🏨 Number one top rated ethical cultural trekking and homestay by ETHOS Activity

Overview

We are an award winning Social impact organisation with a long track record of supporting ethnic minority communities by empowerment through sustainable, ethical tourism. We are proud to feature in the TripAdvisor Hall of Fame after maintaining our position as the top tour provider in our region for over five years. Our aims and objectives are to provide experiential, cultural opportunities for visitors to Sapa, but we also care for the natural environment, our growing guide team, and the local communities in which we work. ETHOS constantly strive to improve our operations and services through self-evaluation, innovation & creativity. As well as tours, our community leadership team run regular human trafficking awareness and prevention workshops. Our guides are also pivotal in a wide range of dynamic community education, healthcare, hygiene & sanitation projects. Our tours are now supporting 49 families across 19 villages in four provinces. We also have 26 ongoing development projects

What's Included

Breakfast

Dinner

Homestay accomodation

Private transportation

Water and refreshments

What's Not Included

Travel insurance

Traveler Information

INFANT: Age: 1 - 2
CHILD: Age: 3 - 10
YOUTH: Age: 11 - 18
ADULT: Age: 19 - 70
SENIOR: Age: 71 - 85

Additional Info

Public transportation options are available nearby

Public transportation options are available nearby

Cancellation Policy

If you cancel at least 4 day(s) before the scheduled departure time, you will receive a full refund.
If you cancel within 3 day(s) of the scheduled departure, you will receive a 0% refund.

This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Reviews

Memories that'll last a lifetime, thank you

Macclads, 17-09-2022

What an experience!
I travelled to Sapa with my eldest son back in July and had been in touch with Phil prior who had been amazing giving us information and guidance for our first ever time in Vietnam.
We decided upon a 2 day trek and were met by two local guides both named Cha at our hotel early in the morning where they provided us with water and bags to carry them, a short taxi ride then took us to our starting point. The weather was glorious though it had rained the night prior so the paths at times were a little slippy heading down to the river, but we took it steady and Cha constantly was ensuring we were okay. Passing locals around rice fields which looked majestic, we stopped at a bathing pool which was a welcome respite from the heat. From there we ventured through cornfields and through a small village where we met some farmers washing their crops ready to take to market.
We rested for lunch with a Hmong family, everyone assisted in the preparation of the locally sourced crops from their garden including ourselves and it was great to see even the youngest of the children helping out. The elderly matriarch of the family was amazing, in her mid 90s yet full of life. Just be wary when she gets out her plum wine, it's got a hell of a kick and she'll drink you under the table

ETHOS BLEW OUR MINDS & OPENED OUR HEARTS

V5586ZMchrisp, 15-09-2022

HIGHLY RECOMMEND! 5

An excellent day spent on the trails during rice harvest season

SGN1975, 03-09-2022

I arrived at the Ethos office at 08:30am, enjoyed a cup of tea, conversation with the owners, introduction of guide plus other members of the staff who were on-hand and off I went with the guide (“My” but perhaps spelled differently). My and I taxied about 30-minutes to the trail head and hiked at a leisurely pace for 2-1/2 hours or so before stopping for lunch at a Red Dau village. Along the way we passed many rice fields either being harvested or nearly ready to harvest. Since My (my guide) is a local lady who works in the fields when not providing guiding services, she could easily distinguish the various types of rice being grown, pointed out features that indicated field plot boundaries where different families worked the fields, and how the harvest was used by the local community. Of interest was the differences between sticky rice (which in Sapa is a special occasion rice although common in every day dining in Laos where I’ve visited previously) and the more traditional / every day rice. My even provided some information on where to the find sticky rice available for street level purchase in Sapa which I intend to do while in town. When we broke for lunch, it was clear that My and our hostess were good friends and easily interacted with My even helping with the cooking. Lunch was traditional rice, a pork / onion blend, bamboo, morning glory, su-su greens (probably misspelled) plus a spicy dipping sauce which we ate family style on a table on the hostess’ patio. The highlight though was being offered a Red Dau herbal bath after lunch that I took advantage of (!) and really enjoyed - that set me up for a brief nap before we continued the trek. We finished the trek by actually walking through some rice fields that were not yet harvested so got to see the rice very up close while My provided some additional commentary on the harvesting process. All of our conversations were in English which My easily handled included some of the more light hearted banter that is difficult for someone not as well versed in the language. My also speaks Vietnamese and her native Hmong tribal language. It was interesting to learn the names of some of the herbs and plants we came across and My easily carried an instructive conversation about their names and uses of the plants.

I highly recommend Ethos-Spirit of the Community for trekking / guiding services and any other tour needs you may have in the Sapa region. I think one of the reasons, too, for my very positive experience is that I only provided a general idea of what I was wanting to see (rice fields during harvest season) which allowed their team to flex to specific regions where the harvest was actually taking place.

I definitely look forward to returning to Sapa and engaging Ethos for additional services

The best trekking of our life!

Dre9292, 27-08-2022

We booked the Buffalo valley trek 2 days 1 night with ethos community. We did not know exactly what to expect but wowwww. Our guide My guided us through the rice valleys. We saw 0 other tourists. Stayed at local Hmong people which was a great experience. The trekking was so beautiful, it was a total different world. Will recommend this trekking to everyone we know. Thanks a lot My! Andres and Astrid

Amazing Authentic Cultural Experience

Ginarose123, 21-08-2022

Since returning home from my two weeks in Vietnam, I find myself constantly thinking of my Sa Pa hiking tour with Ethos. It has deeply impacted me on many levels. When I arrived at the Ethos office Hoa and the young woman from the Black Hmong tribe educated me about the minority tribes in Vietnam. It was fascinating and really interesting to learn about some of the history and culture of the minority tribes in Vietnam before setting off on the hike. I had particular interests which included traditional medicines and was matched with a guide who was knowledgeable in this area.

My guide was absolutely amazing. I’ll never forget the first time I saw her. She was dressed in the Black Hmong traditional clothing with a big smile on her face. She was warm hearted, patient, answered all of my questions, explained lots to me and helped me down slippery tracks and over small streams (I’m 60yrs and the hiking was relatively easy overall). My guide spoke English well (self taught) and it impacted me to find out that she is illiterate and would love to learn how to read and write (something we easily take for granted in Western countries). Over the two day hike, the scenery was stunning and varied. The home stay experience was profound and unforgettable. I’m vegetarian and was fed delicious vegetarian meals at our lunch stops and at the home stay. A couple of little hints: If you are someone who snacks in between meals, take some snacks with you like nuts and dried fruit. Also, at the Hmong homes, the only way to boil water is over the fire, so they don’t drink hot drinks much. I had a hot green tea at my homestay, but as I didn’t want to use up more wood for boiling water just for me, I mainly drank water from my water bottle. (Or you may be offered rice wine too). If you like a coffee or tea to start your day, you may need to take your own and let your guide know if you need a hot cuppa. Or just do without, as the locals do, for a day or two.

I’m already dreaming of returning to Sa Pa and doing another hike with Ethos. They are a genuinely ethical company who can tailor the experience to your needs. The cultural immersion in a rapidly changing culture is very precious.

Number one top rated ethical cultural trekking and homestay by ETHOS Activity - Vietnam Travel Guide

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