The Best Temple Tours in Hanoi: Our Top 15 Picks

1.Ninh Binh, Trang An, Mua Cave and Bai Dinh Pagoda

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 345 reviews · from $38Our pick

Review of Hanoi’s Ninh Binh day trip, with Bai Dinh Pagoda, Mua Cave, Trang An boat ride, lunch, transport, costs, and practical tips.

“If you’re on a short trip to Hanoi, this day tour is definitely worth it! You get to visit 3 sites, with lunch break (buffet with lots of options for specific dietary) - You also get the chance to get food for breakfast. The guide Ken was very professional and explains all the rules regarding the safety and the organisation. He is also giving you more info about the sites and History in general. The driver was very friendly. If you need to change the vibe from Hanoi, this is the thing to do! This is a day trip so it will be tiring and you’ll feel exhausted by the…”

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2.Exploring Bai Dinh Pagoda -Trang An -Mua Cave with Buffet Lunch 1 Day From Hanoi

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 195 reviews · from $48Top rated

Review of a one-day Hanoi trip to Bai Dinh, Trang An, and Mua Cave, with buffet lunch, boat caves, mountain views, price tips, and practical advice.

“It was a day worth to try. They pick you up and drop you off in your hotel. The lunch buffet was so good. What amazed me was the Trang An. The guide also was so helpful and kind. The admission was free except for the trang an boat entrance”

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3.Full-Day Perfume Pagoda Private or Small-Group Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.1 · 174 reviews · from $67

Review of the Perfume Pagoda tour from Hanoi, with boat scenery, mountain temples, cave walks, lunch, costs, crowds, and practical tips.

“The tour as a whole was fantastic. Pick up from our hotel, modern transport to the river. The row boat ride thought the mountains and marsh was very peaceful. Visiting the temple and pagodas is a very interesting history lesson . There is plenty of tasty dishes provided for lunch at the base of the mountain. I recommend walking up to the cave and cable caring back down. The locals along the way are friendly, providing drinks and snacks. And the cave, the cave when you get there is amazing, well worth the walk. I thoroughly enjoyed and recommend our tour guide Minh, he was very knowledgeable, insightful, helpful and…”

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4.Trang An Eco-tourism & Bai Dinh pagoda full day

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 148 reviews · from $37

Review of Hanoi’s Ninh Binh day trip to Bai Dinh, Trang An, and Mua Cave, with practical advice on price, sights, lunch, and the climb.

“Everything was great. Tezzy was a great host and guide.”

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5.Ninh Binh Boat Ride, Mua Cave Hike, Temple Visit

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 146 reviews · from $37

Review of a flexible Ninh Binh day trip from Hanoi with Mua Cave, Hoa Lu, Bai Dinh, lunch, and Trang An or Tam Coc by boat.

“The Budist temples , and the boat trip were both excellent”

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6.Full-Day Perfume Pagoda Group Tour with Lunch

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 141 reviews · from $48

Review of Hanoi’s Perfume Pagoda day tour, with boat rides, cave walks, lunch, cable car advice, timing, value, and practical tips.

“the perfume pagoda complex is amazing, i really enjoyed it! it is a bit far away from Hanoi so it's good to be prepared for a very long full day (and can get a bit cold through the river path in particular). time spent in each stop felt enough, the tour is great and doesn't feel rushed at all. my guide was a highlight of the day too! thanks Long for the singing and all the knowledge you shared!”

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7.Perfume Pagoda – Yen Stream Boat Ride, Lunch & Cave

★★★★★★★★★★4.4 · 85 reviews · from $49

Review of Hanoi’s Perfume Pagoda day trip, with Yen Stream boat ride, Huong Tich Cave, lunch, guide, transport, and practical tips.

“It was amazing! Our guide Minh was fantastic! Best part was him singing Vietnamese songs while we were going down the river. And he told the story of his people and the pagoda, cave and the emperors daughter deep from the heart.”

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8.Perfume Pagoda Day Tour with Boat Ride & Cave Visit

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 20 reviews · from $46

Review of Hanoi’s Perfume Pagoda tour, with a Yen Stream boat ride, Huong Tich Cave, lunch, practical costs, and booking advice.

“Minh was an excellent tour guide, you could ask him anything. He taught us a lot about the stories and legends of the Perfume Pagoda, and he did it in perfect English. He always kept us in a good mood. Lunch was really generous. We couldn't eat everything :) Minh takes pictures of you during the trip, which he then sends to you via WhatsApp. I'd totally recommend this tour with Minh to anyone You'll definitely have a great, humorous day and feel very comfortable as a tourist. Thanks Minh :)”

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9.Trang An & Bai Dinh Pagoda Full-Day Private Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.9 · 16 reviews · from $130

Explore Bai Dinh Pagoda and Trang An from Hanoi on a private day tour with temple sights, a cave boat ride, lunch, and practical tips.

“Amazing day out, great to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and see more of the surrounding areas. Leo and his driver were fantastic, great knowledge, and so lovely. We had a magic day.”

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10.From Ha Noi: Perfume Pagoda & Quang Phu Cau Incense Village

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 14 reviews · from $126

Visit Perfume Pagoda by boat and cable car, then see traditional incense making at Quang Phu Cau on a private Hanoi day trip.

“Peccato aver saputo qua sul posto di dover pagare 60$ in più per la guida in italiano”

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11.Full-Day Tour with Hoa Lo, Literature Temple & Guide

★★★★★★★★★★4.8 · 9 reviews · from $29Best value

Review of Hanoi’s full-day history tour, with Hoa Lo Prison, Ho Chi Minh sites, Tran Quoc Pagoda, lunch, costs, tips, and drawbacks.

“This tour was great for learning about the history of Vietnam. I didn’t know much about President Ho Chi Minh and while I had heard about the “Hanoi Hilton”, I’m afraid to say that I didn’t know much about it either. There was so much to see and learn during this tour and I enjoyed it all.”

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12.Full-Day Perfume Pagoda Group Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 8 reviews · from $48

Review of the $48 Perfume Pagoda day tour from Hanoi, with boat scenery, Huong Tich Cave, Thien Tru Pagoda, lunch, and practical tips.

“The Perfume Pagoda area is beautiful and the journey on the little boat was magical. Guide Minh was great, he was fun, entertaining, informative and great at looking after everyone.”

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13.Full Day Trang An, Bich Dong Pagoda, Biking & Family Visit

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 6 reviews · from $68

Review of a full-day Ninh Binh tour from Hanoi with cycling, Bich Dong Pagoda, a family visit, and a Trang An sampan ride.

“We have been in Vietnam from north to south and we have had many good tour guides. However, one was the very best. His name is Ben. He was the most intelligent, engaging, interesting and informative guide. We were told about customs, proper and improper ways of respecting the Vietnamese beliefs. We saw gorgeous landscape, Ben rode a bicycle with us and hiked with us to the beautiful pagoda temple. He gave us so much valuable information and taught us history and Buddhist beliefs. His English is excellent so we could converse and ask questions. I give this the highest recommendation possible. Thank you Ben. The only negative was on…”

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14.Perfume Pagoda Full-day trip From Hanoi

★★★★★★★★★★4.2 · 5 reviews · from $52

Review the Perfume Pagoda day trip from Hanoi, with boat ride, Huong Tich Cave, pagodas, lunch, costs, timing, and practical tips.

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15.Full Day to Perfume Pagoda

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 4 reviews · from $52

Review of the $52 Perfume Pagoda day trip from Hanoi, with boat rides, cave trekking, lunch, costs, timing, and practical tips.

“A very complicated organization at the start, a lot of waiting and a very uncomfortable bus where we were compressed. That said, the guide Minh was wonderful, very enthusiastic, originally from the village, very proud of its history and the phenomenal pilgrimage which lasts 3 months. He shows us photos, explains well, is very competent and gave us some very funny moments on the boat with karaoke! The cellar is very large, the pagoda very beautiful... You have to pay extra for the electric car and provide a tip for the rower. At the restaurant look at the big vat with dead animals in it...horrible: it's for rice wine!!! Have…”

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