Tours out of Ho Chi Minh City and across Vietnam
Southern Vietnam
Three cool days in the pine hills above the heat
At 1,500 metres Da Lat stays between about 15 and 24 degrees all year. After Saigon it feels like a different country, and that is the whole point of it.
Overview
Why go up to Da Lat
The French built Da Lat as a hill station to escape the lowland heat, and cool air is still what it sells. The town is a mix of old villas, a lake, a big market and a great deal of new building. Around it is pine forest, vegetable greenhouses and coffee planted on steep red earth.
Vietnamese honeymooners love it and it has its share of kitsch, from swan boats to heart-shaped photo frames. We keep you mostly out of town: a morning walking in the pine forest, a coffee farm run by a family who roast what they grow, and a waterfall. The town gets an afternoon and an evening, which is about right.
- Length
- 3 days, 2 nights
- Flight from Saigon
- About 1 hour
- By road instead
- 6 to 7 hours
- Altitude
- About 1,500 metres
- Style
- Private, with guide
Nights
Where you sleep
Day by day
Day by day
Day 1
Up to the hills, the town and the lake
The first cool evening after the heat of Saigon
We collect you in Saigon for a morning flight of about an hour to Lien Khuong airport, where your guide meets you. The drive into Da Lat takes about forty minutes, climbing through pine and farmland. After lunch and check-in, you walk around Xuan Huong lake and up to the old railway station, a 1930s building with a short tourist line that still runs to a nearby village.
The market is at its busiest in the late afternoon, full of artichokes, strawberries and highland vegetables. In the evening the market steps become a night market with grilled rice paper and hot soy milk, which you will want because it gets cool after dark.
Day 2
Pine forest, coffee and a waterfall
Coffee at the farm where it was grown
At 08:00 we drive out of town for a walk of about three hours through pine forest and along ridges with views over farmed valleys. It is a gentle walk with some ups and downs; if you want something longer, tell us and we will plan a proper hike.
Lunch is at a coffee farm, where the family shows you the plants, the drying yard and the roasting, and you taste the result. In the afternoon we drive to Elephant waterfall, a heavy, noisy fall best seen in the wet months, with a pagoda of enormous statues nearby. Back in town by 17:00.
Day 3
Flower farms and the flight home
The greenhouse valleys around the town
A slow morning. We visit a flower farm in the greenhouses that cover much of the valley and a silk workshop where the cocoons are unwound by machine, then have lunch in town. The drive to the airport leaves around 13:00 for an afternoon flight to Saigon.
Price
Price
| Travellers | Tier 1 — simple | Tier 2 — comfortable | Tier 3 — the good ones |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 travelling | from 345 | from 430 | from 655 |
| 4 travelling | from 285 | from 355 | from 540 |
| 6 travelling | from 255 | from 320 | from 485 |
Flights are part of the price and vary with the date: Vietnamese school holidays and the weeks around Tet are the most expensive. Da Lat has a good range of small hotels, and the step up to the third tier buys a genuinely lovely old building. Four or six travellers share the car and guide.
Included
What is included
What the price includes
- Return economy flights Saigon to Da Lat, with checked bag
- Transfers to and from both airports
- Private car, driver and guide in Da Lat
- Two nights at your chosen hotel tier, with breakfast
- Three lunches, entrance fees and water
What it does not include
- Dinners, drinks and tips
- Travel insurance and visas
- Canyoning or other adventure activities, which we can add
- Personal spending in the market
Practical
Seasons and what to pack
November to March is dry and cool, with cold nights in December and January. April and May are warm and clear. June to October is the wet season, with heavy afternoon rain and mist that can sit on the town for days; the waterfalls are at their fullest then.
Pack a warm layer, a light rain jacket and shoes for the forest trails. If you want to drive instead of flying, the road from Saigon takes six to seven hours, and the view from the pass is good, but it costs you most of a day each way.
Not for everyone
Who this does not suit
On a first two-week trip to Vietnam, Da Lat is often the place we suggest cutting. Cool air and farmland are not what most people fly this far for, and the town itself divides opinion. If a clean, historic old town is what you are after, Hoi An does that better.
It earns its place in the hot months, for coffee lovers, for walkers, and as a break in the middle of a long trip.
Common questions
Questions travellers ask most
How cold does Da Lat get?
Nights in December and January can fall to around 10 degrees. Days are usually mild. Bring a jumper.
Can we go on to Nha Trang instead of flying back?
Yes. The mountain road down to Nha Trang takes about three and a half hours; see our six-day route that does exactly that.
Is the walk hard?
No. It is about three hours on forest paths with some gentle climbs. We can make it longer or shorter.
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