Luang Prabang vs. Sapa - help!
Nov 8th, 2006, 12:49 PM
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Luang Prabang vs. Sapa - help!
Has anyone been to both Luang Prabang in Laos and Sapa in Vietnam? If you could only do one or the other, which would you do? Any comparisons/thoughts would be most helpful...
Nov 8th, 2006, 03:41 PM
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Personally I found Sapa to be a bit of a human zoo, very touristy, very persistent vendors and touts. Luang Prabang is a lot more laid back. I didn't stop long in LP as I am more interested in rural life. In northern LP you can visit Nong Khiaw and Muang Ngoi Nuea.
http://www.travelsinasia.com/Vietnam/Sapa.htm
http://www.travelsinasia.com/Laos/LuangPrabang.htm
http://www.travelsinasia.com/Vietnam/Sapa.htm
http://www.travelsinasia.com/Laos/LuangPrabang.htm
Nov 10th, 2006, 03:38 PM
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Weilong - thanks so much for the perspective and the links. Eurotraveller - we will anxiously await your reaction to your trip this week. We'd love your reaction/recommendations from your trip while we still have time to make adjustments to our own itinerary. Safe and happy travels!
Nov 10th, 2006, 11:34 PM
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I have visited both and am in the process of of arrnging our 3rd trip to Luang Prabang (which I guess pretty much answers your question in itself!). we spent a few days in Sapa last jan as part of a trip around north Vietnam. I would agree with WeiLong that Sapa itself is a bit of a human zoo and the minority peoples unsurprisngly are a little fed up with this and it is becomming very cmmercialised. having said that the sscenery in the Sapa valley is spectacular and their are some great walks and longer treks if that is what you are into. The best way to get to Sapa is by train (ususally overnight) from Hanoi, the trains are comfortable and this is an experience in its own right. IMO if you go just for Sapa town you will be disappointed.
Luang Prabang is my favourite town in Asia. I first visited aound 10 years ago and then last time was about 5 years back at Christmas. It had not changed a great deal and it really is a tranquil and beautiful place. From what I can see the hotels have vastly improved in terms of quality and variety (I just hope it has not become too commercialised). This time I am planning to travel down the Mekong from North Thailand and spend 4 nights in LP plus a further 4 trekking around the surrounding counrtyside lodges and homestays.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions please post again.
Luang Prabang is my favourite town in Asia. I first visited aound 10 years ago and then last time was about 5 years back at Christmas. It had not changed a great deal and it really is a tranquil and beautiful place. From what I can see the hotels have vastly improved in terms of quality and variety (I just hope it has not become too commercialised). This time I am planning to travel down the Mekong from North Thailand and spend 4 nights in LP plus a further 4 trekking around the surrounding counrtyside lodges and homestays.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions please post again.
Nov 11th, 2006, 07:32 PM
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Crellston -- the fact that you are planning a third visit to Luang Prabang definitely speaks volumes! Do you have any thoughts about staying in town versus just out of town (there seem to be high-end options in both areas). We have limited time, but are thinking of flying in from Vietnam to LP for three nights -- is that enough time to see the town and surrounds on a first visit? Would we be advised to arrange a guide/driver or is it easy to explore the area independently? Thanks for any other advice....
Nov 12th, 2006, 12:12 AM
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3 nights would be plenty of time to see the main sites around the town itself as it is compact and situated on a small peninsula and so easy to walk around to visit the main temples & sites. Outside of town there are a number of standard trips to visit Kuangsi Waterfall, Pak Ou ( for the Buddha caves and Lao Lao making village) plus a weaving village. We did this on our firats trip but would now just do everyting our selves i.e part of the attraction is just to wander aimlessly in the town. If you have limited time a guide is helpful and it is probably best to arrange one for a visit of 3 days. It is relltively simple to book a driver for a day and tell him where you want to go, but a good guide will know the best places times etc. and will perhaps take you to places you would not of heard of. I am looking at http://www.laos-adventures.com/ to arrnge our trek (please note this is not a recommendation as I haven't checked them out yet!). It seems you can either book and pay in advance or walk in to thre office in LP and arrnge when you get there.
Is 3 days enough? I don't know where else you are going on your trip but I suspect you will want to stay a little longer.
Is 3 days enough? I don't know where else you are going on your trip but I suspect you will want to stay a little longer.
Nov 12th, 2006, 05:08 AM
#9
I agree with crellston that you should stay in town. LP is magical - I fell in love with it on my first trip, and went back for 8 days the second time. If you're in town you're right there for the morning alms round and the evening market, and you can just walk out the door and wander the rest of the time. Don't plan all your time for seeing things, LP is a place to slow down and absorb the atmosphere. But do save some time to attend the evening prayer chant in one of the temples (Xieng Thong for preference, they don't charge admission if you're just there for the prayers).
Nov 25th, 2006, 11:17 PM
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Hi WT,
I have now visited both LP and Sapa and I wholeheartedly agree with others that LP is the better option of the two.
I stayed in town for 5 nights and then ended up in a very remote village 6 hours up the Mekong and a 3 hour hike in. Most of the people in the village had never seen a "falang" before.
It was a life changing experience for me. I plan on returning to the village next year to stay for 3 weeks in the village. I will post more when I return home. in a week or so.
Sapa is very beautiful. I rented a motorbike for two days and really explored the region. That was much better than the day trek I went on.
Please let us know what you decide!
Cheers!
Tamara
I have now visited both LP and Sapa and I wholeheartedly agree with others that LP is the better option of the two.
I stayed in town for 5 nights and then ended up in a very remote village 6 hours up the Mekong and a 3 hour hike in. Most of the people in the village had never seen a "falang" before.
It was a life changing experience for me. I plan on returning to the village next year to stay for 3 weeks in the village. I will post more when I return home. in a week or so.
Sapa is very beautiful. I rented a motorbike for two days and really explored the region. That was much better than the day trek I went on.
Please let us know what you decide!
Cheers!
Tamara
Nov 27th, 2006, 04:08 AM
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Tamara
Sounds as though you are having a great time! Really looking forward to hearing more of your time in the Lao village. I have just finallsed our trek around LP which includes a couple of nights in village homestays.
If you are returning for 3 weeks this mus have been some experience!
Sounds as though you are having a great time! Really looking forward to hearing more of your time in the Lao village. I have just finallsed our trek around LP which includes a couple of nights in village homestays.
If you are returning for 3 weeks this mus have been some experience!
Dec 3rd, 2006, 05:34 PM
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we visited both last year and I would whole-heartedly agree with the others and choose Luang Prabang over Sapa for similar reasons as described by others. Luang Prabang is a delight.
Because many in town hotels were booked, we stayed at the Villa Santi resort and took the free hotel shuttle to town. It was easy and not a big inconvenience. Have fun.
Because many in town hotels were booked, we stayed at the Villa Santi resort and took the free hotel shuttle to town. It was easy and not a big inconvenience. Have fun.
Dec 3rd, 2006, 07:29 PM
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traveljen - how far out of town did you stay. We are considering the Grand Hotel (since all the in town options are booked for our dates). Their website indicates that they have a shuttle into town, but we are also hoping that tuk-tuks or other could take us back and forth to make being out of town more convenient. Did you find that you did not come in for dinner? Any other advice would be great!
Dec 4th, 2006, 05:01 AM
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Hi WinterTravel,
We went to town for dinner every evening- there are so many wonderful dining options in town. We also enjoyed the night market. I don't remember the trip to town being more than 10 minutes- it never seemed long. You can definitely arrange for a tuk tuk to pick you up. While we initially wanted to be in town, it was nice to stay at a resort and have a pool to swim in after a busy day of exploring.
We went to town for dinner every evening- there are so many wonderful dining options in town. We also enjoyed the night market. I don't remember the trip to town being more than 10 minutes- it never seemed long. You can definitely arrange for a tuk tuk to pick you up. While we initially wanted to be in town, it was nice to stay at a resort and have a pool to swim in after a busy day of exploring.
