If you need a reprieve from the oppressive heat in Southeast Asia, may we suggest heading to the highlands of south-central Vietnam and the city of Da Lat. Nicknamed “The City of Eternal Spring,” average temperatures are between 14 and 23°C (57 to 73°F), although April, the hottest month, has occasionally seen daytime temperatures as high as 32°C (89°F).
In the early 1900s, French colonists stationed in Indochina (modern-day Vietnam) convinced their government of the need for a hill station (resort towns founded by European colonists to escape the summer heat). In 1907 the first hotel opened in the hills roughly 300 kilometers (185 miles) from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Nine years later the hill station was declared a town and some creative souls claim the name Da Lat is derived from the motto on the town’s colonial coat of arms: Dat Aliis Laetitiam Aliis Temperiem (It Gives Pleasure to Some, Freshness to Others). The reality is the name means “Stream of the Lat” – Đà: water Lạt: the indigenous people of the region.
As a hill station, Da Lat consisted solely of municipal, residential, and recreational buildings; it did not support any industry. That changed over the years, as the temperate climate was ideally suited to agricultural production, flowers in particular. The region produces three billion flowers annually, of which only ten percent are exported to foreign markets. According to one online US-based survey, it is the 3rd best place in the world for flower viewing.
There are multiple farms but you needn’t pay to walk amongst the blossoms, the city itself is blooming from trees, bushes, and gardens to hanging baskets, planters, and topiary art – it’s quite lovely. Da Lat is also Vietnam’s wine-producing region. That product isn’t quite as impressive, on par with boxed wine – worth the $2 CAD/glass charged by restaurants.
Other than during the 1968 Tet Offensive when several South Vietnamese/American MP units were stationed in the city, Da Lat remained largely unscathed during the Vietnam War, and along with Hoi An is considered one of the most romantic places in Vietnam.
Dollars – Not only was the climate in Da Lat more to our liking, but the cost of living was exceedingly appealing too!
| Cost/Day (2 people/10 nights) |
What’s Included? | |
|---|---|---|
| Basic day-to-day living expenses | $57/day Canadian ($42 USD / €39) |
Accommodation, sightseeing, groceries, restaurants, and local transportation |
| All-inclusive nomadic expenses | $81/day Canadian ($60 USD / €55) |
Basic expenses above plus entry visas (pro-rated), flight from Ho Chi Minh to Da Lat, data packages, subscriptions (Netflix and other streaming services, website hosting, Adobe Lightroom, VPN, misc apps, etc.) |
Environment – We had booked a small studio apartment (with a kitchen) about a 15-minute walk away from the center of town. Although it was booked through an online site, we hadn’t yet paid for our stay which is not at all unusual, lots of establishments take payment upon arrival, often in cash. The young man who met us to hand over the keys took one look at us and asked whether we wanted to view the unit first before paying, which was a bit of a red flag.
The studio was in the basement of a coffee shop and as we walked down the stairs, ducking our heads under the low ceiling, he started putting caveats on the accommodation, specifically that most of his guests were young Asian couples just coming for the weekend. The unit did match the pictures online, however, what had not been included amongst those photos was the bathroom. It was a typical “wet” bathroom – no separate stall, just a shower head mounted to the wall, which results in every fixture in the room getting soaked. We’ve had them in other places, but this one was a bit more challenging with some drainage issues.
We opted to pay for four days and would then let him know whether we’d extend our stay. The bed was actually extremely comfortable and despite being under a cafe, the noise level during the day was manageable and was non-existent at night. Additionally, because Da Lat is very hilly, the “basement” isn’t underground it’s just below one street level and had large windows looking out over a lower street. All in all, it was okay and we did think about just staying put for the whole 10 days but it was a bit of a nuisance having to duck under every doorframe and both of us cracked our heads numerous times stepping into the raised entry of the bathroom. We spent one afternoon walking around the area, checking out a few other accommodation options, and ended up moving to a brand new boutique hotel closer to the center of town. No kitchen this time, but an honest-to-God shower stall, and at only $25 CAD/night it saved us a little over $100 in total housing costs for Da Lat!
Tips, Tricks & Transportation – Da Lat is only 325 km (202 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City, and for a trip of that length normally we would take a bus. Unfortunately, it is not a straightforward route so we opted instead to just fly direct. At $89 CAD/pp and a 55-minute flight time, it was the right decision. The only potential downside to flying versus the bus is that the airport is 20 km outside the city (the bus station is right near the center). Lucky for us, we’d booked our initial accommodation through Booking.com, which was offering a free taxi ride from the airport to any Da Lat hotel booked through their site – a nice little savings.
Out and About – Many wonderful examples of French colonial architecture are still visible in Da Lat. The Art Deco Railway Station is one of them.
Having opened in 1938, it is the oldest station in Vietnam and although no longer part of the national railway system, there is a tourist train that runs several times a day between Da Lat and Trai Mat, covering a distance of just under 7 km (4.3 miles). The complex, which includes the station, several old carriages that have been converted to cafes, and a well-preserved antique steam locomotive, is considered a museum yet it is not readily apparent that you must pay an entry fee. As we were walking through the parking lot towards the station entrance an attendant frantically waved us over and politely requested payment – the exorbitant amount of ₫5,000 Dong each (about 26 cents Canadian).
The cooler temperatures of Da Lat are thanks to its location in the hills – 1,500 m/4,920 ft above sea level. That hilly terrain, however, also translates into a lot of incline walking. At the crest of one of those hills is the Da Lat Cable car, a 2200 m/7200 ft ride between Robin Hill and the Truc Lam Monastery, soaring above spectacular pine forests. A round trip ticket for the 13-minute ride is ₫120,000 Dong ($6.50 CAD) – be sure to time your visit to account for a lunchtime closure between 11:30 am and 1:00 pm.
We enjoyed meandering through Da Lat, negotiating some narrow, winding alleyways and getting our exercise going up and down the streets many of which ultimately lead to the heart of the city, Xuan Hong Lake, a man-made lagoon created by the French in 1919. Surrounded by a 7 km (4.3 miles) pathway it’s a pretty stroll during the day, and in the evening.
The Vietnamese seem to be completely enamoured with artificial theme parks and there are several in and around Da Lat. They don’t really appeal to us, still we did find ourselves at the Datanla Waterfalls, a natural landscape with just a little bit of gimmick, an alpine sled. Truthfully the 1000 m/3200 ft sled track was pretty fun and the waterfall was quite impressive. Even with this gorgeous natural setting people were following the “path for photography” signs which led to fake sculptures and contrived Instagram settings – we went in the opposite direction (completely alone) which led to the top of the waterfall and the river behind – to each their own. A roundtrip sled ticket is ₫250,000 Dong/pp ($13.50 CAD) which, admittedly, is a tad pricey. You can follow a walking trail to and from the waterfall but it was way more fun to whizz down on the sled, and after spending some time wandering around at the bottom hop on another one that hauls you back to the top.
Us – Da Lat was a pleasant surprise. While it certainly is a tourist destination, it didn’t feel overrun with foreigners. It doesn’t have the same frenetic pace we’ve found elsewhere in Vietnam, nor was there shop after shop selling crappy souvenirs. Even the night market was more focused on selling to locals rather than hawking touristy knickknacks, with multiple stalls selling cold weather gear (jackets, scarves, hats). We found this particularly amusing given the temperatures they felt necessitated layers of fleece were in the mid to high teens Celsius – that’s practically shorts weather in Canada!
We heartily agree with the French colonists, Da Lat is like a breath of fresh air and it was a pleasure to visit. We would come back. Off to Nha Trang (back to heat and humidity)!
Restaurants – One of our favourite Vietnamese dishes is bún (pronounced boon), a cold rice vermicelli dish topped in various ways. Bún thịt nướng (rice noodles with grilled meat) originated in southern Vietnam and is topped with grilled pork, fresh basil and mint, and “salad” (generally julienned carrots, cucumber slices, and bean sprouts). It is then seasoned with fish and chili sauces and finished with a garnish of roasted peanuts. Chả giò or nem rán (spring rolls) are common additions too. Generally very inexpensive (under $2 CAD), the best versions are sold as street food or in “hole-in-the-wall” restaurants filled with locals. As we were served a dish in a five-table restaurant down an alley, Howard could see out of the corner of his eye that the guy next to us was watching very closely and nodded his approval after we mixed up the ingredients in our bowl and commenced eating with chopsticks.
Speech – English was not as prevalent in Da Lat as it was in some of the other Vietnamese cities we’ve visited. Google Translate and pantomimes were occasionally helpful, as were these basics:
- sin chow – Hello;
- tam biet – Goodbye;
- cho toy hoi – Excuse me/May I ask;
- dza/kong – Yes/No;
- lam on – Please;
- cam on – Thank you;
- toy kong hew – I don’t understand;
- sin cho toy mot – Can I get one ____ ?
- bao new tian – How much?
- toy muon ka the – I want to pay by card;
- toy dain too – I am from… (clearly we are foreigners and were frequently asked where we were from);
- sin loy – I’m sorry.
