Established as a hill station by the French in the year of 1922, Sapa is the most important place in the northwest where tourism is booming. Most of visitors travelling to Vietnam, especially for the first time are anxious of having a memorable vacation in Sapa, an opportunity to explore this remote part of the country with its hidden values, admiring beauty of the rich creation, meeting local ethnic group peoples with their interesting culture and all should be realized in a proper way as what they wished.
Here we are providing some useful and selective information to passengers planning a memorable trip to Sapa.
The most suitable time to visit Vietnam is from September to November or March to May, this time is reasonably, gay in the day time and cool at night time.
In April - May, Sapa is in full blossoming and green areas, the most effective time to see terraced rice paddy fields is the end of August and September, tourists can also visit Sapa after Lunar New Year (after February) to see Sapa the beautiful peach flowers. In winter season that is from December to February, it is very cold, especially at night, however inversely you will see the beautiful sunrise in the valley in the early morning. Especially in recent years there were snows sometimes, if you come here on this occasion you will definitely be seeing quite a romantic scene.
However, so that at this point, Sapa tours are crowded with tourists, so if you do not like loud, crowded regions, then you should avoid travelling to Sapa at this time.
Prepare your luggage:
If you travel frequently, choose small suitcases; make sure your suitcase is large enough to put your clothes and small enough to put in the storage trunk. You should bring your clothes and personal holdings for some days. Going to Sapa, you should bring brown or black shoes, as it is fairly cold in the evening time so you need to add a light jacket if you visit Sapa in summer, you should also bring gloves, scarves, woollen hat to keep warm if you visit Sapa in winter. You need to have some little bottles of water; you are urged to take umbrella and ponchos just in case it rains.
Transportation in Sapa:
From Hanoi to Sapa by train you can go with gentle seat, you can also gentle the cost down by moving on cargo train which departs from Hanoi late in the evening.
All Sapa trains arrive in Lao Cai station in the morning; you can catch a public bus. You can also arrange a taxi easily for a 1 hour trip from Lao Cai to Sapa. In Sapa you can hire a motorbike at and travel to wherever you like.
Tourist sites in Sapa:
First of all you should ask to buy Vietnam travel map of Sapa so that you can determine the specific route and schedule.
- Ham Rong, Silver waterfall, Cat Cat village, Ta Phin villages, Rattan Bridge, Ta Van, ancient rock fields.
- Fansipan - The roof of Indochina.
- Bac Ha Market, cross the border into China Hekou
Eating and drinking in Sapa:
Price of food in Sapa is not expensive but you should not ask the price before eating. After the night falls you can go for a walk out to the city. You will see many strange barbecues such as grilled chicken, baked eggs, grilled duck eggs, roasted purple potatoes, sticky rice cooked in the bamboo pipes.
Being a cold area, Specialities in Sapa is vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflowers, chayote, carrots; the most special vegetable in Sapa is Ngong, a part of the body with flowers.
Sapa is a mountainous district but has fish peculiarities. Fish caught in the river is very big like 2 fingers, and from which the biggest ones are just same size as the arm of a child and the fish is wonderfully served with beer.
Shopping in Sapa:
You can buy souvenirs at the night market at the foot of the church however remember to deal cautiously, and most of the colourful materials are made in China.
Water, beer, cigarettes are quite expensive in this area. So you can use the local beer, the cost and the taste is satisfactory.
Combining expertness with large knowledge and understanding of Sapa region and its peoples as well as experiences gained after many years working in Sapa, our local Sapa guides while fulfilling their duty will add more colour to your Vietnam vacation with their local breath, sharing understanding of locals and even their interesting personal experiences to make your Vietnam trip a memorable one.
You may like our Sapa tour packages here.