How to get out Sapa
If you are looking to take the train to Hanoi from Lao Cai, your hotel can probably organise to get you onto a minibus. If you're looking to pay less than the usual rate (40,000 dong, May 2011), you'll have to walk to the central park area where minibuses and vans cruise for passengers and are willing to bargain. Be reminded that getting on an empty (or half-empty) bus will mean waiting for more passengers, regardless of whatever departure time is promised by the driver and his ever-present crew of buddies who're hanging around.
The local tourist office also sells sleeper buses (250,000d.) from SaPa to Hanoi. The bus is new and luxurious, however the bus driver will drop you out in the western outskirts of Hanoi, despite the assurances that they will drop you at the airport or at the train station in Hanoi. If you should find yourself in this situation, there is a bus station around the block called Xe Ben Khach My Dien, where you can get on bus #34 towards Hanoi centre for 3,000 dong. Alternatively, taxis will quote you 100,000 dong to take you to the Old Town. The representative at tourist office may tell you that all train tickets at Lao Cai are sold out. Be sure to check at Lao Cai, or even better in Hanoi before arriving in SaPa.
Small step-through Honda motorcycles can be rented in the touristy parts of town, as well as near the gas station on the road leading to Lao Cai, for US$3-6 depending on the amount of time rented and your bargaining skills (i.e. determination). Day trips into the surrounding countryside can be very rewarding, although a good up-to-date map and a healthy dose of caution is required as roads are winding and populated with all manner of conveyance, and markings can be misleading as the North undergoes some odd town-relocation schemes.
You may be able to hire a guide, or join a group, to visit the various ethnic villages in the area by jeep and/or boat. The various travel agencies in town, or the people at your hotel, should be able to give details.
For those looking to go farther afield, the road to Dien Bien Phu is simply stunning and makes for a fantastic 4-5 day return trip. Always give yourself plenty of daylight hours to return home, however, as highly changeable weather could strand you in dense fog without notice, especially during the winter months. There is also a bus to DBP which runs from the tourist office at 7.30am each day, and costs $11.
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The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Sapa
