Sapa Cycling Tour: 3-Day Adventure through Ethnic Hmong & Red Dao Villages

Rather than mark tour prices up in dollars to account for possible increases in exchange rates, We convert the local currency price to US dollars on your confirmation/statement, and your final payment is based on the exchange rate when we receive your final payment.

Please note: Any exchange rates or prices in other than local currencies shown on our site represent the purchase rate for local currencies. Many websites show the mid-point between buy and sell rates for major banks, and rates charged to consumers and small businesses are 3-8% higher. We charge you the purchase rates.

Sometimes. You may find early bird discounts on various tours on our website. If you don't, and you find that the local tour company is offering early bird discounts, just let us know, and we'll match it. Our policy is that you pay the same whether you book through us or directly with the operator.

It varies with the more than 500 local tour Itinerary we have and from tour to tour. If you're interested in a specific tour, let us know, and we'll check.

More about groups

Taking a bicycle tour with a group of friends or family is a fun and memorable experience, and we make the planning and booking process easy.

We've helped hundreds of clients put together great trips with groups from eight to 200+ people. contact us!

More about organizing groups.

We are a local bike tour company and can book a year or more in advance, while some others can't. If you have a specific tour in mind, it's best to contact one of our tour advisors who can check it out for you.

Depends on the tour.

For guided tours and bike and boat tours, we can usually check availability. Please contact us and let us know the tour and dates you are interested in.

For self-guided tours, we can confirm availability and The tours are “on request”, meaning they must receive a booking request from us and then check availability at each hotel along the route.

One final note – if you are organising a larger group, we are happy to hold a booking for a short period to allow time for everyone in your group to book. Please contact us for more details.

It's simple!

Just click on the orange 'Book this tour' button toward the top right of the page for the tour you're booking, fill in the requested information, and hit submit. We'll take it from there!

More details on how to book.

So you think a bicycle tour could be a unique way to experience a foreign country, but you aren't sure where to start...

You can start browsing immediately with our Tour Search, or you can research the options by asking yourself these key questions.

And, of course, our passionate, expert, and helpful tour advisors are here to help!

We recommend starting on the Search page.

Select the country or countries you're interested in. If you wish to select more than one country, simply keep clicking on the countries you prefer.

If your search yields too many tours, use the options on the left side of the page to adjust the search results (like departure month, rider level, average daily distance, and type of tour).

Or, peruse our popular categories:

Half Day Bike Tours
Full Day Bike Tours
Family Bike Tours
Road Cycling Tours
Mountain Biking Tours
Off Road Bicycle Tours
Self-Guided Bicycle Tours
E-Bike Tours
Multi Country Cycling Tours

We provide rider levels for all of our tours:

 

• Leisure

Involves cycling for up to two to four hours a day at easy pace and usually, between Half to one days in duration. The cycling distances is around 15 – 30 km per day. There are likely to be no steep and sustained descents as well as demand for technical riding. We will normally ride on flat roads. Suitable for bikers who enjoy occasional weekend riding on trails at home. Push bikes are sometimes used for these itineraries.

• Easy

Involves cycling for up to four hours a day at steady pace and and are usually between Two to four days in duration. The cycling distances is around 30 – 40 km per day. There are likely Sometimes it can be long flat rides or medium ride with few up and downhill climbs. The support vehicle will not always be available. We will need a good level of fitness. We use either mountain bikes or road bikes for these itineraries.

• Moderate & Advanced

Involves biking for up to six hours a day at a steady pace and are usually between five to seven days in duration. The cycling distance is about 40 – 60 km per day. Sometimes it can be long flat rides or medium ride with few up and downhill climbs. The support vehicle will not always be available. We will need a good level of fitness. We use either mountain bikes or road bikes for these itineraries.

• Challenging & Offroad

Involves biking in mountainous areas with big climbs for up to seven or eight hours a day and usually more than a week in duration. Cycling distance is about 60 – 100 km per day. There will be steep and sustained ascents and descents. The support vehicle will not always be available. These trips will provide a real sustained workout even for fit and experienced mountain bikers.

Be sure to also review the details under 'Surface and Terrain' and the daily distances for each tour.

More details.

Anyone in reasonable shape should be able to enjoy a bike tour. Many tours cover about 15-40 Km per day and are designed for travelers who enjoy a leisurely pace. When you read the tour descriptions, pay close attention to the 'Surface and Terrain' details and daily distances.

We've also included rider levels on each tour to help guide you.

• If you're concerned about your ability or it's your first tour, consider doing a Leisure (1) or Easy (2) level tour.
• You should be an experienced cyclist (but not necessarily an expert) to do tours rated Moderate(3), Advanced(4), Off Road(5), Challenging(6).

Other options to consider:

• A guided tour with a support vehicle
• Renting an e-bike
• Take a bike and boat tour (optional rest days!)

Lucky for us, we have the amazing opportunity to check out many of the tours we help book so we can better advise and promote bicycle touring in some of our favorite places.

Here are the tours we'd pick!

At the time of confirmation we will require a deposit within 10 days.

Your balance payment is due 90 days before your tour departure.

If your tour is confirmed within less than 100 days before tour departure, the due dates are as follows:

• Booking from 100 to 45 days before your tour: Full payment must be received within 5 days of when your tour is confirmed. If payment is not received, your credit card will be charged plus 4% processing fee.
• Booking within 45 days of your tour date: Your credit card will be pre-authorized for the full amount of your requested reservation plus a 4% processing fee, until your payment is received by us.
• Booking within 21 days of your tour date: Your credit card will be pre-authorized for the full amount of your requested reservation plus a 4% processing fee. Once your reservation is confirmed, we will capture the pre-authorization (fully charge your card) and send confirmation and receipt.

Yes. We accept Visa, American Express, Discover, and MasterCard.

If you opt to make your balance payment by credit card, we charge a non-refundable 4% surcharge on the total tour cost.

The 4% service fee is on the whole tour cost.

As we offer you the same prices as the tour companies, we don't increase tour prices to offset credit card fees. The 4% fee is what the credit card company charges us. Many of the tour companies also charge credit card fees, and many banks charge a transfer fee for paying in a foreign currency (you pay us in US dollars).

Please note that you can avoid the credit card fee by paying by e-check, check, or wire transfer. If you pay by one of these methods, the credit card fee is not applied to your $200 per person deposit.

Yes!

You may make your balance payment by wire transfer either in US dollars to our US account or in euros to our Euro account. Your confirmation email provides you with a personal payment link. Following that link will take you to a personal, secure payment portal with information on where to wire your balance payment.

More information can be found on our Payments page under 'Balance payments'.

Please note deposits are by credit card in US dollars only.

At this time, we do not offer a personal account feature; however, you will find a personal payment link in your confirmation email. Following this link will show you the amount due (based on a real-time exchange rate).

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need additional help at any time.

Golden Cycling Tours companies will confirm , but please allow at least 3-4 business days for confirmation. In rare cases, it can take 5-7 days. We'll send our confirmation as soon as possible.

Click here for tours with tandems.

Or enter 'tandem' in the search bar.

No. In nearly every case, you can rent a bike (or one is provided) as part of your tour package.

We strongly recommend that you rent a bike as part of your tour package (which more than 99% of our clients do, most of them with great satisfaction).

Transporting a bike can be expensive and a hassle, especially if you have a bike box you need to have transported.

Equally important, if something goes wrong with the rental bike, the local tour company is responsible for fixing or replacing it. Don't risk missing days of your tour waiting for a replacement part!

On guided tours, the guide will make the necessary repairs.

On self-guided tours, you should be prepared to make basic repairs like fixing flats. If there's a difficult repair, you may have to call the  Green Sapa Tours emergency service number or go to a repair shop in the nearest town. Let the Green Sapa Tours Tours know, and you'll get reimbursed for repair costs. If necessary, you'll receive a new bike. Since many tours are in the countryside, you may wish to rent a cell phone or get your home cell phone activated for international travel.

More about guided and self-guided tours.

This varies from tour to tour. We try to list specific information in the 'Bike rentals' section of each tour page on the Dates & Prices tab. The Green Sapa Tours has selected the ideal bike for each tour's terrain, and we stick with their recommended bike types.

For most tours, handlebars are upright, pedals flat, and seats and tires wide. The wider tires are more forgiving on the occasional gravel or dirt surface and on cobblestone streets.

Electrically assisted bikes (e-bikes) are becoming more widely available, and are specifically mentioned in the tour listings.

Tandems, child trailers, and tag-alongs (also called slip-streamers or third wheels) are also sometimes available.

Green Sapa Tours retire their entire fleets every two years to keep their bikes in top condition.

Please see each tour for available equipment.

The answer is most likely 'yes'! But, we would love to double-check for you, as we do not operate the tours ourselves.

Let us know which tour you are interested in, as well as your concerns.

Yes, we can assist with bike rentals.

We are a local bike tour company and rent bikes as part of tour packages.

Electric bikes are the great 'equalizers'. If your partner is a strong cyclist, and you're not, the e-bike allows you still to ride together, faster and further. If you're afraid that you'll be the slowest cyclist in a group (rarely the case), the e-bike gives you the confidence to keep up. Or if you just want to take it easy on a more challenging tour, the e-bike comes to the rescue.

Electric-assisted bikes provide power on demand, responding to and complementing your pedaling speed and power. The harder you pedal, the more power the engine gives back.

More about e-bikes.
Tours with e-bikes.

Electric bikes aren't motorbikes or even mopeds. Instead, they provide power on demand, responding to and complementing your pedaling speed and power. The harder you pedal, the more power the engine gives back. Most e-bikes provide up to 150% of your own power with each pedal stroke. Most also have three settings - high/medium/low - and off. You should still prepare for your time in the saddle, but you'll have more reward for your efforts.

More about e-bikes.
Tours with e-bikes.