Sapa - Laochai - TaVan - GiangTaChai - Cocly Market

(4 days/ 3 nights)

Highlights

• Trekking through the villages of Cat Cat, TaVan, Giang Tachai, all home to different ethnic minority groups
• Visiting Coc Ly Market is a colorful Tuesday market in a mountainous area where ethnic people gather to buy and sell goods, dine and drink,
• Exploring the beautiful town of Sapa nestled up in the hills, offering magnificant views, a cool climate and a bustling market
• Shopping for souvenirs in the markets
• Coming back to a comfy hotel room each night

Itinerary

Day 1: ( Saturday ) Hanoi - Laocai 20: 30 pm - Pick up at your hotel and transfer to Hanoi railway station to board the express train to Laocai. Overnight in an air-conditioned soft sleeper cabin (4 pax/ cabin or 2 pax/cabin on request).

Day 2: (Sunday) Sapa - Laochai Village - TaVan Village ( B, L , D ) 6 : 00 am - Arrive at Laocai railway station. Welcome by your local guide and driver. Transfer to your hotel in Sapa for breakfast and a shower. Leave Sapa at 10am by jeep to visit an H'mong village nestling in a beautiful valley and a hydroelectric power station built by the French. Follow a small path to visit 2 other villages of the H'mong and the Dzay people (LaoChai and TaVan). Picnic lunch en route. Dinner with a Dzay family. Overnight in TaVan village. (6 hours trekking, 16 km, 3 villages).

Day 3: (Monday) TaVan Village - Giang Ta Chai  -Sapa (B, L , D) Breakfast at the homestay, then take the road to GiangTaChai village to see the Red Dzao people via a network of paths through terraces and bamboo forests. Visit a picturesque waterfall and a suspension bridge. Enjoy a picnic lunch and cross the river to visit an H'mong village on the mountainside. Return to Sapa by jeep. Visit an ancient stone circle. Check into hotel. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight at your chosen hotel in Sapa. (5 hours trekking, 4 km, 2 villages)

Day 4: (Tuesday) Sapa - CocLy Market - Boat Trip o n Chay River ( B, L , D) Breakfast at the hotel. Depart at 7am for CocLy market which is situated far from Sapa. Experience the peaceful life of the different ethnic tribes (Flower H'mong, Black Dzao, Tay, Dzay). The market gives them the chance to meet and share their joys and sorrows after the harvest. Bid farewell to the market and take an exhilarating boat trip along the Chay River, where you are bound to feel a sense of your own minuteness against the majestic backdrop of the high Rock Mountains and to be stunned by the breathtaking waterfalls. Visit TrungDo village of the Tay Minority. After the boat trip, visit a small town called BaoNhai, then return by jeep to Laocai station to board the night train to Hanoi. Dinner at a local restaurant. Overnight in an air-conditioned soft sleeper cabin. End of services.

Inclusions

• Pick ups, transfer & sightseeing as per program by A/c private Russian jeep or minibus
• Full meals as per the tour program (B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner)
• English/French-speaking guide
• Entrance fees
• 1 night’s hotel accommodation
• 1 night’s home stay
• Train tickets: Hanoi - Laocai - Hanoi (soft sleeper with air-conditioning)

• Travel Insurance
• Drinks & other meals not mentioned in the program
• Personal expense

Exclusions

• Air ticket
• Visa
• Drinks
• Travel insurance
• Tips for local guide and driver