Tips to book Sapa train tickets
You are planning to visit Sapa by train and don't know how to
buy train ticket? and what you should do to have the train
tickets to Sapa at low cost? Below are some experiences we would
like to share.
Before the new highway was built from Hanoi to Lao Cai, most
tourists travel Sapa by train so there is always a need for
train tickets to Sapa from
Hanoi although the railways have run
tens of train between Hanoi and
Lao Cai everyday.
There are many train booking offices in Hanoi however most
tourists are disappointed because only hard seats are available,
no sleeper berths for both ways, the reason is
sleeper trains to
Sapa are always overloaded, and more inportantly all sleeper
carriages were owned by travel companies, only a fewsleeper cars
belong to the state railways company however most tickets are
sold out very soon and travelers can hardly buy the tickets even
if you go to railways station.
From my experience I want to give you some tips about how to buy
train tickets Hanoi to Sapa at cheap price.
1 - Make up your mind about schedule: Once your trip date is set
you know what you want. Avoid going to Sapa by train at weekend,
especially on Fridays or Saturdays as people tend to go to Sapa
at the end of the week, it would then be very difficult to
obtain tickets or you have to pay much higher than normal to get
the tickets, foreign travelers usually go to
Halong bay at the
beginning of the week and then to
Sapa so it would be much
cheaper if you go to Sapa from Monday to Thursday, there are
markets in Sapa neighborhood almost everyday and you don't need
to see the touristy weekend markets in Sapa.
2 - Check your budget and define the cabin type you want.
There are many cabin types from dirt cheap hard seats to deluxe
VIP 2 sleepers cabins and prices range from 10 usd - 40 usd. The
most expensive train from Hanoi to Sapa is Victoria Express, it
costs approx 100 usd for just one way however travelers can book
Victoria train only if you stay at Victoria resort. From my
point of view it is a waste of money to book Victoria train as
there is not much difference between Victoria Express and other
trains such as Sapaly, Fanxipan, Livitrans, Hoa Phuong
express...Just consider your budget so that you have a good trip
without paying too much.
As mentioned above most sleeper carriages are rented by travel
companies, they invest and provide services, equipments and put up the
standard of the cabins to meet requirements of tourists
especially international visitors who want to have a bit of
comfort in their trip, some trains such as:
-
Livitrans Express (SP7 - SP8) belongs to Vietnam Coal and
Minerals Corporation, in terms of quality Livitrans is one of
the best choice for high end class, and price is pretty
reasonable, at the moment it is the hottest train for tourists.
- Ratraco (SP1 - SP2) under management of Vietnam Railways Joint
Stock Company, quality of cabins is pretty good with soft
sleepers, pillows and blankets available, AC and lighting system
inside cabin, fares is equal as Livitrans
- Green train (SP3 - SP4) run by Vietnam Railway Corporation.
This train
departs at 22.00 everyday from Hanoi, it has probably
the best interior decoration and facilities, the cars are new
and in good condition, the problem is this train has only a few
cabins and it is always booked up by travel companies.
Also in the age of information technology, there are a lot of
websites offering train ticket booking service online, it is
very convenient for travelers to booking train tickets to Sapa
online, quick and easy, and travelers can find all information
around the net. Our website SapaTrainTicket.com offered detailed
information about
how to arrange a trip to Sapa by train. Hope
the above tips is helpful to you before arranging a wonderful
holiday in Sapa.
