Sapa 3 Days 2 Nights Trekking: Homestay & Hotel in One Trip

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

1/27

Duration3d

GroupUp to 15

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Three villages, two nights, one trek: rice terraces to mountain homestay to hotel

You trek from Hanoi to Sapa over three days, spending one night in a Dzay village homestay and one in a hotel. The itinerary covers Cat Cat Village on day one, a 12-kilometer trek through rice terraces and Lao Chai on day two, and a final walk to Giang Ta Chai on day three. All meals, transport, entrance fees, and an English-speaking guide are included, with pickup and drop-off at your Hanoi hotel.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Hanoi to Sapa and Cat Cat trek

Pick up from Hanoi Old Quarter
Depart to Sapa by bus
Comfort break on highway
Second comfort break at Lao Cai
Arrive in Sapa Town
Welcome drink and lunch
Trek Cat Cat Village and waterfall
Return to Sapa Town
Dinner and overnight at hotel

Day 2 — Trek Sapa to Ta Van Village

Breakfast and check out hotel
Trek rice terraces to Lao Chai village
Continue trekking to Ta Van Village
Lunch with local family
Check in bungalow at Ta Van
Enjoy mountain life and sunset
Optional cooking and dinner
Evening at local bar
Overnight at bungalow

Day 3 — Trek Giang Ta Chai and return

Breakfast at bungalow
Trek rice paddies and bamboo forest
Photo session and panorama view
Trek Giang Ta Chai Bridge to main road
Lunch
Bus to Sapa Town
Relax and shower
Group meeting and prepare for Hanoi
Bus back to Hanoi with rest stops
Arrive Hanoi and trip ends

The Experience

The pickup happens early—6am from the Hoan Kiem district—and the bus fills with other travelers still half-asleep, coffee cups in hand. By 9:30 you're at the first comfort stop near Lao Cai, and the road starts to climb. Sapa sits at 1,600 meters, and you feel it in the air before you see it. When you arrive around 1pm, the town is already busy with vendors in traditional H'Mong and Dzao dress, and your guide meets you at the hotel with a welcome drink and a rundown of what's coming. Lunch is Vietnamese—something simple and warm—and then you're out again for a short trek to Cat Cat Village, about 3.5 kilometers downhill through the Black H'Mong territory. The waterfall where the French built a hydraulic station is still there, and the bridge makes for the kind of photo that actually looks like the place, not like a postcard. You're back in Sapa by 4:30, dinner at the hotel, and the first night is in a proper bed.

Day two is the long one. Breakfast at 7am, then you're trekking for real—12 kilometers through rice terraces that drop away in layers, along the Muong Hoa Stream, into Lao Chai where the Black Hmong families are working the fields. The guide walks with you the whole way, pointing out the landscape and the daily rhythms of the villages. Around noon you stop for lunch cooked by a local family, and then the trail opens onto Ta Van Village, where the Dzay people live. This is where you stay the night—in a basic bungalow, not a hotel. You check in, meet the family who runs the place, and have time to sit on the porch and watch the mountains turn gold as the sun drops. If you want, you can help cook dinner with them, or walk to the small bar nearby where other trekkers gather. The bungalow is simple—no frills, no hot water necessarily—but it's real, and that's the point.

The last morning starts with breakfast the family makes, and then a final 3-kilometer trek through bamboo forest and rice paddies to Giang Ta Chai, the red Dzao village, where you get a long view of everything you've walked through. By 11am you're back on the main road, lunch by noon, and the bus picks you up to return to Sapa. You have time to shower and rest at the hotel before the afternoon departure back to Hanoi. The drive takes about six hours with two rest stops, and you're dropped at your hotel by 9pm. The whole thing—three days, two nights, all the trekking, the homestay, the meals, the guide—costs less than the night train option, and you actually see the mountains instead of sleeping through them.

What’s included

Your three days include pickup and drop-off at your Hanoi hotel in the Hoan Kiem district, round-trip air-conditioned bus transport to and from Sapa, one night in a 3-star hotel room in Sapa (twin sharing), one night in a basic bungalow in Ta Van Village with a Dzay family, all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day), entrance fees to all villages and attractions, an English-speaking local guide for all treks, two bottles of water per person on each bus journey, and 24/7 hotline support. You'll need to arrange your own transport to the pickup point and provide your hotel address and contact details when you book.

Good to know

Easy physical levelStroller friendlyPublic transport nearbyNot for pregnant travelersInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Vietnam Travel Top

Is this one for you?Right for travelers based in Hanoi with 3 days to spare who want to trek and sleep in a village without the cost and fatigue of a night train. Expect a full schedule—you're walking or traveling most of each day—which is what lets you cover the mountains and stay with a local family instead of just passing through.