Sapa
is an incredibly picturesque
village that lies on the
Hoang Lien Son mountain
range near the Chinese
border in NW Vietnam. It is
called as "the Tonkinese
Alps" You can see many hill
tribe people, their
villages, rice terraces,
lush vegetation, and
Fansipan, highest peak in
Vietnam.
How to get here by tour
Very
common and popular. Many
travel agents organize tours
in Sapa or from Hanoi.
Sapa Cat Cat ??? Lao Chai - Ta
Van Village 3 days / 2 nightd
Sapa ??? Lao Chai - Ta Van - Giang
Ta Chai village 4 days / 3
nights
Sapa ??? Lao Chai - Ta Van - Ban
Ho village 5 days / 4 nights
Sapa - Bac Ha Market on
Sunday
How to get sapa by
yourself
There are many
trains from
Hanoi to Lao Cai. However
almost all sleeper seats are
controlled by travel agents.
It is possible to buy
sleeper tickets. The seat
tickets are available and a
few 2nd class sleeper may be
available at the train
station without makeup.
From Lao Cai train station
to Sapa (35km).
Many
minibuses are waiting at the
train station for Sapa. They
are offering the service
with USD2-3
Arriving to Sapa
Your minibus stops at the
area where many hotels are
clustered. This is not the
center. The minibus
continues to travel. You may
ask the driver to take you
to the market , both are
good starting points to look
for a room. The entrance of
the market is Cau May
Street, where most budget
accommodation can be found.
More GHs are behind the
market.
All rooms equipped with HW.
Only expensive hotels have
a/c but no need a/c. The
view to the valley is the
key to choose a room.
Weekends: always busy due to
the
Sunday market in Bac Ha,
The most hotels put their
prices up during weekend.
Tourist Peak & Dry
Season: Mar - May, Oct -
Nov. Good season for
trekking.
Vietnamese Tourist
Season: June and July
Rainy: June - August:
and cold at night (Sapa is
1500m above sea level)
Winter: Jan - Feb:
Cold specially at night. It
sometime snows.
Tourist Office: None:
But you can get info at
travel agents. Many in town.
They all deal with trekking
tours.
Agribank:
M-F7:30-11, 13:30-16:30,
Sa7:30-11:00, $1=17,103VD,
US$ T/C -> VD com 1% Banks
have ATM but can accept a
few Car (Visa,
Marter, JCB, Amercan Express,
Dinner Clup)
Police: near the
lake.
Hospital: 3km out
from the town.
Pharmacy: Many in
town such as Cau May Street,
Thach son street.
Post Office GPO/
Telephone office in Thach
son Street: Summer
7:00-21:00 Winter 7:30-21:30
Day trip: for the
excellent Bac Ha market on
sunday 12-15 USD/trip one
day tour
1night 2days. No food
$10-15.
Vietnam highest peak
Fansipan Peak 3143m
climbing: 2 nights 1
days $80-120 stay in a tent.
Hard mountain trekking. |