Sapa

Sapa, In Vietnamese also known as Sa Pa, is a city in the northern province of Lao Cai. The region is known for its beautiful rice fields. A unique piece of Vietnam, as quite a few ethnic minorities still live in the surrounding villages of Sa Pa. More than enough reasons for me to go for the local experience by choosing for a Homestay. You can read more about that as well as the rice paddies here!

Travelling to Sapa

Most travelers visit Sapa from the capital city of Hanoi. From here, you can choose to travel by bus or night train. The advantage of the night train is that you save an overnight stay and still have a full day ahead of you when you arrive early in the morning. However, the savings on the overnight stay is nil compared to the price of a bus ticket and an overnight stay. Thereby, the train will take you as far as Lao Cai, after which you have to travel another 45 minutes by bus to the city center.

 

I myself took the Sapa Express bus from Hanoi to Sapa, a 6-hour trip (including stops). Had a great trip, and I would definitely recommend it. Your ticket for this is best booked directly with them or through your hotel/hostel. With websites like 12goasia you pay more (extra fee).

Arriving in Sapa

Once you arrive in the center, chances are you will receive a warm welcome from local tour guides to book a trek or from a scooter rental company to explore Sapa on your own. The local tour guides in particular prove to be a harbinger of things to come.

Staying in a homestay in one of the villages outside Sapa? The cab will cost you about €5 - €12. You can also choose to rent a scooter right away. A scooter costs on average about 150,000 Vietnamese Dong for 1 day and is ideal for exploring the region.

Doing a homestay

Rice paddies next to the Homestay

 

I stayed at Hmong House in the village of Ta Van. The village has several homestays and is the final destination of several trekking tours. Located about 8 KM from Sapa you can count on a cab ride of about 30 minutes for which I paid 250,000 Vietnamese Dong. The roads are sometimes a bit bumpy, but I personally found it not too bad.

 

The owner has several detached bungalows and about 2 rooms in their house itself. Dining with the family is possible and is something I would definitely recommend. I had dinner with them 2 nights and it was really tasty! 2 nights, including dinner and breakfast came out at € 24.00 p.p. (600,000 VND).

 

Good to know:

The homestay cannot be reached by car, so you will have to walk the last bit (few mins). Therefore, navigate the cab to Green House Tavan Sapa. There is a sign at the bottom of the road with a directional sign. I would have liked it if they had also put a sign at the next junction telling you to turn left. Once you get to the top, you still have to walk past some houses including their animals (chickens, dogs, ducks).

What to do in Sapa

The center of Sapa had little authentic to offer to me personally, so I didn't spend too much time there. Once done with exploring the rice paddies the scooter had to be returned, after which a short tour around Sapa center was enough for me. What is fun to do then is to go to the local market on weekends. Madness all around!

Rice paddies

Seeing Sapa's terraced rice paddies is, of course, the reason why you visit this place. You can choose to take a trekking tour of some of the rice fields, or visit them on your own by scooter. Using Google Maps, we ended up at the rice fields near the place called Ta Phin. Once on the road with the scooter, you automatically pass beautiful viewpoints.

Best time to visit Sapa

Sapa is in the mountains, so in winter it is on the chilly side. Count on 8-10 degrees or so if you go in December, during which it can also be quite foggy. A shame about the views. After seeing images of Sapa during sunny conditions, I knew what I missed by going in December. It certainly didn't spoil the fun, because in the end the drone was still able to capture beautiful images!

 

September to November are the best months to visit Sapa. September/early October is harvest season and you will see the rice fields in beautiful golden yellow colors. Don't worry if you don't go within this period, as each period has something unique.

How many days in Sapa?

I spent 2 days there myself, this I found more than enough to see the rice fields. You can opt for 3 days, but since most vacationers have visas of up to 30 days, 2 days is actually sufficient. You can either return to Hanoi, or take the bus to Hà Giang for the widely known Hà Giang Loop.

  • Hanoi 5.5 hours
  • Hà Giang 7-8 hours