Lam Dong is located in Vietnam’s Central Highlands, with remarkable forests covering nearly 70 percent of the province. The scale and scope of the mountain ranges is possibly the most amazing facet of Lam Dong.
The capital city Dalat is located 1,500 meters above sea-level and has a cooler climate than some of the other surrounding villages and cities. Its lakes, waterfalls, and flower gardens attract tourists to the region, while the cool climate provides for comfortable strolls.
Babla falls, Golf hills and Datangla falls are a few examples of the natural waterfalls and hills that tourists flock to see in Lam Dong province.
Flights from Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi depart daily to Dalat’s Lien Khuong Airport while flights fly twice a week from Danang. Ninh Thuan province is approximately 110kms (68 miles) from Dalat while Dak Lak is 200kms (124 miles) away.
Where to go? things to do?
Dalat The South Central Highlands’ top tourist destination owes its fame to French colonists who chose it as a place to escape the busy Ho Chi Minh City. It is much cooler and ideal for weekend getaways.
Bearing visual markers of its colonial past, Dalat is blessed with picturesque architecture with distinctly French influences and to a degree more noticeable perhaps than in other Vietnamese towns and cities that experienced French occupancy. Natural beauty including the mountains and pine-covered hills in its surrounds, add further to the town’s aesthetic qualities.
With the climate somewhat cooler here than in lower areas of the country, Dalat is home to a thriving agricultural industry that produces a variety of vegetables, fruit and flowers, many of which cannot be grown in lower parts of Vietnam. Indeed, such is the reputation of Dalat’s fresh produce, that markets the length of the country sell its fruit and vegetables at a premium.
The town has, for some time, realized its potential as a tourist destination and hence its infrastructure is well adapted to the needs of its visiting population, with plenty of hotels and restaurants on hand; as well as travel agencies offering excursions to popular local sights. For Vietnamese visitors, it is the ideal spot for a weekend getaway, while for westerners; it makes for a relaxing stop along the lengthy tour between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
In brief:
Worth it? Yes, it is considered an essential stop on the typical tourist trail.
What to do: wander the local markets, go sightseeing, go hiking or biking.
Best time to go: choose a time between November and February to be sure of favorable weather.
How long? You can easily spend up to three days in Dalat.
Factoid: local myth tells that the town’s name is an acronym of the Latin phrase ‘dat aliis laetitiam aliis temperiem’, which means ‘giving pleasure to some, freshness to others’.
Getting there:
Buses provide the primary form of transportation to Dalat for foreign visitors, with the minibuses operated by the popular Sinh Café offering the easiest travel options for anyone coming from either Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. From the latter, the journey takes between 6 and 7 hours, while from Nha Trang (north of Dalat) it takes 5 hours. There are public buses also to Dalat from all the aforementioned destinations. An airport, located just over 18 miles from the city, receives flights daily from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Dalat attractions:
+ Xuan Huong Lake: situated central to the town, this nature spot is popular with locals and visitors alike for boating, strolling around etc.
+ Dalat market: the best place in town for sampling the locally grown fruit and vegetables and other delicacies.
Lake of Sorrow: is another of the town’s scenic natural areas.
+ Lang Biang Mountain: take the three-hour hike to the top of the mountain, stopping at the ethnic villages along the way.
+ Waterfalls: Prenn Falls and Pongour Falls are both within easy distance of the town and well worth the visits if you appreciate natural beauty and peaceful settings.
Bao Loc:
The Lam Dong Province in Vietnam’s Central Highlands region is home to the small town of Bao Loc, a destination best known for its silk and tea production.
The town is a prolific provider of a registered brand known as B’lao tea. Coffee production is also big in Bao Loc and other towns across the province contributing significantly to Vietnam’s reputation as the world’s second biggest coffee producer. Enjoying a cup or two of the locally produced Robusta roast is one of the highlights of a trip to the town.
The town has a small selection of guesthouses available and makes for an interesting stopover destination while traveling between Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat.
In brief:
Worth it? Indeed, especially of you enjoy great tea and coffee and pleasant mountain scenery.
What to do: visit the local plantations, go walking in the surrounding rural areas, sample the various kinds of tea.
Best time to go: choose a time between November and February to be sure of favorable weather.
How long? A day or two at the most.
Factoid: tea plantations in the area were originally established by French colonialists.
Getting there:
Ho Chi Minh City is 110 miles away from Bao Loc, while Dalat is 73 miles away. There are buses to Bao Loc from both destinations taking about 2 hours and 1 hour, 15 minutes respectively. Bao Loc also has its own airport, which receives daily flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Bao Loc attractions:
Dambri Falls: one of the country’s highest and most picturesque waterfalls.
Di Linh Travel Guide:
Di Linh is not especially well known to tourists but one that’s earned itself a place on the map from its tiger hunting scene and coffee and tea industries. It boasts beautiful mountainous scenery.
Di Linh benefits from a cool mountain climate, making it a good place to escape from the intense heat of significant lowland towns and cities such as Ho Chi Minh and Nha Trang. It is located just 21 miles from the town of Bao Loc, a similarly pleasant mountain town also famed for its coffee production.
Few folk travel to Di Linh expecting to find an abundance of attractions but that, to some extent, is its appeal. Most locals go about their business seemingly oblivious to the presence of tourists, allowing the town to maintain all of its natural charm and rural traditions.
In brief:
Worth it? Only if you have a generous time-scale, otherwise stick to the better-known tourist stops.
What to do: visit coffee and tea plantations, take relaxing walks in the mountains, enjoy the peaceful and relaxing ambience.
Best time to go: the main dry season runs from November to February but you can visit up until late May if you can handle things a bit hotter.
How long? A day or two is ample time.
Factoid: a whopping 47,000 hectares of land around the town is dedicated to agriculture.
Getting there:
There are buses to Di Linh from both Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat but journey times are long due to the roads to the town being windy and somewhat treacherous, taking 1 to 2 hours and 3 to 4 hours respectively. Cam Ly Airport (at Dalat) is the closest aviation facility to Di Linh, receiving daily flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Di Linh attractions:
Bo Bla Waterfall: standing 32 meters high and requiring a 25-minute walk to reach the top, this waterfall is one of the best natural sights within Di Linh’s rural surroundings.
