Welcome on board the wonderful VICTORIA EXPRESS TRAIN!
Our Victoria staff, dressed in their colourful, trademark ethnic minority waistcoats, will welcome you at Hanoi Railway Station located at 120 Le Duan Street, for departure at 9:30 pm.

Your journey on board the unique Victoria Express will make your trip to Sapa, one of Asia's most beautiful and little explored regions, a truly magical experience. You will feel pampered and privileged in one of our sleeping compartments where you can get a good night's sleep in our comfortable bunks with requisite white linen and classic wooden furnishings.

If your prefer you can first indulge yourself in our Dining Carriage where you can savour the delights of traditional Vietnamese and Western cuisine.

The journey takes around ten hours from Hanoi to Lao Cai, but the time passes quickly, thanks to the gentle rocking of the train and the rhythmical clickety-clack of wheels on the track.

Overnight on board.

After a relaxing night, you will have time for a freshly brewed cup of coffee while watching the scenery unfold in front of you, before you arrive in Lao Cai town, just a few kilometres from the border with China.

Our driver will pick you at 7:00 am at Lao Cai Railway Station. The 45-minute transfer will allow you time to enjoy some spectacular scenery. Don’t hesitate to ask our driver to stop and take some pictures of the amazing landscape. On arrival at our VICTORIA SAPA HOTEL, you will be greeted by our staff, our two resident Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, Vic and Toria, and a welcome drink served in the lobby.

A buffet breakfast will be waiting in our restaurant with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and Vietnam's highest peak, Mount Fan Si Pan. Then relax a bit before an afternoon full of activities and discovery. Enjoy a traditional Vietnamese massage or refresh yourself in our indoor swimming pool. For the more energetic, you can even enjoy the fresh air of Sapa and play tennis on our private court.

On the afternoon, be well-prepared with boots or trekking shoes for a two hours trek through terraced paddy fields. We will take you by car to the village of Lao Chai, home of the H’mong minority people. From there, we will walk 12 km to Tavan village. On the road you will see the H’Mong, Zai and Dao people dressed in different colourful traditional style clothes, that are unique to the Northern region of Vietnam. Experience the daily lives of minority people to better understand their culture and customs. Our driver will be waiting for you to take you back to Sapa.

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Free day in Sapa to explore different pursuits by yourself such as Cat Cat village. Cat Cat is only 4 km from the hotel so you can easily walk to this small H'mong village where the charming inhabitants will perhaps offer to share some ruou (traditional rice alcohol) with you. Relax beside the nearby waterfall or visit the old French-colonial power station. Don’t miss the orchid garden in Sapa, Thac Bac Waterfall, Tafin, a village of the Red Dao minority, or shopping in the town. You will be amazed by the beauty of the unique local handicrafts.

Buffet breakfast at the hotel. Explore Sapa market or perhaps Bac Ha Market - the most famous market of the region, where you will discover all the different minority groups from the surrounding mountains: Flower H’Mong, Tay, F’a, Thai, Nung. This colourful market is well-known for its various handicraft objects.

Back to the hotel, enjoy our swimming pool and hotel facilities before your trip back to Hanoi.

Our driver will take you back to Lao Cai station where the train departure is planned at 6:45 pm. We will serve you a delicious dinner in our restaurant car, before a good night on board.