my own.

Small reserve with a pool present. Make sure to order food for dinner as soon as you arrive because they actually go to the market to buy the ingredients for you. We stayed here for one night and had a good time. The arent many things to do in the surroundings (or we werent able to find anything with our bikesbut it is a good place to stay if you need a place for the night while youre in the neighbourhood.

Little bit disappointing in this area where i expect it will be nice trip. Ticket is 60,000 vnd for boat trip and 20,000 vnd for sightseeing. boat trip is quite short and not much to see on the side of the river, the cave is tiny and look average. The rower did their job but keep pushy about tips. Overall I wont be back.

Pleasant boat ride. Nice nature, didnt see much wildlife but could hear the monkeys. Fewer boats than Tam Coc / Trang An. Spoiled by our rower asking for a tip (tipping not originally part of Vietnams cultureand then asking for more (after we gave her 50% of the ticket price).

I really liked it here. Its a real quite and nice place. When you arrive you can take a boat tour for 50k per person. This takes you through the wetlands and you can enjoy the countryside and see some birds. It leads you to a cave, from where you will return. We were told you could also see monkeys, but apparently we didnt saw some.It was also nice to drive by scooter through this nice landscape, just avoid the big roads.

Viewed this area on a buffalo driven cart rather than the boats. Walking would be just fine too if you’re okay with walking for couple hours. Scenery is nice, very picturesque. Not as touristy as many other areas around Ninh Binh and Tam Coc, so you will likely get a better taste of what the place is like in its natural state, as well as a better feel for how the locals live. Definitely recommended if you have the time

- NOT GOOD EXPERIENCE - Although the scenery is beautiful the whole boat ride was uncomfortable as our Vietnamese tour guide/ oars lady constantly kept indicating how hard it all was all the way to a unimpressive cave and back. When it came to disembarking we were pressured to tip before we reached the shore line and and when we offered a tip she insisted on more before letting us get ashore - very unpleasant experience which was a shame as it was our last excursion in Vietnam before returning to Hanoi airport. Luckily we have met many other Vietnamese who have been beautiful genuinely kind people.

I got the trip to explore the Van Long nature reserve in April 8. Few tips for the next customers:- it is far from Ninh Binh city around 15km. I lost 40 minutes for driving. ( i drive slow).- price ticket. 80.000 vnd/1 person if you travel alone. 50.000/ person if your group has more 2 people.- the best time to see is morning (around 7:00-8:00and afternoon (16:00-17:00 p.m). These time, you can see the special langur in tue Red list. But i was late so couldnt see any langur. But the afternoon is the best time to hunt sunset :)- the wind nature on the wetland make you feel interesting and relaxing. The driver of bamboo shared me few information. Here was the main King Kong film set with Tràng An.-there are 2 routes. First route to see the cave and the second route to see the langur. I recommend for 2nd. Cause it is longer and more interesting. :you maybe disappointed if just see the cave in dry season.- the route 1 will be more amazing if you visit in rain season in July- August. The water level will higher and you can explore the beautiful cave.- tip for driver who help you row boat. :)- have a good camera to take the most pictures with your abilityHave a good trip!👍

This place is unique because if you go around by boat you can see the “white pant monkey” which is endangered animal and a lot of wild cranes. The scenery is almost the same as Trang An, but the area is smaller.

We didnt do a boat tour, just walked around on some small paths and sat down enjoying the nature. Nothing spectacular but very beautiful and peaceful. :)

Magnificent, quite, not so touristy location where one can enjoy wonders of nature. If lucky, spotting Langurs in their natural habitat is possible (I saw 7 ♡)

Even more beautiful than halong bay, the place is not so crowded with tourists and you can enjoy a relaxing boat ride. Give the boat driver a little tip for his hard work

Nice scenery, didnt go on the rafts but it looks less restricted than Minh binh eg no life vestsScenery is similar and the local interaction is more genuine as theres people fishing and hunting

Dont buy any tickets. You can explore this area better without boats. Overwhelming nature, colors of fields and sky, people working on rice fields... beautiful. Best to go by motorbike.

Really enjoyed van long wet lands. Unfortunately it was too cold in the morning when we went so we didnt get to see the delacour langur, or much wildlife for that matter. But we were also the only ones out on the river too, so I think we lucked out.

You pay 50 000 dong for one person 1.15 h cruise on small bamboo boat

Very scenic and natural place. Boat ride is very uncrowded and peaceful. The ambience is quite different from Trang An. Also great if you can ride a motorbike or cycle one round about the whole Van Long. For me, its more fulfilling and memorable than Trang An.

Anyone should visit this place and support local people with more tips

Van Long wet land scenery was breath-taking ! While not as fancy and regulated as Trang An, this charming hidden gem is a real beauty if you are looking for a more authentic experience :the people here are also amazing. The sister who rode us for a boat ride was geunine, warm-hearted. She share a lot about the people lives in the past and present. We really enjoy our experience at Van Long :)

Great visit, lots of birds, but it was too cold for the monkeys!

Relaxing hour long ride on boats made from bamboo and waterproof concrete.

You should really take the boat tour, with luck you can see one of the rarest monkey species on earth, the delacours langur.

Beautiful. Tranquil. Great spot to visit.

Pretty good boat tour, not as long as others but nice non the less.100,000vnd for 2 then 50,000 for boat person, not to impressed when I offered 20,000 initially.

Stunning karst wetlands away from the tourist madness.. peaceful and beautiful

It’s quite far off which is why almost no international tourists make it back there. This made it a very authentic experience. You can take a relaxed boat tour through the wetlands for one hour. Combined with our motorbike ride from Tam Coc this was an excellent experience!

Beautiful scenery with winding waterways between the limestone hills. A bit like an inland Ha Long Bay.You can get a small boat and a local to row you around the wetlands. It is very peaceful and serene. Top tip- take a rain coat or umbrella as if youre caught out there and it rains youre going to get wet. Our guide steered us into a cave to wait out the worst of the rain but we still got soaked. Even in the wet weather it was very busy and apparently it can get very crowded as it is a popular local tourist spot.Overall, we enjoyed the experience. Note, there is a very handy ATM at the end of the road next to the Sanico factory.

Beautiful Heritage Nature Reserve place. Still have some White short monkeys (which have name on Red Booklive here.

I love it here. Beautiful landscape yet very peaceful and relaxing. Totally different from the nearby Tam Coc

This place is absolutely breath taking. Our boat guide was accommodating when we wanted to take pictures and overall very friendly even though language was a barrier. Definitely recommend coming with hats a d sunscreen as well as being and ready to tip your "rower". I think very underrated and definitely worth the 2 hour drive from Hanoi.

Nice and not touristic! Tour takes a large 30 and costs 100k for 2 (private boat).

Majestic location and very peaceful. We were lucky to be the only two rafts there during the slightly misty afternoon. If you have watched Skull Island (King Kong), you would find yourself very immersed in the scenery. Beautiful place I will be returning. Bring binoculars, spot some kingfishers, storks and beautiful floral and fauna

Beautiful area but maybe the wrong time of the wrong season, the niets were all gone. A shame the women who rowed me asked for a tip before I even got the chance to get my wallet myself to give her a tip.

Beautiful but disappointing. I went there on a recommendation of a tour guide because I wanted to see monkeys and he said he sees monkeys there everyday. Well, after we bought the tickets and walked over to the dock, we were quickly ushered on a bamboo boat. Me and my husband saw lots of dragonflies, a water snake, and heard lots of birds chirping during the boat ride. We were docked under a small cave opening and sat there for about 20 minutes staring at rock and water. Then, we were rowed back to shore were the rower did not like our tip and demanded more. Overall, if you do not have your heart set on seeing what you paid for, then this is your activity.

Awesome place for discovering and leisuring. A must-place to visit when going to Ninh Binh. A quite and beautiful scene there with a lot of interesting things to enjoy. If lucky, you can see some special monkeys on mountains and crowded white birds.

Best time to visit is late afternoon, from November to March when you can enjoy the sunset beauty over the mountain & river landscape. Birds and animals go back home....peaceful and wild nature!