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The best way to go to Sapa from Hanoi is to take the trains. Most of the tourists who visit Sapa travel from Hanoi to Lao Cai (a town at the border with Yunnan province of China, separated by the Red River and the other side is the town of Hekou of China) by overnight trains. Night trains is the best option because it saves time and two nights of accommodations.

The train runs along the Red River. All trains leave at night from Hanoi and arrive at Lao Cai train station in the early morning.

Trains also leave at night from Lao Cai and arrive in the morning in Hanoi.
To meet tourist demand, some service providers upgrade carriages and put them different names. These carriages are clean, comfortable, fully meet tourist standard with air-conditioners and soft berths.

Lao Cai – Sapa Transfer
The Hanoi - Lao Cai train stops at valley of Lao Cai, just 35 km from Sapa; to reach Sapa, you need to travel an hour more by shuttle buses or private car. The buses stops at Sapa's main post office, leaving you with some minutes walk into town center. It can also drop you at your hotel, depending upon the location of the hotel. Ticket price for connecting buses Lao Cai Station - Sapa is Vietnam Dong (VND) 30,000/person/way (about US$2/way).
The tourist bus back to Lao Cai leaves from outside Sapa's church, but usually it can pick you up at your hotel. You can ask the staff at your hotels for getting a bus ticket back to Lao Cai Railway Station.