Sapa Travel Guide

  Cau May Street, Sa Pa,Lao Cai...
by Greggor58
 
  • Cau May Street, Sa Pa,Lao Cai Province,Vietnam.
      Cau May Street, Sa Pa,Lao Cai...
    by Greggor58
  • Black Hmong Kids,,Sa Pa Region,Vietnam.
      Black Hmong Kids,,Sa Pa Region,Vietnam.
    by Greggor58
  • Red Zao couple seeking medical service outside Hek
      Red Zao couple seeking medical service...
    by SUN_69
  • Cau May Street, Sa Pa,Lao Cai Province,Vietnam.
      Cau May Street, Sa Pa,Lao Cai...
    by Greggor58
  • Sa Pa Lake…and Walkway,Sa Pa,Vietnam.
      Sa Pa Lake…and Walkway,Sa Pa,Vietnam.
    by Greggor58
 

Pro

Oda_ profile photo

 Amazing nature and people and in the summer a pleaseant climate compared to the lowlands 


Con

bpwarne profile photo

 Overrun w/tourists, overpriced, ethnic tourism bit overstaged 


In a nutshell

Advnt profile photo

 A fair place to try out your trekking boots for the first time. 

 

Explore Sapa

Things to Do  

Around Sapa.

Around Sapa., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  Just walking around Sapa, up the hills will give you plenty of fodder for your camera and the opportunity to get close to the local ethnic minorities. Plus the fabulous views down to the Muong Hoa valley. 

Lao Chai.

Lao Chai., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  We stopped in Lao Chai for lunch before doing the 4 kms we had left to get up to Ta Van. This is also where you need to cross, what was a stream, but is now a river to get on the western side of the valley. There are two bridges, one suspended for people on foot and the... 

Hike to Lao Chai.

Hike to Lao Chai., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  This is another all downhill hike for about 7 kms, although a lot more difficult due to having to cross back and forth on rocks through a stream and walking on the sides of the terraced rice fields. We had company in the form of two Black H'Mong women who gave us a hand on... 

Sa Pa market. San Quan square.

Sa Pa market. San Quan square., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  There is both an inside and outside market in Sa Pa. The outside one is on the main square between the cathedral and the tourist office. Seems to be sellers there every day, perhaps not officially, although I did see a commissaire chase off the kids, but not the adults.... 

Cat Cat cultural centre.

Cat Cat cultural centre., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  Just at the side of the main viewing platform for the falls, is a small theatre used by the village cultural company to perform some of the H'Mong traditionnal dances. It was a real pleasure to watch the young people seemingly enjoying themselves as much as the 100 or so... 

Cat Cat waterfall.

Cat Cat waterfall., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  The Cat Cat waterfall is a little further on from the village down a concrete path This one impressed me a lot more than the Silver waterfall, although nowhere near as high, but here is a better flow. There is an old French hydro-electric station built over 100 years ago.... 

Hike down to Cat Cat village.

Hike down to Cat Cat village., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  This is a pretty good hike to warm up with, between 3/4 kms but down, down. Cat Cat village is more or less the beginnings of the fabulous Muong Hoa valley and its rice fields. Cat Cat is a Black H'Mong vilage but there are some Red Dzao along the way, some acting as guides.... 

Sa Pa museum.

Sa Pa museum., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  A quick visit to the small museum situated behind the Tourist Office on the main square is worth an hour or two, especially as there is no charge. It doesn't take long to run round the 4 rooms given over to the exhibits showing mainly clothes worn by the different minorities... 

Trip out to Silver waterfall (Thac Bac)

Trip out to Silver waterfall (Thac Bac), Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  Coming over the Tram Ton pass, where the trek up to Fan Xi Pan starts, you can stop and see Thac Bac, the silver waterfall. There didn't seem to be a lot of water coming down and it really was cold and windy, so we didn't bother climbing the steep track that criss-crosses... 

Things to do in Sapa

Things to do in Sapa, Sapa

 TravelVn Says:  Ham Rong MountainI visited Sapa in July, 2011. I have visited here for 5 days. I think it is interesting time that i had in Summer holiday. If you want to travel to Ham Rong mountain, you just need to spend a half of day is enough. You should bring a bottle of water, and... 

fantastic coffee shop

fantastic coffee shop, Sapa

 annalecce Says:  If you are a real coffee-addicted, don't miss to visit a small but very assorted and strangely furnished coffee shopin Sa Pa, just in the centre of the town. Its name is NGQOC VINH COFFEE QUAN, in Day NHA THO. Nice orchid garden, wooden carvings and 8 types of coffee. Try... 

Hotels  

Victoria Hotel

 1 Review and 311 Opinions  We stayed at the Victoria on one of their package deals. I don't normally like packages, but the... 

Sapa Eden Hotel

 1 Review and 209 Opinions  My two sons and I stayed at the Sapa Eden for three days and two nights in September 2011. The rooms... 

Restaurants  

Restaurant Michell, Sapa.: Young manager warrants a hand.

Restaurant Michell, Sapa.: Young manager warrants a hand., Sapa

 pfsmalo Says:  In March when we went to this restaurant, it had only changed hands a short while ago and renovated by the new manager and his wife with no help from outside. A young feller that has done his classes in Paris and London, but resolutely hopes to convince the tourists to try... 

Michell Restaurant: Terrific Fresh Food..

Michell Restaurant: Terrific Fresh Food.., Sapa

 Greggor58 Says:  We eat here only once but thoroughly enjoyed our meal here.There really weren’t too many people here when we were here but it was mid day and it was NOT peak season. The town as a whole was not overly busy so in fact the service we received here was top notch and of course... 

Nightlife  

Red Dragon Pub: Run by a British expat

Red Dragon Pub: Run by a British expat, Sapa

 Willettsworld Says:  There's not a great deal to do in the evening apart from visiting a few of the towns pubs. This particular pub is run by an English expat who's been here over 10 years. It looks and feels more like an English tearoom than a pub so I felt pretty much at home here! Anyway,... 

Transportation  

Good train to Sapa

Good train to Sapa, Sapa

 dustin88 Says:  I had my hotel in Ha Noi booked tickets to Sapa for my family. The brand was Orient Express, and we stayed in a nice and clean 4-bed cabin. There were many foreigners on my train, you can refer here for more info.http://www.sapaadventure.com/orient_express_train.htmlThe... 

Overnight Train...Like MOST people arriving here..

Overnight Train...Like MOST people arriving here.., Sapa

 Greggor58 Says:  The hotel owner that we booked with for our stay in Sa Pa offered for a small mark up in price to arrange our train transport between Sa Pa and Ha Noi...I have to say that this was more than convenient and the cost, agreed to before our confirmation, was just tacked onto our... 

Local Customs  

Hill-tribes: Zay

Hill-tribes: Zay, Sapa

 Willettsworld Says:  We stayed with a Zay family at our overnight home stay in the village of Ta Van. We got to their home stay where our beds were upstairs on the floor while they cooked our evening meal on a small open fire in the kitchen area. The food was fantastic - chicken and mushrooms,... 

Rural life

Rural life, Sapa

 Willettsworld Says:  If you decide to do a trek through some of the local villages, you'll encounter some amazing rural life. We walked through the village of Lau Chai with Red Dzao women past pigs, ducks, buffalo and some lovely wooden houses. 

Warnings and Dangers  

Muddy!!

Muddy!!, Sapa

 Willettsworld Says:  Day 2 of my trek consisted of trekking from Ta Van to Giang Tachai. We left and started to make our way up the valley along some very muddy paddy fields where my feet slipped all over the place even though I had on brand new boots which I had bought in Sapa. The Black Hmong... 

Off The Beaten Path  

Cat Cat Clinic

Cat Cat Clinic, Sapa

 Willettsworld Says:  On the way down to the waterfalls at Cat Cat, we went past this small clinic which, my young Black Hmong guide mentioned to me, was just 7 years old, despite looking much older from the outside. We went inside where there is a baby delivery room, office, 2 beds in another... 

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Map of Sapa