Lao cai Province

Many visitors know about Lao Cai province after Sapa – one of the towns in this province. Located in the north west of Vietnam, Lao Cai province is far from Ha Noi about 296km. It borders with Yunnan Province of China in the north. Lao Cai Province has its city named Lao Cai also, and 8 towns in which there are Sapa Town and Bac Ha District be foumous destinations.

How to get in

From Ha Noi, there are 5 train trips a day at least to Lao Cai, you can come to Ha Noi Railway Station called Hang Co Station before and choose the best train for yourself. Ha Noi Railway Station is located at 120 Le Duan Street, Hoan Kiem District. It is far from the center about 2km, and you spend just 10 minutes for moving.

If you don’t take any train to Lao Cai, you can transfer by coaches. It takes you about 8 hours. You can book the ticket at some popular names who supply the coaches to Lao Cai as below:

Sao Viet: My Dinh Bus Station or No 07 Pham Van Dong Street, Ha Noi Tel: 04 36686358 or 04 37921266

Hung Thanh: 287 Tran Kha Chân Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Ha Noi; Tel: 04 36337575 or 04 36337614

VietBus: 284 Giai Phong Street, Ha Noi; Tel: 04 36272727

 Go around

Sapa Town: this is very famous town in Lao Cai with the great climate, wonderful sightseeings and rich culture of the ethnic people. The town is far from Lao Cai city about 38km. You can find out a lot of services for travelling in Lao Cai and in Sapa, so don’t worry about it.

Bac Ha District: Bac Ha District is well know with Bac Ha and Coc Ly Markets in the highland area. It is located in the northeast of Lao Cai Province and far from the province about 70km. From the center of Lao Cai City, it is very easy for you to take motobike or some coaches to Bac Ha for visiting some special destinations there like Co Tien Mountain, Bac Ha and Coc Ly markets, Trung Do Ancient Citedal,..

Coc San Cave and Muong Hum market: belong to Bat Xat District which is far from Lao Cai city about 12km in the northwest. Coc San is an attractive place with small caves and romantic waterfalls while Muong Hum market fastinates people by charming ethnic girls in the colourful clothes.

The weather

Lao Cai is a province in the highland of the north so the climate here is differ from some other provinces in the North of Vietnam. Sometime there are 4 seasons in a day because it is slightly cold in the morning as the weather in the spring, hot at noon as in summer, cool in the afternoon as in autumn and cold at night as winter.

The best time for travelling here is in September and October. At this time you have chane to look at the yellow terreced rice fields that so amazing. If not you can come to visit Lao Cai in the end of February with the romantic beauty of the woodland flowers blooming.

Food and drink

For food: you can find out a lot of specialities in Lao Cai as salmon, salt pork, colourful stick rice, chitken hash warraped in bitter bamboo shoot, chayote, mustard greens, Thang Co dish, and the plum, “lon cap nach”. You can try these flavour dishes in some family restaurants, however you can taste them in some famous restaurants in this highland.

Here are some addresses for your reference:

Thien Hai Restaurant: 306 Khanh Yen Street, Pho Moi Ward, Lao Cai City; Tel: 020 3833666

Lao Cai International Restaurant: 88 Thuy Hoa Street, Lao Cai City; Tel: 020 3826668

Le Bordeaux Restaurant: 322 Nguyen Hue Street, Pho Moi Ward, Lao Cai City ; Tel : 020 3832948

Pineapple Restaurant : 55 Phan Dinh Phung Street, Pho Moi Ward, Lao Cai City ; Tel: 020 3835939

Thang Co A Quynh Restaurant: 15 Thach Son Street, Sapa Town, Lao Cai; Tel: 020 3871555

For drink: local wine in Bac Ha and San Lung rice wine are the local wines that you should not miss your chance to taste in this highland. With their special flavour from the rice and traditional manners in wine brewery, it is sure that you have not ever been try the simple but warm wine like them in here. If you want to buy some wine, it is not difficult to find out in some markets. Beside, in the evening, you can have interesting moment when enjoy coffee and tea or some other drinks in Lao Cai . The hotels here have there bar and pub, also there are some pub outside or café where serve you the exciting drinks.

Staying

There are a long list staying places for you in Lao Cai Province. Most of them are in Sapa Town with high-grade hotels also the middle and simple hotels.

If you love to stay in the high-grade hotels, they will be Victoria Hotel placed at Hoang Dieu Street, Sapa Town. Or you can stay at Chau Long Hotel is in 21 Dong Loi Street, Sapa Town.

In the case you love to stay in middle and simple hotels, you can choose Bamboo Hotel, Royal Hotel, Hoang Lien Hotel at Cau May Street, Sapa,…

Shopping

There are many things for your shopping in Lao Cai with local products as procades with bags, pictures, shawls, scarfs and specialities as local wines, peaches, plums and the other things.

Some places for your shopping are Coc Leu market and Coc Leu Trade Center in Coc Leu Ward, Hoa Binh Plaza in Kim Tan Ward, Bitis Lao Cai Trade Center in Pho Moi or Sai Gon Mark Supermarket in Duyen Hai Ward.

Culture, Holidays and People

Lao Cai is the home of more than 20 ethnic gourps, so if you are people who love the ethnic culture, especially in Vietnam, don’t miss a journey to this wonderful highland province. With the character of each ethnic group, you can find diversified features of the culture in which their custom and life style be not influenced by the modernization or technology.  

For holiday time in Lao Cai, you can meet them in January with a lot of holidays of ethnic groups as Spring Holidays, Tet nhay of Red Dao in Ta Phin to workship the forefathers and pray for new year, Mua xoe Ta Chai in Bac Ha to pray for good new harvest,…If you visit Lao Cai in the end of April and beginning of May, you can join in The Holidays in Clouds with Love Market, Local Cuisine, Perfomances,…In the period from July to October, there are some holidays be happened as The Holiday of Pa Di Ethnic Group in Muong Khuong, The Holidays of Nung Ethnic Group in Bac Ha, Cuisine Holiday of Tay Ethnic Group in Bao Yen, ect.

In Lao Cai, almost people are very friendly, so you can find here the warm in every contact. However, each ethnic group has own custom so you should pay your attention in them and ask to know before to be closer.