Although the weather was clearly not on our side in Sapa (rain, muddy, foggy, and cold), yet, we had an enjoyable and memorial trip. Lana proactively provided a guidance and an arrangement before the trip. The night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai was really comfortable with private beds. Thanks to Lana, we luckily got a free upgrade to a private cabin. Our favourite tour guide, Lily (an ethnic local lady) who was nice, supportive, and knowledgeable. During the trip, we learned a lot about the richness of the local culture and the insight stories. The home stay at the village was also excellent, where we had a good evening and chat with other visitors and the locals. The foods were average but the hot drinks were outstanding. The home stay could consider providing heaters rooms for the cold nights. The hotel was good. The return trip to Hanoi on a Van (called Limousine!) was interesting as we sat on the first row to experience the “traffic”. We would definitely recommend the tour.

The tour itself was good, but for the amount of money we pay for these tours, the local guides only get like $8 per day pay, so I personally dont know if this one was worth it. Perhaps its better to book a tour with your hotel, and research the best tour operator who pays the guides better. Also, no drinks are included with any of the meals, they all have to be paid for. And when you arrive back to Hanoi, you do not get a transfer back to the hotel, that was an annoying inconvenience to find out at 4am, when a bunch of drivers are swarming around you, trying to overcharge you. As well as that, we got no choice in either top or bottom bunk on the overnight train, and I got top bunks both times, which was really inconvenient.

I really enjoyed this tour! Everything was well organised and it went very smoothly. It was only a small trekking group of 3 + our guide which was great. And our guide Chau was absolutely fantastic, she answered all of our questions and told us lots of great information about the area and her village. The overnight train was very clean and comfortable - although if you are a solo traveler you will just be in a cabin of 4 with other members of the public, but that was still okay. The homestay was fantastic, the food was really great also. And there were enough opportunities for food and showers.