Dalat is the capital of the Lam Dong province. Only about 300 kilometers from Saigon, Dalat is an ideal place to relax and get away from modern city life.
With the altitude of 1500 meters above sea level, Da Lat is always cool green. In early 20th century, Dalat is a resort town of French protectorate government, so that Dalat still conserves well a lot of colonial building in French style. Dalat is also considered green valley with a lot type of flower and vegetable. Tea & coffee in Dalat have highest quality in Indochina.
Dalat is a wonderful place to visit in most of the time. During the rainy season (April to November) you can find the weather misty & wet. However, the rain doesn’t happen all day. From December to March next year, you can enjoy the good weather with full of flower & sunshine.
Flight
There are direct flights from Hanoi, Danang or Ho Chi Minh to Lien Khuong Airport, with Vietnam Airlines, Bamboo Airways or VietJet Air. Ticket prices vary from VND900,000 to VND1,600,000 and flight time ranges from 50 minutes to 1 hour and 40 minutes.
A taxi from the airport to the city center will cost VND 250,000VND ($ 12). You can take a taxi outside the airport. The official taxi kiost locates near the baggage claim area. There you pay for the trip and receive a receipt then go outside to get your taxi.
A cheaper way to get to the city is bus. Bus runs frequently every 30 minutes with 40,000VND. Bus tickets are sold at the counter near the baggage claim area. The last stop in Da Lat city is Le Thi Hong Gam Str, near the Da Lat market. You should show the bus driver your hotel’s address then he will tell you the stop.
Coach
The cheapest way to get to Dalat is by coach. On the coach window you can see the beautiful panorama on the road from Ho Chi Minh city to Dalat.
There are 2 types of coach: Open coach (daily routes) and Night coach (night services). Tickets for these buses are sold in all travel agencies in tourist areas and hotels. These buses leave directly from the tourist areas and often also collect passengers from hotels. Most of night coach arrive in Dalat in the early morning (7 or 8am). Journey time is between 7 and 9 hours.
Approximate cost of coach to Dalat from big cities:
Ho Chi Minh City – Dalat – US$12
Nha Trang – Dalat – US$9
Hanoi – Dalat – US$47
Mui Ne – Dalat – US$10
Intercity buses
There is a cheaper way to get on the bus to Dalat from the city of Ho Chi Minh: intercity buses. These buses stop at some tourist spots, depart several times a day and are no less comfortable.
From Saigon, there are buses No. 26 and No. 14 depart from Mien Dong station (No. 292, Dinh Bo Linh Str, Binh Thanh district)
Buses depart 8 times a day, the journey time is approximately 7 hours. The ticket price from VND90,000 to VND 170,000 depending on the company and the route.
Dalat is a small town, and there are 3 main ways to move:
Taxi
You can hire a taxi with driver for the whole day with around US$25.
Bicycle
You can also rent bicycle with VND25,000 for a day. Some hotels offer their guests free bicycles. With bicycle you can only go around city’s main attractions, not the outskirt or mountains.
Motorcycle
There are some local agency offer motorbike rental services wit around VND100,000 per day without gasoline. You can ask your hotel receptionist for address.
Da Lat market
Dalat market locate in the city center and being the most-visit place in Dalat. It’s an interesting place to feel the vibrant atmosphere of Vietnam. The market is always crowed with over 1,000 stores and hundreds of product like fruit, vegetable, flower, spice, souvenir. You can find plenty of corner to take photo.
Address: in front of Anh Dao hotel, Nguyen Chi Thanh street, Dalat city center.
The Summer Palace of Bao Dai
Bao Dai was the last emperor of Vietnam and ascended the throne in 1926. With the reputation of a man who loved parties and good life, Bao Dai spent a a lot of time in Dalat. He also built several palace in colonial building which still being in good condition now. The Summer Palace is most famous and beautiful one with Art-Deco architecture and Roccoco interior decoration.
Opening hours: every day from 07:00 to 17:00
Address: via Le Hong Phong, about a quarter of a mile south-west of central Dalat.
Tel: +84 63 549 168
Dalat Railway Station
Built in 1932, Dalat railway station is most beautiful station in Indochina with Art Deco design combined with local ethnic style. Visitors can experience a short journey of about 5 kilometers, following the historical line towards a small village called Trai Mat and enjoy the countryside along the way. The train operates about five times a day and needs at least a group of 4-5 people to make the journey.
Opening hours: every day from 08:00 to 17:00
Address: north-east of Xuan Huong lake, via Nguyen Trai.
The church of Domaine de Marie
The Domaine de Marie church is a Catholic church built in 1940. Inspired by the 17th-century cathedrals in Normandy, France and local ethnic style, it features pink limestone walls, stained glass windows and a 3-meter high statue of the Virgin Mary. The church is also home to the Catholic Sisters of the Mission of Charity. There is an orphanage for disabled children, which you can support by donating, volunteering or buying souvenirs in the gift shop.
Opening hours: every day from 05:00 to 17:00
Address: no.1 Ngo Quyen Str, Da Lat city.
The Linh Phuoc pagoda
The Linh Phuoc Pagoda is one of the best known pagodas in Vietnam because it has the tallest bell tower in the country. A 20-minute drive from Da Lat city center, many locals call it the “bottle pagoda” because there is a 49m long dragon statue made with 12,000 beer bottles recycled in the park. Meanwhile, the main room contains colorful paintings depicting Buddha’s life. The famous bell tower reaches 37 meters in height, and you can write your wishes on a small note and attach it to the center of the bell, before ringing three times to send it to Buddha.
Opening hours: every day from 09:00 to 17:00
Address: 120 Tu Phuoc Str, Da Lat.
Crazy House
One of the quirkiest attractions in Da Lat is known by its nickname Crazy House although its real name is the Hang Nga Guest House and Art Gallery. The reason for its name is that the house is built to resemble a tree and was designed in 1990 by Dang Viet Nga, who is the daughter of Vietnamese Communist Leader Truong Chinh. This complex of house which inspired by Soviet style architect and surrealism. Crazy House is a place to take hundreds photos and admire the freaky room. You can also spend the night here with not-very-high price.
Lam Vien Square
The strange attraction of this unique project has created a new face for the dreamy city of Dalat. Built in early 2016, Lam Vien Square quickly became an attractive destination. The point that impresses visitors is the giant wild anemone flower designed with a slight inclination in colorful glass.
XQ House
XQ House also known as XQ embroidery museum, is located at 258 Mai Anh Dao, Ward 9, Da Lat. Overwhelmed with the space of embroidery artworks, visitor can study the traditional embroidery of Vietnam and admire a collection of embroidery clothes, picture and decoration. Dalat’s embroidery is made with local ethnic inspiration and French colonial design style.
Cau Dat Tea Hill
Located 25km from the city center, you can take the Xuan Truong bus or taxi to get there. However, for who love adveture, they can rent a motorbike from Da Lat city, go straight to Tran Hung Dao street, then turn right to Highway 20 to Trai Mat, tea hill locates in the southeast of the city. Standing in the middle of the vast tea hill, watching the pure green of tea hill, you can get a lot of great photos.
Datanla Waterfall
Locates on the Pren pass, hidden in the fog of Da Lat, Datanla is one of the great waterfalls in Dalat. Tourists come here not only to admire its poetic beauty but also try several adventurous experience. You can get to this waterfall by the Highway 20 by motorbike in 20 minutes. Ingress ticket price is 40,000 VND/person, cable car ticket is 50,000 VND/way. You can try some adventurous experiences organized by local travel agencies.
Ponguor Waterfall
Ponguor Waterfall is a suitable place for camping. Locates 50km from the city center, in Tan Hoi commune, Duc Trong district, tourists can get to Pongour by car or motorbike from Da Lat city to the South of Highway 2, following the signpost to Ponguor Falls. From a distance, visitors will see the waterfall about 50m high. A lot of travelller go to Pongour waterfall to admire its beauty and take photos.
Tuyen Lam Lake
Located more than 6 km from Dalat city to the south, Tuyen Lam lake is famous for its poetic scenery. You can admire the fresh air, unique beauty of Tuyen Lam in anytime of the year. Several local agencies organizes kayak tour in Tuyen Lam lake.
Day 1:
In the morning, we start our day trip on Robin Hill with Dalat Cable Car to get the panorama view of the Dalat City and enjoy the marvelous sight of the pine forested valley stretched down to the South. After taking some photos of this, an option to take the cable car descending down 300 meters with the nice view of flower, vegetable fields dotted in the pine forested valley below to visit to Tuyen Lam Lake. Surrounding by pine forest, Tuyen Lam Lake looks like a paradise with the Truc Lam Zen Monastery, at present is the biggest Zen University in Viet Nam. Please dress decently, a very quiet scenery beside it’s beautiful flower garden, which is built on the top of Phoenix Hill. On the way back to Dalat City center, we visit the Bao Dai King’s Summer Palace, the last Emperor and unique cultural lifestyle of Vietnamese through Royal decoration, the meaningful place of your Dalat trip. Then you will have a surprise at Crazy House which was built by its owner – architect Dang Viet Nga and became one of the world’s ten most bizarre houses voted by People’s Daily Magazine. It does not comply with any convention about house building with ten themed guest rooms, each one having an animal as its theme.
Have your lunch at local restaurant on the way.
In the afternoon, we continue our trip to Da Lat Flower Garden (formed in 1966) is known as the paradise of flowers with a rich collection of local and foreign flower types: roses, impatiens walleriana, chives, azaleas, bird of paradise, hydrangeas, orchids, cactus…. You can take pictures in the colorful flower garden, walking in bonsai park, stroll along romantic lakeside, riding horse or using the swan pedal boat. If you love art work, XQ Embroidery village (XQ Historical Village) is a worthy place to see many miraculous hand made embroidery works and find out how they make those fantastic artwork, this is the head and original hand embroidered works of XQ in Vietnam, you will be surprised and admired the charming ladies working here. Keeping on visiting a giant golden statue of Sakyamuni Buddha. Continuously, The Cock Church (The Cathedral of Dalat city), known with a bronze rooster was placed on the top of the tower and the European Gothic architectural style since 1931 and it is the biggest church in Dalat city which was designed and built by Frenchman. Free to enjoy the artichoke tea, jams at Dalat’s Specialities Showroom.
Overnight in Dalat
Day 2:
In the morning, you can enjoy fresh air of Datanla waterfall is nestled under canopies of the primeval jungle with soft, white waters flowing over rock shelve and drop into death valley creating a beautiful natural picture. As possible, let’s experience the exciting adventure feeling on roller coaster from the hilltop down to waterfall.
The most important place of the day is Pongour waterfall considered as the most beautiful and majestic waterfall in the Central Highland with about 40 m in height and over 100 m in width. Surrounded by unspoiled forest, the waterfall slips into numerous sandstone stepping from top to bottom. Its massive water powerfully falling down seven floors produces sonorous sounds that can be heard from miles around. Here you can create great-looking photos of the soft wispy effect by shooting flowing water at very slow shutter speeds.
In the afternoon, you can admire the transparent water flowing through granite mountain sides looks really spectacular making an area be obscured by the very white spray at Elephant waterfall. Next to the waterfall is Wind Cave having narrow entrance between two cliffs, but inside the cave there are many wide spaces and full of wind. Elephant Waterfall looks like a lively picture which has been carved by nature with the particularly interesting caves hide after craggy cliffs and many rocks now appear, now disappear look like as many elephants are jostling to bath.
Overnight in Dalat
Dalat’s cuisine is the thing that makes people want to be here once again.
Avocado ice cream
It seems a bit strange considering that avocado ice cream is one of the most popular desserts in this cold climate land. The taste of avocado ice cream explains why everyone here can’t resist this cream even on the coldest days. A perfect combination of scoops of sweet white ice cream and a soft fat avocado can even enchant people with a picky taste. You just have to mix the ice cream and the well-ground avocado and then enjoy it. They also enhance its taste by adding a little dried coconut on top. Price is VND 15,000/glass.
Where to eat:
Thanh Thao shop, no.76 Nguyen Van Troi str, Da Lat city, Lam Dong.
Da Lat night market
Strawberry ice cream
Another type of ice cream that many travelers remember when talking about Da Lat is strawberry ice cream. Strawberries are mixed with milk, eggs and other ingredients to create a fantastic flavor that can impress on the first try.
Where to eat:
Kem Dau Tay shop, at 242d Phan Dinh Phung Str, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province.
Bread with meatball soup
The meatball soup combined with the bread is so delicious. Although banh mi can be found anywhere in Vietnam, the bread with meatball soup in Da Lat has a heavenly taste. The meatballs are made with minced pork mixed with cat ear mushrooms, chopped onion, garlic and some types of spices. After processing the meatballs, boil them in broth with the ground tomato. This is why you can find meatball soup with a still fresh flavor. A portion of this dish includes a bowl of meatball soup and hot, crusty bread.
Soya milk
Soy milk is so popular that it can be found in most corners of Da Lat. Enjoying a hot glass of soy milk in cold weather and when the night falls is an indispensable experience for every traveler here. Surely you never forget the sweet and fresh taste of soy milk together with a light pineapple fragrance in each glass.
Where to drink:
64 Tang Bat Ho Str, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province, Vietnam.
Alley No. 185 Phan Dinh Phung Str, Da Lat province, Lam Dong province.
Nguyen Van Cu street, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province.
Coffee
Dalat is famous for coffee culture. Da Lat’s coffee is as simple as the locals. It is not as strong as Hanoi coffee and it is not as sweet and light as SaiGon coffee. Da Lat coffee has its flavor with a subtle fragrance and a moderate bitterness that can enchant people on the first try. The high quality Arabica coffee and local recipe makes Dalat coffee is incredible. Most people here drink coffee in the morning at the small shop along the streets and around Xuan Huong lake.
Where to drink:
Da Lat Night in zone 4 via Dong Da, city of Da Lat, province of Lam Dong.
Da Lat train cafe in No. 1 Quang Trung Str, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province.
Windmills cafe, in 133 Phan Dinh Phung street, Da Lat city, Lam Dong province.
Tea
Dalat- the “capital of tea” during the French colonial period is still one of the best tea growing places in the country. The lush green tea gardens stretching along both sides of the road are not only beautiful landscapes that delight the people but also give out the raw material for the drink to stay forever.
Antichoke
Artichokes provide a lot of minerals very good for your health. This flower can also can lower cholesterol and urea in the blood. It’s even good for your liver. That’s why when going to Dalat, many traveler try lots of artichoke in every meal.
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Saigon Dalat: The 4-star Saigon-Dalat Hotel is located in the heart of Dalat city, Lam Dong province, Vietnam, with 160 luxurious rooms, equipped with air-conditioning and always green garden.
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Ngoc Lan Hotel Dalat: with 91 contemporary rooms and suites feature polished wooden floors, spacious lobby, relaxing bars, international standard conference center.
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Golf Valley Hotel: is among the wonderful choice for midrange accommodation in the romantic city of Da Lat.
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Ana Mandara Villas Resort offers original French colonial villas ideally nestled on the slopes of Dalat city’s rural highlands.
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Edensee Resort: Escape to a highland paradise of Dalat city where swaying pine trees and lush greenery meet the shimmering waters of the Tuyen Lam Lake.
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Crazy House: This freaky hotel in Vietnam offers crazy but artistic accommodation in Dalat.