What's on in Ninh Binh (Trang An), Vietnam through the year

Peak crowds — Tết, Bai Dinh spring pilgrimage

• Holiday

  Tết

  15 Jan – 28 Feb · usuallyLunar New YearCrowdedClosures

  Hanoi empties down here for the holiday week and the homestays around Tam Coc fill with domestic groups. A lot of the small kitchens shut for three or four days. Source ↗

• Festival

  Bai Dinh spring pilgrimage

  25 Jan – 31 Mar · usuallyPilgrimage seasonCrowdedBook early

  From the new year to the third lunar month, coach after coach of Vietnamese pilgrims works up the enormous Bai Dinh complex. Go at the very start or the very end of a day. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Tết, Bai Dinh spring pilgrimage

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Tết (15 Jan – 28 Feb (usually)), Bai Dinh spring pilgrimage (25 Jan – 31 Mar (usually))

Peak crowds — Bai Dinh spring pilgrimage, Hoa Lư Festival

• Festival

  Hoa Lư Festival

  25 Mar – 25 Apr · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  The old capital marks the Dinh and Le kings with processions between the two temples and boat and palanquin rites on the Hoang Long river. Held on the tenth day of the third lunar month. Source ↗

Still on: Bai Dinh spring pilgrimage (25 Jan – 31 Mar (usually))

Busy — Hoa Lư Festival, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Hoa Lư Festival (25 Mar – 25 Apr (usually))

Busy — Ripe rice at Tam Cốc, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Ripe rice at Tam Cốc

  20 May – 15 Jun · usuallyHarvestCrowded

  The fortnight the paddy between the karst turns gold, which is the picture everyone comes for and the only time the Tam Coc boats are properly queued. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Ripe rice at Tam Cốc, Summer break in Vietnam

Nothing new starts in June.

Still on: Ripe rice at Tam Cốc (20 May – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break in Vietnam, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Busy — Summer break in Vietnam, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Busy — Summer break in Vietnam, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Season

  Autumn window

  25 Sep – 30 Nov · usuallyDry season

  Cool, mostly dry and clear enough to see the top of the Mua Cave steps, with the summer domestic crowd gone and the paddy green again after the rains.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Autumn window (25 Sep – 30 Nov (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Autumn window (25 Sep – 30 Nov (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.