Dalat, Vietnam – Where to Stay, Visit, Transport – Page 1

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Dalat – Orientation – Maps

Map – The Center of Dalat :

Look at the following Map :

And look at this interactive Google Map :

Interactive Map – The tourist attractions around Dalat :

  1. Points in Green : Airport + Bus Central Station.
  2. Points in Red : Tourist Attractions.
  3. Points in Blue : City Center.

The city is on the left of the lake.

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The market is the most central point of the city, it is active also during the evening with a lot of street vendors selling food like corn, strawberries (a lot), and Vietnamese pizza.

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Above the market, there are many nice and animated streets with cafés and restaurants, some of them with western food.

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Lam Vien square is an open area in front of the lake. Young Vietnamese use to come here to do skating and ride small electric vehicles.

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At the place, there is a café in form of a green cone. There is a small mall, underground with a mega-supermarket of the chain “Big C”.

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You can walk from the market to the square in 15 minutes.

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How is the city of Dalat ?

A really nice place. Dalat has more to offer than it seems at first. It has nice colourful buildings in colonial style, it has French history and French influence.

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It is located in a mountainous area, and the weather is much cooler than in Saigon. The city itself is a busy place, there is still a lot of traffic in form of motorcycles and a certain pollution (some people are wearing masks) and it is difficult to cross the streets as a pedestrian.

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Still, you can go by foot to the lake and there, the air is much cleaner.

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It is when you get out of the center that you encounter the nature. Just go to one of the tourist attractions and you will see nice mountains.

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How to arrive to Dalat ?

Dalat is located just 240 Km north of Saigon (line distance) and 85 Km from Nha-Trang. It is a mountainous area.

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By Bus

Although it is a short distance, If you arrive from Saigon, a bus ride may take 7 hours.
From Nha Trang 4 hours. There are many buses operating in Vietnam. There are private bus companies and there are national buses going from the central stations. Ask your hotel or one of the many travel agencies  and they will propose you a bus ticket.

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By Flight

The preferred way to arrive to Dalat (if you don’t want to be hours inside a bus). Flights from Saigon are very cheap if you catch it at the right moment (could be 50 dollars) and the flight time is very short (less than 1 hour). There are flights also from the rest of Vietnam, of course.

The airport of Dalat is located 22 Km, south from the center (see it on the Map). To arrive to the center, you can take a taxi or the airport bus that costs just 40,000 Dong. The airport bus is active when there are flights.
Note : Somehow the airport bus is leaving the passengers on the edge of the lake instead of in the market (which is more central), and from the lake you have to take a taxi till your hotel (or walk 20 minutes). It is not a problem, the taxi ride, for a short distance, is very cheap. Or better, try to convince the bus driver to leave you in the market. Good luck.

By Train

No trains to Dalat. It seems a railway is in construction.

Where to Stay in Dalat ? – Hotels

Let’s look again on the Map of the town center :

Ideally you want to live near the market, it is the most central point in Dalat, and indeed most of the hotels are located around it.
Look at the following map:  I have highlighted 2 zones. Zone 1 is very close to the market. If you stay here you will have plenty of restaurants and city life. Zone 2 is a little bit elevated (hill) and you may have a nice view over the lake or town (depending on the hotel).

See Hotels in Dalat, around the market. After you click and fill the dates, you will see a Map icon. Click on the Map icon, it is a great way to search for the right hotel (you immediately see the price and the score received by visitors). You also know from the map, where is the center  of town (it is where are most hotels).

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Option 2 for staying: more nature

Around Dalat, there is a very nice scenery and you may prefer to live far from the city. One possible place is around “Hồ Tuyền Lâm” lake.

It is a big lake, about 8 Km from the city. In fact, it is the main attraction of Dalat. There is a cable car that takes to it. There are some resorts around the lake (and also backpackers options). If you choose to live near this lake and you can rent a motorbike, it will be fun. Without a motorbike, you will depend on the transport of the resort. A taxi may specially be called, but it will be relatively expensive.

See Hotels around the lake Hồ Tuyền Lâm. After you click and fill the dates, you will see a Map icon. Click on the Map icon, it is a great way to search for the right hotel (you immediately see the price and the score received by visitors).

How is the Climate in Dalat ?

It is relatively cool in Dalat. If you arrive from Saigon, you will be quite surprised, you will discover that there is no air conditioning in the hotel rooms.

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During the day the average temperature could be around 23 degrees Celsius, but at night it is much cooler, around 15 degrees. People are wearing light coats. It is raining a lot in Dalat. Almost every day. The dry season is very short, only the months of December, January and February could be without rain.

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Here are the average temperatures and rain in Dalat :

Month
Max (C)
Min (C)
Rain (mm)
January 22 11 11
February 24 11 24
March 25 13 62
April 25 14 170
May 24 16 191
June 23 16 213
July 23 16 229
August 23 16 214
September 23 16 282
October 22 15 239
November 22 14 97
December 21 13 36

How to Move in Dalat ?

Buses are not really an option in Dalat. Taxi and Moto-Taxi are cheap.

By Foot

In the Center of town, you can move by foot. You can walk to the lake till the Lam Vien square area in 15 minutes, about 1 Km distance.

By Taxi

A short distance in town will cost you about 20,000 Dong.
To arrive to the tourist attractions in the suburbs like Linh Phuoc Pagoda, it could be 100,000 Dong.

By Moto-Taxi

An excellent way to move around Dalat if you are travelling solo. The service of Grab-Moto (motorbikes), is excellent , but you need a Smartphone and a phone number (see what I wrote about Grab, in the Saigon Transport page ). A ride to the tourist attractions with Grab-Moto could cost 20000 Dong (I always leave a Tip).

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There are also the “free lancers” with motos. They will address you on the streets. It is much less attractive than using Grab. Their motos is in bad shape and they will ask you for an higher price and they will try to take you to places you didn’t ask for.

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Rent a Motorbike

Yes, tourists can rent a moto in Dalat. It is very convenient (and cheap) in order to visit the attractions in the suburbs.

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Just make sure you have some experience riding one.

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What to Eat in Dalat ?

Strawberries. There are strawberries everywhere. Apparently there is an agriculture of strawberries around the mountains of Dalat. They are tasty. There are also a lot of Artichokes, Avocados and boiled corns.

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And there is the “Vietnamese Pizza” which is sold everywhere, especially in the evening in the market square. It consists of a thin layer of rice paper and an egg and spices.

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Regarding real restaurants, most of them are with Vietnamese food. If you want an authentic and splendid Italian restaurant (Italian owner), visit Primavera, which is situated right above the market.

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If you want Vegetarian food, look at the application Happy Cow, there are some options in Dalat.

Continue to Page 2 – What to Visit in Dalat ?

More on Vietnam :

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If you find incorrect data on this page, like a restaurant that has closed or a big river that has moved or you want to tell me something, please write me to contact.

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