How to travel to Lao Cai from Hanoi

Lao Cai is a province of northwestern in the mountainous region of Vietnam, bordering the province of Yunnan in the China. There are so many popular travel places are located in Lao Cai province including Sapa, Can Cau, Bac Ha, Muong Khuong…The town itself therefore has not much interest.

For most travelers, Laocai is just a stop before they travel to other places in Lao Cai province.

The most popular mean of transport that links Hanoi to Lao Cai is the train, run by Vietnam Railways. There are usually three trains departing each night from Hanoi during the season of tourism. The earliest train leaves Hanoi train station at about 20:20; The second at about 21:15 and the other at about 21:45 pm.

After spend a night on board train you arrive Laocai train station early morning the following day at about 5:00 – 6:00 am. There you can hire a private vehicle with driver or take the open bus to get to your planed travel destinations.

Those who would like to see the scenery along the way can take the day train from Hanoi to Laocai. There is only one train per day. The day train is less comfortable than the nights trains. There are only seats on the day train.

Another option for those would like to see the landscape on the way is to travel by car. Hiring a private A/C vehicle with driver may be the best option since this is quite flexible. You stop where and when you like. Stops may be made in route for you to take picture and to visit local hill tribe villages.

Those who are on budget can also take the public buses that depart from My Dinh bus station. Most of public bus leave in early evening. But there are also day buses which are less comfortable.

Travelling to Laocai can also be arranged with motorbike. This activity is for adventure, active travelers seeking a real challenging bike ride in the northern Vietnam. It is possible to rent a motorbike in Hanoi and then start riding through Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai to Laocai. The rider cal also ride through Tu Le, Mu Cang Chai, Than Uyen, Lai Chau before turning right towards Laocai. The rental cost of a bike is about 20USD – 35 USD per day per bike. This depends on the bike model. As a experienced rider at Lotussia Travel, I personally recommend you renting a high capacity bike or an off-road bikes what are designed for mountain ride. A Honda BR Baja 250 or Yahamaha Baja 125cc or Honda Fortun 150cc can be a very good choice.

If you have much time and that you are an active, adventure traveler who liked outdoor and challenging travel activities, you can rent a mountain bicycle and enjoy the road ride by yourself. You if pedal from Hanoi to Laocai, the journey may take up to five or six days. The first portion of the road is flat and paved but the second one has many up and downhill rides.