4-Day SaPa Travel Guide
In April 2023, we travelled 3 weeks in Vietnam. Our original plan was to visit all of Vietnam but as we were planning it, we decided to focus on the north and center of Vietnam. Therefor allowing more time in both those regions.
Our trip started and ended in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. And we also spent an overnight in Hanoi as we travelled back from Sapa to Halong Bay.
Our complete trip included in this order: Hanoi, Sapa, Hanoi, Halong Bay/LanHa Bay, Tam Coc (Ninh Binh), Hue, HoiAn, Hanoi. And as always, we will make a complete itinerary of the trip.
One particular thing is that we travelled Vietnam while Tina was 9 to 12-week Pregnant. So, it wasn’t always easy, yet we enjoyed it!
SaPa was our second stop, directly after Hanoi. Even though it is a bit out of reach, we opted to get there, and it was amazing. No regrets at all.
Sa Pa is famous for its vast terraced rice fields, where ethnic minority groups such as the Hmong, Dao, and Dzay live. The best way to experience this is on a day hike with a local guide. SaPa is definitely oriented toward nature lover.
In this article, we will tell our story going around all the best things to do in SaPa. So, if you too are planning a trip to Vietnam and to SaPa, then let ‘s dive in these SaPa Travel Guide
Here is our complete video from this trip :
Table of Contents
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Getting there
The best way to get to SaPa is from Hanoi. There are many options:
- By Van: the most comfortable way: This is the option we chosed. We reserved online on whatsapp a few days before our transfer. We opted for the travel agency A21 as they had clean and clear information. Here is the link to their website. It takes 5-6h to get there.
- By Bus: On a similar note, and even using the same travel agency, you can also book a bus. The bus journey takes around 5-6 hours, depending on the traffic and road conditions. There is also different type of buses, but mostly they are sleeper bus. After they either are with private cabin or not.
- By Train: This is not the easiest as there isn’t a train station in SaPa and you need to take the train to Lao Cai. And from there a taxi to SaPa which is about 38 kilometers away. The journey from Lao Cai to Sa Pa usually takes around 1-1.5 hours. And the complete train journey takes approximately 8-9 hours. Once you arrive at Lao Cai Railway Station, you can hire a taxi or take a local bus to Sa Pa,
Moving Around
Once you are in SaPa, the complete town can be visited on foot. It is a small town after all. However, if you want to go around, to the waterfalls or viewpoints, you will need to rent a scooter or go on a tour.
Scooter prices are from 150 000 to 200 000 VND. The scooter is given to you with an empty fuel tank. So, be sure to refuel right away. And to give the scooter back with an empty tank as well.
When to Visit
Let’s start by saying that Vietnam is a really long country and as such have 3 very distinct type of weather (North/central/South).
The best time to visit SaPa is Autumn (from September to November) if you want less rain and cool temperatures.
The raining season being Summer (June to August) and is apparently a great time to visit to get blue sky however you will get lots of showers as it is the raining season.
Spring (from March and April/Mai) is the second-best time to visit especially if you plan on visiting more than only the north of Vietnam. We visited Vietnam as this time and during our stay in SaPa, we had haze, cloud and even sun (the day we left haha=)
What to Eat
The best things to eat in Vietnam are:
- Pho: A Vietnamese soup dish consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and meat or tofu.
- Banh mi: A French-Vietnamese baguette sandwich filled with vegetables, meat/tofu/tempeh, and sauce…
- Banh Xeo: A rice flour pancake filled with various toppings and herbs.
Plus, lots of many other dishes made of spring rolls, fried noodle, or rice. We personally always found vegetarian or vegan option in Vietnam but also noticed that their kitchen is quite heavy and used lots of fried and deep-fried ingredients.
They are also lots of drinks to try:
- Egg coffee: Hot or cold coffee prepared with egg yolks, sugar, condensed milk and strong coffee.
- Iced coffee: Made using Medium/Dark coffee passing through hot water into a cup that already contains condensed milk.
- Coconut Coffee: Where coconut milk is added.
Plus, they are also lots of fresh juices, fresh coconuts and beers to try.
If you are looking for good restaurants we would recommend.
- Good morning Vietnam
- Ladybird Restaurant Hotel Café
Thong Dong Vegan
SaPa Travel Guide
Our journey there
The van arrived around 6h40. We were the first one. We put our bags in the rear and then took our seat. There are 4 seats in the middle. We got the rear row. So far, seats are confortable, have bottle holder, USB…
We then picked up 2 other foreigners and 2 locals at another hotel and 3 more locals at another one. We were full by 7h.
At 8h30 we made a first break of about 25min. When we went out of the van, we received a free drink voucher. We made another stop at 11h37.
We kept on, now the road was going up the mountain. We arrived in Sapa where we were dropped off at the Cathedral a bit before 13h. We had lunch and then took a taxi to our accommodation.
SaPa Church
Around 15h, we rented a scooter as our accommodation wasn’t in town. We drove to SaPa and parked for free next to the church. Our first stop was therefor the church.
Also known as the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of SaPa, is a Catholic church and a prominent landmark in town and holds historical significance. It was built by French missionaries in the late 19th century during the French colonial period in Vietnam.
SaPa Center
We then just hanged around town visiting, the station and the streets around which were beautiful.
SaPa station
We also popped by the SaPa train station which is actually a shopping mall. It is a nice place to visit and definitely worth a stop even if you are not taking a train.
Cat Cat Village
We then drove another 10min to CatCat village. The entrance was 300 000 for two. This is a super touristic place, especially for locals who come there with traditional clothes to take pictures.
Cat Cat Village is an ethnic Hmong village that offers visitors a glimpse into the local culture and way of life. It has many things to see such as traditional houses, performances, animals…
As we were there around 4h30, it wasn’t crowded at all but during the day it is apparently insane.
Full Day Hike in the Hmong Valley
We had organised this when we arrived with our accommodation. At 9h30 we met our guide for the day, Mimi, from the Hmong people, a local tribe.
With her we will hike through the villages in the valley and finish with a bamboo forest and a waterfall. Unfortunately, the waterfall was dry. The hike wasn’t too hard. We took 6h30 with 1h lunch break and lots of stop for photos, videos, drones…
We also stopped in some local houses to see how they were doing their clothes. Tina even got to try one of the processes.
We were back at our accommodation at 16h. But the hiked finished 20min earlier than that and we took a taxi back.
All was included in the hiking tour, the guide, lunch, and return.
The hike is breathtaking, and, in the end, we were lucky enough as it didn’t rain. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a clear sky either which was present 2 days ago. But mostly in spring the weather is cloudy.
Hiking with Mimi was super nice. She was extremely friendly and even we took lots of videos and pictures, she was fine and didn’t mind being on them. She is herself on TikTok.
She also told us many interesting things about the local traditions and answered all our questions.
We had lunch in one of her friend’s places. It is delicious. We had bamboo sprouts, cabbage, green beans, rice, and vegetables spring rolls (we told her we didn’t eat meat and she organized accordingly). We also tried some rice wine that she called happy wine. It isn’t too strong and raise up to 25°. I also got a beer for 30 000.
Love Waterfall
On our second full day, we left on our rented scooter. We stopped right away to refuel 1.5L for 70 000. Fuel is sold on plastic bottle by the small stores on the side of the road.
We drove around 35min to the live Waterfall. The parking is free, the entrance is 140 000. We followed a small path for 15min before arriving at the Waterfall.
It was nice to see and super moody as it was misty. The waterfall is named “Love Waterfall” due to its association with a local legend about a fairy who falls in love with a young man from a nearby village.
Heaven’s gate
We then drove 10min further until Tram Ton pass also called heaven’s gate or O Quy Ho Pass.
On this road you have a super scenic view of the valley and mountains around. As it was still super misty, we just stopped by the side of the road to take a few pictures. Otherwise, there are a few places where you can stop and enjoy the views but there are not free. The one called Sapa Heaven gate cost 120 000 per person.
FansiPan
We then went back toward Sapa and drove to Sunworld where the cable car for Fansipan is.
Fansipan is the highest peak of Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) with a height of 3,143 meters (10,312 feet) above sea level.
Our host bought for us ticket for the cable car to Fansipan (680 000 per person). And sent them to us on whatsapp.
There wasn’t any line, but it was still a bit crowded. Cannot imagine how it is with a full blue sky. We already had tickets, so we went straight on. As it was the weekend there was an additional fee to pay: 110 00 per person..
With lots of hope we took the cable car up the mountain. We were alone in it which was nice. When we arrived on top it was even worst then down. We couldn’t see anything. We passed the restaurant and shops and went up to a first temple and a pagoda. After that Tina went back down and I continued up. I came along another temple, a Buddha statue and the summit. There are stairs all the way up but it is super steep.
On the summit, it was the same. So cloudy that I couldn’t see more than 10m away.
I then went back down to meet Tina and we took the cable car down.
This is really a super touristy thing to do, and we are not sure how often a year you get nice view. We wouldn’t recommend doing it unless you have a pure blue sky down in Sapa.
SaPa Lake
After that we just walked a bit around Sapa, by the lake, bought snack for 136 000 and then we withdrew money to pay our accommodation.
More things to do in SaPa
If you want more things to do in SaPa, you can consider:
- Silver Waterfall
An amazing 4-day SaPa Itinerary
Day 1:
- Transfer Hanoi to Sapa
- SaPa Church
- SaPa Center
- Cat Cat Village
Day 2:
- Full Day Hike in the Hmong Valley
Day 3:
- Love Waterfall
- Heaven’s gate
- FansiPan
- SaPa Lake
Day 1:
- Transfer Sapa to Hanoi
Thất bại là mẹ thành công – Failure is the mother of success.
Get our full map
Why pin one by one when you can get them all at once? With this map, you get all our pins, destinations, things to see, where to eat and sleep, and so much more in one time.
