Originally Posted by
Tod E Tosser
I will arrive in SGN the afternoon of Jan. 29, and beginning the 30th or 31st will have a few days to travel. My GF (VN resident) wants to go to Sapa. I have to catch a 10 AM flight from SGN to HKG on Feb. 3.
How long does it take to get to Sapa? Is there a closer airport than Hanoi, or must you fly there and take the train? Is it very cold this time of year? The schedule lists an early morning HAN-SGN flight that would allow me to catch my flight to HKG, but this means spending the previous night in Feb. 2.
Is this trip advisable, or should I forget it and try somewhere else? Is Halong Bay OK, or too cold? I've been to Hanoi, Hoi An, Vung Tau....I would appreciate any ideas. Beach town is OK as long as there's something else there. Would like some scenery.
As much as I love Sapa (easily my fave destination in Vietnam), you will be overly stressed give the above travel time frame. You would have to fly to HAN, take a taxi downtown to the station, grab a train (I usually take the overnight and it is about 8 hours), then a jeep taxi for 1.5 hours to Sapa. You would have the same experience back to HAN, fly in the reverse direction to SGN, then onto HKG.
It is amazing and worth all the above effort, but you need at least 3 days there to go on a few hikes to visit the villages in the area with a local guide.
Ha Long Bay can be good, as long as you go on a boat far from the normal routine...also there is a large dependency on the weather. It is not so great if overcast.
I have not been to Dalat (another hill town with strong French influences), but it is about 200 miles from HCMC and may prove a decent alternative to Sapa.