Sapa is a highland town in Lao Cai province, Vietnam, located about 38 km from Lao Cai city and about 370 km from Hanoi. How to Hanoi to Sapa? There are many ways to travel from Hanoi to Sapa for you to choose depending on your travel plan to choose to travel by any means.
What is the distance from Hanoi to Sapa?
About 320 km: if traveling along the Hanoi – Lao Cai highway (this route only allows cars to be allowed to move)
About 390 km: if you follow Highway 70 as the main route connecting the northwestern provinces of Vietnam, this is the old route often used to move to Sapa before the Hanoi – Lao Cai highway officially went into operation.
About 340 km: if traveling by train Hanoi – Lao Cai, then from Lao Cai by bus or taxi to Sapa.
About 455 km: if riding a motorbike or car along Highway 32 running through Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai – this is also one of the places with beautiful and famous scenery in Vietnam.
How to get to Sapa from Hanoi?
By motorbike
For those who love adventure and exploring beautiful places on the road, a motorbike is the right vehicle for you.
The routes from Hanoi to Sapa
Highway 70: This route is about 390 km long, it may take 10-12 hours to reach Sapa. Currently, this road has been degraded, the scenery along the way is not as beautiful as going on Highway 32.
Highway 32: you will depart from Hanoi then move to Phu Tho, Yen Bai, and Lai Chau provinces. At the end is the Binh Lu T-junction (Lai Chau), follow Highway 4D to reach Sapa.
With this route, you can see many beautiful places such as Mu Cang Chai terraces, Tu Le hot springs in Yen Bai, famous and majestic passes such as Khau Pha pass and O Quy Ho …
However, if you choose this route to go, you need to arrange a reasonable schedule because the road is quite long (about 455km), you should avoid going in the evening because this route has very dangerous passes.
We recommend a 2-day travel schedule by motorbike to travel from Hanoi to Sapa. The first day, start from early morning in Hanoi to Mu Cang Chai district (Yen Bai) and spend the night here.
The next day continues to move from Mu Cang Chai to Sapa. With this travel schedule, you will be able to freely explore many beautiful places along the way (mentioned above) and also ensure the health and safety along the way.
By Train
Traveling by train in Vietnam is quite popular because of its low price and safety. There are usually two types of trains: SP (fast) and LC (slow) trains, departing from Hanoi Station in the evening (7 pm – 22 pm) and arriving at Lao Cai Station in the early morning (5 am – 7 am). From Lao Cai station you can move to Sapa by shuttle bus or taxi.
How to buy train ticket Hanoi – Sapa?
You access the website www.dsvn.vn to order online, which is the website of Vietnam Railway Corporation. You can choose to buy soft seats (155,000 VND / ticket), or bunk beds 4 people (400,000 VND / ticket). Or you can buy directly at Tran Quy Cap station, Hanoi, so come 1 hour before the train runs.
Now the train runs as follows:
- Hanoi – Lao Cai: SP1 (21:30), SP3 (22:00)
- Lao Cai – Hanoi: SP2 (20:30), SP4 (21:10)
There are also specialized travel carriages to serve tourists with higher standards, you need to contact the travel agents to book this train ticket type.
How to get to Sapa from Lao Cai Station
The distance from Lao Cai station to Sapa is about 40km, you can move to Sapa by one of the following means:
- Public bus: ticket price 30,000VND/person. This bus route starts from 5:30 am daily, there will be a bus every 1 hour. The starting point of this bus route is near Lao Cai station, the last whore is Sapa church.
- Pick up from hotel: 50,000VND/pax, pick up from Lao Cai train station and transfer to hotels in the Sapa area.
- Taxi: cost about 400,000 VND/4-seat car, 450,000 VND/7-seat car.
- Private car: the price is about 500,000 VND/7-seat car, 550,000 VND/16-seat car. You need to contact the hotel in advance for your accommodation or travel agency to provide this service.
- Motorbike taxi: about 150,000 VND/vehicle
By bus
The easiest and cheapest way to get to Sapa. All bus companies only run on Hanoi – Lao Cai highway, just about 5-6 hours to reach Sapa. With this vehicle, there are many different departure times so you can be proactive in time, you can choose to go in many different time frames.
Currently, there are many bus companies from Hanoi to Sapa. And divided into 2 types: Car Seats, and Sleeper Bus. The majority of car manufacturers are of good quality, clean to serve tourists.
Buses from Hanoi to Sapa
All buses from Hanoi to Sapa provide free wifi, drinks, snacks. Some newer cars also have a toilet in the car.
Sapa Express
Car seats ticket: 350,000/ticket, 1 trip/day, departing 7:00 from Hanoi, afternoon 16:00 from Sapa.
Sleeper Bus ticket: 280,000 VND/ticket, 2 buses/day, departing from Hanoi 7:30 and 22:00, returning from Sapa 13.30, 15:30 and 22:00.
Hanoi Office: 12 Ly Thai To – Hoan Kiem. 024.668.21555
Sapa Office: 468 Dien Bien Phu, Sapa Town, Lao Cai
Inter Bus Lines
Ticket price 250,000 VND / person. There are 3 departures from Hanoi at 7:30, 13:30, 22:00. There are 5 return trips from Sapa at 8:00, 10:30, 13:00, 15:30, 21:30
Hanoi Office: 110 Tran Nhat Duat, Hoan Kiem. 0868 518 777
Sapa Office: 591 Dien Bien Phu, Sapa Town, Lao Cai. 0214 3 872 883
Queen Cafe
Ticket price 220,000 VND / ticket / way. Departing from Hanoi at 7:00 and 22:00. Departing from Sapa at 8:00, 13:30, 16:00 and 22:00.
Office in Hanoi: 208 Tran Quang Khai, Hoan Kiem. 0243.9283.666
Office in Sapa: Sapa Public Bus Station
By Private Car
With this type, you need to book services with travel companies. Typically, the cost will be charged by the package, 1-day package, 2 days or more.
Limousine Hanoi – Sapa
Limousine cars are comfortable, comfortable and reasonably priced tourist cars. Currently, there are 2 lines of Limousine 9 seats and 29 seats Limousine operating on Hanoi – Sapa – Hanoi route. The car will pick up and drop off guests in Hanoi Old Quarter and Sapa town.
The price for a passenger ranges from 370,000 VND to 450,000 VND / seat. In the car, there are quite a lot of utilities to serve customers, comfortable passenger compartment, spacious luggage compartment, wifi, charging socket right next to the seat.
Cold drinking water served along the way. Passengers are taken to and from place when they book tickets through the operator’s switchboard.
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