Best Lao Cai Golf Courses for 2026/2027

Lao Cai is the kind of destination that takes golfers by surprise. Most people know it for Sapa, Fansipan, and the highland markets — the golf comes as an afterthought and then ends up being the thing people talk about afterwards.

The new Lao Cai Province, formed in July 2025 when Yen Bai merged into Lao Cai, now spans from the Chinese border in the northwest all the way down to the river valleys of the former Yen Bai. For golfers, this means two very different courses within the same province — one at altitude in the Sapa highlands, one among the green hills and lakes further south.

Sapa Grand Golf Course is the more dramatic of the two. The 18-hole, IMG-designed layout sits in the highland terrain around Sapa, where the cooler climate makes for comfortable year-round play and the views down the valley toward the Red River are the kind of scenery that makes a bad iron shot easier to accept. At altitude, the ball flies differently, the air is thin, and the morning mist that rolls through the valley can make early tee times genuinely atmospheric.

Yen Bai Star Golf Resort, in what was the former Yen Bai Province, takes a different approach. The 27-hole layout is built across low rolling hills interspersed with lakes and tree cover — more open in character, more forgiving in design, and paired with resort villas and hotel accommodation that make it a proper stay-and-play option. It works for competitive players and beginners equally, which is rare at this latitude.

Together they give Lao Cai a golf offering that no single other highland province in Vietnam can match. Getting here involves a flight to Lao Cai or a train from Hanoi — both are well-served — and either way the journey through the northwest landscape is part of the experience.

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