Chapa Express Train

Much better than the Sapaly Express. Cabin was beautifully made-up, comfortable, and clean. The Chapa lounge (Waiting Room 2) at the Lao Cai Railway Station provided a clean, comfortable, and pleasant waiting area, and the staff alerted us of the appropriate time to board, and even brought us directly aboard to show us to our cabin. Toilets were clean, with ample supplies provided. My wife's testimonial: "The only way to travel."

There are 3 different overnight trains between Hanoi and Sapa. I booked our train through Train to Sapa and received incredible service. Ms Ngoc Ha gave me good advice, helped me change tickets when I messed up the booking and did my 2nd booking on Whats Ap which was super convenient. We took the Chapa Express and it was clean, with cute sinks, free water, toothbrushes, nuts and slippers and a bed side lamp. The toilets were clean. We noticed the train felt like it was rocking much more on the upper bunks and it was colder with a strong air con vent at the top of the cabin. It's worth taking some snacks as the food they sell on the train is not great and overpriced (by Vietnam standards). We really enjoyed the train ride overall and I especially loved the service and advice from Ms NGOC HA at Train to Sapa.

n fact there is only one train from Hanoi to Lao Cai at 10.00 p.m. and there are different couches with different names/ Basically are the same very old train coaches with some minimal redecoration. We booked Chapa Express and the mattresses and bed linen were fairly new and comfortable but it can not cancel the smell of the old train. Also don't accept a booking without reserved places then they will put you at the end of corridor just near the toilet and above the wheels and it's terribly noisy. If you are in the middle of the coach you will get a much better sleep.