I have to preface: I have taken quite a number of night trains, some luxurious/special ones like the Red Arrow in Russia, to local ones in both 1st and 2nd class, like OBB Nightjet, a 16h one from Budapest to Bucharest and another one from Bucharest to Chisinau. Vic Sapa, was definitely one of the best I have taken in terms of quality.

Now to orientate people traveling VN for the first time, like I did, there is a government owned train everyday from Ha Noi to Sa Pa (departing 10pm) and that particular train would have some cabins sold to individual contractors who spruce it up, furbish it, etc. Vic Sapa is one such contractor, so don’t be surprised that the entire train is not in Vic Sapa’s decor.

Now on to the service and reception — Mrs Nguyen has been communicative from the start. As a typical Singaporean, I booked my trip about a month ahead (which was in contrast to the Vietnamese style of travel from what I know) — despite that, Mrs Nguyen had been keeping me up to date, making sure I have the correct details, etc, throughout. A day before the journey, she sent me an email of a photo of my tickets which saved me the trouble of collecting physical ones from the station. Also, she bumped my my cabin class, for which I was even more grateful for.

On the day of the journey, everything went without a fuss. The conductor checked me into my 4-bed cabin. There was a bottle of water, a banana, some cookies, and some coffee and tea. The bed was already made up and ready for rest. A cart came by offering drinks, which I declined because I have already brushed my teeth. Speaking of which, the toilet was clean and spacious, which was impressive to say the least.

The driver then asked if I had a transfer to Sa Pa town (the train station stops about an hour’s ride away from the town) — I did not. He was selling tickets to a shared transfer service, which were 60k each. Very affordable, so I purchased it (it was fine, and I arrived at Sa Pa town in about an hour).

The journey was pleasant if only for the loud sounds and noises from the wheels of the train. I read about it and expected it so I already had a noise canceling sleeping mask. I wouldn’t say it was a perfect uninterrupted sleep, but it was definitely better than the average night train/bus/plane that I have taken. The train also departed and arrived almost exactly on time as stated on the ticket which is actually rare from my experiences.

All in all, it was an experience for the books. I would definitely recommend Vic Sapa and travel with them again in the future.

Review Link: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g311304-d25070205-Reviews-VIC_SAPA_TRAIN-Sapa_Lao_Cai_Province.html