10 Sapa travel experiences you should know

You are planning to go to Sapa but don’t know what to prepare, by what means of transportation, how to eat and drink, then the following Sapa travel experiences will help you solve this problem. Let’s refer to Vinlove.

Best time to travel

The climate in Sapa is cool all year round and more specifically, in one day, you will experience 4 seasons of the year: spring weather in the morning, summer weather in the afternoon, and fog in the afternoon. Fall makes it feel like autumn and finally, at night it’s as cold as winter. Therefore, at any time of the year, Sapa’s natural scenery also contains many miracles.

However, the most popular times to travel include:

Spring: This is the season of apricot, plum and peach blossoms blooming, people here also become more cheerful with colorful dresses immersing in the atmosphere of Tet. Therefore, many people have chosen spring (from February to early May) as the time to come to Sapa to admire the beauty of nature and people here.
Rice season: In Sapa, there is only one crop, so if you want to see Sapa in the green rice season, the best time is around July to September and immerse yourself in the scenery when Sapa puts on a golden shirt of rice. September is around October to December.
Winter: Winter in Sapa is very cold, covered with white snow – this is probably the reason why many people want to come here. You can see the snow covered all over the roads, houses and forests.

What to prepare when going to Sapa?

To have a complete, comfortable and convenient Sapa tour, you need to prepare well before the trip takes place.

Here are a few suggestions:

Identity documents: Although it is domestic travel, most of the hotels in Sapa require guests to present their ID card to check in and rent a room. However, if you lose your ID, you can replace it with a passport or driving license and if you intend to rent a motorbike to visit here, you should bring your driving license.
Tourist map: Sapa tourist map is an effective tool to help you understand the schedule, save time and especially avoid getting lost.
Clothing: The weather in Sapa changes from day to day, from season to season, so you need to prepare appropriate clothes for the climate here. However, you should bring lightweight but warm clothes and add a few accessories such as gloves, towels, wool hats, …
Shoes and sandals: Coming to Sapa, you need to prepare appropriate shoes or sandals to be able to walk to explore the beauty and should avoid wearing high heels to avoid foot pain.
Camera/camcorder/phone with photo and video recording function: These are the items that help you capture beautiful moments and scenes, so don’t forget them at home. In particular, you should prepare extra backup chargers, battery chargers.
Snacks: Do not forget to bring some snacks because the process of sightseeing causes you to consume a lot of energy due to walking a lot.
Personal items: You should bring a few personal items during your trip to Sapa, namely: tissue / handkerchief, medicine, bandaid, toothpaste, brush (if you do not want to use it). hotel furniture),…
Money: You need to prepare money to pay for the costs in the plan as well as the costs incurred and do not forget to bring an ATM card instead of carrying too much cash.

Travel means

Sapa has long become an attractive tourist destination of the North, so the traffic here is very convenient and there are many means of transportation for you to choose from. If you are from the Central or the South, the most convenient means of transport is by plane or train to Hanoi, then from Hanoi to Sapa. The following are the most popular means of transport from Hanoi:

Train: This vehicle is safer than cars, motorbikes and especially has a home ticketing and delivery service. Besides, you should choose the bed of the night train to save time, because early the next morning you will be in Lao Cai. However, the train only takes you to Lao Cai station, so you have to catch the car yourself to Sapa.
Passenger car: Noi Bai – Lao Cai highway has been opened to traffic, so going from Hanoi to Sapa is faster than by train. However, with this vehicle, you should call the garage in advance to ask for prices and book tickets, it is best to take a sleeper bus.
Private car: You can use your own car to go to Sapa, however, driving continuously for 4 hours and with unfamiliar terrain, makes you quite stressed and tired. So if you use this vehicle, you need to go with another person who knows how to drive to take turns.
Motorcycle: This is a suitable vehicle for those who are adventurous and like to travel. But if the weather is not favorable on days, it will cause quite a lot of difficulties and dangers on the way.

When you come to Sapa, if you do not have personal transportation, you can rent a car for 100,000 VND – 150,000 VND / day, just need to deposit the ID card for the car owner. Some reputable motorbike rental shops you can refer to:

Lao Cai Tourist Information Center, No. 2 Fansipan
Mr.Chinh shop, No. 44 Fansipan
Minks Sapa Store

Or you can also choose a motorbike taxi to go to tourist attractions or walk around the town to see the beautiful scenery here is also an interesting idea when exploring Sapa.

*Train is the safest means of transport*

Accommodation in Sapa

Coming to Sapa, of course, you will spend the whole day visiting, eat and explore the culture here, so only stay in the evening. Therefore, choosing accommodation also becomes easier, especially when Sapa has been and is a key tourist destination of the North.

There are three options for you when coming to Sapa:

Homestay: Going to Lao Chai – Ta Van and sleeping in the houses of the people here is the best thing to help you experience the life of the villagers.
Hostel: The average price ranges from 250,000 to 350,000 VND/night, depending on the time.
Hotels: If you want a luxurious space, you can choose hotels that are highly appreciated by foreign tourists such as Violet, Victoria, … and of course the room price will be higher.
- Sapa Spring – Cheap 3-star hotel: 350,000 – 450,000 daysy
- Chapa Villey Hotel: Room with 1 double bed (Deluxe double): 750k/day, Room with 2 single beds (Deluxe Twin): 950k/day, Triple room (Deluxe Triple): 1100k/day
- Sapa View 360 Hotel: Room for 4 people: 750k/day, Room for 6 people: 9500k/person, Room for 8 people: 1300k/person

Vist location

Sapa is a land of humility, quiet but hidden many miracles of natural scenery. Sapa’s natural landscape is combined with human creativity along with mountainous terrain, the green color of that, like a picture, is arranged in a harmonious layout to create an area with many poetic scenes. attractive . The unique feature of Sapa has retained many visitors and to discover this magical land, you should not miss the following destinations:

Fansipan Peak – this is the highest mountain of Hoang Lien Son mountain range, also known as the roof of Indochina.
Cat Cat village – this is a hand-woven weaving village that still retains its culture until now, is one of the places worth visiting in Sapa.
Heaven Gate here is located more than 10km from Sapa town to the North, possessing a beautiful view and fresh windy air.
Sapa Stone Church – the symbol of Sapa Town
Ham Rong Mountain with unique Ham Rong flower garden was built according to the natural terrain of the mountain
Lao Chai Village – Ta Van, Cat Cat, Ta Phinh, Ancient Monastery, Silver Waterfall, Love Waterfall, Heaven’s Gate in Sapa – O Quy Ho Pass, Rose Valley, Indochinese Roof – Fansipan Peak, Sapa Market, … are attractive destinations that you should not miss.

*Beautiful scenery on Ham Rong mountain*

Festivals in Sapa

Sapa is not only famous as a land favored by nature but also a land with many special festivals, imbued with national identity. Therefore, come here, experience the following festivals to help you better understand the culture of the ethnic groups in Sapa in particular and in Vietnam in general.

Nao Cong Festival: The 3-room shrine built at the top of the bridge to climb to Ta Van Giay village in Ta Van is the venue for this festival. The festival takes place on the Dragon day, the sixth lunar month every year, the Mong, Dao, and Day villages in Muong Hoa will gather at the shrine and each family will appoint a representative to perform the ritual and pray for the ancestors. god bless trees, crops and health.
Tet dance festival: This festival is very important for each family of the Dao people in Ta Van Sui. Tet dance is held on the 1st or 2nd of Tet and is almost the same as the 5th May Lunar New Year of the Kinh people. However, during Tet, there are also love songs of boys and girls in the village and games of ethnic minorities here.
In addition, there are many famous festivals here including: Nhan Song festival, Nao Song festival of the Red Dao people; Roong Pooc festival of the Day people; Gau Tao festival of the Mong people,…

Culinary

Not only is it a place with beautiful scenes, where there are majestic Hoang Lien Son mountains, majestic Fansipan peaks, Sapa cuisine is also a plus point to make visitors fall in love.

Com lam is a typical rice dish of ethnic minorities in the Northwest region, with sticky rice being put in a bamboo tube and cooked, creating a fragrant aroma of bamboo that is blended in the rice. You can use lam rice with sesame salt to fully enjoy this flavor.
Braised pig under armpit is a specialty dish here, in restaurants in Sapa often serve this dish. The pork is fragrant and cooked evenly, suitable for enjoying at drinking parties or gathering with friends.
Khau humiliation is a dish transformed from China, in Sapa, humiliation is understood as a braised meat dish marinated with spices such as garlic, chili, assorted hung leaves, .. is braised soft and served with rice. will be delicious.
Thang Co is a typical dish of the H’mong ethnic group, which originated in China and was introduced to the Northwest region of Vietnam. The traditional Thang Co dish was originally cooked with horse meat, then it was modified with buffalo meat, beef, pork and lots of different creative ingredients of each region.

In addition, you should not miss dishes such as: salmon, black chicken, chayote, and shiitake mushrooms of Sapa! And of course, in addition to enjoying these unique and attractive dishes in Sapa, you can buy them as gifts or simply buy them to enjoy less cravings.

Shopping in Sapa

Sapa tourism is famous for its shopping areas. Shopping places in Sapa You shop and learn about the local customs and habits they visit so that when they come back, they will have strange gifts as souvenirs for friends and relatives.

In addition to the unique dishes that you can buy as gifts for relatives and friends, in Sapa, there are also typical products of the mountains and forests such as: medicinal leaves of the Dao people, tubers of tam ventricular, reishi mushrooms, etc. .. or ethnic wines such as peach wine, plum wine, apple cider,…

However, you should be careful when buying things to avoid buying fake, unknown or Chinese goods, especially along the way up Ham Rong mountain. For souvenirs, you can buy them at the night market at the Stone Church.

Some Sapa tours

If you come to Sapa but do not know where to go and how to arrange time, you can refer to a few tours below:

Tour 4 days 3 nights:

Day 1: Visit Stone Church, Ham Rong, Lao Chai – Ta Van, overnight at homestay
Day 2: Rent a car to Tram Ton, O Quy Ho Pass, Golden Stream, Love Waterfall, Fansipan, sleeping bags.
Day 3: Fansipan, Sapa
Day 4: Visiting Hmong and Cat Cat villages

Tour 3 days 2 nights:

Day 1: O Quy Ho Pass, Silver Waterfall, Ham Rong, Stone Church
Day 2: Lao Chai – Ta Van, Cat Cat, Dao leaf bathing, food market
Day 3: Ta Phinh village, Fansipan

A few notes

Sa Pa (Lao Cai) is a resort town in Lao Cai province at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level, with a temperate climate, average temperature from 15 to 18 degrees Celsius, cool all year round, winter can light snow. Since the early years of the century, the French have found the attraction of Sapa in terms of landscape, climate and water resources…. so visitors can admire the beauty of French architecture of more than 200-holiday villas. cool. Sa Pa, a pristine place with villages of ethnic minorities such as H’Mong, Dao, Tay, Xa Pho… with Silver Waterfall, Heaven Gate, Cloud Bridge, Wind Cave, Ham Rong Mountain… deserves a place for those who love nature and want to learn the customs and habits of the mountainous people.

During your trip to Sapa, you need to pay attention to:

Avoid going on holidays, but if you travel on these days, you need to book tickets, book tours, make reservations in advance.
Need to find out carefully before using any service
Do not give money to children even though they look poor, it is an act of teaching children, they will invite their friends to run after you to ask for money.
Be careful when buying Ganoderma and ginseng here
When taking pictures of local people or visiting their homes, ask for their permission.
In Sapa, there is still the custom of capturing wives, so a small note for tourists is to be “careful” not to get caught!