Sapa trekking: do we really need a guide or can we go independent?

My husband and I are heading to Sapa in mid-November for 3 days and I keep reading conflicting advice about trekking. Some blogs say you absolutely need a local guide, others say the main routes are obvious and you can just walk.

We are reasonably fit and have done day hikes before, but never in Vietnam. What worries me is not the walking itself, it is getting lost or wandering onto private farmland without realizing. Also the weather in November, is it foggy enough that a guide becomes more important?

If we do hire someone, how do we find a good Hmong guide directly rather than through a hotel that takes a big cut? Would love to hear what you actually did.

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Sophie Caldwell (Author)

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