Itinerary
- Day 1
Hanoi to Lao Cai
Your guide and driver will meet you at your hotel at 8:00 PM to take you to Hanoi Station. You'll board an overnight train heading to Lao Cai City, where you'll sleep in a first-class 4-bed cabin with air conditioning. If the train isn't running that night, you'll catch a 10 PM sleeper cabin bus instead.
- Day 2
Trekking Begins
You'll arrive at Lao Cai station early and take a mini van with air conditioning uphill to Sapa, which takes about an hour. After breakfast, spend time walking around Sapa town centre and checking out the market. Later in the afternoon, a jeep takes you to Ta Van village where your trek starts. The morning trek is challenging and goes uphill through different landscapes, then you'll break for lunch and keep going through nature reserves until you reach an isolated H'mong village. You'll arrive at the riverside campsite by evening.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Included Activities
- Transfer from Lao Cai station to Sapa by shared mini bus with air-con
- Walking tour of Sapa town centre
- Visit Sapa market
- Trekking from Ta Van village through rainforest and nature reserves
- Visit H'mong village
- Local English-speaking tour guide
Optional Activities
- Help set up tents at campsite
- Evening walk around campsite to discover wildlife
Landmarks/POIs Sapa Market Ta Van Village Seo Mi Ty Village - Day 3
Den Thang to Ta Trung Ho
After breakfast, you'll trek through thick rainforest for a couple of hours, crossing old suspension bridges before reaching a wide valley with terraced rice paddies. By noon you'll get to Den Thang village where Black Hmong people live. You'll visit local homes and a school, then have lunch there. The afternoon trek gets tougher as you go up and down small footpaths to reach Ta Trung Ho village. Spend the rest of the day walking around, visiting homes and talking with Red Zao people to learn about their traditions.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Included Activities
- Trekking through rainforest with suspension bridges
- Visit Den Thang village (Black Hmong)
- Visit local homes and school in Den Thang
- Trekking to Ta Trung Ho village
- Walking around Ta Trung Ho village
- Visit Red Zao homes and cultural interaction
- Local English-speaking tour guide
Landmarks/POIs Den Thang Village Ta Trung Ho Village - Day 4
Nam Toong to Ban Ho Valley
After saying goodbye to your homestay host, you'll trek from the rainforest edge of Hoang Lien Son mountain through forest and rice paddies to Nam Toong village where Red Dao people live. Lunch gets prepared in a local school where you can chat with teachers and play with kids. In the afternoon, trek down to Ban Ho valley where Tay peoples live. You'll cross a suspension bridge and walk through this organized village with wooden houses on stilts. Late afternoon you'll get a jeep ride back to Sapa for hotel check-in and rest.
- Meals
- Breakfast, Lunch (Prepared in local school in Nam Toong village), Dinner
Included Activities
- Trekking from Hoang Lien Son mountain through terraced paddies to Nam Toong village
- Visit Nam Toong village (Red Dao people)
- Lunch in local school with interaction with teachers and children
- Trekking to Ban Ho valley
- Suspension bridge crossing
- Walking through Ban Ho village (Tay peoples)
- Cultural interaction with Tay people
- Jeep transfer from Ban Ho to Sapa
- Local English-speaking tour guide
Landmarks/POIs Nam Toong Village Ban Ho Valley Hoang Lien Son Mountain - Day 5
Sapa to Hanoi
You'll have the whole day to explore Sapa on your own. Walk to Sapa market to meet tribal ethnic peoples like Black H'mong and Red Zao selling farming products and handicrafts. Then head to the church and climb to the top of Am Rong Mountain to see an orchid garden and a small museum about Northwest ethnic peoples. At 4 PM you'll board a bus to return to Hanoi, arriving around 10 PM.
Included Activities
- Sapa market visit and exploration
- Walk to Sapa church
- Visit Am Rong Mountain orchid garden
- Visit ethnic peoples museum on Am Rong Mountain
- Transfer by bus from Sapa to Hanoi
Landmarks/POIs Sapa Market Sapa Church Am Rong Mountain
