I usually research things myself and have a DIY trip. This time, I found Sapa Sunshine Tours here on Trip Advisor and let them handle it all for me. I... read more told them how many days I had and they gave me practical advice for the type of trip I wanted - if I had done it my way, I would have been exhausted! John organised a 2 day 1 night trip in the Palace boat on Halong Bay - it was beautiful and the food was fantastic. I personally don't like group activity and it was easy enough to disengage from that. He also organised the train and all associated collections, with a personal tour around Sapa. Sara was a definite highlight for me. I had a great time, and appreciated the fine coordination and tailored management of my requests. For all of the above including transport to and from these places it was US$310. Why would I even bother doing it myself?

  The trip started with pick ip from our hotel - on time, comfortable van. The overnight train ride was OK (expected to be bumpy and noisy - probably an issue... read more if you’re a light sleeper), we had a 2-berth cabin, toilet was rather small.

Reached Lao Cai and driver was ready to drive us to Sapa. A little bit confusion over which hotel we’ll be staying at but it was all sorted out. Happy that the hotel provided breakfast even we have not checked in (we arrived early morning), luggage storage was available and there were clean shower rooms with towels provided.

Left the luggage at the hotel, showered and we were off to the Day 1 trekking. Nice, friendly English-speaking guide - named Mims. Easy/ low elevation trekking, beautiful padi-terraces scenery. The rice we just about to be harvested, it was perfect timing. Day 2 trekking was a little bit harder with steps to get to the two waterfalls. At the end of day 2 we were back at the hotel, showered, picked up the luggage and were sent to the train station to get back to Hanoi.

Overall a superb experience! Than you Mr John and all the guide/drivers

  When we travel we usually do it all ourselves. When I started to plan I noticed that John from Sapa Sunshine was very generous on the Vietnam forum on... read more TA answering questions and giving suggestions to I contacted him about our trip. I told him when we were coming, generally what our interests were, our physical limitations (nothing serious, just some wonky old age stuff) and said we wanted to see as much of Vietnam as we could.
John came back with an itinerary that was more thorough and interesting than anything we could have done ourselves. We saw Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Nam Dinh, Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Min City. We were always met at the airport/train station by a guide and checked into our hotel. Our guides, set up by John, were excellent. We were checked in to our hotels and never for a moment did we wonder if our guide or driver would show up when expected. They were always on time.
We travelled 3* hotel and all of them were wonderful. (arranged by SST). All were easily accessible to town and in most cases in town. Our reservations were always correct and although we did live out of suitcases travel was eays.
I honestly cannot say enough good about Sapa Sunshine Travel and John. When we left a piece of equipment in a vehicle in one city he managed to get it delivered to us before we left the country. We thought it was gone.
We had a few questions and slight changes to make while we were travelling and a quick email to John had things arranged for us (we got a day hotel room in Hanoi after the night on the train, before we headed to the airport).
If you are going to Vietnam, talk to John at Sapa Sunshine Travel. Your trip will be better arranged than you can imagine - your personal interests will be covered (we did lots of food tours), and the price will be reasonable - worth every penny.

  We had a great service from John at Sunshine Sapa Travel. Everything was organised and our trip to Sapa ran like clockwork. John even took us to our cabin on... read more the train. Our guide in Sapa was awesome - really made the trip for us.

  We are a family with two kids ( 10 years old twins) and decided to explore Vietnam a little bit. Since we prefer to visit more places and to see... read more mainly country side, people and their habits we planned for visit of Mekong delta, Saigon, Dalat and its surrounding, Hanoi and of course Ha Long Bay. For local arrangement we made a deal with Sapa Sunshine Travel. Our experience with them was amazing - just to summarize in one word. Their drivers were always on time at agreed place, their guides were fluent in English, knowledgeable, decent and helpful. We got so much of additional info thanks to them. Whole arrangement was done in very professional way, respecting our needs.
We did such trips before to other countries so we can really compare. Sapa Sunshine did great job and we can only recommend their services.
Pavel Kliment and family

  Am extremely happy to have approached John for Sapa + Bac Ha, the driver and guide that he recommended were fantastic and our programme ran with no glitches. Prices are... read more fairly reasonable as well.

  Nice place to eat, the restaurant is located on open balcony/terrace a nové the street. Food was very good - especially sprint rolls with sweet&your sauce. Very reasonable prices (noodles... read more about 55Kvdn, beer 30Kvdn).

  John is amazing in terms of replying our emails and questions and even checked on us during our stay in Hanoi. Van is always prompt and on time. Our tour... read more guide for 3 days (Ha), is just amazing. He is very knowledgeable and recommends good places to eat. Love the hot pot that he recommended.

  I highly recommend John from Sapa Sunshine Travel when trying to organise trips within Vietnam. John corresponded to my questions and requests quickly, he made suggestions and had our... read more paperwork ready on time.
The guide we had was knowledgeable, friendly and worked our plans around the crowds which was fantastic.
If your looking for a tour company, don't go past this one.
Thank you Sapa Sunshine Travel

  good weather and nice view of rice field ladder which you can enjoying walking along the village all day. you have to be there