China to Vietnam: An Overland Adventure (Self-Launched)

Land at Kunming Changshui Airport and take Metro Line 6 into the city (about ¥6/£0.65) or the airport shuttle bus. Check into a hostel or budget hotel near Green Lake or the city centre. Spend the afternoon wandering Green Lake Park, the Yunnan University area and the old streets around Kunming Old Street — a good spot for a first bowl of crossing-the-bridge noodles. Sort your WeChat Pay/Alipay setup and pick up a local SIM or data eSIM (a VPN installed before arrival is essential, as Google, WhatsApp and Instagram are blocked in mainland China). Book onward transport to Jianshui tonight — the high-speed train from Kunming South to Jianshui takes about 2 hours.

🚌Airport Metro Line 6 + city metro (~£1). Train Kunming South–Jianshui booked for tomorrow (~£8–10 second class)

🛏Hostel or budget hotel near Green Lake, Kunming (dorm £10–15 / private £20–28)

• →Green Lake Park walk
• →Kunming Old Street food stroll
• →Set up WeChat Pay/Alipay & local data

Take the morning high-speed train from Kunming South to Jianshui (roughly 2 hours, £8–10). Drop bags at a guesthouse inside or beside the old town, then explore on foot: the Ming-dynasty Chaoyang Tower gate, the Confucius Temple, and Zhu's Family Garden (entry around £5), one of the finest private gardens in China. In the late afternoon take a local bus or shared minivan out to the Double Dragon Bridge (entry ~£6) — best photographed in golden hour light — and, if time allows, the Xianghui Bridge and the atmospheric old Xianghui railway station. Dinner is cheap and excellent in the old town: grilled tofu, rice noodles and Jianshui's famous purple-pottery steamed chicken.

🚌High-speed train Kunming South–Jianshui (~£9); local bus/minivan to Double Dragon Bridge (~£1)

🛏Old-town guesthouse in Jianshui (dorm £8–12 / private £18–25)

• →Jianshui old town self-guided walk
• →Chaoyang Tower & Confucius Temple
• →Zhu's Family Garden
• →Double Dragon Bridge sunset

Start with a Jianshui breakfast of baked tofu, then join a short hands-on tofu-making session at a small local workshop in the old town (bookable same-day through most guesthouses, roughly £6–8). Afterwards take a public bus or shared minivan from Jianshui toward Xinjie, the gateway town for the Yuanyang rice terraces (about 3–4 hours; direct services are limited, so ask your guesthouse to reserve a seat a day ahead). Check into a guesthouse in Xinjie, buy the multi-day terraces entrance ticket (~£18) and use the afternoon to walk the short trail and viewpoints near the main Duoyishu and Bada platforms. The landscape here — carved mountainside flooded with mirror-like paddies — is the highlight of the whole trip.

🚌Public bus/shared minivan Jianshui–Xinjie (~£5–7); local minivans between viewpoints (~£3)

🛏Guesthouse in Xinjie/Yuanyang (dorm £8–12 / private £16–24)

• →Hands-on tofu workshop
• →Yuanyang Rice Terraces entry ticket
• →Afternoon viewpoint walk (Bada platform)

Set an early alarm: hire a shared minivan or motorbike taxi with other travellers from your guesthouse to Duoyishu Scenic Area for sunrise over the terraces (leave around 05:30; ~£4 shared). It's the single best photo moment of the China leg. Afterwards hike down the stone paths to Pugao Old Village, a Hani and Yi village of earthen mushroom houses, then walk the trail from Quanfuzhuang through the fields to the Bada platform for the late-afternoon sunset light. Pack snacks and water from Xinjie — food options in the villages are few. Spend the evening at a simple local restaurant back in Xinjie.

🚌Shared minivan/motorbike taxi to Duoyishu and back (~£6–8 total)

🛏Guesthouse in Xinjie/Yuanyang (dorm £8–12 / private £16–24)

• →Sunrise at Duoyishu Scenic Area
• →Hike to Pugao Old Village
• →Quanfuzhuang-to-Bada viewpoint trail

Leave Xinjie early by bus or shared minivan for the Hekou border crossing (roughly 3.5–4.5 hours; a shared van costs around £7–10, or take the local bus toward Hekou and change in the county town). Cross the border on foot at Hekou–Lào Cai — bring your printed Vietnam e-visa (apply online at least 2 weeks ahead, ~£20) and be ready for a slow, straightforward immigration queue. On the Vietnam side, take a shared minivan or the local bus from Lào Cai up the mountain road to Sapa (about 1 hour, £3–4). Check into a guesthouse, then do an afternoon Hmong batik workshop at a community-run house in Tả Van or Sapa town (bookable through GetYourGuide or directly at Hmong-run craft houses, ~£15–20). Finish with a Sapa hotpot dinner at a local restaurant (salmon or chicken hotpot, ~£5).

🚌Shared minivan Xinjie–Hekou (~£8); border crossing on foot; shared minivan/bus Lào Cai–Sapa (~£3.50)

🛏Guesthouse in Sapa (dorm £7–11 / private £15–22)

• →Hekou–Lào Cai land border crossing
• →Hmong batik painting workshop
• →Sapa hotpot dinner

Book a small-group or self-guided day trek out of Sapa (GetYourGuide and Klook both list half- and full-day hikes from £18–25 including a local Hmong or Dao guide and lunch; alternatively, follow the well-marked route solo from Sapa down to Y Linh Ho, Lao Chai and Tả Van). Trails wind through rice terraces, bamboo groves and tea plantations, with village stops along the way. Lunch at a local restaurant en route is included on guided options, or budget ~£3 for noodles and grilled skewers. Return to Sapa by shared minivan or foot in the late afternoon, and spend the evening at the Sapa night market or a café overlooking the valley. Sort your early bus to Hanoi tonight — most travel agents on Cầu Mây Street sell sleeper bus or limousine van tickets.

🚌Shared minivan back from Tả Van (~£2); sleeper bus/limousine van ticket Sapa–Hanoi purchased for tomorrow (included in next day)

🛏Guesthouse in Sapa (dorm £7–11 / private £15–22)

• →Full-day Sapa valley trek (Y Linh Ho–Lao Chai–Tả Van)
• →Tea plantation & rice terrace hike
• →Sapa night market

Take the morning sleeper bus or limousine van down from Sapa to Hanoi (about 5–6 hours, £12–15; morning departures around 07:00–08:00 arrive early afternoon). Leave your bag at your hostel in the Old Quarter, then have lunch at KOTO Restaurant on Văn Miếu Street — the same social-enterprise training restaurant the group tour visits, open to walk-ins and no booking required (~£5). Spend the afternoon exploring the Old Quarter on foot: Hoàn Kiếm Lake, St Joseph's Cathedral and the Dong Xuan market. For the finale, hail a cyclo (cycle rickshaw) from the lakeside — negotiate a 30–45 minute ride at roughly £5–7 per person. Your trip effectively ends back at the hostel; book onward travel or a hotel night separately, as flights from Hanoi should not be assumed before 19:00 if you want a full day.

🚌Sleeper bus/limousine van Sapa–Hanoi (~£13); airport taxi or bus no. 86 (~£1.20)

🛏Hostel in Hanoi Old Quarter if staying on (dorm £7–10); otherwise check out and store bags

• →KOTO Restaurant lunch
• →Old Quarter self-guided walk
• →Cyclo ride around Hoàn Kiếm Lake