Sapa

Sapa is very famous town in the northwest in Vietnam. It is in Lao Cai Province and far from Ha Noi Capital more than 300km. Called the town in the cloud, Sapa is considered one of the best destinations to all people who love romantic scenery and diversified culture of the ethnic groups.

How to get in

From Ha Noi, you can take a train to Lao Cai Province. It takes you about 9 hours or a night if you get the evening train from Ha Noi. Some trains to Sapa that you may concern as Victoria Train, Tulico Train, Fansipan Express, Green Train, TSC Express,…You can contact the address 120 Le Duan Street to book the tickets or keep your booking at travel agencies in Ha Noi Center. Beside the distance from Lao Cai to Sapa is just about 30km, so you can take a bus, local car or moto-taxi to trasfer from Lao Cai Train to Sapa Town.You must not be worry about the transportation in the local area because there are different means for you to choose.

If you do not take a trip to Sapa by train, you may have your experience in a coach or bus. Some popular name for your reference as Hai Van Coach (Tel:  0203 872 606), Hung Thanh Coach (Phone: 0989 294 294), Ha Son Coach ( Tel: 0466 626 262) Vietbus (Tel: 0436 272 727). In some cases, there are travellers who drive to Sapa by themself by motocycle but it is not to encourage you to try if you are not be a good driver. However, if you really love to spend some special moments in the road to Sapa, you can take a motocyle trip with a good local diver from Ha Noi or from Sapa.  

Go around

The most impressive thing in Sapa is trekking because you can enjoy the fresh air, the fascinating sceneries and discover the specific features of the ethnic people in this land. The landscape and culture here make Sapa to be a heaven to many visitors. For your visiting, you can come to Silver Waterfall, Cat Cat Village, Love Waterfall, Ban Ho, Lao Chai Village, Ta Phin Village, Lao Chai Village, Ham Rong Mountain, Fansipan, Bac Ha Market, sapa Market, Heaven Gate, Sapa Rock Church, ... These places are not far from the center of the town, so it takes you not so much time to transfer from this place to the other destinations.

Many tourists love to drive around the town. If you are well in driving, you can do. If not, don’t try because this is the highland so it is not easy to drive. To be safe, you can take help from local driver or moto-taxi, it is sure that you will have a good trip in safety and not miss any special thing in this area.

The weather

With four seasons in a day in Sapa, you will welcome a new day in the winter state, enjoy the spring in the sunrise, have summer time after the noon, get the autumn in the late afternoon and welcome back the winter in the evening to the night.

The best time for your travelling is in the end of February to March. It is after the Tet holiday in Vietnam usually, also the spring time in the North of Vietnam. From the November to February, the weather in Sapa is not good enough for travelling because it is cold, wet and foggy. However, many Vietnamese people love to enjoy this months in Sapa, especially the coldest time because sometime it is snow. One more attention for you to intend to visit Sapa is in the August time. In this month, it is rain so much and then you can not visit anywhere else despite of staying in your hotel only. So Augusts is not the good choice for you to travel here. For the rest time as in September, October and April to the middle of July, the weather in Sapa is normal. If you be wondered to choose one of these months, you should visit Sapa in September and October. It is sure that you will have unforgettable time and wonderful memories about this highland with its amazing terraced rice fields.

Food and drink

For food: there are specialities that you may love to taste as “com lam” – the rice cooked in the bamboo or bamboo cooked rice, colourful sticky rice, colza, ginger pork chops, salmon dish, local peach, sturgeon dish, smoked bacon, “thang co” – local dish, “ lon cap nach” – local pork etc.

Some restaurants in the local areas for you in reference:

Thang Co A Quynh: 015 Fansipan, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 438

Hoang Ha Restaurant: 08 Thac Bac, Sapa; Tel: 0203 872 535

Sapa Garden: 012 Muong Hoa Valley, Sapa; Tel: 0203 873 656

Vietnamese Restaurant: 031 Muong Hoa Valley, Sapa; Tel: 0203 873 436

Victoria Ta Van: Hoang Dieu, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 522

Delta : 033 Cau May, Sapa ; Tel : 0203 871 799

Red Dao: 4b Thac Bac, Sapa; Tel: 0203 872 927

Rose Garden: 054 Fansipan, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 734

Gerbera: 031 Cau May, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 064

For drink: in Sapa, you will find some special local drink as San Lung alcohol, the corn liquor as in some areas of the northwest. Have some local drink in the markets, some family restaurants in Sapa and taste the local dishes – it must be your unforgettable memories to this land.

Staying

Sapa is the famous destination in the northwest so there are many hotels which were built to serve the visitors’s staying. In the simple architecture and the features that suitbale with the space in this land, you can find some wonderfull hotels easily.

Here are some addresses for you:

Victoria Hotel: 4*, Hoang Dieu, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 522

Chau Long: 4*, Dong Loi, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 245

Green Bamboo: 3*, Cau May, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 076

Holiday: 2*, Cau May, Sapa; Tel: 0203 873 874

Hoang Lien: 2*, Cau May, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 178

Ham Rong: 2*, Ham Rong, Sapa; Tel: 0203 871 251

Shopping

It is not so difficult to find out some addresses for your shopping. If you love to have special local crafts, there are some shop for you to stop by as Muong Hoa Shop ( 025, Muong Hoa Valley), Sapa Shop (048 Cau May), Viet Silver (034 Fansipan), Pho Nui Shop (013 Cau May), Luong Thuy Shop ( 025, Cau May), etc.

For brocade bag, custome, kerchief and handkerchief and San Lung alcohol or the corn liquor, you can buy them in Sapa Market or Bac Ha Market and some small shops located in the center of Sapa Town. Beside, you can buy some other specialities as local peach, Ganoderma lucidum and honey.

Culture, Holidays and people

Ethnic people are friendly. They welcome all visitors who come to their villages. They are ready to drink with visitors, have a simple meal with travellers in the warm friendship. This is one of the impressive thing in their character. However, each ethnic group has the specific features in the culture and custom. So, how you meet them in the first time, if you turn back to visit them in the ten years later, their character also specific features be still there and not to change.

The culture of ethnic groups in Sapa is so special in the simple architecture, life style and custom. How far you travel in Sapa and the northwest, how far you feel the peaceful life that the habitants here have. Connect the nature closely and be not directed by all elements of the era of technology strongly, the ethnic groups’ life makes many people who to meet the heaven. It is true because almost people who are living in the 21th century, dive in the pressure and worries each day, they themselves understand clearly the value of the calmness that the ethnic people live in. And the main point to fascinate visitors is like that.

For holidays in Sapa, there are some specific holidays as Hoi xuan den thuong – Spring Festival ( 14- 16 January, Lunar Year), Tet nhay – The Dancing Festival ( 1^st or 2^nd or 3^rd January, Lunar Year), Gau Tao – the festival of H’mong people (2^nd & 5^th January, Lunar Year), The festival of the Nung people ( 1^st July, Lunar Year), and many festivals of ethnic groups that happened in the year. So if you love Sapa with its diversified festivals, you can join any regardless of the month that you come to this land.