Topas Travel is a wonderful ecotourist operator offering fantastic trekking, biking and village encounters. The great thing is that their trips can take you far from the villages where the majority of other operators take tourists. Therefore you will be able to have a real glimpse into the hilltribes' life and get a more accurate picture of their customs and habits. We stayed in a Red Dao village called Sin Chai, which was truly idyllic. The location, people and trek to get there were simply fantastic. We stayed in bamboo huts next to our hosts' home. These huts are owned by Topas Travel, no other company brings tourists here, which keeps the impact of tourism minimal. Here you will see the people stitching, doing various tasks or simply hanging around, instead of being mobbed by women wanting to sell you stuff, like it is the case in villages such as Ta Phin and Ta Van.
Topas Travel employs many of its guides from the minority groups in the region. It also operates the Topas Eco Lodge.
We found the staff at the office most helpful and informative and our guide was also great. Our trip was slightly more expensive than those offered by hotels in Sapa, but to be honest there wasn't much difference and we felt absolutely 100% satisfied with what we got.
For a real hilltribe experience Topas Travel is the way to go.