Opal House Ta Van

We contacted Cho Cho after reading great reviews about her on TripAdvisor. We met her at the stone church in Sapa and we trekked 12km with her to her home near Ta Van village. It was an amazing authentic experience and Cho Cho is such a wonderful, kind and fun host. She told us so much about her family, her culture and her life. Cho Cho cooked us a delicious dinner and breakfast, as well as organising our lunches during our treks. Her home is comfortable and the views are absolutely beautiful. This was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend Cho Cho as a guide.

At 15 Cho Cho married her husband, as arranged by their families. They liked her as she was 'not lazy'. This is evident, as now 53, she treks easily from her families village home into the mountains where she and her husband live without power and road access. Wearing the traditional selfmade clothes of her culture she takes small steps, but she never seems to tire. For 14 years Cho Cho has been sharing her culture and family with tourists, taking them on treks through the area surrounding her village. She considers her family poor, but she has an evident wealth of happiness with family surrounding her, with 15 grandchildren, many living within shouting distance. Being poor in her village means relying on the land to provide food, leading to a diet of rice and mostly vegetables which she shares with her guests. We were lucky enough to be staying with Cho Cho's family during school holidays, meaning our trekking also doubled as a school holiday activity for 5 of the boys. They could easily guide us through the winding back paths through the rice fields and the mountains to find a swimming home, even though they were no older than 8. Cho Cho was quick to smile and laugh. She was wholly authentic and shared herself and family with us, which we are very grateful for.

We’ve loved every minute with Cho Cho! She is such a wonderful lady and extremely knowledgeable! She met us at the bus station and took us back to her homestay where we helped prep dinner with her and her family. We had a wonderful evening, bedrooms are very cosy and have good facilities outside. We started our trek around the local village, Cho Cho was fantastic and packed 2 days worth of trekking into 1 for us (we didn’t have time to do 2 nights). We also took all 5 of her wonderful grandchildren along with us, they were so sweet , we went swimming with them and they helped guide us along the way to their family home for lunch. They have all been so wonderful and welcoming into their family and way of life, THANKYOU CHO CHO!! X

My trek with Cho Cho exceeded my expectations. She was attentive, fun, jovial and had so much knowledge to share about her culture and her own life. She took the time to make sure I was comfortable and went with me at my own pace. At one point, I ran out of water and she took me into a villagers home to drink, which was a very eye opening experience as well! Most of all, her positive demeanor and the smile she always had on her face made it an absolute joy to spend the day with her. I would highly recommend trekking with this lovely woman!❤️

Thank you Mama Cho Cho and family. I had the most beautiful 3 days with Cho Cho and her gorgeous family. Cho Cho met me at the bus and took me back to her family home where I was greeted by all of her grandchildren. On day 2 Cho Cho took me trekking up the big mountain behind her village, off the beaten track we went, stopping for a home cooked lunch by her husband (I watched him harvest the pumpkin from their garden then chop it up and cook it for lunch!) up in their little mountain house. This was on the very top of the mountain, the most incredible views!!! Cho Cho and I shared many laughs along the way, she was so kind and knowledgeable. This trek was the highlight of my whole trip through Vietnam. On my last day Cho Cho taught me the process of Batik where I made my own. Such an eye opening, authentic, beautiful experience. Loved every minute of it and highly recommend to everyone! I’ll be backS

Cho cho e la sua famiglia sono meravigliosi! Super consigliato dormire, cenare e fare trekking con lei! Esperienza fantastica ! ❤️ Io e il mio ragazzo siamo stati benissimo, speriamo di tornare un giorno in questa famiglia stupenda !