Sapa

We took the bus from Sapa to Catba. The organization and customer service was very good and the communication in very good English by WhatApp also helped a lot. I forgot my jacket on the bus and the company brought it to back to Catba. They really did a great job and were always replying to our communication.

My family and I took the sleeper bus (daytime) from Cat Ba Island to Sapa. We were scheduled to arrive at 4pm and actually arrived at 7pm. This was without any delays, traffic issues etc. This is just how long is takes a bus this size to make the trip. They say 8 hours, but that is the google maps time for a car driving non-stop, not a large bus with over 50 stops. On top of that, we left our lunch stop at 12:30 and they didn't have another stop for bathroom or snacks until we arrived in Sapa 6.5 hours later. At the 5.5 hour mark, with one daughter about to wet her pants and the other having been allowed to squat on the side of the highway a couple hours previously, we finally requested a toilet break...and were told to wait an hour. After insisting, they grudgingly found one and impatiently hustled us off and on the bus like we were somehow the reason the bus was 3 hours late. Terrible company. There's lots of choice, use a different bus company and just transfer in Hanoi. Not worth the hassle to go direct.

Update: A21 contacted me immediately and apologized for our experience and offered compensation. They also agreed to update their website to reflect the correct travel times and itinerary. Although, I would not use this bus company again, A21 Tours have provided excellent customer service and I would consider booking with them again.