Bai Dinh Pagoda, Gia Sinh

Absolutely epic in scale and beauty. The temple are grounds are meticulously maintained and the individual temples are gorgeous and peaceful. Worth every dong to see it all including the pagoda which has breathtaking views of the valley around. Pants and sleeved shirts really are expected, and while no one will get after you for wearing shorts or a tank top - know that it is really rude to do so on these hooly grounds. Please don't be that tourist.

Beautiful complex of temples! We had an amazing time there. You can easily spend a couple of hours walking around. The atmosphere is very calm and relaxing. The entry fee is 60,000 dong. Don't pay the 200,000 since it's a trap. The 60,000 ticket includes the entry and the electric car to and from the complex. They try to sell you the 200,000 ticket which includes going up the Stupa, but in reality you can get tickets inside the complex for 50,000 (so 110,000 in total 🤷‍♀️ ). Parking is 15,000 dong.

Maybe not something to have at the top of your list. Takes some time to get there and then it’s a fairly new complex (early 2000s) so you don’t get the old/authentic vibe. Seems built as a tourist attraction. Of course the highlight is the super tall Strupa tower. Would recommend the mid-tier ticket with electric car commute and tower but not the electric car around the main pagodas as you can easily walk around those parts. You’ll need to pay something like 10-15k for bike parking as usual in VT :)

Since they're open until 2200, I'd recommend coming around dusk and seeing all the temples when they're lit up. We weren't able to stay past 1800, but I wish we had more time because it's the perfect place to meditate and be surrounded by beauty. We only gave ourselves an hour and we felt rushed. If you can, allocate a couple hours, that way you can take everything in and enjoy the temples. Be aware: there are lots and lots of stairs! Motorcycle parking was 15K and admission cost was 60K (pricing was posted at the desk and was transparent).

Fantastic shrine. Could waste away the day here , but if you want to see it properly you’ll need to be fit. We got dropped at the bottom and climbed the steps up by the multitude of Buddha statues all carved in black marble. Very impressive sight. The pagoda statues are huge, and thankfully the main pagoda has a lift from the second floor. At that stage I was only fit to go back to the bike. There’s a massive new car park being built, so I do expect that they are expecting high volumes of pilgrims in the busy season.