Lao Cai
Lao Cai, the end of the line so to speak, is right on the Vietnam–China border. The town was razed in the Chinese invasion of 1979, so most of the buildings are new. The border crossing here slammed shut during the 1979 war and only reopened in 1993.

Today Lao Cai is a major destination for travellers journeying between Hanoi or Sapa and Kunming in China, but Lao Cai is no place to linger with Sapa just an hour or so away.

Getting there & away
Minibuses to Sapa (25, 000d, 1½ hours) leave regularly until late afternoon from the station next to the Red River bridge. Minibuses to Bac Ha (28, 000d, two hours) leave several times daily; the departs last at 1pm.

Lao Cai is about 340km from Hanoi. Buses make the journey (85, 000d, nine hours), leaving early in the morning from the long distance bus station (Pho Nguyen Hué), but most travellers sensibly prefer taking the train. See Getting There & Away under Sapa for details on train travel between Hanoi and Lao Cai.

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