Sapa Ta Phin & Ma Tra Private Half-Day Trekking Tour

We had a lovely morning with Lo Thi Sao our Hmong local guide who was bubbly, lovely and informative. She picked us up at our hotel in town and sent us back at the end. We enjoyed walking through villages and fields with Sao as she shared stories of her life, customs, people. Impressed that she picked up English through interacting with tourists, though it was a shock to discover her so young and already a mother of 3. Lunch was simple but tasty with ice views, and we liked listening to someone who grows her own crops, rears her own animals, weaves her own clothes and even builds her own home. This was a less popular route with tourists, and we could avoid the bigger groups as such. It was foggy, but fine as long as it didn’t rain (just sprays). Sao politely told the local ladies wanting to follow us to stay away as we wouldn’t shop. We sadly saw a puppy being run over by a scooter - more common with roads being built. We enjoyed our private hike with Sao very much.

The private hiking route is different from the Lao Chai village visited by most tour groups. It visits the Ma Tra and Ta Phin villages of the Mong people, which are less crowded and quieter. Our guide, Phenh, is a lovely and friendly Mong girl. She explained in detail the life, customs, crops, and fabric making of the villages. We walked for more than 3 hours and fully understood their culture. We had lunch in a beautiful restaurant at noon, and then walked through beautiful fields and beautiful bamboo forests. It took nearly five hours to complete this fulfilling journey. I must say that Phenh is really a great guide. She is warm and meticulous, and she will carefully help us with many difficult muddy roads. She allows us to understand the lives of the aborigines in a three-dimensional way. This trip is really unforgettable! ! Reminder to wear long sleeves and trousers, and hiking shoes, to safely walk up and down hills on dirt roads. If you come after rain or before rain, you must wear non-slip rain boots. This trip is really unforgettable!!!

our tour guide Khu was great and informative. good thing we rented boots because parts of the trek was muddy due to the rain. although the boots were far from comfortable especially on rocky roads it was better than getting the shoes ruined. we only got to finish probably 80% of the course because we were so tired and not used to hiking for a long time. i am thankful we did not slip and fall especially on the rice fields. highly recommended experience!

Amazing experience. The view is very beautiful, trekking about 8 km, The trekking route is easy, with beautiful views of rice fields and hills. We are guided by Nhu who was very helpful in explaining everything from the history, culture, customs, and life of the indigenous people, namely Hmong. Lunch was also delicious. Thank you Nhu and SaPa 😍.

What a day! We were lucky to have warm weather and clear skies — usually the views play hard to get, but today they showed off in full. The rice terraces were absolutely stunning, like something out of a dream (or a very fancy desktop background). Our guide, a wonderful Hmong woman (zu) with great English and an even better sense of humour, made the day. She shared stories, laughed with us the whole way, and introduced us to her lovely family during lunch — a real highlight. My legs are sore, my shoes are muddy, and my heart is full. Would absolutely do it again! Something that I would recommend for next time, is that the guide/drive get in contact with us at least the night before, as the morning of, raised a lot of question marks on what the go was. However this was later explained as Hmong people don’t have the opportunity to learn how to read and write. TEACH THEM AS MUCH AS YOU CAN - They learn from us!

The Ma Tran and Ta Phin private trekking tour was definitely a highlight of our trip to Sapa. Our guide Sao was super lovely and accommodating providing us different alternatives considering the weather. She was super informative about each of the different questions we had and as we explored through the small local towns of Ma Tra and Ta Phin. Would definitely love to have done another tour with her again and recommend doing this tour for those who are keen.

It was a very fun and interactive trip! we learned so much about the life of Northern Vietnam ethnic groups and also their local traditions and beliefs. Nhu, our guide was very knowledgeable and very accomodating to answer questions. the hike route had a lot of interesting stuff showing local life along with beautiful views

We were in Sapa for 1 night / 24 hours. This half day tour exceeed my expectations and Ku our tour guide was amazing. Ku was engaging and friendly from start to finish explaining all information clearly and thoroughly. The highlight was walking through the rice fields and taken in the beautiful scenery was breathtaking. meeting the local village people was also a highlight and to top it off lunch

The day before the trip, there will be letters and text messages to confirm the pick-up location and time. The tour guide and the shuttle bus will pick up at the hotel, send us to the village and start walking. Walking on a country road, you will pass through villages and rice fields. You can see the houses, livestock and farming conditions of the local ethnic minorities, as well as the beautiful and spectacular terraced fields. There are few tourists, and you can feel the simplicity of the countryside. There is a group of local women who will walk with tourists for a while. They will give you love with plants like mimosa, and they will lead you along the less difficult road, and sell you some handicrafts at the end of the village. . The tour guide speaks English, and she demonstrates how to dye cloth with natural plants. Eat local traditional dishes at noon, a few simple and freshly cooked dishes, delicious. After exploring the cave, we were sent back to the city. Participants are advised to wear sports shoes and sports pants that are not distressed when dirty, carry light rain gear, and pay attention to sun protection. The tour guide will provide a small bottle of water during the journey. If you want to drink more water, you can bring it yourself or buy it at the lunch restaurant , the price is quite affordable.

Highly recommend this trek and our tour guide Zu! We got to see some beautiful landscapes and learn so much about the people. Lunch was delicious local food. Some highlights included the bamboo forest, buffalos, stunning rice field views. Easy pickup and drop off to hotel included.