How To Travel To Da Lat
Get In - By bus
The majority of visitors, both domestic and foreign, arrive in Dalat by bus, including those who take the renowned Sinh Cafe Hanoi-HCMC open-tour bus. Numerous private automobile services depart from Nha Trang, Mui Ne, and HCMC daily towards Dalat. The bus travel from Nha Trang Phuong Trang Bus Station takes around 3–4 hours, includes a breakfast/restroom stop for 30 minutes about an hour outside of Nha Trang, and costs 145 000 VND with hotel pickup. (Mar 2014) Another bus with the name Nam Phuong picks you up from your accommodation and drops you off in the midst of the backpacker district for a price of 120.000 VND.
Sleeper buses from Danang to Dalat depart from the Danang Central Bus Station at 17:00 and arrive in Dalat at 8:00–9:00 am (15 hours later). Tickets cost 265.000; you can purchase them in person at the bus station or online at [email protected].
The bus travel takes around 6 hours from Ho Chi Minh City (recent road improvements cut the commute time by a few hours), and costs VND210,000 (Nov 2017) aboard Phuong Trang (FUTA) semi-sleepers. Make sure to reserve a seat in the front of a big bus if you’re traveling from Mui Ne because the route is extremely bumpy for the majority of the journey. The Interprovincial Bus Station is where you will be dropped off, a few kilometers south of the city. FUTA offers a free transport van to drive you to your hostel or hotel, but you will likely have to wait for hours before they have any more Vietnamese passengers.
If you wish to skip HCMC, there is a sleeper bus leaving from the Dalat bus station at 8 pm that travels directly to Can Tho for 8 hours and VND 325k.
It could be advisable to reserve a seat on a bus without a television for western tourists. If you’d rather sleep before getting to your next destination, the entertainment on offer could be loud and unattractive. The semi-sleepers at FUTA don’t have TVs.
The town is home to a number of travel businesses that may arrange bus trips throughout the nation.
A local bus can also be boarded in HCMC, Bien Hoa, Phan Rang, Nha Trang, or Buon Ma Thuot.
Get In - By plane
Lien Khuong Airport, 30 km south of the city, is the only airport with service to and from HCMC, Danang, Hanoi, Hue, Vinh, Haiphong, and Bangkok. It is connected to the city by a modern yet beautiful two-lane roadway. As of May 2018, Dalat is served by three airlines: Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet Air, Bamboo Airways, and Pacific Airlines. The competition offers better rates with advanced reservations, therefore it is well worth the effort to compare the schedules and pricing being provided. Vietjet Air, like Vietnam Airlines, is connected to international reservation and ticketing through GDS and airline systems. Tickets from Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh to Dalat typically cost between 169,000 and 699,000 VND.
Shuttle buses are readily available outside the airport facility, and tickets cost 50,000 VND when purchased on the spot. When taking the shuttle bus, be aware that the driver may try to drop you off somewhere else in Dalat instead of your hotel. Be sure to tell the tout which hotel you want to be dropped off at and make sure that they make this known to the driver. If the driver tries to drop you off somewhere else, resist him politely but firmly unless you don’t mind walking! By default, the shuttle leaves you at the Ngoc Phat Hotel, which is located next to the Big C shopping center and may be considered to be in the city’s center.
As of February 2022, Mai Linh Taxi costs 200,000 from the airport counter to Dalat City and 200,000 to hotels beyond the center. To transport hotel guests to and from the airport, some hotels have specific agreements with taxi companies that cost about 250,000 VND.
Taking a local bus is another alternative. The airport is passed by the route 1 buses as they travel from Dalat to Duc Trong. On the QL20 highway, close to the turn for the airport, is the local bus stop, which is simply marked with a bus stop sign. From the airport, it will take you roughly a kilometer to get to the bus station. It costs 15,000 VND.
Get In - By motorbike
For daring travelers who prefer to travel cheaply and experientially, motorcycles are a great option. The distance between Saigon and Da Lat is around 300 miles, and commuting on a motorcycle takes 7 to 10 hours. Even though it takes a while, you will find that these are pretty engaging encounters that will lead you to many breathtaking sights. To rent a motorcycle in Vietnam, you must have a valid motorcycle driving license.
