Itinerary
- Day 1
Hanoi to Lao Cai
Meet your guide at your hotel at 8 PM and transfer to Hanoi railway station for the overnight journey. You'll board a first-class train heading north to Lao Cai, traveling in a 4-bed air-conditioned cabin. If train service isn't running that day, you'll take a sleeper bus instead. Either way, you're traveling through the night and arriving early the next morning near the Chinese border.
Landmarks/POIs Hanoi Railway Station Lao Cai Station - Day 2
Lao Cai to Sapa
The train pulls in around 6 AM at Lao Cai station where your guide and driver meet you. From there, it's about an hour driving uphill through the Hoang Lien Son mountains into Sapa, passing through valleys and terraced rice fields. After grabbing breakfast, walk through Sapa town and check out the daily market where you'll see ethnic minority vendors in traditional dress. Later you'll hike up Ham Rong Mountain for views across the region, then visit an orchard garden and a small museum about local ethnic groups. If you're up for it, walk down to Cat Cat village in the afternoon or relax at a café overlooking the terraced landscape instead.
- Meals
- Breakfast
Included Activities
- Meet guide and driver at Lao Cai station
- Transfer to Sapa through Hoang Lien Son mountains
- Breakfast
- Town introduction and market visit
- Hike to top of Ham Rong Mountain
- Visit orchard garden
- Visit mini museum about ethnic minorities
Optional Activities
- Walk down to Cat Cat village of the Black H'mong
- Visit local terraced café
Landmarks/POIs Hoang Lien Son Mountains Sapa Town Market Ham Rong Mountain Cat Cat Village - Day 3
Sapa
This morning you're heading 14 km southeast to Ta Phin commune in a large mountain valley covered with pine forest. It's home to the Red Zao and Black H'mong people. You'll walk through several H'mong hamlets at different elevations and visit Red Zao villages where the women are making embroidered pieces and bags. Head back to Sapa for lunch and a break midday. In the afternoon, drive to Silver Waterfall and then continue up to Tram Ton, Vietnam's highest mountain pass at 1,800 m (5,905 ft), where you get spectacular views of the Hoang Lien Son mountains and the valleys below.
- Meals
- Lunch
Included Activities
- Visit Ta Phin commune
- Easy walk through valley visiting H'mong hamlets
- Visit Red Zao village and observe handicraft making
- Lunch
- Visit Silver Waterfall
- Drive to Tram Ton mountain pass
Landmarks/POIs Ta Phin Commune Silver Waterfall Tram Ton Mountain Pass - Day 4
Sapa
Spend your full day in Muong Hoa valley, which sits southwest of Sapa and has some of the region's best scenery. You're traveling by Jeep on mountain roads with the valley spread out below you, seeing high peaks, deep valleys, waterfalls, and rice paddies cut into the slopes. Visit a couple of tribal villages like Ta Van and Su Pan where you can interact with the Zay, H'mong, and other ethnic groups living there. You'll return to Sapa in the evening with time to settle in and rest before heading out.
Included Activities
- Full day exploration of Muong Hoa valley
- Jeep travel on mountain-side road
- Visit Ta Van village of the Zay
- Visit Su Pan village of the Black H'mong
Landmarks/POIs Muong Hoa Valley Ta Van Village Su Pan Village - Day 5
Sapa to Hanoi
Depending on what day of the week it is, you'll choose a local market that's active and head there to spend the day. This gives you a real sense of how the community gathers and trades. Later in the afternoon around 4 PM or so, you board a VIP sleeping bus from Sapa heading back south to Hanoi. The drive takes most of the night and you'll arrive between 10 PM and 10:30 PM, wrapping up your mountain adventure.
Included Activities
- Market visit and activities with locals
