Think everywhere in Vietnam is hot? Think again!

The Central Highlands region in Vietnam is hilly and temperate. It’s quite different to the rest of the country.

I visited Dalat, the most popular city to visit in the region, back in November 2023, and had mixed feelings – although I can see all the great things that make it a firm favourite for locals, they didn’t quite work for me.

Following my visit, I’ve written this guide to the city to help you plan your own visit. It contains information on what to do and where to stay, as well as my honest thoughts on the Dalat experience. I hope it’s useful!

About Dalat

Dalat is a city in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam.

Completely different to other places in Vietnam, the Central Highlands are hilly, with a higher altitude.

This is how Dalat rated:

• Safety: 5/5 – Dalat feels very safe and I never had any concerns.
• Accessibility: 3/5 – it’s easy to get to Dalat. However, as with the rest of Vietnam, a lot of places don’t have step-free access. Also, many of the activities require the use of a scooter to access them.
• Enjoyment: 3/5 – I enjoyed my time in Dalat but, as it’s somewhere relatively similar to home, I didn’t feel like I got as much enjoyment out of it as I did in other areas of Vietnam. I also found it difficult to explore without using a scooter.
• Value: 5/5 – the accommodation is the cheapest of all the places I visited in Vietnam, and many of the attractions are free or reasonably priced!

Overall score: 4/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

How to get to Dalat

It’s fairly easy to get to Dalat. There are direct domestic flights to the city from places, such as Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hanoi, for fairly low prices.

Another option is to catch the bus from destinations in Central and Southern Vietnam, such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Miu Ne and Nha Trang. There’s a bus conveniently leaving from Ho Chi Minh City every hour, and a sleeper bus leaves to Hoi An every evening as well.

The sleeper buses in Vietnam are generally okay. The route from Dalat in either direction doesn’t cover the best roads, as there are some bendy sections, but I didn’t find any of it a problem.

For bus booking, I’d recommend organising it with your hostel or hotel. We found all the hotel staff and owners to be very hospitable and happy to organise onward journeys. They often will organise your taxi and transfers as well.

However, 12go.asia is a great resource if you want to book it yourself, for access to the greatest range of departures and bus companies.

Dalat is also connected to Mui Ne by train, but I don’t have any experience on this route! It’s the only train link that Dalat has.

Where to eat in Dalat

Dalat is a fairly big city and I frankly have no idea which restaurants are best.

Most hostels in Dalat offer a family dinner option, which we took up several times. These dinners normally have a homely, comforting vibe, and are a great way to meet other travellers in the region.

When in Dalat, I’d recommend trying some of the foods the area is known for, such as strawberries, coffee and wine. You can visit farms which grow this produce, and try it at coffee shops and bars throughout the city too.

Where to stay in Dalat

Dalat is a walkable city. Not all the hostels and hotels are located near the main city attractions, but that’s okay as the centre isn’t too big.

We stayed at the Note Hostel, which had a nice vibe. It wasn’t fancy in the slightest, but we liked the family running it. Like most hostels in Dalat, they offer a family dinner, which gives it a gentle social vibe. Most importantly, they had the friendliest cat, Ken!

There are plenty of other hostels and hotels in the centre, most of which are affordable, with hostel beds going for a couple of dollars.

What to do

1. Ride the Alpine coaster at Datanla Waterfall

The area surrounding Dalat, being so mountainous, is FULL of waterfalls. One such waterfall is Datanla, around 15 mins’ drive from the centre.

To be honest, I didn’t find Datanla Waterfall to be that impressive. The water is very brown! However, most people aren’t visiting to see the waterfall itself: more so to ride their Alpine coaster.

Alpine coasters are coasters which you can control the speed of, which make for fun rides. There are two tracks you can choose from to take you down to Datanla Waterfall.

At 250,000 dong ($10 / £8) per person for the longer coaster, I thought it was a little steep. However, it was fun and is certainly something different to do when you’re in the area!

2. Visit a farm to try local produce

Given the cooler climate and higher altitude of the Central Highlands, you’ll find the production of many products which are only grown in this area of Vietnam. If you’re a Brit like me, it’s closer to what you’ll find at home!

There were three foods that really tempted me in the area (strawberries, coffee and wine). We ran out of time to get to all of them 🙁

You can find strawberry farms all around the outskirts of Dalat so it’s super easy to visit one of these. We went to Deo May which was super nice; the owners were so friendly and even gave us a free bouquet of chrysanthemums to take with us!

Most vineyards and coffee plantations are slightly further out and best accessed using a scooter.

3. Visit Tam Tuyen Lake

We were recommended a visit to Tam Tuyen Lake. This is a big reservoir on the outskirts of Dalat, super close to Datanla Waterfall, which offers pretty views. They also have boat trips and pedalos.

However, I can’t lie: I didn’t get the vibe of the lake or why it was recommended to us. It felt more like a place where tourists would come to pose and take pretty photos, instead of an actual destination you’d want to visit.

It is close to Truc Lam Monastery though, so it’s something to nip down to if you go to this area!

4. Truc Lam Monastery and Dalat Cable Car

For a more spiritual experience in Dalat, head to Truc Lam Monastery. Overlooking Tam Tuyen Lake, it forms a complex which is very peaceful. Additionally, it’s freeee!

Getting to Truc Lam Monastery is easy to get to, not just by road, but also by cable car.