Sapa: All things you need for having perfect trips

Ripe rice season in Sapa - source: online

Sapa is considered the most beautiful and majestic place in the North of Vietnam, one of highlights of the country Sapa attracts a large number of tourists all year round. Many tourists after visiting Sapa, they want to come back and  stay longer. If you want to visit Sapa and want to pocket experience before coming there, let ResponTravel shares with you some of the best Sapa travel experiences.

1. WHERE IS SAPA

O Quy Ho Pass - source: online

Sapa is located in Lao Cai province, North of Vietnam. It is about 390 km northwest of Hanoi.
The average altitude of 1500 - 1800 m above sea level,  Sapa Town  is always submerged in floating clouds, creating a magical and strange picture. 

2. WHAT IS THE CLIMATE IN SAPA AND BEST TIME TO VISIT SAPA

Sapa weather chart -  source: online

Sapa's climate is temperate and subtropical. Sapa is also an ideal destination to avoid heat in the summer because the temperature here is very cool. The weather in Sapa is difficult to predict precisely because it changes so quickly in one day. Visitors will be impressed because they can feel the weather of all 4 seasons in the same day. In the morning, the weather in Sapa is like a fresh green spring girl. At noon, the light shines through the trees like a whisper of summer. In the afternoon, the dew drops give a romantic, gentle feeling like an ethnith minority girl. When the night comes, it is the typical cold of winter.

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Spring Sapa

Gate to a minority house in Sapa - source: Online

Sapa every time in Spring is beautiful. Coming to Sapa in the spring, visitors will be immersed in the white color of Bac Ha plum blossom, the gentle pink color of Sa Pa peach blossom. Along with that is the excitement of the special festivals of the Dao, Hmong, and Giay people.

Sapa summer

Happy with the ripe rice season - Source: online

Coming to Sapa in the summer, visitors are almost immersed in the brilliant colors of the terraced fields in the pouring season. Sapa summer usually starts from May to early September every year.
Daytime temperatures will range from about 20-25 degrees Celsius, at night it will be lower and feel the cold with a temperature of 13-15 degrees Celsius.

If you are looking for a place to avoid the heat, anger, and sweltering heat of summer, going to Sapa will be a great idea. The climate here will help you eliminate fatigue, stress, and regain abundant energy. Coming to Sapa in the summer, standing at the location of Silver and Bay waterfalls to zoom out, visitors will see a dreamy and majestic Sapa.

Autumn Sapa

Beautiful ripe rice scene: Source: online

The most beautiful Sapa climate is probably in the fall, which falls from the end of September to the end of November. Sapa in autumn is so fresh and cool, with a bit of dry air mixed with a bit of moderate cold.

Sapa's temperature in autumn ranges from 10 to 28 degrees Celsius. In early autumn, the humidity is quite high and the rainfall is almost the highest compared to the rest of the year. Autumn is also the flood season in Sapa.

Heavy rains accompanied by thunderstorms cause flooding. Therefore, if you want to visit Sapa at this time, you should monitor the weather forecast carefully to move without interruption.

Autumn is also the season of ripe rice in Sapa. The charming scenery and warm smiles of the people here will definitely be an ideal destination for visitors.

Winter Sapa

Snow covered sapa: Source: Online

Sapa winter promises to frozen hearts and journeys to remember forever. Sapa temperature in winter is often below 10 degrees Celsius, wet weather, dense fog. However, Sapa climate at this time also has beautiful sunny days.

In December, the temperature in Sapa will drop to the lowest, the cold cuts the flesh, sometimes below 0 degrees Celsius. In particular, some years Sapa also appears snow around this time. If you are a person who can tolerate cold or want to have great experiences, do not miss the opportunity to immerse yourself in the scenery of Sapa when the cold winter turns.

3.  WHAT IS INTERESTING SPOTS IN SAPA

See also where should we visit when traveling to sapa

A glimpse in Trung Trai village in Sapa

Cat Cat Village

Cat Cat village is one of the most attractive places for tourists: Source: online

Located at the foot of Hoang Lien Son mountain, Cat Cat village is home to the H'Mong community. Cat Cat village was formed around the middle of the 19th century; In the early 20th century, the French discovered the beauty of this place and chose it as a resort. The name Cat Cat is called after Cat cat waterfall in the village built by the French.
Cat Cat village has its own beauty and never disappoints. From the colorful flower gardens surrounding the old walled house.

Lao Chai and Ta Van Village

The magical beauty of Lao Chai village in the ripe rice season: source: Online

About 7km from the center of Sapa town (some say 11km depending on the road), Lao Chai - Ta Van are two large villages of Sa Pa district, Lao Cai. This is the residence of a large number of ethnic minorities such as Mong, Red Dao, Giay...

Unlike Sapa town, which is somewhat bustling and busy, Lao Chai and Ta Van villages have in them the peaceful and pristine beauty of the high mountains.

Ham Rong mountain

Ham Rong Mountain with fields of colorful flowers mixed with limestone mountains: source: online

Ham Rong Mountain is located about 3km from the center of Sapa town. From the center of Sapa town, you go to the direction of Sapa Stone Church, you will see the way to Ham Rong mountain located right behind the church. The distance is not too far, so you can choose to walk.If you are free to visit Sapa, you can park your car outside the gate of Ham Rong Mountain Tourist Area.

Silver Water Fall

Silver waterfall in summer: source: online

Silver Water fall  is located in San Sa Ho commune, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai province. This place is about 13km from the center of Sapa town. Visitors can go to Sapa Silver Waterfall.It is at an altitude of about 1,800m at the foot of the famous O Quy Ho pass. This is also the upstream of the famous Muong Hoa stream. With an altitude of more than 200m, Silver Waterfall is very prominent in the landscape of Sapa. Even on clear days, the view is clear, visitors from the center of Sapa town can see Silver Waterfall from afar.

Fansipan Peak

Fansipan mountain peak on a nice day: source: online

Fansipan peak in Hoang Lien Son mountain range is the highest mountain in the three countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, is the place where the sacred air of heaven and earth gathers and is known as the "Roof of Indochina" with an altitude of 3,143 m. Setting foot on the top of Fansipan is always the desire of those who love nature and discover new things.

Dragon Cloud Glass Bridge

A new place to see all the "four great peaks" of the Northwest is Rong May glass bridge in the area of O Quy Ho pass.

4. HOW TO GO TO SAPA

You can choose from a number of vehicles such as passenger bus, trains, motorbikes, personal cars, airplanes.

Go to Sapa by sleeper bus

Going to Sapa by sleeper bus is chosen by more and more tourists: source: online

This is one of the means of transportation to Sapa chosen by many tourists. Currently, there are types such as single and double beds. Sleeper bus to Sapa with large size, smooth running, helping passengers to have a comfortable feeling during travel.
Trusted bus companies can be mentioned as: Sapa Express, Inter Bus Line, Green Bus, Ha Son Hai Van, ... Fares range from 180,000 VND - 500,000 VND depending on the company.There are different travel time frames but the best time is 22:00. Travel time from Hanoi to Sapa usually takes about 5 hours. Therefore, you should go in the evening so you can take advantage of the car's time to rest and arrive early in the morning and start exploring this place.

Go to Sapa by train

A cabin of a sleeping train to sapa: source: online

Going to Sapa by train is also one of the options that many tourists love because of its safety. You can move from stations in Hanoi to Lao Cai station, then choose a taxi or motorbike taxi to cross the pass to Sapa town. You can enjoy the scenery on the way differently than when traveling by road vehicles.

All trains following the Hanoi - Lao Cai route move at night. A trip takes about 8 hours, departing at 21h30 and 22h. Every day there are 2 trains departing from Hanoi to Lao Cai and vice versa.

Trusted trains: Sapaly Express, Victoria Express, Chapa Express, ... The price difference depends on the normal or premium class, sleeping or sitting, hard or soft seats,... from 250,000 

Go to Sapa by motorcycles, personal cars

Traveling by private vehicle helps you to be more active and flexible in your Sapa trip. The first important thing when deciding to travel by motorbike or personal car is to determine the weather. Self-driving on a long and unfamiliar road is quite dangerous. Therefore, visitors should monitor and avoid going to Sapa in the rainy season, usually July or August. 

Planes ( near future)

In the near future, you can fly to Lao Cai airport directly. Then from Lao Cai airport, visitors continue to move about 30 minute more to reach Sapa town.

5. WHERE TO STAY IN SAPA

Vsiting Sapa stay in hotels and resorts

View of Muong Hoa valley of Charm hotel: source: online

To book a room in Sa Pa you can go through travel organizations, or if you don't trust it, you can call to book a room directly with the hotel, this will ensure you have a room when you arrive. Another booking experience is that if you have a plan to go to Sapa, you should book a room 1 or 2 months in advance, especially during peak tourist occasions to prevent allrooms ocupied 
There are  virious prices of accommodations based on standard of rooms
For example, if you want to have a cheap and economical trip to Sapa, choose budget hotels and motels with prices from: 350,000 VND or less, there are many: Lotus, Summit, Queen, Piochino, Binh Minh, Darling, Dang Khoa, Linh Trang, Emotion, Nguyen Hung, Anh Dao, Starlight, Spring...

2-star hotels with prices from 400,000 VND to 700,000 VND: Mountain View, Hoang Gia, Thien Ngan, Grand View, Bien May, River Side, Hoang Ha, Cat Cat view, Khanh Hai.....

Newly built hotels such as Sunny Mountain, Muong Thanh, Bamboo, Delta ... are rated at 3 * and a half, prices range from 700,000 to 1,800,000 / room. The hotels that are rated lower, reaching 3 * standard often have prices ranging from 500 to 1 million 2, such as: Holiday, Sao Phuong Bac, Royal View, Sapa Luxury, Sapa Lodge, Sapa Hotel, Sapa View .. .
And if you want to have luxury accommodations, nice view and good service, then choose 4, 5 star hotels with quite high prices around 2 million such as: Pao's Sa Pa, Victoria , BB Sa Pa,KK hotel, Charm Hotel…

Visiting Sapa stay in minority homestays

A corner of the homestay in van sapa: source: online

Another option for you is to choose the type of homestay service. With this service you can directly experience the culture and lifestyle of the indigenous people. Sitting by the flickering fire right in the space of the house on stilts and grilling food yourself. This service has a very reasonable price: 100,000 VND - 200,000 VND / person. Homestay services are mainly in Ta Van, Ban Ho, Ta Phin villages such as: Ethnic, Hoa Chanh, Sapa Volunteer, Anh Duc, Luckydaisy buffalo, Haven Sapa Camp Site...

6. WHAT IS DELICIOUS FOOD IN SAPA

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Com Sui

Com Sui - a unique dish of the people in Sapa: source: online

Com Sui is a dish that uses flat noodles a bit like Pho served with a sauce that is very tasty. It has noodles, crispy fries, pork belly and boiled egg. You can add more pepper and chili to make it more flavorful and then eat it with a little fragrant mint, and it will become a memorable dish when you come to Sapa.
Address: No. 468 Dien Bien Phu, Sapa Town
Price from: 35,000–40,000 VND/ bowl

Source: @mydi_v_

Sour Pho

Sour Pho is a mixed noodle dish that is prepared quite simply but is a delicious Sa Pa dish with typical mountain town flavor. The dish consists of noodle soup, xa siu, pickles, mango, roasted peanuts, herbs and a little fried onion. When eating, you mix it up so that the sauce soaks up each noodle.
Address to try: 30 Nguyen Trung Truc, Coc Lieu, Sapa Town
Price from: 30,000-50,000 VND/ bowl

Source: @phuot.org

Bun cha

Sapa vermicelli is very attractive: source: online

Bun Cha Sa Pa is a dish unlike the bun cha in Hanoi! This is a kind of hot noodle soup, the broth has a sour taste of the batch and sweet from the bone broth and fried tomatoes. Cha here includes fried rolls, fish cakes, grilled meat (grilled rolls) and sprouts, and served with herbs.
Address to try: Quan Nga Canh - 596 Dien Bien Phu, Sapa Town
Price from: 35,000-40,000 VND/piece

Source: @buiquyet

Salmon

With a temperate climate and low water temperature, Sa Pa people have succeeded in raising rainbow trout. Sa Pa salmon is not too fatty but firm, has an eye-catching orange-pink color. Sa Pa salmon can be prepared in many different ways such as sashimi dipped in soy sauce and mustard, salmon salad, grilled fish... But the dish that makes visitors miss the most is the salmon hot pot. Pieces of fresh fish meat dipped in hot sweet and sour hot pot, served with some fresh vegetables is definitely the most suitable dish for a cold evening.

Address to try: A Phu Restaurant - 15 Fansipan, Sapa Town
Price from: 200,000-500,000 VND/pot of hot pot

Source: @kyduyen1311

Black chicken

The dishes made from black chicken always attract visitors: source: online

A typical black chicken is raised in the garden by the Mong people. Black chicken is quite small, only about 300g - 1kg, skin, meat and bones are all black. Black chicken meat is usually firm, delicious, chewy, and not only has high nutritional value, but is also considered a remedy in Eastern medicine.

Black chicken can be cooked: boiled,grilled with honeyserved with some mint leaves and a lemon wedge!
Address to try: 18 Cau May, Sapa Town
Price from: 300,000 VND/head

Source: @Sa Pa.holic

Minority’pig meat

This pig is quiet small only about 6kg to 10 kg max.They are mix between wild boar and Minority pig, raised freely in the forest by indigenous people. At the market you may see the scene where people put pigs in baskets, carry them or even bring them under their armpits, the name "pig armpits" comes from here. The pork belly is best when grilled over hot coals until the skin is golden and crispy.

Address to try: Hoa Dong Tien - 29 Cau May, Sapa Town
Price from: 130,000 VND/plate

Source: @chunny13elieve

Thang Co

Thang Co is a specialty of many ethnic minorities in Sapa: source: online

Thang co is usually made mainly from horses, but can also be from cows and buffaloes. Horse meat and organs will be sliced ​square, cooked with 12 spices, including cardamom, cinnamon, lemongrass, ginger... Thang Co is usually cooked in a large pan, when eaten, scooped out the hot pot. and served with dipping vegetables such as cat cabbage, kohlrabi or hot pot cabbage.

Address to try: Bac Ha Market, A Quynh Sa Pa shop - 15 Thach Son, Sa Pa town
Price from: 80,000-100,000 VND/bowl

Source: @julia_nguyen15

Five-color sticky rice - Seven-color sticky rice

Ethnic people use fruit to color sticky rice: source: online

Five-color sticky rice and seven-color sticky rice are both dishes that represent the cultural identity of each ethnic group in Sapa. The five-color sticky rice of the Tay ethnic group is red, blue, purple, white and yellow, symbolizing the five elements and the wish for abundance and prosperity.

The seven-color sticky rice of the Nung Din ethnic group is bright red, dark red, brown, purple, yellow, green and blue, symbolizing the seven months of long-term resistance. Sticky rice usually appears during Tet holiday or the 1st day of the 7th lunar month every year.
Address to try: 06 Xuan Vien, Sapa Town
Price from: 10,000 VND/piece

7. NOTES WHEN VISITING ETHNIC VILLAGES IN SAPA

See also the funeral of H'mong people in Sapa

Festival scene of ethnic people on sapa: source: online

Communicating with ethnic groups in Lao Cai, especially in Sapa, is very hospitable. But when tourists visit villages and hamlets, they should note a few things in order to avoid violating the taboos of ethnic minorities such as places to sleep, places to drink water, places to eat, places to store utensils, How to travel, use objects in the house because each ethnic group has different customs and habits, so there are also different taboos.

Visiting villages in Sapa

you must remember the following notes when staying here. Always ask permission to be paid if you are invited by the villagers to dine or stay. Ask permission when taking photos of locals. You must remember to ask permission before you want to visit the local people's house.

Shopping in the villages

Do not buy antiques as souvenirs because that will lose the private heritage because many people do not understand their true value.
Don't give the local children anything. If you want, please give your gift to the parents of the children, or the elderly.

Going inside a house

A village of the Ha Nhi ethnic group:source: online

On the way to the Ha Nhi people's house, when seeing a temporary gate erected above tied with wooden knives, wooden swords, chicken wings... that's when the village is holding an offering ceremony to chase away evil spirits. . Similarly, every year, the common rituals of worshiping the village gods and banishing evil spirits of the Tay, Thai, Giay, Lao, Bo y, Xa Pho... are usually held in the 2nd or 6th month of the 7th lunar month. . When making offerings to the people, they put signs of taboo forbidding strangers from entering the village, such as tying a bunch of green leaves on a high pole on the way to the village or weaving a latticework with the jawbone of a pig, buffalo or cow. No one in the village went to work, did not allow strangers to enter the village. If a stranger accidentally carries a burden, wears a hat, covers an umbrella, carries a bag, backpack, etc. to enter the village, he will be fined by paying enough offerings to redo the village offering ceremony. In case there is an emergency, if you want to enter the village immediately, the stranger must remove the hat, backpack, burden... all belongings must be hand-carried. That way we hope to be reduced or exempted from fines.

Forbidden forest

forbidden forest in sapa: source: online

Every village of ethnic minorities in Sapa has a forbidden forest, worshiping supernatural forces. The place of worship can be at the base of a big tree or a big stone in the forest. The forbidden forest is the common forest of the whole village. Everyone volunteered to protect the forest, no one was allowed to cut down or defecate, boys and girls were not allowed to go there.

Dinning

When eating and drinking each ethnic group has different views on seating position, so it should be noted not to sit in some special positions such as in the Giay and Dao areas next to the row of seats near the altar reserved for tall people. oldest, shy guest. The Mong people when their parents die, the first place at the table (near the altar) is always empty with the idea that that place is for their parents' souls.
The Thai, Tay, and Muong people, where adjacent to the window, place two small bowls intended for their ancestors to receive guests, guests do not sit in that position. Before eating and drinking, it is necessary to patiently listen to the host conduct the rituals to invite ancestors, to bless the good things. Guests do not pour wine first, do not pick up food first, when finished use absolutely do not turn the cup upside down, the bowl down on the tray

Sleeping

A hearty homestay dinner: Source: online

When sleeping Each house of the ethnic people in Lao Cai has a separate sleeping place for guests, so it is necessary to follow the arrangement of the owner, do not lie down with your feet towards the altar. In some areas, the Mong, Dao, Thai, La Ha people do not wear white nets in their homes.

Move a way and parting

When parting, you can shake hands, no need to say goodbye, see you again but always smile. Do not rub your hands on the heads of Mong and Dao children, because in their opinion, the soul resides in the head, strangers touch it, the soul flees in panic, making them cheap or sick.
Do not rub your hands on the heads of Hmong and Dao children Do not rub your hands on the heads of Hmong and Dao children

8. BEST TOURS IN SAPA