Trekking Sapa is the best way to discover the beautiful mountainous scenery, and to discover the rich ethnic culture of the H’mong, Dzao, Giay in Vietnam.
Sapa is a popular travel destination that offers the widest selection of trekking, hiking tours in Vietnam. It’s the place where a large number of tourists go to from Hanoi for some trekking through the beautiful scenery of North Vietnam’s mountains.
Sapa map
While the town itself is not without charm, most people are drawn to the landscape surrounding it – high mountains, numerous rice paddies, bamboo forests, wild rivers and of course the large number of ethnic minority people inhabiting this area. Most of them belong to the Hmong people, but Dzao and other minorities are found as well.
Best time trekking Sapa
The best times to take a hike in Sapa are from September to November and from March to May. It is dry, clear with much time of sunshine. The view of Sapa’s terraced fields is at its best between September and October. The cool and dry weather with the stable temperature makes it the perfect time for trekking and photo tours.
In summer (May to August), the weather is quite warm, it is not as hot as other regions in Vietnam. If you take a hike in Sapa between April and May, you will have the chance to see the wonderful scenes of many colorful flowers and green fields.
In the winter, from December to February, the weather in Sapa becomes chilly cold. There is sometimes snow in high mountains. January seems the worst month for trekking in Sapa since it is usually cold with much of fogs.
The Lunar New Year, April 30th, May 1st and September 9th are the most important festival, public holidays in Vietnam. During these days Sapa is filled with lots of Vietnamese travelers. The place is crowded.
Where to stay while trekking in Sapa
Regarding accommodation in Sapa, you have many choices. You can either stay in luxury hotel such as the Victoria Sapa Resort or in a budget hotel in town. Sunny Mountain Hotel, Chau Long Hotel, Sapa View Hotel, Bamboo Sapa Hotel are some good three star hotels we usually recommend for our customers.
Those who book our overnight Sapa trek or multi-day hiking tour will stay at local home in village (homestay). If you are about to climb Mt Fansipan, camping in tent will be the only choice.
Sapa trekking tours
Whether you have only one day or even a week to spend in Sapa, the area has something that fits your requirements.
If you have only one day for hiking in Sapa you can take the overnight train Hanoi to Lao Cai. Then take a bus or hire a private car to Sapa. The train takes around 10 hours (the whole night) offering you a full day for hiking in Sapa.
Many people spend two days in Sapa. Joining an overnight trek seems to be the best choice. The two day trip offers 5 – 6 hours hiking per day, and also offers you the chance to stay at local home in a hilltribe village (homestay).
The most popular tours are the 3 days trekking tour that offers the chance to visit less touristy hill tribe villages. The first/third day can also be replaced with a day to local market (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday).
Those who like more challenging treks can book our 5 – 7 days tours which take you to even less touristy ethnic villages. You will be lodged in the house of different ethnic groups such as the Tay, Dzao, H’mong, Nung, Giay…
