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Visit Sapa Tourism Information & Service Centre
kelnsha Says: The centre promotes sustainable tourism development in and around Sapa.Beside seeking information, you can book guides and arrange community based treks to the nearby H'mong village of Sin Chai. Overnight stay in the village to learn about their textiles, music and dance can...
victorwkf Says: Sapa market is the centre piece of Sapa town and not to be missed when you are there. The best time to visit in on a Saturday morning where you will see many colourful ethnic minority women here (it can be very crowded and overwhelming). The bottom floor of the market are...
kelnsha Says: Montagnards from surrounding villages don their best clothes and go to the market on most days. Saturday is the busiest day and the town is choking with tourists as the market is a big magnet for organised tour groups from Hanoi. If you want to enjoy Sapa at a more sedate...
victorwkf Says: The Sapa Church is a famous landmark at Sapa and is located near to the Sapa market. It is hard to imagine a church at this town and I think it is probably built by the French during the colonial times in Vietnam. During the evening on Saturdays, the men and women of the...
Gerbera Restaurant: Good food and great view! - Gerbera Restaurant
kelnsha Says: This restaurant serves good and reasonably-priced barbecue beef, wild boar and venison, as well as pasta, salad and a variety of Vietnamese dishes. There are some great views over town from the upstairs panorama room.
victorwkf Says: The cafe at the Royal View Hotel serves nice breakfast as well as dinner. This is included in the price of the hotel room if you are staying here (please see my accomodation tips for more details). I particularly enjoyed the various soups and dishes served during dinner.
Train from Hanoi to Lao Cai (Sa Pa)
SLLiew Says: The best way to go to Sapa from Hanoi is to take the train. There are no flights and road journey is considered uncomfortable, long and less safe.Best to book the train, both ways from a reputable travel agent from Hanoi to Lao Cai near the Chinese border and the transport...
victorwkf Says: When you are trekking to the villages of the ethnic minority people of Sapa, you will notice water mills such as those shown in the photos. Due to limitation of electricity and abundance of water, water is used as a form of energy to drive these mills which in turn will help...
victorwkf Says: The local ethnic minority women carry baskets behind their backs all over the place, especially to the Sapa market where they will buy various stuff to bring back to their villages. This is an important means of carrying stuff in Sapa.
victorwkf Says: During trekking, you will see some schools among the various villages. The children of ethnic minority people are given a chance for education but a big percentage of them will not take it hoping to earn a living when they are young. It is a pity that they do not see the...
happy128 Says: There are many trains travel from sapa to hanoi. Some are meant for locals, some nicer and more expensive ones are specially decorated for tourists. Beware of the type os ticket your are buying (tourist/local train ticket), the price varies a lot.It is best to buy a soft bed...
Catching a night train back to Hanoi
victorwkf Says: When catching a train from Laocai back to Hanoi, you need to set off from Sapa as early as possible. This is because the bus or van takes one 1 hour to get from Sapa to Laocai (and sometimes this takes longer because the bus or van will wonder around the streets to get more...
Train Station Mini Van Scam *Beware*
pindone Says: Just a heads up to sleepy weary travellers that arrive at the train station after a night on the train to watch out for the mini van scam. We arrived at 4:45 in the morning to be greated by the usual load of people wanting to take us by taxi to sapa as we just stepped off...
Department of Forestry Building
victorwkf Says: When you are at Sapa, especially if you visiting the Cat Cat village near to Sapa, you will pass by an unique and impressive building on the edge of the slope (looks like a castle in Europe). According to my guide, this building belongs to the Department of Forestry and you...
Community-Based Treks to Cat Cat Village
kelnsha Says: Cat Cat Village is the nearest village within walking distance (admission was VND5000). Like everywhere in this area, it is steep and very beautiful hike down. If you are too exhausted or unfit to hike back up, there are plenty of xe om (motorbike taxi) ready and willing to...
Community-Based Treks to Ta Phin Village
kelnsha Says: This is another popular hike and the admission was VND5000. Most people take a xe om (motorbike taxi) to the starting point about 8km from Sapa and then make a 14km loop walk of the area. Most hotel offer guided day and half-day treks, depending on the number of people and...
victorwkf Says: I took a lot of photos at Sapa and attached are some photos which I would like to share with all VT members besides those already in the various tips and travelogues. More photos are at part 1 and 2 of this tip for you to enjoy.
victorwkf Says: I took a lot of photos at Sapa and attached are some photos which I would like to share with all VT members besides those already in the various tips and travelogues. More photos are at part 1 and 3 of this tip for you to enjoy.
victorwkf Says: I took a lot of photos at Sapa and attached are some photos which I would like to share with all VT members besides those already in the various tips and travelogues. More photos are at part 2 and 3 of this tip for you to enjoy.
victorwkf Says: When I was in Sapa with my wife in mid December 2006, there was a Sapa Fair at the town square area near to the Sapa market. An entrance fee was required to enter this fair (cannot remember how much, but it was very cheap) and a lot of shops selling all kinds of stuff were...
Plan a Sa Pa vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Sa Pa locals
The Hmong people are the most populated of the ethnic minority groups at Sapa and surroundings. These people are the same as the Miao people in China, and they...
Q: We are thinking of going to Sapa on the overnight train, spending the day, probably a Saturday and then back on the overnight...
A: Yes, you could do this. Its a chance for you to see some of the Vietnamese ethnic groups, and the scenery is lovely as well. I arrived on the early train, and booked a...
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Sapa - Mountain Magic of Northern Vietnam
Sapa is a small and picturesque hill town (former French stronghold) located in the mountainous area of Northern Vietnam close to the border with Yunnan province of China. This town is a main tourist...
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Sapa - A Surprising Highland Wonderland
At first, I dread of the thought of going to Sapa because one has to take an overnight train to and from to Hanoi. and
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Visited Vietnam in the midst of summer - guidebooks tell of rain storms, potential typhoons, leeches in the mountains... Fully geared with waterproof equipment to last me through Sapa. Was definitely...
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The mountain views in Sapa (when the mist clears) are absolutely stunning. Chill out, enjoy the tranquil scenery and fresh air over a cup of coffee and french pastry; rough it out, hiking along muddy...
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The premier destination of NW Vietnam - Sapa!
It used to be a hill station built in 1922. Nestled in a beautiful valley close to the Chinese border, the spectacular scenery that surrounds Sapa includes casacading rice terraces that hug the...
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