Minibuses run from outside the chinese Hekou border immigration exit, and train station straight up the mountain. Cost should be 25,000d per person and the bus leaves only when it is full.
If arriving via the chinese Hekou border, watch out for touts who will persistently attempt to get you to pay anything up to 150,000d, or CNY20 (approx 50,000d) per person to get to Sapa. Just ignore them and walk to a main street and flag a minibus with a sign showing Sa Pa at the windscreen. Confirm with the driver or bus attendant 25,000d and hop into the minibus to Sapa.
If arriving by train (usually at around 5am - 6am) watch out for minibus scams asking for 200,000 dong upwards. Generally they can still be bargained down (despite much disgust from whoever is so kindly scamming you).
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Lao Cai
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Lao Cai - updated May 2024
SAVE up to 75% on Last Minute deals! Search for discount Lao Cai hotels, motels, apartments, hostels, guest accommodations and vacation resorts. Book now and pay at the hotel. Instant email confirmation!
Lao Cai Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
