Da Lat, Vietnam, is a place well worth traveling to and exploring. Located near the South China Sea, it boasts incredibly unique natural scenery, as well as many diving opportunities. Here’s a travel guide to Da Lat.
How much does it cost to travel to Da Lat, Vietnam?
You can have a great time for around 4,000 yuan.
A month before leaving, I booked a hotel in Da Lat on Booking.com. The website showed that 98% of the rooms had been booked for the dates I had chosen.
At that moment, I didn’t know what 98% actually meant. It wasn’t until we dragged our suitcases into the bustling downtown area of Da Lat, watched the swarming motorbikes, listened to the deafening roar of the engines, and smelled the endless exhaust fumes, that we realized: we’d come at the wrong time.
Da Lat, the French colonial-era garden, a rare summer resort in Vietnam, gave us a loud slap in the face on our first encounter.
However, Da Lat is still beautiful.
Da Lat’s Xuan Huong Lake is surrounded by green willows and flocks of swans. This artificial lake, named after the Vietnamese poet Huong Xuan, is located in the heart of the city, yet it presents a scene of tranquil serenity.
Xuan Huong Lake
Da Lat’s Valley of Love is located away from the hustle and bustle in the mountains. It is named for the two cliffs on either side that resemble lovers leaning against each other. The entrance is full of flowers and sculptures, all elements of love. A few steps further, the view suddenly opens up, revealing trees, lakes, and mountains, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.
Valley of Love
Da Lat University is a quiet and elegant place with red tile roofs and yellow walls. It has no grand entrance gate or high walls, just a guard silently watching people come and go.
Da Lat’s Marie Monastery has a refreshing pink church that stands out against the backdrop of blue sky and white clouds.
Da Lat’s old train station is not connected to the outside world. It only has a dedicated line to the Linh Phuoc Pagoda, 7 kilometers away, for tourists. However, its three pointed roofs, red and yellow walls, colorful stained glass windows, and vintage, cozy carriages all exude French romanticism.
Train Station
Da Lat’s Crazy House was designed by Nga, daughter of the former Vietnamese president. Its shape is bizarre and exaggerated, full of whimsy. The Crazy House is an attraction and also a hotel, but it’s extremely popular. If you don’t book a room a year or two in advance, it’s impossible to get one. If you can stay there, not only can you save the 40k entrance fee, but you can also enjoy the wonders of the Crazy House at night when it’s quiet, and you can savor its wonderful mornings before the crowds arrive.
Crazy House
Da Lat’s Catholic Church, located on the shore of Xuan Huong Lake, is pink and yellow, like a fairytale castle. However, the most surprising sight is behind the church: the colorful rooftops in the distance, like little elves dotted among the mountains.
Da Lat also has gardens, waterfalls, temples… Unfortunately, due to the exhaust fumes, my wife and I didn’t have time to see them.
Da Lat is beautiful, but it also has a down-to-earth feel and a sense of humanity.
Speaking of hotels, we stayed at the 24h Guest House the first night. The receptionist was a slightly plump girl, soft-spoken, gentle and polite, like a breath of fresh air. Although they didn’t offer motorcycle rentals themselves, they recommended other places where we could rent them. Because we changed our itinerary at the last minute, I sent a refund request to Memory Hostel, where we were originally planning to stay the second night. I didn’t expect them to agree, but they did! It was only $11.5, but I was truly touched.
Speaking of renting cars, many hotels in Da Lat offer rental services, but the car owners aren’t the hotel owners, they’re separate people. Da Lat’s charges are also strangely set at noon. After 12 noon, it’s half a day; before that, it’s a full day. My wife and I went to rent a car at noon, and we couldn’t find any on the whole street of hotels. I realized once again how terrifying that 98% on Booking.com was. In the end, we went back to the hotel recommended by the receptionist. The owner spoke a little Chinese and was very enthusiastic to help me contact the car owner and give me advice. We were planning to rent it for a day and a half, but due to a last-minute change of itinerary, we returned the car half a day early and they even refunded half a day’s rental fee. Although it was only a few yuan, I was still very touched.
Speaking of buying tickets, the only two parts of our trip to Vietnam that we didn’t book in advance were the Da Lat to Mui Ne and Mui Ne to Saigon legs. Before we left the country, I thought the resellers were a bit expensive, and I wanted to experience the local ticketing process firsthand. We asked several resellers while driving, but either the time wasn’t right or the price was unfavorable. We wanted to go to the popular Futa or Sinh Cafe stations to buy tickets, but they were both too far from our accommodation and we didn’t have a motorbike, so we gave up. In the end, we found a local company station nearby and bought two tickets for a 1 pm departure the next day. After all, it was the peak season for the Chinese New Year, and the ticket price was double the usual, but still cheaper than the resellers. Looking back, not booking in advance did reduce the cost of our itinerary change, and the experience of buying tickets locally was also unique, but it was a little bittersweet.
Speaking of food, the exotic tile-grilled beef in street stalls, the delicious yogurt and instant noodles produced locally in Big C, and the egg pancakes wrapped in elementary school notebooks on the large plaza will all make you stop and reminisce!
Da Lat is a city where we originally planned to stay two nights, but wanted to escape after two hours, and then hurried away, only to regret it later.
On February 3, 2017, at 1 pm, my wife and I boarded a Vietnamese minivan, listening to foreign music, with a little relief and a little regret, we bounced along the road towards Mui Ne.
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