Things To Do In Da Lat – Budget Travel In Vietnam

Visit Da Lat, Vietnam to experience a vibrant city surrounded by lakes, forests and waterfalls. It offers cool temperatures, French colonial buildings, an art deco train station and the craziest hostel you will ever stay in.

So far, we had really enjoyed our time in Vietnam and had experienced many varied adventures in some great locations. As we left Nha Trang for a four hour bus ride to Da Lat, I realised I had absolutely no idea what to expect once we arrived!

A number of bloggers called it their favourite place in the whole of Vietnam! That was enough to reassure me that we would have a good time here.

How To Get To Da Lat From Nha Trang

As we were travelling from Nha Trang, we took the bus which took around 4 hours. Travel companies in South East Asia are inconsistent and you will hear horror stories and praise in equal measure about most companies. On this occasion, we used the ‘Sinh Tourist’ company (map) and had no problems. We booked online in advance and then had to pick up our tickets from the office in Nha Trang.

Once in Da Lat, we had a good 25 minute walk to our hostel. Though it was out of the centre, the reviews were very good and it seemed the best within our budget.

CLICK HERE FOR THE BEST HOSTELS IN DA LAT!

Things To Do In Da Lat

There are many interesting day trips to enjoy from Da Lat, from waterfalls to pagodas and stunning lakes and parks. The most interesting curiosity for me was the most bizarre architecture we had discovered so far on our travels. Here are some of the Da Lat attractions.

Crazy House Da Lat

Crazy House is a guesthouse where you can actually stay designed by Vietnamese architect Đặng Việt Nga. I’m not sure whether I’d want to stay here as I would keep on getting lost, such is the bizarre layout of this bizarre, quirky building.

If you were to imagine a guesthouse in the movie ‘Labyrinth’, this would be it. On a number of occasions, I lost Joanna only to come across her again seconds later after we had taken different staircases. The architecture is stunning and it is a great way to spend a couple of hours. (Map).

Da Lat Market (Chợ Đà Lạt)

A great place to spend some time experiencing the real Vietnam. You can buy clothes here for next to nothing as it is not a tourist market. If you see a shoe you like in the mountain of shoes, good luck finding the other one! Some interesting food here; you will find all the local delicacies including Da Lat strawberries! (Map).

Da Lat Train Station (Steam Train)

The train station, built in an art-deco style in the 1930s, has been largely unused since the end of the Vietnam war apart from a 7 km line that carries a steam train 5 times a day to and from the nearby town of Trai Mat. For a small fee, you can visit the train station which is like stepping back in time. There are old steam trains for you to discover and a recently opened chocolate shop called ‘The Choco’ where you can sample delicious chocolates made on the premises.

I highly recommend taking the steam train to the nearby village and visiting Linh Phuoc Pagoda.

You can buy single and return tickets. If you buy return tickets, you only have about an hour in the village before the return train. This is nowhere near enough time, especially if you want to visit the pagoda. My advice is to get a single ticket and then get the bus back to Da Lat. You can get the bus near the train station. It is very cheap and regular. There is only one bus so you can’t get the wrong one.

The train is a pleasant experience but one journey is enough and it is more convenient and cheaper to return by bus and this also gives you as much time as you want to visit the pagoda. Trust me, you will NOT want to rush that!

The pagoda is visually stunning. Every inch is covered with mosaic and the dragon alone is made from 12,000 bottles. There is a 37 metre bell tower and make sure you do not miss the descent into ‘hell’.

It is an incredible place to visit and, remarkably, it is free to explore. Why they do not charge an admission is a mystery as it would still receive as many tourists as it is such an incredible area. You simply cannot visit Da Lat without visiting this temple.

Food And Drink In Da Lat

What are the best bars in Da Lat? What are the best restaurants in Da Lat? There are many bars catering to tourists in Da Lat centre. Similarly, Da Lat restaurants serve up western food alongside more traditional Vietnamese cuisine. Look on the outskirts of the centre for the local, cheaper places.

13 Cafe Bar

We came here for a drink after discovering it by accident. We stayed for a few beers, made a new friend, and I even came back again later that evening for late night drinks where even the landlady was buying me drinks! A great bar with a chilled out atmosphere created by the decor and the music. (Map).

Maze Bar (100 Roof Bar)

Quite possibly the most unbelievable bar I have ever visited! You order a drink when you enter and then you are free to explore the many nooks and crannies, staircases and caves. Stay close to your friends as it is easy to lose them! This is the bar equivalent to the crazy house. You will eventually find a more orthodox bar with dance music and a balcony overlooking the city. An absolute must visit. (Map).

Nha Hang – Cafe Chocolate

We came here after the restaurant we were hoping to go to turned out to be closed. I was a little bit concerned at how fast the food came out (seriously, less than a minute!) but I had no reason to be as the food was fresh and delicious. I ordered a tofu dish which was wonderful. There are many vegan and vegetarian options on the menu. (Map).

V Cafe

We came here on the first night as we had heard there was good live music. The live music was one guy who played a short set of acoustic covers (Cat Stevens, Bob Marley, Grateful Dead, etc.) He was actually pretty good. We decided to stay for food and this was a bad choice as the food was poor.

The acoustic guy moved on to Escape Bar (map) to play with a full band once he had finished at V Cafe. We followed him but the drinks were much more expensive and the band were pretty bad.

Is Da Lat Worth Visiting?

We had a great few days in Da Lat and it was one of those places I could have happily stayed a bit longer. We didn’t even visit the lake and there were other activities we could have done but we chose to enjoy the city at a leisurely pace.

From here, we were heading to Ho Chi Minh to see in the Lunar New Year. A bus ride would be approximately 8-9 hours so we decided to fly to our final destination in Vietnam.