Fan Si Pan Adventure (3 days/ 4 nights)
Tour Code : SFT- 01
Everyday departure by night train
Itinerary:
Please, be ready at your hotel lobby at 19h.30 for a short transfer to Hanoi railways station for taking the overnight train (first class 4 beds cabin with air-condition) which arrive in Lao Cai city, near the Chinese border next morning.
Day 1 : Laocai - Sapa ( 1600m ) - Camp 1 ( 2200m )(B,L,D)
Picked up at Laocai Station by bus to Sapa (round 8.30 AM). Breakfast and start the trip to conquer the roof of Vietnam and Indochina - Fansipan peak. At about 9h30 AM, take bus to the highest pass in Vietnam - TramTon Pass located at 2100m above the sea level (17 km by bus). Visit Silver waterfall before reaching the pass. Spend your time enjoying marvelous nature and then start the strenuous trek to the peak. After roughly 6 hours through the primitive rain jungles, many small streams and bamboo forests… You will have managed to reach a top of 2200m and at this point, make tents, prepare for dinner and spend the first night in the mountain.
Day 2 : Camp 1 to the Summet of Fansipan ( 3143m )(B,L,D)
Breakfast at the camp and then continue climbing to the summit by way of pine and yellow bamboo forests. After 4 hours, you will successfully conquer the roof of Vietnam. Spend 1/2 or 1 hour enjoying the splendid landscapes from around the mountain, at this virginal roof of Vietnam and Indochina is a specious chance for you to enjoy watching the surroundings: to the North-West is small village areas belonging to Laichau province, the splendid rolling mountains; to the North East is the overall picture of Sapa town which is only seen from here . Have lunch and then return down to the same point for 2nd night in the mountain. Dinner at the tents.
Day 3 : Camp 1 ( 2200m) to Sapa (B,L )
After the last breakfast in the mountain, take another way to go down to the foot of Mount where to visit and get understandings of the lifestyles, the traditional customs of the people in a village of the Black H'mong called SinChai, then take bus back to Sapa. In the afternoon , transfer to Laocai Station for the night train to Hanoi. Overnight on the train. Arrival Hanoi at 5 AM .The end of the tour.
Tour price includes :
-Full meals as mentioned on the tour program ( B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner ),- English-speaking guide , Entrance fees , Accommodation (camping ), Tents, Porters, Private bus or jeep as mentioned in tour program ,Train tickets (Soft sleeper Friendly train - Cabin of 4 people)
Excludes:
-Travel Insurance, Drinks, Phone calls and other private expenses,VAT
| Group Size | 01pax | 02pax | 03pax | 04pax | 05pax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost in US$ | 350 | 275 | 250 | 230 | 210 |
What's Included in the Tour Cost :
- English or French speaking guide (Surchage for French speaking guide $.10/day)
- Round Trip Train Tickets from Hanoi ( Deluxe Soft Sleeper 4Berth Cabin - 2berth Cabin requested and pay extra )
- Black Hmong porters (to carry food and luggage)
- Cook (from group sizes of 6 pax)
- All needed transport
- All indicated meals, plus snacks (B as breakfast; L as lunch; D as dinner)
- Water on the whole trip
- Sleeping bag and mattresses
- Waterproof bluebag for luggage
- Tents if needed
- Mosquito net
- All entrance fees and permit
- Overnight in local house or tent
What's Not Included in the Tour Cost :
- Personal Pocket Money
- Soft drink (beer, coca cola…)
- Insurance
- All other services not indicated above
What to bring :
- Sun Block
- Wide brim hat
- Camera + Film
- Comfortable shoes
- Rain gear
- Warm clothes
- Insect Repellent
- Original Passport
Sapa Vietnam
-- Located in North-West Vietnam , Sapa is the most attractive mountain place must be visited on any northern Vietnam itinerary. On a clear day you will treated to views of steeply terraced rice fields, towering verdant ridgelines, primitive mud-thatched villages, raging rivers and astounding waterfalls. Nestled high in the Tonkinese Alps near the Chinese border, Sape was built as a hill station during French colonial days, to serve as a respite from stifling Hanoi summers. These days, weekends are still the biggest draw in this crumbling hill-tribe center. Visitors from the capital flock to Sapa for a glimpse of the famed "Love Market," a trek to local hill tribe villages, or an ascent of Vietnam's highest peak, Fan Si Pan. Some eight ethnic groups inhabit Lao Cai province: Hmong, Dao, White Thai, Giay, Tay, Muong, Hao and Xa Pho. The most prominent in town are the Red Dao, easily identified by the coin-dangling red headdresses and intricately embroidered waistcoats worn by the women, and the Hmong, distinguished by their somewhat less elaborately embroidered royal blue attire.
Groups of ethnic Hmong youngsters and women can be seen hauling impossibly heavy, awkward baskets of wood, stakes, bamboo, bricks, mud and produce. Deep in the valleys surrounding Sapa, the Muong Hoa River sluices a wild, jagged course among Giay, Red Dao and White Thai settlements, their tiny dwellings poking out of the neon rice fields like diamonds on a putting green. One- to four-day treks are offered by a handful of outfitters. Guests sleep in tents or in the homes of villagers, their gear hauled by Hmong porters. Be warned: Despite what the local innkeepers will tell you, both the Hmong and the Dao really do not enjoy having their photographs taken unless they're paid for it. It's a certainty that any brochure you see of smiling, care-free ethnic hill people was shot under a Screen Actors Guild contract.
Sprawling near the banks of a river, Can Cau Market is a clearly defined shantytown, packed with crude stalls covered with thatched roofs. The start of a few simple settlements can be seen high above, many of whose residents now make their weekly pilgrimage to the market. We are only 9kms from the Chinese border and some traders make the journey across from China on horseback. Unfortunately foreigners are not allowed to reciprocate this set-up, however tempting it may seem. By 9 am, the market is crammed to capacity. It's lively and surprisingly fun. The locals are mostly of the Flower Hmong minority group. You can't miss them -their traditional costume of green checked headdress and multi-colored, meticiculosly stitched and layered garments are simply stunning. Few foreigners make it to Can Cau; those that do brave the journey come either with a small tour group in four-wheel drives, or - if half-mad and on a tight budget like me -on the back of a motorbike.
The handful of Westerners here this morning are the object of intense - though friendly- scrutiny. There is much laughter as we try to make basic conversation. Although the majority are painfully shy and not accustomed to seeing foreigners, some cheerfully allow photographs to be taken.
