Itinéraire

ITINERARY IN DETAILS:

DAY 1: HANOI - SAPA
Pick up at hotel in Hanoi at around 21:30hrs and transfer to Hanoi train station. 
Overnight train trip to Lao Cai in shared sleeping compartments (sharing 2 lower & 2 upper berths per compartment). Train departs at approximately 22:00hrs

DAY 2: SAPA - CATCAT SINCHAI VILLAGE(B,D)
Arrival at Lao Cai around 6am (Laocai is the border town to Yunnan, China). A journey start with 38 km drive on winding roads up the mountains brings you to Sapa, approx. 1500 m above sea level. On clear days you can see the highest mountain of Vietnam, the Fansipan. After a continental breakfast at the hotel you have time to relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape or free discover the town on your own until time to do the check in at the hotel. In the afternoon, at 13.00 hrs, take a short drive to Cat Cat and Sinchai village of the Hmong people, there you should take a soft walk around then share their daily lives for a rare glimpse into their culture and customs. At leisure. Diner at the hotel. Overnight in Sapa.

DAY 3: SAPA - BANHO VILLAGE - LAOCAI (B,L)
Breakfast at the hotel, then embark  to BanHo village home of  Tay people. Pleasant walk through rice terraces and meet with  the Red Dzao and the Black H'mong. 
Afternoon, jeep will take us back to Sapa, then transfer to Lao Cai station for night train to Hanoi. Overnight on soft sleeper train.

Please note that the train is a local experience. Cabins are shared with other local passengers (unless private cabin is requested and all berths paid for - with supplement). Communal rest rooms at either end of the carriages complete the local experience.