A 'Sapa' Beautiful Place
- Jv Rodriguez
- Feb 9
- 6 min read
Updated: Feb 13
EXPECTATIONS
Last October 2024, I traveled to Vietnam. I didn’t know much about Sapa or Vietnam in general. I didn’t really know what to expect. But one thing I researched was that the highest mountain in Indochina rests in Sa Pa within Hoang Lien National Park. Mount Fansipan, called the “Roof of Indochina,” stands at 3,147 meters above sea level. As someone who loves mountains and hiking, I became pretty excited after learning this—even though I know we wouldn’t be hiking it.
We arrived in Hanoi early in the morning and headed straight to our hotel. We checked into a small hotel that felt more like a house than a hotel (in a good way) and had my first real pho. We only planned to stay here during the day because we were set to depart for Lào Cai at 10 p.m. via sleeper train.
SLEEPER TRAIN TO LAO CAI
After returning from our day trip at Mega Grand World, we rested in our hotel until evening before heading to Hanoi Central Station (Ga Hà Nội). We got our tickets, went straight to the platform, and entered our designated car and rooms. I’m not sure if every room in the train is the same, but ours was a small room with two bunk beds (four in total 🙂). There were no bed assignments—it’s on a first-come, first-served basis.
Important note: Climbing up to the upper beds might be difficult or even impossible for the elderly or someone physically challenged, as there are no ladders—only a small foldable metal step. I had to use both steps on each side when climbing up or going down. If you’re in this situation or traveling with someone who might struggle, I highly suggest coming early unless your group will be occupying the entire room.
I took the upper bed and settled down. The train was relatively old but clean, and the AC was quite strong. There was a small coffee table with free coffee as well. The train started moving exactly at 10:15 p.m. After a few minutes, it passed by the famous Hanoi Train Street inside Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
Before this trip, I wondered if our group would visit that street (because I hadn’t checked our itinerary thoroughly). I never expected we’d experience it from the other side. 🙂
After several more minutes, the view outside grew darker, fewer lights, fewer houses—and soon, it was completely dark. It was calm; the train moved slowly. Everything was quiet except for the rhythmic sound of the train. 😴 I fell asleep right away.
We arrived at Lào Cai station around 6:30 a.m. The journey took about 8.5 hours. It was slow but relaxing in a way. Upon exiting the train, there was a noticeable drop in temperature, it was much colder there.
Trivia: Lào Cai is the city closest to mainland China; you can even see China from there.
TRANSFER FROM LAO CAI TO SAPA
We had arranged a land transfer (included in the tour package) from Lào Cai to Sapa. The trip took around 1 to 1.5 hours. Along the way, we saw the beautiful mountainous scenery of this region, including the huge rice terraces all over the mountainside. We arrived in Sa Pa around 7:30 a.m., and the temperature dropped significantly to around 16°C. It was cold.
HOTEL DE SAPA AND FANSIPAN
We booked an overnight stay at Hotel de Sapa, a 4-star French-inspired hotel facing the Fansipan Mountain Range. It was too early to check in when we arrived, so we decided to leave our things in the lobby and do a short city walking tour first.
Our tour guide brought us to a local café, Nhà hàng Le Sapa , for a quick breakfast.
After breakfast, we went back to the hotel to change and get our things for the Fansipan tour. Light rain started to pour, so we wore the ponchos we bought from the shop in front of the hotel. We headed straight to Sun Plaza, which serves as the station for the Muong Hoa funicular going to the Hoang Lien cable car station.
We boarded the funicular with other tourists. The view was majestic—you could see the mountain ranges, rice terraces, and farms surrounding Fansipan. The trip took around 5–6 minutes, after which we arrived at the cable car station (Hoang Lien Station).
We boarded the cable car next. It was big and could fit up to 20 people. Because it was large, it didn’t sway much in the wind and felt pretty stable. The trip took about 20 minutes. The view could have been epic, but unfortunately, it was very foggy during that season, so we didn’t see much.
We got off at Fansipan Station, which is already close to the summit. It’s a huge structure high up in the mountains, with several levels featuring restaurants, gardens, and parks. This is also the jump-off point to the final ascent to Fansipan’s summit.
You have two options to reach the summit: climb up about 600 steps or take a funicular all the way to the top (you can buy one-way or round-trip tickets). In our case, we chose the latter since the ground was wet and we wanted to conserve energy for the rest of the day. We left our things with our tour guide in a restaurant and rode the funicular to the summit.
There were quite a few tourists at the summit, but it wasn’t crowded. Unfortunately, it was really foggy at that time of year, so I wasn’t able to take a photo of the view below. After a few minutes, we headed back down, rode the cable car again, and returned to Hoang Lien Station. Our tour package included a free buffet lunch at Van Nam Restaurant, so we had our lunch there before heading back to Sa Pa via the funicular.
DOWNTOWN
After resting for a few hours, we walked around the area, checking out restaurants, stores, and other spots. Heavy fog slowly started to blanket the city, making the ambiance even cooler (pun intended :D ).
We decided to have dinner at Nhà Hàng Phố Mây BBQ
Meat sets for dinner at Nhà Hàng Phố Mây BBQ in Sapa, Vietnam
As the signage says, it offers Hot Pot, BBQ, and local food. We tried their BBQ grill (not unlimited 🙁) and their local beers. It was good—not great, but not bad either. If I remember correctly, one set cost around ₱600–₱700. After dinner, we walked around more and took photos. If you’re into street photography, this place is a gold mine! Although I wasn’t able to take many shots since it was raining lightly. 🙁
Photos by @redsu_
A man selling his products at a night market in Sapa, Vietnam
CAT CAT VILLAGE AND MOANA SAPA
On our last day in Sa Pa, we were scheduled to visit Cat Cat Village, just a couple of kilometers from town. We had breakfast first in our hotel, which had an epic view of the Fansipan mountain range.
Our van and tour guide picked us up and brought us straight to Cat Cat Village. Known for its terraced rice fields, traditional wooden houses, and the Tien Sa Waterfall, it offers a scenic—though quite touristy—cultural experience. Outside the village, there are shops offering traditional costumes for rent if you want full immersion 😄.
As you walk through the village, you’ll find plenty of scenic views. The path starts from the top, gradually descending into the village. There are also scheduled cultural shows in the central area if you want to watch. After the tour, our guide picked us up and took us to one more tourist spot on the way back—Moana Sapa.
Moana Sapa is an outdoor photo complex with the mountain range on one side and Sapa town on the other. If you love Instagram-worthy photos, you’ll enjoy it there. There’s also a café at the entrance where you can relax. After taking photos, we went to a local restaurant for lunch, which is also included in our tour package. We then returned to the hotel to check out and headed back to Hanoi via tourist van service. We packed our bags, bid goodbye to our tour guide, and reflected on how great this trip was—especially our time in Sapa. Definitely one for the books!
Moana Sapa - Photo by @redsu_
If you’re planning to visit Vietnam, I highly recommend Dream Travel Co. Ltd.
P.S.
One more thing that amazed me—the estimated travel time given to us was six hours. We left Sapa exactly at 1:00 p.m. and stepped out of the van in Hanoi at exactly 7:00 p.m.! 🙂
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