Are you planning for a tour to Sapa, Vietnam? If yes, let us show you what to do and when to go. This article will answer all the questions and give you a lot of information, all about Sapa Vietnam.
We all know that Sapa is very famous, not only in Vietnam but all around the world. Traveler wishes to come here during their holidays and spend time on new cultures, as well as to conquer the Fansipan peak. Of course, we have to prepare well for a tour like this. How to get to Sapa, when is the best time to visit Sapa, where to stay, which to do, and what to eat? All these basic questions will be answered right now!.
1. How To Get From Hanoi To Sapa
It is hundreds of kilometers from Hanoi to Sapa. There are many vehicles for you to choose to travel, such as motorbike, trains, buses or cars. But in this article, we want to introduce to you the two leading and popular vehicles: trains and buses.
1.1. Get to Sapa by train
You can choose Vietnam Railways or private railway operators. The price is different, depending on the service you are offered. You have to spend 8 to 9 hours for travel.
- Vietnam Railways
Departure: 120 Le Duan, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi
Arrival: Lao Cai Railway Station, Khanh Yen, Pho Moi, Lao Cai
The company offers SP1, SP3, and LC3 for travelers to Sapa. There are two choices: hard bed and soft bead. The first choice, hard bed, includes six compartments. For a soft berth, it is only 4. The price is from 160.000vnd to 450.000vnd.
SP1: 21:30 pm - 05:35 am
SP3: 22:00pm - 06:20am
LC3: 06:10am - 15:40pm
- Private railway operators
If you have to travel a lot and want to relax, it is best to have a ticket for private railway operators. That is because their service is better with air-conditioners, soft bed, free water and so on. Some operators you can choose are Fanxipan Express, Chapa Express, King Express, Sapaly Express, Victoria Express, and Violette Trains. There are some trains such as SP1, SP3, SP2, SP4, SP7, SP7 LC1, LC2, and LC3.
Passengers can book for sleeper 4-berth or sleeper 2-berth. The price is from 385.000vnd to 940.000vnd, depending on the cabin you choose to rest. You can go to a group and book a cabin for 4 or 2, to sleep better.
SP1:21:30 pm - 05:35 am
SP2: 20:35pm - 4:45am
SP3: 22:00pm - 06:20am
SP4: 21:40 pm - 5:30 am
SP7: 20:30pm - 4: 45am
SP8: 19:40 pm - 4:20am
LC1: 7:33am - 22:000pm
LC2: 3: 30am - 18: 00pm
LC3: 06:10am - 15:40pm
Note: Remember that you have to hire a car or get on a bus to travel for 34 kilometers from the station to Sapa town. It takes about 1 hour.
1.2. Get to Sapa by bus
If you do not want to travel by train, you can travel by bus. Many buses run on Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway. It takes about 6 hours to get to the destination. Some operators you can choose are Queen Cafe, Good Morning Sapa, King Express, Ha Son Ha Van, Eco Sapa, and Sapa Express.
There are many kinds of buses, such as express bus, shuttle bus, minibus, or sleeper bus. Minibus and shuttle buses are cheaper with hard seats. Express buses are better with soft chairs, quite comfortable. Sleeper buses are the best with a great space for private experiences. The price for this vehicle is from 150.000vnd to 250.000vnd. Some operators also offer a VIP bus at 450.000vnd per ticket.
2. Best Time To Visit Sapa Vietnam
Sapa, Vietnam, has a dry season and rainy season. The dry season starts in October and lasts until April. The rainy one starts from Mid-April and lasts until September. The weather changes many months by month.
From December to February: This is the coldest time with the temperature at 13°C. Sometimes you can see snow on the high mountains.
From March to Mid-May: It is warmer with the temperature at 30°C. There is not much rain during these months.
From June to August: It is rainy season. There are a lot of wet days in these months, but the practical side is you can watch the beautiful terraced fields. Because this time is the rice harvest time of the people here.
From September to November: It is rainy in some days, but not much.
With all the information above, we can easily see that the best time to visit Sapa is from March to May and September to November. It is warm and little rain these days. You can visit a lot of places and see how Sapa is.
3. Things To Do in Sapa Vietnam
If you have a chance to Sapa, Vietnam, you have to prepare a long list of thing-to-do in this area. There are many amazing things to experience during your trip.
3.1. Visit Sapa Culture Museum
This is the place you can learn much about Sapa history as well as its culture. Pictures and things are showing various sides of ethnic tribes. You will be surprised that there are so many hill minorities in Sapa.
3.2. Trekking in Sapa
As a tourist destination has many beautiful and attractive trekking route, so when you come to Sapa, you should choose a trekking tour to be able to explore Sapa fully. These routes can be up to 10km, and they cross villages, rice fields, rivers, bridges made by local people. Thereby helping you can learn about the cultural identity, the daily life of indigenous people.
You can go with a local tour guide and enjoy being in the mountains. The cultures, the traditional dress, as well as the food, make it an unforgettable and unique experience for your holiday. Some villages you can visit are Cat Cat, ta Phin, Ta Van, and Ho village.
3.3. Conquer Fansipan Peak
Yes! It is a must-visit-place in Sapa. None can ignore the beauty as well as the majesty of this high mountain. It is at a height of 3143 meters above sea level. Thousand of people coming to Lao Cai every year just to conquer the Fansipan peak.
3.4. Join a Sapa Market
Sapa is lively on every Sunday morning. During this time, you can see people gather, buy things, and sell things with laughter on their faces. There are many activities, excellent dishes and beautiful souvenirs to charge. You also have a lot of chance of taking a picture or making videos.
3.5. Travel to Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate and Thac Bac waterfall are stunning and majestic. They show the wild and incredible beauty of Sapa high mountains with strength. These two places are very close to each other. You can spend half of the day discovering these areas.
3.6. Visit The Radio Tower
You have to pay around 70.000vnd for a ticket to get to the tower. This allows you to have a great view, seeing Ham Rong mountain and local life of hill tribes.
3.7. Enjoy a coffee cup at Cafe in the Clouds
As its name, this coffee shop has an amazing and lush view. It is so stunning to spend time at a shop like this. You can spend your whole morning, enjoy coffee and see the mountains in the clouds. You also have wifi to post up your recent pictures.
4. What To Eat in Sapa
For the next part, we will come to find out some great dishes in Sapa town, which is suggested by many travelers.
4.1. Thang Co
This is one of the most famous dishes in Sapa, Vietnam. None can say no to this because it is really delicious. The chief has to prepare the food from a horse. They cook meat, bone, and horse’s viscera together, after hours until it is like a soup. Thang Co is the pride of many H’ mong people.
4.2. Cap Nach Pork
This is the name of food cooked from a small big, from 10-20 kilograms. The pork is very fleshy. There are many ways to cook this. You can enjoy a roasted pig, or fry it. Both are very tasty.
4.3. Salmon Sour Hotpot
Salmon is very nutritious. In Sapa, Salmon meat is famous because the fish live and act every day to find the food. It makes the meat more and more fleshy. You can go to any restaurant and call for a salmon sour, hot pot; they will serve you well!
4.4. Bamboo sticky rice
This food is popular in Sapa. The rice is cooked inside a bamboo section, and its taste is refined glamour, and sticky.
4.5. Grilled fish
Like salmon sour, hot pot, this dish is also in the list of must-try-food in Sapa, Vietnam. The fish is caught from the streams or rivers. Then it is grilled well on the fire. It is very crunchy and greasy! So yummy!
4.6. Khang Gai Dried Meat
You can enjoy this and buy it to give to your families and friends. This dish is delicious can be kept for a long time. Khang Gai Dried Meat is made from beef. Each part is about 2 kilograms. This can be used for parties with beer and wine. Or you can enjoy it with spicy soup.
4.7. Black chicken
Black chicken is chicken with dark skin. These are very tough because they are not given food as normal ones. Their meat is tasty and fleshy. You can boil it, fry it, roast it, or cook it with pepper, salt, and lime juice.
5. Best Souvenirs to Buy in Sapa
If you have to think of souvenirs in Sapa, do not miss these 5 top things. Let’s check out what we have in this paragraph.
5.1. Local fruits
Sapa is famous for its local fruit, such as H’ mong apple, peach, and pear. If you visit Sapa during summer, you can buy some kilograms of local fruits to give to your friends. These are very delicious. You can join a market to have various choices.
5.2. Medicinal herbs
Medica herbs are beneficial and meaningful. They are not just souvenirs, but they can help to improve our health so well. You can buy some, such as raw honey, as a great gift after your trip. It is not expensive at all. You can buy this after visiting Sapa, Vietnam. We are sure that your friends will like this special gift.
5.3. Brocade
Magnificent brocade, such as bags and dresses, are made by ethnic girls and women. They are very skillful. The handicraft products are colorful, traditional, and reflect the local life and culture.
5.4. Tao Meo wine
Tao Meo wine or H’ mong apple Wine is in a list of the best wine to try. This is a bit sour and bitter, very special. You can just find this flavor from Tao Meo wine in Sapa. In fact, many female travelers also buy Tao Meo and try to make wine for their husbands and sons.
6. Where To Stay In Sapa Vietnam
In the last part, we want to introduce you to some hotels and homestay to rest in Sapa town. This is a shortlist of them.
6.1. Pao’s Sapa Leisure hotel
This is a 5-star hotel, located in Muong Hoa valley. The hotel has a lot of rooms, more than 200, ranging from standard rooms to premium ones. You can book a room at Pao’s Sapa Leisure to relax and has a great view of the terrace and villages of this destination.
6.2. Sapa Charm Hotel
Sapa charm hotel’s reception desk.
Sapa Charm Hotel is a 4-star hotel, located at 32 Muong Hoa, Sapa. The hotel has about 150 rooms, with a great view of Hoang Lien mountain. As its name, the hotel offers you a fair chance to have a glance at the high elevation and stunning landscape.
6.3. Sapa Diamond Hotel
This is a 3-star hotel. Sapa Diamond is located at 28A Muong Hoa street. You can have a lush view of the valleys as well as gorgeous high mountains surrounding. Although this is just a 3-star hotel, its service is excellent, and the staff is out-going.
6.4. Sapa Village Hotel
Located at 520 Dien Bien Phu, Sapa village is very close to Sapa Lake. This is a 3-star hotel with a good view of Rose Garden. Sapa Village has a traditional design from colors to furniture. Many travelers choose this during their trip.
6.5. Phơri’s house
Phori’s house is a homestay located in Ta Van village. This is really what a foreigner traveler wants to experience. The homestay is very traditional, from view to terraces to colorful dresses of the owner. All are very related to ethnic tribes.
6.6. Gem Valley Homestay
This is an excellent homestay to book because you can relax, enjoy coffee and see clouds at the same time. If you visit Cat Cat village, do not forget to rest at Gem valley. It is just 2 kilometers from Sapa town with a fantastic view in a vast space.
We have shared with you a lot of things about Sapa, Vietnam. We hope you all can have a wonderful tour in the future!
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