Authentic hilltribe walks or tourist traps?

Hi there- we are looking into doing more authentic-type walking in hilltribe areas on an upcoming northern Vietnam and norhtern Laos trip in October...I am a little concerned in the overly-touristy feel I get coming from reading about treks out of Sapa, Mai Chau in Vientam and out of Luang Prabang in Laos. Can anyone give impressions on their experience as such- which they would recommend for authenticity? And how difficult are these walks as well? Not too much information that I have seen on these aspects- many thanks!

Of course you can get authenticing experiences in both of those areas, you just have to go a little further away where the bulk of tourists don't go. There is a couple of new treks opening up in light of the recent cable car up Canadian, one good one is Ky Quan San mountain, the 4th highest. Another great trekking option in the north is Pu Loung national park which gets leso visitors than Mai Chau,malt hough Mai Chau is beautiful too.

Another less visited area is Burn Ma Thuot and the central highlands, which still has plenty of culture.

Depends where you go ! Sapa is very touristy BUT there are a lot of trails with very few or no tourist, it is just a matter of asking. I do not see where you found trekking in Mai Chau, there is none ! It is in the magnificent Pu Luong Regional Park 34 km south, with no public transportation available, so there are very few trekkers

Same north of Lang Prabang, which is a BIG region ! The trekkers who go to Phong Sa Ly are very few !!!!

You can ask for easy trekking or sportive trekking, which is no Nepal trekking anyway ! The only tough one I know is the climb of the Fan Si Pan in Sapa (3100 m), which takes 2 hard days

As for authenticity, do not think that the minorities wear tribal costumes just for tourists or big markets, they wear them everyday of the year, and, asfar as homestays are concerned, out of the BIG ones, it is as authentic as ever

I wouldn't choose to book trekking out of Luang phabang, or any major city. I'd get out to the countryside, and see what you find, what appeals to you, and what other travellers on the ground recommend when you are there. There are plenty of local walks that don't require a guide, kayaks to hire, bicycles to rent, etc. Equally, most villages on the trip from Nong khiaw to the Vietnamese border had trekking companies, should you want a full on trek, or a private guide.
Sapa is an experience. A bit OTT for me, but very beautiful when the fog and clouds lifted. Constant hassle to buy/trek to my village etc, that I never got in Laos. Finding a guide or trek will be easy, they find you!

Wow, this is great information and very helpful- thanks... I can tell now that we are looking to have this part of the journey booked more or less ahead of time, Phongsali sounds exactly what we are looking for-Akha people yes? Are the following more or less similar in authenticity and homestay with the locals?

Ban Chaleurnsouk- Luang Namtha
Ban Nam Dee - Luang Namtha
Ban Vieng Neua - Luang Namtha
Nam Ha Hill Tribe- Luang Namtha
Ban Saileck - Muang Sing
Ban Nam Deat Mai - Muang Sing
Nam Ha Hill Tribe

I must say I got one quote for 5 days "ethnic trek" which seemed to me to be VERY expensive at over $500 per person! Personally I don't mind paying a bit more for the organization and building an authentic experience, someone who speaks some English, reputable guide and organizations who are genuinely "ecotouristic" in giving to the community. However, we all know that for every term there is at least one scam...

Two other short questions:

For Phongsali will we need to arrange our own car-driver to get there and back?
And finally- if one does the tribal trek in Northern Laos does it make sense to do another one in Sapa area or are we more or less doing the same kind of thing?

Very much appreciate this information and sharing!

$500 is way too much. You can take bus to Phonsali but it's about 10 hours or so from L Prabang and rough road in parts.

Our experience has been - if you book with a "tour company" unless you are very specific you will only visit the very touristed areas. If you find an independent licences guide, tell them what experience you would like and carefully review their recommendations it is possible to get to some rather untouristed spots. We have hike around Sapa with a guide and didn't do our homework as well as we should have so ended up visiting spots that while there weren't a lot of tourists they were still clearly evident. We met a couple who found their independent guide in Sapa and had a wonderful experience and they visited some rather isolated spots however it did mean walking for 5 to 6 hour a day for four days return.
Here is a link to our experiences n N. Vietnam including Sapa Area.
https://vimeo.com/93068496
Good luck and have a great trip.

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