Night 1: Hanoi – Overnight train to Lao Cai
You will depart from Hanoi in the evening by night train to Lao Cai.
Meals: None
Accommodation: Overnight train
Day 1: Full day walk to homestay (B,L,D)
Upon arrival in Lao Cai in the early morning, you will be welcomed your guide and driver. Enjoy breakfast at a local restaurant and freshen up.
Then, your tour guide will introduce you to the whole program so that you understand and take all important items for your adventure. Your other luggage will be safely transferred to Topas Ecolodge.
Start your trip with a transfer of around one hour from Lao Cai to Ta Thang village. From here, you will walk on an undulating dirt path running uphill and continue on a trail with the Muong Bo River flowing in the contrary direction beneath you. The heights of this trail afford extensive views over the green valley and seemingly endless mountains. You pass through Nam Ket village, which is inhabited by the Red Dao minority people, and make a short visit to local houses or to a local school if it’s a school day when you visit. Highlight of this day is the trek from Nam Ket village to Nam Phang including a walk through bamboo forest and a dense, almost jungle-like area of trees before going to a local school for lunch.
After lunch, we continue trekking among rice terraces along a hillside trail descending to a small stream. The last part of today’s trek needs extra effort as the trail from the stream rises steeply uphill for around one hour until Sin Chai village. You will be enjoyed dinner and stayed in house of Red Dao people.
Grade: Moderate to hard (approximately 1 hour driving, 7 hours walking and 1 hour lunch)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Overnight at a local family
Day 2: Full day Trekking – Topas Ecolodge (B,L)
Breakfast is available at local family.
This day, you will start an easy trek to Nam Nhiu - another Red Dao village before descending to My Son village where is inhabited by the Xa Pho ethnic minority – one of the smallest minority groups in Vietnam. Enjoy lunch in this village then trek on a small uphill trail to Nam Toong village which affords spectacular views of the large valley through which the Muong Bo River runs.
A soft descent in mid-afternoon will bring you to Ban Ho village which is the area’s largest village and spread along the banks of Muong Bo River, where the Tay minority still live in traditional stilt houses. You will be transferred from Ban Ho village to Topas Ecolodge for overnight.
Grade: Moderate (approximately 30 minutes driving, 6 hours hiking and 1 hour lunch)
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Topas Ecolodge
Day 3: Topas Ecolodge – Sapa – Lao Cai - Overnight Train to Hanoi (B)
Breakfast is at the lodge.
This day, you may have the full time for relaxing, joining an excursion or exploring Sapa town by taking the free scheduled shuttle bus. Remember that you will depart Sapa town at 17h30, by shuttle bus to Lao Cai for the night train back to Hanoi.
Meal: Breakfast
Accommodation Overnight on the train
Day 4: Arrival in Hanoi in the early morning
The train will arrive in Hanoi in the early morning and your trip has ended.
Meals: None
This tour is built upon our firsthand knowledge & experience, offering you the best choices available. The price of this trip varies depending on the number of people in your party, dates of departure, and availability of ground services.
Please click on CUSTOMIZE YOUR TRIPS and supply the required information, enabling us to send you your personalized quote within 24 hours!
Note: Amendments CAN be made to this tour to suite your requirements, but may incur price changes
WHAT'S INCLUDED?
HOTEL SELECTION:
The hotels listed below are our suggestions for the best value on this tour. However, Asia Essence Tours offers many more options of hand-picked hotels, with different "star ratings", allowing you to customize the vacation to meet your taste and budget.
LOCATIONS |
FIRST CLASS CATEGORY |
SUPERIOR CATEGORY |
DELUXE CATEGORY |
Sapa |
Bamboo Sapa |
U Sapa |
Victoria Sapa |
Sapa Overnight on train |
King Express |
Sapaly Express |
Victoria Express |
ABOUT HOTELS:
We, at Asia Essence Tours, are aware that a good tour must have good hotels. As the hotel cost will be the major expense of your vacation in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, it is essential that all of the hotels chosen by us are the highest quality for the price paid. All of our prices are based on twin, double or queen shared rooms.
BELOW IS AN EXPLANATION OF THE HOTEL "STAR" RATINGS:
First Class/ 3 Star (from US$ 40 - US$ 60 per room/night)
The First Class/ 3 Star Hotels are good value and normally centrally located. They all have comfortable en-suite rooms, good amenities and public areas to relax in. They are usually family run hotels, so offer great personalized service for your enjoyment and comfort. Most first class properties offer an in-house restaurant, and some may even have a swimming pool!
Superior/ 4 star (from US$ 80 - US$ 110/ per room/night)
The 4* superior Hotels offer a wide range of services. Many superior hotels feature a choice of several in-house restaurants. In addition virtually all of them have a swimming pool. Some may even feature a spa or health club. This grade of hotel offers more for your enjoyment and comfort, while still remaining affordable.
Deluxe/ 5 Star (from US$120 - US$ 180++/ per room/night)
These 5* Deluxe hotels are usually owned by Worldwide, well known Hotel chains. The deluxe hotels feature excellent locations, offer the highest standards of service and facilities, and are known as the best hotels in each region. Facilities such as swimming pools and spas are the norm, and guest rooms are luxurious. These hotels offer first class service and amenities throughout.
ASIA ESSENCE TOURS™ BESPOKE STYLE SUITS EVERYONE
Flexibility: The sample itinerary can be modified to suit your interests, budget as well as your personal wishes including departure date, duration, accommodation used & how long you spend in each destination.
Tailor-Made Journey: This trip can be tailor made to create a unique holiday for your individual requirements by travel experts with intimate knowledge of the destination. It is a more individual trip that will suit those who enjoy immersing themselves in new cultures and environments, with the flexibility to plan a trip at your own pace. Quality and value are the hallmark of the trips, with most services being provided on a private basis.
Commitment to Excellence: We enjoys excellent relationships with all of the highly regarded hotels and finest properties in our destinations as well as with service suppliers so that we are able to negotiate the most attractive prices for our clients, which enables us to provide exclusive holidays and affordable special offers. We create one-of-a-kind vacations for groups and individuals. We love our destinations and do our best to make sure that our customers feel the same way. Our job is to make sure that everyone gets the right balance of comfort and excitement to enjoy the experience of a lifetime.
USD260usd