Im trying to plan my trip to Nthn Vietnam in April, and am having second thoughts about visiting Sapa. The more research I do, the more it just seems 'done', touristy and expensive.

Is there an alternative to Sapa, where I can hope to find a real slice of rural Vietnam and stunning scenery?

Depending upon how physically fit you are, you can arrange incredible 2-4 day hikes from Sapa into the mountains, staying overnight in villages.

Have you read about the Dien Bien Phu Loop? The basic trip is Hanoi to DBP to Sapa by road and then train back to Hanoi. A few stops on the way on this 5-day journey.

We are just back. Because we knew the weather could be iffy in Sapa in january, we decided to go for BAc Ha instead even though we'd been told that the scenery around Sapa was more spectacular. the Bac ha area had very nice scenery as far as we were concerned. The town itself has nothing to offer, however. All of us who were staying there in the Sao Mai (the hotel most westerners stay in) were eating at the same small restaurant for every meal, and the food wasn't particularly good. We spent 2 days trekking in the area, and it was VERY interesting.

But, expect extremely primitive conditions if you do a homestay. We were so glad we had silk sleep sacks and small travel pillows. We were put up in a Hmong family's home. They cleared off their son's bed for us in the corner of the dwelling (hut might be an appropriate term). The bed itself was a hard wooden platform with a woven straw mat. To make it more comfortable for us, the wife went up into the hayloft and put some straw under the mat. There were piles of thick blankets so we weren't cold because we were also wearing our silk long johns under several layers of clothes. Bathroom facilities were non-existent. The bushes were the place to go. That said, it was a fascinating insight into the conditions that those who were not lucky enough to have been born in the developed world live in. We now truly appreciate the comfort we live in and are ashamed at how consumer-oriented our lives all are.