Sapa Trekking & Homestay: Our 3-Day Experience with a Local Guide
There are travel experiences you plan, and then there are travel experiences that plan you. Our 3 days trekking through the mountains of Sapa, Vietnam — staying with a Black Hmong woman named Zaza — fell firmly into the second category.
We didn’t know what to expect. We’d read the blog posts, scrolled the Instagram feeds, seen the jaw-dropping photos of terraced rice fields draped in morning mist. But nothing quite prepared us for what it actually felt like to wake up in Zaza’s home, surrounded by mountains, eating a breakfast she made with her own hands, learning words in a language that has no written form.
This is that story — and everything you need to know if you want to do it yourself.
What Is Sapa and Why Should You Trek There?
Sapa is a mountain town in northern Vietnam, close to the Chinese border in Lao Cai province, and it sits at the heart of one of the most dramatic landscapes in all of Southeast Asia. The surrounding valleys are blanketed in terraced rice fields carved into the hillsides over generations by ethnic minority communities — primarily the Black Hmong, Red Dao, Tay, and Giay peoples.
For travellers, Sapa offers something increasingly rare: genuine cultural exchange in a setting of extraordinary natural beauty. While the town itself has become more commercialised in recent years, the villages and trails that fan out into the valleys remain deeply authentic. The best way to experience them is exactly what we did — trekking with a local guide and staying in their home.
How We Found Zaza
We found Zaza through Google Maps — she has a listing you can find here. We’d recommend booking directly with her rather than going through a larger tour operator, for a few reasons. First, the money goes directly to her and her family. Second, the experience is far more personal — you’re staying in someone’s actual home, not a guesthouse dressed up as one. Third, it’s genuinely more affordable.
Pricing for the 3-day trek with Zaza came to around $50–$100 USD per person, which included guiding, all meals, and accommodation at her home. For everything that was included, this is extraordinary value.
What the 3 Days Actually Looked Like
Day 1: Into the Valley
We set off from Sapa town in the morning with Zaza leading the way. From the first steps it was clear she wasn’t your average guide. While we were watching our footing on narrow mountain paths, carefully placing each step — Zaza was knitting.
Yes, knitting. Moving at a pace that made us feel mildly embarrassed, navigating steep terrain with complete ease, while her hands worked away at a piece of traditional fabric without missing a stitch. It became something of a running joke between us — and also a moment of genuine humility. This is her daily world. We were just visiting it.
The first day took us through sweeping terraced rice fields that seemed to go on forever, stepping down the hillsides in perfect geometric rows. We passed through local villages where children ran to the doorways and elderly women sat weaving in the afternoon light. Zaza pointed out plants, explained farming practices, and answered every question we threw at her about Hmong culture and daily life — all while, yes, still knitting.
By the time we arrived at her home in the early evening, our legs were tired and our hearts were full.
Day 2: Mountain Peaks and Village Life
Day 2 pushed us higher. We climbed toward mountain peaks with panoramic views over the valley — the kind of views that make you stop mid-step and just stare. On a clear day, you can see for what feels like the entire breadth of northern Vietnam. The terraces below look like something painted by hand.
Zaza introduced us to members of her family along the way, and through her we got a window into what daily life actually looks like for Black Hmong people in this part of Vietnam. She shared stories about her culture — festivals, traditions, the significance of the clothing she wore — with a warmth and openness that never felt performative. This was just who she is.
In the evening, she cooked for us. The food was simple, fresh, and genuinely delicious — rice, vegetables from the garden, local dishes we couldn’t name but ate enthusiastically. We sat together at her table, tried our best to learn a few words in Hmong (harder than it sounds), and felt profoundly grateful to be there.
Day 3: The Bittersweet Goodbye
The final day of trekking brought more villages, more rice terraces, more mountain views — and an awareness that it was all coming to an end. By this point we’d settled into Zaza’s rhythm, felt at home in her home, and grown genuinely attached to the experience of being there.
Saying goodbye to Zaza was harder than we expected. That’s the thing about authentic travel experiences — they get under your skin. We left Sapa with aching legs, full hearts, and a sadness that’s honestly the best kind: the sadness of leaving somewhere that meant something.
What Made This Experience So Special
We’ve done a lot of travel. We’ve stayed in beautiful hotels, done organised tours, hit the major sights. And this — a few days in the mountains with a woman who knits while she walks — was one of the most meaningful travel experiences of our lives. Here’s why:
Zaza cooked every meal for us. Home-cooked food, made with care, eaten together. It sounds simple but it changes everything about how you feel in a place.
She shared her culture openly and generously. Not in a scripted tour-guide way, but in the way you’d share your life with a guest in your home.
She introduced us to her family. We weren’t tourists being shown a village — we were guests being welcomed into a life.
She taught us words in Hmong. A language spoken by millions of people across Southeast Asia, with no standardised written form. Just hearing it — and stumbling through a few words — felt like a privilege.
She was impossibly fit and completely unbothered by terrain that had us gasping. And she was knitting the whole time. We cannot stress this enough.
Practical Information: How to Do This Yourself
How to book: Find Zaza directly via her Google Maps listing. Booking directly ensures your money goes straight to her rather than a middleman.
Cost: Approximately $50–$100 USD per person for 3 days, including guiding, all meals, and a homestay at her home. This is exceptional value for what you receive.
What’s included: Guiding across all 3 days, home-cooked meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and accommodation at Zaza’s family home.
What to bring:
- Solid trekking shoes or trail runners — the terrain is uneven, sometimes muddy, and genuinely challenging in places
- A light rain jacket — the mountains create their own weather and afternoon rain is common
- Layers — temperatures drop significantly in the evenings, especially if you visit outside peak summer months
- Cash in Vietnamese Dong — there are no ATMs in the villages
- A small daypack with water and snacks for the trail
- Sunscreen and a hat for exposed ridgeline sections
- An open mind and genuine curiosity — Zaza’s generosity deserves to be met with respect and interest
Physical difficulty: Moderate to challenging. The daily trekking covers significant elevation gain and terrain that is steep in places. You don’t need to be an athlete, but a reasonable base level of fitness will make it more enjoyable. If Zaza can do it while knitting, you can do it.
Best time to visit: September to November for golden rice harvest season — the terraces turn amber and the light is extraordinary. March to May is also beautiful when the fields are vivid green. Avoid the height of summer if you’re sensitive to humidity and rain.
Getting to Sapa: Most travellers take the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, then a bus or taxi up to Sapa town. The sleeper train is a comfortable and affordable option — book in advance as it sells out, particularly on weekends and during peak travel months.
Tips for Getting the Most Out of Your Sapa Trek
Book directly with a local guide rather than a large tour agency. Your money goes directly into the community, and the experience is significantly more personal and authentic.
Come with curiosity, not just a camera. The people you’ll meet in the villages are not a tourist attraction — they’re people living their lives. Ask questions, listen, engage.
Be honest about your fitness level before booking. There’s no shame in doing a 2-day trek instead of 3 if that suits you better. A good guide will help you plan something appropriate.
Learn a few words in Vietnamese or Hmong before you go. Even a simple “xin chào” (hello) or “cảm ơn” (thank you) goes a long way in showing respect and warmth.
Carry small gifts if you’d like to give back. Stationery for children, or purchasing handmade goods directly from your host family, is a meaningful way to support the community beyond your trekking fee.
Don’t rush. The whole point of this experience is to slow down. Let the pace of mountain life set the rhythm for a few days.
From Sapa, We Headed to Cat Ba and Lan Ha Bay
After our bittersweet goodbye with Zaza, we made our way from Sapa toward the coast — Cat Ba Island and then a cruise through the stunning Lan Ha Bay. It was a dramatic shift from the mountains, and an experience that came with its own lessons about travel, expectations, and value.
We’ll cover that journey in our next post — including our honest take on whether a Lan Ha Bay cruise is actually worth the price.
Final Thoughts
If you’re planning a trip to Vietnam and wondering whether to make the journey up to Sapa — go. And when you get there, find a guide like Zaza. Don’t just hike through the landscape. Sleep in it. Eat in it. Let someone who actually lives there show you what it means.
You’ll leave with sore legs, a few words of Hmong, and a sadness that, trust us, is entirely worth it.
Looking for other resources for your Vietnam trip? Check out our Complete Vietnam Visa Guide for Canadians and our e-SIM recommendations to stay connected on the road.
