Sapa is a magical place. The landscape itself is reason enough to make the 7-hour trek from Hanoi, but this place is much more than just a beautiful landscape. This mountainous town is home to five ethnic minority hill tribes who still dress in traditional garb and speak in their own dialects. The coolest part? The local families of these tribes invite you into their homes in order to experience their way of life first hand. If that isn’t a unique experience I just don’t know what is…

Local Homestay vs. Tour Company

Sometimes a tour sounds easier and cheaper because you don’t have to worry about getting from point A to point B, and your itinerary is completely planned for you. However, there are some things you just should not use a tour for, and Sa Pa is the perfect example.

First of all, it’s actually cheaper to organize your own transportation and homestay. I paid $18 for a round-trip bus ticket to Sa Pa from Hanoi and back, and another $18 for a nights accommodation, five incredible meals, and private guided trek around Sa Pa by a local family. Tour companies charge $58-70, and you are with a group of 15-20 other people, staying in a hotel or hostel, not a true local homestay.

Second of all, when you organize directly with a local family, they see 100% of the money. When you go through a tour, they only see a percentage of that money. I’d way rather support a local family directly if given the option!

Trekking Through Sapa & Experiencing a Local Homestay

I should start off by saying that I originally planned on just showing up to Sa Pa and finding a family to stay with upon arrival. Women of the different tribes wait for tourists to arrive at the bus station and then offer guided tours and homestays. But when I went to board the bus to Sa Pa from Hanoi, I saw my French friend, Vic, who I had met in Hue, also boarding the same bus! We of course were psyched to see each other again, and she told me all about the homestay she had organized with a family of the Hmong tribe. She asked if I wanted to join in on her adventure, and I couldn’t have said yes faster. An American guy named Josh, who I had walked to the bus station with, hadn’t planned anything in Sa Pa either and asked if he could join. And just like that, we had ourselves a little trio ready for an authentic Sa Pa experience!

We arrived in Sa Pa at 4am, but the bus company let us sleep on onboard until 6am which was amazing, may I add. Our adorable guide, Ku, was patiently waiting for us with her baby, mother, and husband, all of whom greeted us with a big smile. Ku was the only one in her family to speak English, but a smile went a long way with the other members of her family. Ku is 17 years old, was married at 15, already has a one year old, and is responsible for a main part of her family’s income. Can you imagine having that type of responsibility before even turning 18?!

Her husband took all of our bags on his motorbike, and we started on the five hour trek to their village. First we passed through Sa Pa town which is the most touristy area, with numerous hostels, hotels, restaurants and cafes, as well as a town center with a large Cathedral. As Sa Pa town fell behind us, you could start to feel the real Sa Pa. Water buffalo roamed the dirt paths as if they were neighborhood dogs, children played in their family’s rice paddies, and women dressed in traditional clothing made their way back towards Sa Pa town to sell their handmade goods. We even passed a farmer using water buffalo like a tractor to turn his soil, and I felt like we were back in time!

Along the way, Ku’s mother, known as “Mamma” kept stopping to pick flowers and greenery but we weren’t sure why. We soon found out when she handed Vic and I each the below.

Five hours later, we made it to Ku’s one room bamboo home set in the hills of the Lao Chai region. There was no running water, one plug of electricity so they could charge their cell phone, and of course no stove or oven. There was a single outhouse and an outdoor washing station, which was used for dish washing, limited bathing, and teeth brushing. They had a vegetable garden, a pig, and a water basin filled with indigo for clothes dying which is a Hmong tribe specialty.

While we settled in, I watched Ku and her sisters play with her son, her husband and his friend eating fruit and joking around, and “Mamma” (Ku’s mother) tidying around the house, but would stop to squeeze her grandson’s cheeks from time to time. It was easy to see how much love and happiness lives within this family. It made me smile to think that even with so little, my host family lived a happy and fulfilled life. At the end of the day, what more do you really need than the love of friends and family, and a modest meal?

After settling in and eating a delicious lunch, Ku’s sister took us down to the river running through the valley by way of the never ending rice terraces. Walking down the muddy rice terraces proved to be quite difficult, as Josh took a spill into one of the rice fields and some rice farmers and locals nearby had a good laugh. When we made it to the edge of the river, we each found a spot to relax and watched as the buffalo cooled off in the water.

Later we returned for an amazing dinner of rice, fish, tofu, vegetables, and pork. Ku explained that they typically only eat the rice that they harvest from their own rice paddies and vegetables they grow in their garden, but when foreigners visit they are able to put on a spread. Dinner was filled with laughter and a whole lot of rice wine. Mamma makes her own rice wine, and was eager to have us try it. So eager in fact, that she basically made us finish our glass if she finished hers. Let me tell you, Mamma can drink. Soon after dinner, we all climbed into bed in anticipation for the next day’s trek.

The next day was dreary weather, but it didn’t stop us from trekking another 4 hours of the beautiful Sa Pa hillside. The rest of the day was filled with breathtaking views of Sa Pa as well as more delicious home cooked meals. As the day came to a close, we graciously thanked our host family and made our way back to Sa Pa town to catch our bus back to Hanoi. I was sad to say goodbye to Vic and Josh, but was so happy to have shared this incredible experience with two such amazing people. It is an experience I will never forget.

To get in touch with Ku and her family, text them at (+84) 01 23 58 50 823.