Vietnam Photo Tour to Sapa

For the first day of our tour, we will start from your hotel in Old Quarter, then slowly ride out of Hanoi. It will take us about 30 minutes to the country side and the traffic will be less busy than in the center.
On the way heading to Hoa Binh City, we would stop over at some interesting places and try to avoid the main road.

Luy Ai is a peacefull village of Muong ethnic group, we wish to arrive around 3 pm and then discover around and or visit our neibours. Muong ethnic people have a lot of their own taboos, we will slowly study and share our stories.

From Luy Ai we start early for the sunrise on the fields to capture the stunning view of local people working on the fields. We will spend more time for activities on the way to Pu Luong because it is not too far.
Along the way to Pu Luong, we would stop over some nice Muong villages in order to learn more about their life style and have more amazing photos of them.
We wish to arrive Pu Luong around 3 pm, pass by the water wheels place have some more great shots here.
After that, we drive to the homestay, refresh and walk around Don villages which is located in the middle of rice paddy visiting the farmers as well as our neibours who are black Thai ethnic people. Enjoy the cold beers with the good meal of traditional food while chatting around the world.

Whole the morning we drive in Pu Luong national preserve. We would wake up about 4 to 5 am for sunrise photograph on the rice terraces of Pu Luong. Go hunting the great momments of local people working on the paddy in the early lights. We will spend more time at some great locations for our stunning photographs then back to homestay for breakfast.
Later, we would leave our homestay riding along the road getting out of Pu Luong. There are some more interesting villages with great models we would pass by which are Chom Ui, Kho Muong, Ban On..
Then we soon arrive our next homestay located in a traditional Poom Coong village of white Thai group.
Arrive Poom Coong Village in Mai Chau around 4 pm, we will check in our homestay, then walk around the village. In Poom Coong, the family of Ms Chung would warmly welcome us with the best meals with some unique foods and local rice wine.

Mai Chau is very peaceful valley where has many villages of white Thai people. In the morning, we would have many options to do: walking to the field near our homestay or driving to the high pass where has the best view point of Mai Chau. The sun this morning may need more time in order to rise up the high mountain. Whenever finish our good late breakfast, we will leave for Moc Chau where has the most fascinating tea plantations.

Leaving Mai Chau for Moc Chau, we will stop over Hot spring, Chieng Khoa waterfall, Tibouchina semidecandra hill, Trai Tim tea hill…

In the afternoon, we will arrive Ngoc Suong tea plantation which is the most beautifull one in Moc Chau. We would have the best shots of workers collecting the tea around this area.
We will stay at the guest-house nearby Ngoc Suong tea plantation in order to take more great photographs of the tea farm in the early light in the next morning.
Moc Chau would be most fascinating in the early morning, today we would wake up for Sun rise photographs. Spend more time in the plum paddy and play with beautiful children then have great photos of them. Good advice is bring along some toys, books or what ever as the gifts to to them then they would love it so much.
There are many places with stunning view are wating for us such as the Oloong tea plantations, villages of H’Mong hill tribe in different life style a dresses.

In this morning, we would ride around the Ngoc Suong tea farm for some different conners, take photo of workers collecting the tea by hands and may join with them for interesting stories.

After the breakfast at the guesthouse, we depart to Ta Xua and wish to arrive around 4pm for Sunset photographs. We will stop sometime for interesting things and some more great shots on the way.

Ta Xua is very famous for cloud hunting in the very early morning, the best place is at the mount called Dinosaur Spine. Hopefully, we will have chance to enjoy the fabulous cloudy ocean here in October time.
After a great night in Ta Xua, we would start riding 20km from our homestay to the dinosaur spine and satisfy the Sun rises time here. Parking our bike on the main road, we will hike down the Spine for the great shots then.
After the Sunrise, we will ride back the homestay and ready to leave for Tram Tau. There some unique villages of ethnic group are waiting for us to visit and learn about their lifestyle.
Tram Tau is not too far, at first, we will check in our homestay, then we will go to relax in the hot spring nearby.
Enjoy our great night in Tram Tau with the hospitable host and their neibours.

Our destination is a nice homestay in the village of Thai ethnic people, located right next to the river. After check in our homestay, we should walk around the village to see our neibours, playing around, find some stunning view for photographs and filming this fascinating valley. Otherwise, we learn how local people making Cốm ( one kind of light food made from green young sticky rice),then we may have fantastic photos of these processes.
In the late afternoon, we would go for a good view point for Sun set on Khau Pha, perhaps from the valley or drive up hill.
Have delicious dinner with family, sharing some stunning photos and relax.

Today, we will drive to some great view points of Lim Mong and Cao Pha in the early morning taking more facinating photographs of Khau Pha valley in the first light of the Sun.
After that, we would be back to the valley for daily life photographs and meet more local people. About 10am, we will depart to Mu Cang Chai, stop over on the top of Khau Pha high pass for a good lunch. Then we will drive to Mu Cang Chai area. This is the most beautiful rice terraces farm of the North West of Vietnam.

We will have a full day today around Mu Cang Chai wishing to take the most beautiful photographs every single conners here. Some most interesting and fascinating places of Mu Cang Chai such as Rice tray hill, Horse shoe terrace, Shoe tip hill, Bamboo forest, House of Corn and some other rice terrace hills near by.
First of all, we wake up at 4 am and drive to the Rice tray hill waiting for the sun goes up on the rice terraces. Later moving to other places as in the list above just close to each other.
In the afternoon, we will drive to some small villages of H’Mong people in La Pan Tan deep in the mountain for more fascinating pictues of them. Then back to Horse shoe terrace for the Sun set.

In the early morning, we will be riding around La Pan Tan area for taking photos of daily life on terrace farm. Stop over at some great mount has fascinating viewoint for the sun rise and then back to our homestay for late breakfast.
When we finish checking out, we will heading to Lao Chai, another place near by Mu Cang Chai where has beautifull rice terraces also. On the way, we would stop over and have a little hiking up to a small mount called Dynosaur Spinal of Mu Cang Chai if we are interested in. The, follow the way up to Kim Noi area for some other viewpoints.
In the afternoon, we’ll arrive Lao Chai and spend time to taking photos around and or making friends with local families.
Once we finish in Lao Chai, keep riding to next town Than Uyen to stop overnight, discover a night in a small mountain town.

Than Uyen is a stop over town between Mu Cang Chai and Sapa, so we should start early in the morning around 4h30 a.m. On the 100km from Than Uyen and Sapa, we would stop over some nice and good places for photographs and visit some village of ethnic people. We will stay mainly on the main way and heading to the highest O Quy Ho pass located between Lai Chau and Sapa. From the top of the pass, we would stop over for satisfying the great view of O Quy Ho pass before riding down hill to arrive Sapa town.
We wish to arrive Sapa for a great lunch, after that, we will ride down to Muong Hoa valley. There are some villages of ethnic people arround Muong Hoa valley where have great view points of rice terraces for us to have some great shots. We will ride over Giang Ta Chai village to Y Linh Ho and Ta Van then back to Sapa town for overnight. We able to stay over night in Ta Van village at a nice homestay for some more great photographs of next early morning.

The scenery today is just incredible. We would love to photograph the Sun rise on Muong Hoa valley under Hoang Lien Son high mountain in Sapa. The local people are living in two sides of the ranges growing water rice on their terrace field. The scene would be so fascinating in the fisrt rays of sunlight comes.

After Sapa, we will depart to Y Ty – an other beautiful place has stunning view. This part has high mountain and many nice place able to stop for photos, just stop anywhere and anytime that interest you.
The scenery along the way to Y TY is so fascinating, wishing to have more objects would be our models. Stop at any place which interest you with their interesting stories beside them, communicate with Old ladies, children or even animals.
When we reach Y Ty, find a good place for the Sun set photographs if the weathe is great. Check in our homestay in traditional ancient architecture of Ha Nhi ethnic minority group.
The host would serve us a very delicious food that supplied by them self with corn wine.

Y Ty is a remoted place bodered with China where there are some ethnic groups people are living such as H’Mong, Dao, Dáy, especial black Ha Nhi minority one. This is quite quiet place which is less effected by tourism. The minority are still in traditional dress, keep their costom and custom. People are living on traditional water rice agriculture and bamboo knitting.
Today, we would wake up early in the morning for sunrise photographs, if we have chance, we will have fascinating photos of Y Ty with cloud ocean with the Sun.

After that, we will driving around some villages around this area, enter some villages of Ha Nhi, Mong, Dao, Day..We would have oppptunity to visit their family, talk with them and have some amazing photographs. On the way, we will find as much good places as possible for photographs.
The itinerary today should be flexible, we would stay at the same homestay in Y Ty or able to move to an other 40 kms away that direction of Sapa. Let’s discuss when we be in Y Ty.

When we have full of stunning photographs of Y Ty, we would depart to Muong Khuong pass over Ban San village of Ha Nhi ethnic group. We would have more great photos of the ancient square houses and have some nice talk to unique villagers.
We wish to arrive Lao Cai for lunch and then keep riding to Muong Khuong, there are some interesting villages of Giay, Tu Dí … ethnic groups around this are we would stop over in order to undertand more about their life style and wish to have more stunning photos of them.

This day, we would go for cloud hunting depends on our interest as well as the good weather (cold,foggy and sunny). If not, we will depart very early in the morning in order to attend Pha Long local market. After the market, we will be heading to Bac Ha town, stop to visit some villages of local hill tribes such as Nung Di, Phu La, Dao and Hmong …
for stunning photos, enjoying the scenary on the way. We wish to arrive Bac Ha around 4 pm, driving or walking around for taking some great photos of Flower Mong ethnic people with their life style.

Bac Ha is the land of Flower Hmong ethnic group, and the most interesting is the Bac Ha Sunday market. From very early morning, Hmong people and other ethnic group will be going down hill to attend the biggest market of the Northern mountainous one.
We would walk up early in the morning and join to the big event, talking photos of the people are on the way down hill with all their products. Traditionally, Hmong people would use horses as the main way to transport, some would go by motorbikes. They will be in the most beautifull and colourfull dresses and would be our great models.
About 10 am, we start riding to Hoang Su Phi, the scenery around is so fascinating and we will stop sometime for photos.
Ban Phung has the most beautiful rice terrace of Hoang Su Phi where we will stay for one night. The service in Ban Phung is still basic but we would have great view from our homestay in the next morning.

This is last day of our fantastic 17 days photo tour and we need to enjoy it more. Our homestay has a great bacony view to the sunrise in the morning. We able to have our breakfast with hot coffee while taking great shots of the mountain and rice terrace with cloud when the sun is rising up.
After all, keep riding down hill to discover some more facinating Luoc villages with beautiful rice terraces on the way to the town, where we will take a comfortable night sleeping bus back to Hanoi
Arrive Hanoi about 5 am next morning, finnish our great trip with full of memory cards means we all satisfy with the trip, farewell and wish we would ride together next time, from Hanoi to down South along the coastal should be a good recommendation.