Sapa is a hill station established by the French in 1922, and its beautiful scenery and colourful local tribal people make it a popular stop on many visitors' itineraries.  The best way to get there is to take the overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, then transfer the final 38 km (24 miles) from Lo Cai to Sapa by bus, car or taxi.  There are both daytime and overnight sleeper trains between Hanoi & Lao Cai, and on the sleeper trains you can use a regular Vietnamese Railways soft or hard sleeper or choose from a whole range of privately-run sleeping-cars of a higher standard aimed at tourists.  The line from Hanoi to Lao Cai was built by the French and opened in 1910 as part of the Vietnam to Kunming railway.  The Lao Cai to Kunming section is currently out of commission following landslides in 2002, but for onward travel from Lao Cai to Kunming by bus, see the Hanoi to Kunming section.  Hanoi to Lao Cai is 296 km (185 miles).

Train timetable...

aking the train to Lao Cai for Sapa...

Hanoi 'B' station on the far side of the tracks from Hanoi main ('A') station, accessed from Tran Quay Cap street.  In the evening the B station comes alive as no fewer than four busy sleeper trains with both Vietnamese and many western tourists head north to Lao Cai...		4-berth soft sleeper as used on trains SP1/2, SP3/4.  See the section above for more info.

Scenery on the road journey from Lao Cai up to Sapa...		Sapa church...

This is the daytime train to Lai Cai, the LC3, about to leave Hanoi in the early morning.  This is the one air-conditioned soft seat car on the train, an older car with wire mesh across the windows to protect against stones.  The rest of the train consists of ordinary hard seats as shown here.  A Vietnamese Railways attendant is in charge of each car, and you'll find beer, soft drinks and food sold by vendors.

Hanoi to Sapa by privately-run tourist sleeping-car...

You may prefer to take a privately-run sleeping car to Lao Cai for Sapa.  In addition to the normal Vietnamese Railways sleepers & seats, overnight trains SP1-SP8 between Hanoi & Lao Cai convey a bewildering range of privately-run deluxe sleeping-cars for tourists.  If you want extra comfort & cleanliness and don't mind paying a bit more, go for one of these private cars as they're all significantly better than the regular Vietnamese Railways sleepers.

Fanxipan, Sapaly Express, King, Livitrans, Orient Express, Tulico, Ratraco, TSC, Friendly, Royal, Hara...

All these private operators offer berths in shared First Class 4-berth sleepers, and a few also offer a handful of VIP 2-berth sleepers (though if these have sold out you can always pay for all 4 berths in a 4-berth if you like, the price works out pretty much the same).  The sleepers all have air-conditioning, fresh clean bedding, complimentary mineral water and snacks, and clean western-style toilets.  These private sleepers are all very comfortable, just remember that this is still Vietnam with Vietnamese standards, you'll enjoy the trip more if you don't turn up with unrealistic expectations of 5-star western-style luxury for $35!  Most of these private tourist sleeping-cars run attached to train SP1/SP2, though one or two (TSC and Sapaly) are attached to SP3/SP4 and Livitrans cars are attached to SP7/SP8.

Which company should you choose?  How much does it cost?  There's not a huge amount to choose between the many different operators and the price they all charge is pretty similar, about $34-36 one-way in a shared First Class 4-berth sleeper or $70-79 per person for travel in a VIP 2-berth sleeper.  However, the best operators are usually acknowledged to be Fanxipan and Orient Express (both on train SP1/2) and Sapaly Express (on train SP3/4).  Personally, I prefer Fanxipan to Orient Express as there was sufficient headroom under the upper berths to sit on the lower bunk, in the Orient Express carriage I had to lean forward (I'm 6' 2").  Lower berths are recommended if you're tall, as the upper berth has a support chain taking up an inch or two at each end.  If you use one of these private sleepers, feedback is always appreciated.

Can I buy all 4 berths in a compartment to have a room to ourselves?  Yes, if you insist, if the very few 2-berth VIP compartments are all sold out as they often are.  But meeting fellow tourists and talking over a beer into the night is great fun.  Would I recommend paying double to miss all the fun and sit in glorious isolation?  No!