If you want to head for the
hills at Sapa, the best way to get there is to take the train from Hanoi to
Lao Cai. Sapa has no railway station, but it's about 38 km (24 miles) from
Lao Cai railway station and easily reached from there by bus, jeep or taxi
in about 50 minutes. There are both daytime and overnight sleeper trains
between Hanoi & Lao Cai, and on the sleeper trains you can choose between
the normal Vietnamese railways sleepers or a whole series of privately-run
sleeping-cars of a higher standard aimed at tourists.
Hanoi to Laocai ( Sapa ) | | Lacai ( Sapa ) to Hanoi |
| | LC3 | SP7 | SP1 | SP3 | LC1 | | LC4 | LC2 | SP8 | SP2 | SP4 |
| Hanoi |
depart |
06:10 |
20:35 |
21:10 |
21:50 |
22:00 | Lao
Cai |
depart |
09:15 |
21:20 |
19:30 |
20:05 |
20:45 |
| Lao
Cai |
arrive |
16:35 |
04:55 |
05:25 |
06:15 |
07:20 | Hanoi |
arrive |
20:15 |
06:55 |
04:05 |
04:35 |
05:10 |
SP1, SP2, SP3, SP4: All run daily,
recommended trains with very few stops. Air-conditioned soft sleepers,
air-con hard sleepers, hard sleepers, air-con soft seats, soft seats, hard
seats,
SP1/SP2 also convey a whole series
of privately-run sleeping-cars for tourists, including
Fansipan
Express ( Recommended ),
Ratraco
Express,
Orient
Express,
Royal
Express,
TSC Express,
Tulico
Express ,
Green
Express and
Hara Express
SP3/SP4 also conveys several private
sleeping-cars including the
Hara Express,
Orient
Express,
Green
Express,
Sapaly
Express Train ( Recommended ) and
Victoria
Express Train, ( Recommended )
SP7, SP8: Daily. Recommended
train. Also conveys privately-run 'Livitrans' sleeping-cars for tourists,
Livitrans Express ( Recommended ) and
King Express
LC3, LC4: Daily. One carriage of
air-conditioned soft seats, many carriages of wooden-seated non-air-con hard
seats. Tea, coffee & snacks are available on board.
LC1, LC2: Daily. Air-conditioned
soft sleepers, air-conditioned hard sleepers, hard sleepers, soft seats,
hard seats