Bac Ha Market
Bac Ha Market
4.5
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Monday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Tuesday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Wednesday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Thursday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Friday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Saturday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
Sunday
7:30 AM - 9:00 PM
About
Bac ha Market Nestled in the northern hills of Vietnam exists one of the best ethnic markets in all of Southeast Asia! On Sundays, the ethnic minorities from the surrounding villages and hills come by foot, by motorscooter, by horse, and by water buffalow for their chance to socialize, eat, drink, smoke, get a haircut, and buy produce and meat for the next week. It is a blur of colorful plaids and stripes.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles501 reviews
Excellent
282
Very good
130
Average
56
Poor
19
Terrible
14

KianHian L
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia1,295 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
Colourful tribes market, selling everything from farming produces to livestock such buffalo, pig, chicken not missing the dogs and puppies. A row of open air barbers line the side lane of the river to the market (behind the row of shop lots. The buffaloes market is after the bridge if you don’t mine the dang smell, just follows the dropping on the road to the main trading area. Here you can watch the negotiation going on among the farmers and the buffaloes changed owner, dealing in cash.
Written 15 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Monika M
25 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Family
The Bac Ha market is totally not worth the visit. Firstly you travel for hours to reach a giant open market, something you can see in any Asian town, sometimes on a smaller scale. Vegetables, condiments, fruits, various types of fresh and dried meats etc are on display. When tourists are spotted prices are inflated at once and chances of bargaining are slim with the dour villagers. But the most shocking is the live animal market. Puppies in filthy tiny wire cages are sold, some for a home, many for the pot. Pigs and piglets tied in gunny bags, with barely a hole to breathe. We also saw some wild squirrels trapped and kept in tiny wire cages with bleeding noses and foreheads. It seemed like a nightmare and I was sorry I spent quite a bit of money to see this. Then the guides take you to some place for lunch where they hustle you for money with inflated prices. After that you are taken to see an 'ethnic village'. It's through a dirty track, through some tin houses to see someone brewing local moonshine from corn, which you are urged to buy. Nothing ethnic about it. After that comes the looong drive home, though through a much prettier road so that you can at least see some of Sapa's famous terraced rice fields. The tour we booked though just dropped us 20 min away from the pick up/drop off point and vanished, so that the whole group, including some old ladies, had to trudge their way uphill and back to town. Oh and did I mention they almost lost one of the members of the group, and did not go looking for her till it was time to leave, so that she got no lunch. Complete waste of money, time and some of the sights are nightmarish. Most of these local tour operators are awful and the market should be shut down by WWF/PETA.
Written 8 May 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

India11
Guildford, UK912 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2024 • Couples
Wonderful market, bursting with local people and all sorts of food, clothes and other things.
Saturday eve is also amazing as everyone gathers. Although slightly sad as so many children are doing little dances to pop songs, dressed in their traditional clothes, collecting money. They seemed to get increasingly tired as the eve progressed and it felt rather like child labour.
Try and get to the market about 8am, before the tourist crowds arrive. I know I am a tourist but I liked being in the market when I couldn't see any others!
Written 21 April 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Speis75
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia246 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022
I read about Bac Ha market when I was doing to research about Sapa. It certainly is a colourful bustling market where the different tribes come to trade their goods on a Sunday. Bear in mind, this market only opens on Sundays. It's about a 3 1/2 journey from Sapa town and another 3 1/2 hour journey back to Sapa town. Only visit this if you are on the way to or from somewhere near, if not, its not worth the trip to drive all the way just from the market.
Written 27 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Mike J
Chepstow, UK882 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2023 • Couples
We spent a good couple of hours wandering around this fascinating market place. People from many different ethnic tribes gather here to trade and socialize on every Sunday many of them having come a considerable distance to meet up with others. The women to bargain and chat and the man to smoke and drink. All manner of trade takes place and goods including livestock are later transported to outlying villages and homes on motor bikes and scooters. This is what Bac Ha is all about and should be on everyone's itinerary when visiting Northern Vietnam.
Written 30 June 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

I S
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2022
Worth the overnight bus journey from Hanoi. Stay with Highland Homestay and organise a private tour with owner Zu, so that you get a better insight into the local culture. All the women wear their best traditional outfits and everyone is busy buying and selling local foods, animals and everything else. Try the food, it's amazingly fresh!
Written 19 December 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dembabies
Madison, WI6 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2011
Bac Ha...best market in Vietnam? Me thinks not. We arrived and planned to stay in Bac Ha on a Sunday morning before the market opened. We followed the advice of our mini-bus driver and got some breakfast at a hotel--Ngan Nga--where we were also planning on staying. A red flag flew immediately with the terrible breakfast and poor service, so right away we planned on taking the mini-bus to Sapa after the market.
While at first we were hopeful of finding some interesting handicrafts at the market and were impressed at the explosion of colors, our market journey soon evolved into an incredibly disappointing trip.
First of all, everyone is selling the exact same things, whether it be handmade blankets, purses or pashmina scarves, basically the same pattern (and many of the same items) you've seen all over SE Asia. The badgering is constant and intense. You cannot actually barter for anything, since it seemed as if the sellers all basically have set prices (and those prices are much higher than elsewhere).
Some of the remaining traditional aspects of the market are interesting, such as the livestock areas. While it's not our business to be offended, I'm sure many a white folk will be saddened and sickened to see the adorable puppies for sale, if not surprised, since dog meat is still eaten here (mostly in the North, it seems, and in the last half of the month) despite what the guidebooks say. We also saw a tiny kitten on the same red leash as the hogs. Do they eat kittens here?!
Then came the worst part: We sat down at a small table selling coffee and tea. (They are located near-ish to the entrance to the real market, after all the souvie shops on the way in), The woman made us a coffee, sold us a water and tea while another forced two small plates of peanuts and dried coconuts upon us (by forced I mean one of her co-workers literally put these nuts into my hand and gestured for me to eat, eat!) It was decently pleasant and comfortable...until it came time to pay. She wrote out the bill. 40,000 VND for coffee. What? "You had double." (We did not ask for a double, or even 2... but okay.) 100,000 VND for the peanuts and coconut? Wait, 100,000 dong for EACH PLATE OF PEANUTS? We ended up being forced to pay, despite our arguments, about $15 American dollars for two measly plates of peanuts that we did not order, a coffee, tea and water, as did the Polish couple next us. WTF! This woman would not budge on the price so we felt that we had to pay this exorbitant amount. After traveling for nearly 6 weeks in Vietnam, this was the first time we felt really ripped off. Sometimes you sit at a food stall and watch the locals pay, and then watch yourself get charged 5,000 dong more... that's no big deal and just part of traveling. But getting gouged like that just let's you know when an event/area has become over-saturated to the point where locals feel comfortable ripping you off. This kind of environment isn't good for the locals OR the tourists, and just breeds resentment on both sides. It does seem in Bac Ha (and to a lesser extent Sapa) that there is a good amount of disdain for tourists on the part of the locals. I can't really blame some of them but I don't want to be part of it either.
Admittedly, this soiled the rest of our market experience, though we tried to make up for it by warning others who were at the same stall to watch out for the $5 peanuts. Sometimes it was already too late and we would see another disgruntled Westerner trying to keep the peace by forking over 2,000,000+ dong.
In my opinion, this place is played out. Eventually there will be no locals selling and buying goods here, just busses full of tourists...willing to spend $10 for peanuts.
Written 28 March 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Musicandtravel_10
Vancouver2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
My goal with this review is simple ... I do not want one more person to make the same ( simple) mistake I made. It is easy while traveling to sit down, order a beer, and then ask the price after the fact. I got into this routine. So upon entering the Bac Ha market , there was a lady ( 40-50ish) who called out to foreigners for coffee or tea. I asked how much, but she muddled around getting me and my boyfirend a beer, so I didn't think twice. She put a few peanuts in front as well. When all was said and done ( 2 beers and the peanuts later) she said everything came to $10. She brought in some Vietnamese man to make the point we had to pay. Now, back in Canada $10 may seem reasonable, but it's the principle here that has made me write this. She didn't tell us the price, and charged us at least 5 times the value of the drinks. Be careful if you decide to sit down for tea/ coffee/beer. Clearly discuss the price for each drink, and be careful with peanuts!!!!
Written 27 March 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

INDOCHINA DREAM TRAVEL
Hanoi, Vietnam88 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2019 • Friends
Bac Ha is one of the most beautiful market in Lao Cai. Lots of Flower H’Mong tribe ladies are selling their handy craft and all are start with a smile... Unforgettable of our experience when asking them about their “corn volka” as our tour guide’s explanation. All of them offered us a lid of “...”, we do not know how to express but seems “the best wolka” in town was here.

In the afternoon, we start our trek from little hamlet of Bac Ha. Then we get to centre of small hamlet of Phec Bung. We descending down the slope to a rice paddy of villagers and great experience of our trekking was starting.
Stunning view of little houses along our trekking with lots of water buffoloes and many kids was saying "hello... bye bye" seems make us feel sorry. This part of trip seems back few hundred years ago in our world.
Some part of our trekking was hard as we have to gliding down instead of walking on our feet...As soon as we get to Trung Do village for homestay. The host of homestay was asking if we want to shower or not. A bit confuse but we work out that they have no electricity in town and hot water for our shower was boiled in a big pot on firer. How nice! Great hospitality of people. We would come back and having another trip in this area soon.
Written 1 April 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
We thank you for your interest and comments, we congratulate you on having a wonderful holiday in Vietnam
Written 24 May 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.

Jill
Victoria, Canada769 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2013 • Couples
We spent about 3 hours at the Bac Ha Market as part of our custom made tour of Vietnam and Cambodia (review to follow). We arrived in Lao Cai by overnight train from Hanoi on Sunday where we were met by our delightful guide, Ha Ta and driver, Diep. We heard lots of interesting information from Ha on the 1-1/2 hour drive over a road winding through beautiful scenery, arriving in Bac Ha around 8:45 am. The timing was fine to see the market in full swing and see so many colourfully dressed tribal women selling and buying. This was an amazing place to see the various ethnic minorities (Hmong, Tay, Phu La, Nung and Back Dzao) interacting. We lucked out as this was an extra special Sunday as it was also horse race day which only happens once a month and it was a real treat to be able to witness the excitement of the event first hand (thanks to our amazing guide, Ha!).

While we saw other tourists, we were few and far between in comparison to the huge turnout of Vietnamese and the ethnic minorities. We didn’t have a problem taking photos, we tried to be discreet and would not take photos if they didn’t want us to…most people were happy to have their photos taken especially if you weren’t in their face with the camera (that’s the beauty of a larger lens)—our guide was very helpful here.

The market has everything from clothing and jewellery to alcohol and toys, produce and butchered meats to live stock (water buffalo, pigs, horses, chickens, dogs, etc). About 10 local hill tribes come together once a week to sell, shop, meet, socialize and drink—it may take them 2 days of trekking to get to the market. There was a lot of milling about in the livestock area—if they don't get the right price, they won’t sell, they'll take the animals back home with them and keep bringing them back until they get a satisfactory price.

The dining area was very busy with various food stations and the tribal peoples socializing and eating items that would turn a Westerner’s stomach. Many of the diners had a good sense of humour 'generously' offering to share their juicy tidbits with us. Thanks, but no thanks!! We had lunch at one of the restaurants on the main street, our guide ordered and it was very good food.
(After lunch we enjoyed a quiet, peaceful walk through the nearby picturesque Trung Do Village.)

An amazing experience full of colourful photo ops—we found it helpful to have the input of the guide!
Written 26 October 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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BAC HA MARKET (2024) All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) - Tripadvisor

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