Get out and about

Total Stay: 2 Days 3 Nights

See the diverse array of Ethnic Minorities that trade at the village of Bac Ha as well as trek through the Sapa Valley and spend the night with an ethnic minority family in the Village of Ta Van.

You will catch the night train in Hanoi which will arrive in Lao Cai early the next morning, where your guide will meet you as you exit the railway station and escort you to a restaurant.

You will be picked up by minibus between 8:30 and 9:00AM. The road to Bac Ha winds around mountains and through valleys, taking in the picturesque scenery of the Vietnamese hinterland.

Walking through the market, you can haggle with the local women (Flower H'mong) - dressed in their colorful traditional clothing - before sampling some of the local deliquesces. After lunch we will transfer you back to Sapa, checking out the Chinese border on the way. After checking you in to the hotel for the first night, you will enjoy a traditional Vietnamese dinner.

After breakfast on the second day, you will have some time off to explore Sapa's morning market before we start our program.

With mid-morning approach-ing, it is time to jump in the car that will take you to the village of Cat Cat, where the trek begins. You'll visit the Black H'Mong minority and continue the trek through terraced rice paddies, along Muong Hoa river, where we stop for a picnic lunch.

After you've rested your legs, we wander off through the remote Black H'mong village of Y Linh Ho to the Dzay minority village of Ta Van, where you stop for the night in a homestay.
You can wash the day's dust away in one of the hot showers, while a delicious traditional meal is prepared by the Dzay family and the guide. Try some of the region's famous rice wine during dinner, and later breathe in the fresh air and silence of the Vietnamese Hinterland. Enjoy the beautiful night scenery at your homestay before retiring to bed.

After a pancake breakfast, we start a trek over the bamboo forest and down to the Waterfall for a refreshing swim. Meet the Red Dzao minority when you're trekking through Giang Ta Chai village and stop halfway up the hill towards the car for a well-deserved lunch in Su Pan.

We will be back in Sapa in the early afternoon, so there is plenty of time for a shower and a few drinks, while you appreciate the vistas of Sapa.

The minivan will bring you back to Lao Cai, where your overnight train departs before 10PM. You will arrive in Hanoi early the next morning.

Note: If you depart on a Thursday, we swap the itinerary of the first and third day.

Highlights:

• All the colour of costumes at the Bac Ha Market
• The scenic driver from Bac Ha to Sapa
• Trekking over and through terraced rice paddies
• Mingling with local minorities
• Dinner with a local family and over-nighting in a traditional family house
• Crystal clear streams and waterfalls