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Lao Cai Province Rail tours

Our most recommended Lao Cai Province Rail tours

Sapa: 3-Day, 3-Night Trek and Hotel with Overnight Train

1. Sapa: 3-Day, 3-Night Trek and Hotel with Overnight Train

Day 0: Transfer from Hanoi to Lao Cai by overnight train Either enjoy pickup from your hotel or make your way to the Hanoi train station yourself by 9 PM. Board the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai at 10 PM. Enjoy the night on the train and reach your destination the next morning. Day 1: Sapa Center - Cat Cat village (L, D) Meet your tour guide at the train station and head to Sapa at 6 AM. Indulge in breakfast at your hotel before taking a walk around Sapa. Visit the market and old cathedral and meet people from the Black H’mong and Red Zao ethnic minorities who are selling handicrafts. Walk down to the southwest of Sapa to visit Cat Cat Village, where the Black H’mong live. Relax at the foot of the waterfall and the vestige of a hydroelectric power station that was constructed by the French during colonial times in Vietnam. Enjoy a picnic lunch by the side of the river and then make your way to Sin Chai, the village located at the foot of Fansipan Mountain, known as “the roof of Vietnam and Indochina.” From there, enjoy sweeping landscapes before climbing back to Sapa. After dinner, explore the charm of Sapa by night. Enjoy roasted corn and baked eggs beside a charcoal fire or go shopping. Spend the night in the 3-star Sapa Hotel. Day 2: Sapa – Y Linh Ho – Lao Chai – Ta Van (B, L, D) Enjoy breakfast in your hotel and then walk down to the southeast of Sapa along the side of the Muong Hoa Valley to the Y Linh Ho Village of the Black H’mong. Continue trekking down to the Lao Chai village of the H’mong. Take a cooking class and enjoy lunch with a local family and then walk through terraced rice fields to Ta Van Village of the Dzay minority people and stay overnight. Day 3: Ta Van – Giang Ta Chai – Su Pan – Sapa (B, L, D) After breakfast, continue on trekking to visit 2 villages of the Red Dzao and the H’mong. Visit a beautiful waterfall and Rattan Bridge. Take in views of the landscapes through the bamboo forest. Head to the main road to catch a car to return to Sapa. If any roads are too far or too difficult to trek, you can go by electric car or motorbikes. Around 2 PM, pack your things and prepare to leave Sapa. Hop in your limousine back to Hanoi at 2:30 PM. Enjoy drop-off at your hotel in Hanoi at around 9-10 PM.

Sapa Hill Tribes 2-Day Tours from Hanoi by Overnight Train

2. Sapa Hill Tribes 2-Day Tours from Hanoi by Overnight Train

Experience an authentic, timeless way of life among the hill tribes of the Hoang Lien Son mountains on a package tour of 3 nights - 2 days tour to Sapa, traveling on the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi. Options with savings for a shared cabin for 4 persons or a luxury private cabin for 2 persons. Take treks along old buffalo tracks, and get eye-catching views of the terraced rice fields. Encounter friendly locals in scattered villages, and learn more about a lifestyle that the everyday stresses of modern life has yet to touch. Day 1: Hanoi - Lao Cai Transfer from Hanoi on the overnight sleeper train to Lao Cai. 21:00 Meet at Train Station - 120 Le Duan, Hanoi for train ticket boarding. Train leave at 22:00. Relax on board the air-conditioned train (4 beds in 1 cabin. A private option is available), and arrive refreshed at approximately 6:00 AM the next morning. Day 2: Lao Cai - Sapa - Cat Cat - Sapa (Breakfast/Lunch) Following a pick-up from Lao Cai Station on arrival, transfer to Sa Pa on the dramatic mountain roads of the Hoang Lien Son range. Check into your hotel (Sapa Legend Hotel) on arrival in Sapa town center, and freshen up before breakfast. Then, start a walking tour to the hill tribe village of Cat Cat, home of the H'Mong minority people. Discover H’Mong villages nestled in the valley, and meet some of the hill tribes going about their daily lives. Learn about their traditional cultures and meet local families. Return to your hotel in Sapa for your overnight stay. Day 3: Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Giang Ta Chai - Sapa - Lao Cai (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner) Following breakfast at your hotel, embark on a lovely trek along the buffalo trails of the surrounding hills. Pass several tribal villages, including Lao Chai and Ta Van, home to the Black H'Mong and Dzay minority peoples. Marvel at the spectacular scenery, inhabited by some of the friendliest people you can ever meet. Once on the valley floor, appreciate the beauty of the surrounding valley, walled by the multi-layered rice terraces and scattered villages. Return to Sapa to have dinner. Free time walking around the city centre a while before transfer to Lao Cai Railway Station for the return train ride to Hanoi. Tour services end at Hanoi Train Station, from where you can easily catch a taxi to hotels in the Old Quater.

From Hanoi: 2-Day 2-Night Sapa Tour by Overnight Train

3. From Hanoi: 2-Day 2-Night Sapa Tour by Overnight Train

Day 0: From Hanoi to Lao Cai by overnight train If your hotel is in the Old Quarter, around 9pm our staff will catch a taxi for you and take you to Hanoi Railway station (120 Lê Duẩn street) where you board the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. If our hotel is outside the Old Quarter, please move to the destination to meet our staff. They'll help you find your cabin. The train leaves at 10pm. Enjoy the night on the train and reach your destination in the next beautiful morning. Day 1: Hanoi to Sapa and Short Trek with lunch and dinner Meet your tour guide at the train station then to Sapa at 6am. Then, indulge in breakfast at your hotel before taking a walk around Sapa, visiting the market and old cathedral, and meet Black H’mong and Red Zao ethnic minorities selling handicrafts. Enjoy a Vietnamese lunch and then trek through Cat Cat village for a duration of around 2 hours. Stop at local homes and engage with the community. Day 2: Y Linh Ho – Lao Chai – Ta Van - Limousine back to Hanoi Morning: Have breakfast in hotel. And then 6km of walking down to the south east of Sapa along the side of Muong Hoa valley to Y Linh Ho village of the Black H’mong. Continue on 2km of trekking down to Lao Chai village of the H’mong. Walk through terraced rice fields to Ta Van village of the Dzay minority people. It gives you a worth chance for you to learn about the local house architecture which is full of their daily life styles and exclusive custom. Enjoy the landscapes and have lunch. Afternoon: around 2pm you’ll be back and pack your things. Say good bye and preapre to leave Sapa, get on the limousine back to Hanoi at 2.30pm. Evening: around 9-10pm drop off at your hotel in Hanoi. End of tour!

From Hanoi: Sapa Tour w Fansipan Peak and Limousine Transfer

4. From Hanoi: Sapa Tour w Fansipan Peak and Limousine Transfer

Day 1: Hanoi – Sapa - Cat Cat village (Lunch) You’ll be picked up from Hanoi early in the morning. Admire the scenery as you travel through the countryside. Stop at Lao Cai for a break. Enjoy the beautiful scenery of mountains and rice terraces along the way from Lao Cai to Sapa city. At 1:00 PM, arrive in Sapa Town, where you'll view the colorful traditional costumes of the H’mong, Dzao, and Tay local people. Enjoy a lunch of traditional local Vietnamese dishes. Then, enjoy a trek to Cat Cat village, home to the Black H’mong. In the evening, free to discover Sapa Town in Night. Day 2: Sapa - Medium Trek to Lao Chai - Ta Van - Giang Ta Chai (Breakfast/Lunch) After breakfast, embark on a 17km round trip trek to Sapa town and back. Discover the daily life of the local hill tribes and how they make traditional clothes and handicrafts.  After lunch in one of the local houses, you will walk to Ta Van village, home to the Dzay people. These people have a rich culture and beautiful houses located on rice paddy fields. You will visit the home of a local family to learn about their life, and enjoy some green tea. In the evening, return to Sapa Town for free time.  Giang Ta Chai village is home to the Red Dao people. Trek through terraced rice paddies, bamboo forest, and stunning waterfalls Day 3: Sapa – Fanxipan Peak – Sapa – Hanoi. (Breakfast/Lunch) On the third day, you have two options. Take a free and easy morning or walk around Sapa to enjoy the atmosphere of the town. Or you can book tickets for Fansipan Cable Car, at an extra cost. Check out from your room and depart for the Sapa cable car station, where you will board a cable car to Fansipan Peak. At the summit, enjoy free time to admire the panoramic views.  You’ll then head back to Sapa for lunch and to explore the town by yourself. At 2:30 PM you’ll be picked up by bus and driven back to Hanoi.

Other Sightseeing Options in Lao Cai Province

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What people are saying about Lao Cai Province

Overall rating

4.3 / 5

based on 48 reviews

Although the weather was clearly not on our side in Sapa (rain, muddy, foggy, and cold), yet, we had an enjoyable and memorial trip. Lana proactively provided a guidance and an arrangement before the trip. The night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai was really comfortable with private beds. Thanks to Lana, we luckily got a free upgrade to a private cabin. Our favourite tour guide, Lily (an ethnic local lady) who was nice, supportive, and knowledgeable. During the trip, we learned a lot about the richness of the local culture and the insight stories. The home stay at the village was also excellent, where we had a good evening and chat with other visitors and the locals. The foods were average but the hot drinks were outstanding. The home stay could consider providing heaters rooms for the cold nights. The hotel was good. The return trip to Hanoi on a Van (called Limousine!) was interesting as we sat on the first row to experience the “traffic”. We would definitely recommend the tour.

The organization was perfect and the guides very friendly. We were accompanied on the trekking tour by women from the village, who were very gracious and did not help the steadfast participants with the steep passages. In the end, they then offered bags and jewelry they made themselves (we knew beforehand). Then bought three really nice bags for $ 10 and the ladies were also very grateful that they could make a little money. A win win win situation. The landscape and the village were simply overwhelming and everyone was incredibly open and friendly. Even if you haven't bought anything, nothing has changed.

I really enjoyed this tour! Everything was well organised and it went very smoothly. It was only a small trekking group of 3 + our guide which was great. And our guide Chau was absolutely fantastic, she answered all of our questions and told us lots of great information about the area and her village. The overnight train was very clean and comfortable - although if you are a solo traveler you will just be in a cabin of 4 with other members of the public, but that was still okay. The homestay was fantastic, the food was really great also. And there were enough opportunities for food and showers.

Hiking in the rice fields was one of our absolute highlights during our Vietnam trip. The incredible scenery and getting to know the people who live there was unique.

I spontaneously booked on the VM and was already on the way to Lao Cai in the evening! Everything was super organized and staff very friendly