Great morning on the river, good value, beautiful scenery and no scams whatsoever. I wish people here would avoid the word scam in their reviews. People selling water from a boat at inflated prices is not a scam. They are offering a service to the tourists, if you are thirsty it's a damn great idea! If it costs double because you are in the middle of nowhere and somebody has rowed a boat into the middle of nowhere to sell you a drink then they deserve to charge more - this is how the world works, it's not a scam and anyways it's still bloody cheap. Nobody is tricking you, if you brought your own water and don't want it - say no. I bought water and pineapple, it was fantastic!

We'd read reviews about being scammed etc so we bought our guide water, and presented it with a smile. The first seller grabbed at our boat and wouldn't let go. Our guide said nothing, and knowing that we were stranded without her handed her the money. Basically you're going to have to pay double for this trip so get used to it. If you want a peaceful trip then tip in advance would be my recommendation. The scenery is nice but it's hard to relax when you're being held hostage. I wouldn't recommend it if you're an anxious person. Ironic as it could have been the most tranquil trip possible.

Very beautiful scenery and one of the nicer looking boat rides (scenery wise) that I have been on in Vietnam. HOWEVER, they do try to scam everyone. Up until half way, we were unbothered by anyone really. At the half way point there are people waiting to sell you things. The boat driver holds you there. When you say no, they say that your boat driver wants a drink/food to try and guilt trip you. The boat driver takes it without asking you. We managed to escape paying anything extra by just insisting that we weren’t going to buy anything. The lady handed our driver a warm can that had been out in the sun, rather than one from the cooler. Why? Perhaps it would have just ended up back with the vendor after the boat ride was over. At the end of the boat ride, everyone is asked for a tip. Our boat driver asked us multiple times and then asked our guide to ask us, which, for some reason, he did. We said no and walked away. It is best not to encourage this kind of tipping culture. It is not customary to ask for tips in Vietnam. At the end of the day, this is our money and we can choose to spend or not spend it. Saying no once should be enough. We saw that some of the other people on our trip tipped the boat drivers and they demanded a bigger tip from them! I would still recommend doing this boat ride. Just insist that you’re not paying for anything else. It’s all a scam.

The people who did not complain of the scam simply did not encounter it, which is why they left a good review and criticised those who left the negative reviews. I was hoping i would not encounter it but life happens. In the middle of the boat trip, the boat man stopped us beside a boat lady who AGGRESSIVELY tried to sell us food and drinks that we dont need. It would have been fine if we need it. Anyway, saying no and ignoring her is not an option. The boatman will simply snatched whatever is in her hands which then forced you to pay for it. Boat lady demanded 150k for pineapple, a small can, and some weird snack. I just stared blankly at her and said no. She ownself reduced the price down to 70k. Fed up with the whole situation, we paid so we can move on. Trust me, the boat man will not move until you pay the lady, they are in the scam together. After paying her, the boatman will secretly return the items back to the seller lady. At the end of the trip, he will DEMAND for tips. I told him the 70k was his tip, he can go get the money from his friend. LOL. Anw, still gave him extra 10k in the end. That is the whole scam situation that most people here complained about. Now for the scenery. It simply cannot be compared with trang an. My advice: skip this. Only do it if you have lots of time and is willing to give up to 200k in ‘tips’.

The boat ride is very beautiful and nice. It cost us 390k Dong for 2 people. The caves aren’t really caves but tunnels that they row you through. The landscape is just stunning! But now to the bad part: Before turning back we arrived at various boats with ladies who tried to sell us stuff from them like water, beer, snacks. We didn’t want any so we said no. Then she gave the boat man a beer and said we had to pay for it. We denied, but the boat man just opened the beer can so he could not return it anymore, so we had to pay the lady to avoid a bigger discussion. At the end of the trip the boat man aggressively wanted more tip from us! 😡 he asked several times again and again. We couldn’t enjoy the last hundred meters of the ride because of his constant and harsh begging.

5 stars for scenery! Very nice routes and limestones. We had a nice trip. Price is 150k per boat and 120k/ person to visit the area/park. So 390k for 2 persons. The guy who took us was spitting quite a lot and talked half of the trip with another guy for other boat, which ruined a bit the calm moments :) we didn’t leave a tip even if he insisted quite a lot …

A different experience to others it would seem ... we had read the reviews and the current guide books that promote Trang An over Tam Coc Boat ride but having done both; we actually enjoyed the Tam Coc one more! We didn't see any seller's on the water and no one was being pressured for tips. When you get your tickets its actually awesome value for money because it includes the electric buggy shuttle to Bich Dong Pagoda and back ... I scootered up there the day before but turns out I didn't need to! After your boat ride go to the buggies and show your ticket (do not bin it as you need it to get there and back!) Queue was moving quickly...when the tour groups arrive go get a drink and let them clear through. Then we didn't have to wait at all! Our rower was an older chap who was very pleasant and we even spotted a kingfisher just before the first little bridge! On the otherside of the bridge are the photographers in their boats ... so just smile and say no ... doesn't matter as you'd buy them at the end if you wanted them or not and no pressure to buy at the end! During the return the rower showed us some paintings and asked if we were interested, again a polite thank you and no was all that was needed and he remained just as friendly! Come the end we did tip him well ... he rowed none stop for 1:30 minutes, pointing out things and having a laugh with us ... for less than a pint we made his day (would you row that far for a few ££?!?) ... never felt the pressure to and most people didn't. Much better than all the reviews and books say to be honest ... maybe we got lucky but was a great experience, magical views and good service!

An hour and a half on a boat to see the caves etc is wonderful. Though the boats are not very comfortable but the scenery and the beauty around makes up for it. The prices are fixed . We were not harassed too much by vendors but the boy who ride our boat did ask for a tip . Basically you enter 3 caves and come back the same way to disembark at tam Coc pier . Trang an boat rides are expensive and longer too but these are short and nice! We started around 3:30 and came back by 5 and the weather was suitable!

Enjoyed the sampan (slightly bigger) ride, something different. As a the previous reviews highlighted, we have to be carefull no matter where we are as a tourist. People will always try to scam us. The ride itself was fulfilling...

It costs 270,000 for ticket + boat for someone doing it alone. 390,000 for two people. They only allow two per boat. I did it at 1pm and I was lucky that a tour group had just arrived and they had an odd number so I was able to join with one of them making it cheaper for me. As it was mid day, there was a lot of people, I would recommend going earlier if you want it to be less crowded. There was no harassment from ladies trying to sell drinks and snacks. We were only approached by one lady trying to take our photograph but when we declined she accepted and moved on. The boat driver only asked for a tip at the very end but he was not pushy and didn’t harass us for it. The boat journey is absolutely beautiful and is really enjoyable.