22/10/2026
✨Northern Vietnam: Beautiful scenery, rich culture and luxury boltholes✨
Northern Vietnam packs a punch with luxury hotels, breathtaking scenery and vibrant cities, says Jo Kessel.......
✨"I’m on a platform at Hanoi’s central station, looking for my carriage on one of the country’s most luxurious sleeper trains: the Chapa Express. I cheekily peek in at the cabins.
They’re bijou and boutique, far superior to my previous overnight Vietnamese train experience."
"My cutest two berth first class cabin (once I’ve found it) exceeds expectations: bohemian décor, comfy mattresses and fluffy duvets which lull me to sleep as we rattle northwards. I don’t stir until we pull into our destination, Lao Cai, a mile from the Chinese border."
"Out the window I’m greeted by a vista of mountains blushed red by the sunrise and decide that this has been a great way to travel. A bargain too at £158 a cabin! And the breakfast chicken pho (spicy Vietnamese noodle soup) served later at the terminus café hits the spot nicely."
✨Show-stopping Sapa:
"I’m heading to Sapa, a 40-minute drive away. Such is Sapa’s popularity that in recent years it has grown from a sleepy 1,500m-high lakeside village to a tourist town brimming with colourful cafes, spas and eateries.
It has two major draws: the temperate climate – an average 25 degrees year-round – and the mountains. Indeed, the roof terrace at the Hotel de la Coupole – MGallery (my base for the next few days) offers a spectacular view of the region’s soaring, fir-coated peaks."
"Everything about this five-star hotel (including its name) has French flair, from its yellow, dome-topped façade to its flamboyant aesthetics. There’s a column of cut-out mannequins in the Chic restaurant, hanging umbrellas in the bar and graffiti art covering walls."
"The oversized swimming pool is another showstopper, fringed by giant bronze statues. One dangles upside down and gives me the side-eye as I backstroke beneath. I catch a fellow guest circling in awe. “This place is amazing,” he says. “I’m not going to want to leave for days!”
✨Valley deep, mountain high
"My goal, however, is to conquer what isn’t just the tallest peak in Vietnam, but the whole of Indochina: the 3,143m high Mount Fansipan. And getting there no longer requires an arduous three-day hike. There’s now a network of funiculars and cable cars to take you all the way to the top, the first of which leaves from the Hotel de la Coupole itself."
"The scenery changes as you gain altitude. Lush, flower-carpeted meadows give way to slopes terraced with rice paddies. Higher still, foliage becomes thick with star-anise, fir trees and, rather disconcertingly, clouds.
The final leg can be done by gondola or on foot and I choose the latter. The mile-long trail includes 650 lung-busting steps and winds past temples and pagodas as well as a giant Buddha. The mist lifts long enough for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it view, but at the summit it’s a whiteout. No matter: being here feels like a triumph."
"View-wise, however, I’m luckier at Sapa’s other high-altitude attraction: the Glass Bridge. Granted, this transparent walkway which hangs off the side of a mountain won’t be for everyone. It’s a giddying 2,200m high, see-through, and may require convincing to step onto.
"But the reward is immense if you dare. The panorama of the surrounding peaks and valleys stretching towards the horizon is extraordinary. On a good day you can even see the top of Fansipan."
"Vietnam is home to 54 ethnic groups, and the next day, on a walk through the village of Ta Van in the valley, I meet some H’Mong people as well as members of the Red Dao.
It’s easy to distinguish between the two. The H’Mong focus on indigo dyeing, a craft which turns their fingernails blue. And Red Dao women shave their eyebrows once married."
"As we wander through rice paddies and along narrow lanes where chickens strut, children play and the chayote plant hangs from trees (a delicious native spinach served laced with garlic and stir-fried), a Red Dao lady explains how her people have been using local herbs to restore and heal since time immemorial."
"I try one of their signature Red Dao Baths at the village spa, soaking in a wooden barrel filled with hot water turned red by their herbal bouquet. I’d been complaining of an achy arm and lower back, but when I get out 30 minutes later the pain’s vanished!"
✨Hanoi magic
"My Vietnamese adventure ends with a couple of days back in Hanoi, where I stay at the newly opened Fairmont Hotel. It’s a stunning property with beautifully designed interiors and spacious rooms with oversized freestanding baths.
It’s the first Fairmont in Vietnam, brilliantly located near the lake and a ten-minute stroll from the old town’s night market where a tenner, and some good haggling, might buy you a Hermès belt and a Gucci bag, both fakes, naturally."
"Hanoi’s infamous ‘Train Street’ is also nearby. This is a hemmed-in alley that has an active railway track running through ot, flanked by cafes, tables and chairs. Which means you sip a cappuccino as a train whooshes past and narrowly misses your knees. It’s bonkers and fun, with a whiff of danger. Health and safety approved? Not a chance!"
"As for coffee, Vietnam has taken it to a whole new level, offering crazy versions of the drink from salt coffee to coffee with popcorn or even egg inside. Be warned, they like it strong, so don’t be shy to ask for a half shot. My favourite find is Hanoi’s Post-It Café where every inch of every surface is covered in post-it notes bearing messages. I pen one for my kids to find should they visit in the future."
"For a final treat I head to the Fairmont’s impressive Cirua bathhouse for some hot and cold thermal therapy. I flit from the Salt Room (my favourite) to the ice-room to a sauna that’s so intensely hot it’s almost too much to bear.
And I finish in a Meditation Pod, putting on headphones and listening to a tape. I breathe, let go, and tap into a deeper-than-ever level of relaxation. And I’m left with one pressing thought: When can I come back?"
Would you like to see the Real Northern Vietnam? Drop me a message and lets chat.
