Trek though Sapa

If you are in northern Vietnam, Sapa is a must-do. Nestled in the Hoang Lien Son Mountains and overlooking the Muong Hoa Valley, Sapa and its surrounding villages are home to colorful native hill tribes and spectacular mountain vistas. 

The area has seen a steep incline in tourists in the past few years, so the best way to avoid the crowds is to do a homestay with a local guide. Most hosts have individual TripAdvisor pages and charge about $30/day for homestay and trekking (meals included). If you don't mind improvising as you go, it is easy to find a local guide once you arrive in Sapa town. I would caution against booking with a tour group, as it is not only more touristy but also much more expensive. My host knew the ins and outs of the area and took us on a completely different trail than the typical highly-trafficked tourist route that runs along the main highway road. I highly recommend trekking with a guide rather than trying to navigate on your own, as there is no specific trailhead or trail. Our guide had us walk through rice paddies, jump over streams, navigate through bamboo forests, and scale down steep hillsides. The route can be customized based on your fitness level -- there are shorter and easier treks, or longer and more strenuous treks. The general route that we followed was Sapa to Cat Cat to Lao Chai to Ta Van, and back the following day. 

The local people jokingly tell you that you'll experience "all four seasons in one day" in Sapa, so be prepared for unpredictable weather. The best time to go to Sapa is May - October, but expect high temperatures and frequent rain in the summer. The winter is marked by cold temperatures and thick fog, and the rice paddies are brown and empty (they are planted May-June and harvested in October). I went in early June and most of the paddies had just been planted. It would have been unbelievable to see them at their greenest, which is sometime in August. Just be aware that the trails can get slippery and muddy during rainy season. 

Getting There:

There are a number of different ways to get to Sapa, but the traditional route is from Hanoi. You can take a sleeper train, sleeper bus, or express daytime bus depending on your travel plans. If you take the train, it runs to Lao Cai and you must book a a minibus from Lao Cai into Sapa Town, whereas buses go directly into Sapa Town.