Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Plane -- The only direct flights to Dalat are from Ho Chi Minh City (flight time: 50 min.). In Dalat call Vietnam Airlines (tel. 063/822-895) to confirm your ticket or with any flight inquiries. Dalat's Lien Khuong Airport is 30km (19 miles) south of town. A taxi from the airport to the city is $3 and takes about 30 minutes.

By Bus -- Dalat is the first stop on the "Open Tour" tickets from Ho Chi Minh City's budget traveler cafes. Buses from both north and south first stop at Phan Rang, an old Cham temple site, where the road turns inland for the hills of Dalat. The ride to Dalat from the coast is winding and spectacular, at one point following hairpin turns underneath a large hydroelectric project. From Nha Trang (to the east) or Ho Chi Minh City (to the south), it's a 7-hour trip and costs $5 at any tourist cafe. Hire a private car for the trip and save about an hour. You can make any arrangements at your hotel front desk or with one of the tour providers listed below in the "Visitor Information & Tours" section.

Local buses connect Dalat with Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh, as well as Buon Ma Thuot, the next town north of Dalat along the highlands ridge -- a grueling all-day ride. Buses leave from the Express Bus Station southwest of the city center (get there by motorbike taxi for about 15,000 VND/$1); be prepared to haggle for your ticket.

By Car/Motorbike -- The same routes followed by local buses, to or from Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, or on to Buon Ma Thuot, can be arranged by hired transport in a minivan or car. Also popular are the unique motorbike trips with Dalat's "Easy Riders". Check listings below or in Saigon and Nha Trang (a few agents from Nha Trang specialize in tours of the highlands) for more options.

Get Your Motor Running!--Do you wish you were "Born to Be Wild," as the song goes, but fear that so far your life has been "Born to Be Responsible"? No experience on motorcycles, but want to make the leap out on the open road and get some proverbial "bugs in your teeth"? Well, here's your chance to have a taste of the open road, and none of the road rash or traffic hassles that riding a motorbike yourself brings. Hire the services of an Easy Rider, Dalat's now-famous motorbike taxi drivers who haul all over tarnation on 125cc Honda Bonus motorcycles. You can find the Easy Riders at the Peace Cafe in the backpacker district at 66 Truong Cong Dinh St. (tel. 063/822-787). Their bikes have good suspension and plenty of room for two. Most of these guys are retired after careers in the South Vietnamese Army and come to Dalat after years of struggle in the "New Vietnam" and now in the "Global Marketplace." These gentlemen have tuned in, turned on, and dropped out in a sense, and all have great stories to tell and speak enough English after years working with American forces to tell it. A guidebook writer, having heard of them through many letters from readers, encouraged the guys to find a name and to form an affiliation. Being an easygoing bunch, they took on Easy Riders and are, in fact, just so. Easy Riders can take you on anything from day trips around Dalat for $12 to longer trips around the region for about $50 per day all-inclusive, riding the whole ridge of the highlands up through Buon Ma Thuot, Pleiku, and Kontum and on to Hoi An over the newly paved Ho Chi Minh Trail, or even farther up or down the coast. Memorable.

Visitor Information & Tours

Pick up a copy of the new Dalat Traveler, a bimonthly English- and Vietnamese-language publication with local happenings, festivals, and any new developments in hotels and restaurants, as well as some basic maps and information about the city and surrounding sights.

Dalattourist, 01 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St. (tel. 063/510-104; fax 063/834-144; www.dalattourist.com.vn), is located right in the center of Dalat with a small kiosk south of the main market. They book classic tours to anywhere in the region, and offer good day trips and affordable car rentals. Quite unique, they'll book you tours with other companies if they don't have the services or prices that fit your needs. In fact, they have a booklet filled with pamphlets and fliers from local budget operators, making this a reliable, one-stop shop for a traveler on any budget.

Phat Tire Ventures, 73 Truong Cong Dinh (tel. 063/823-104; fax 063/829-422; www.phattireventures.com), offers a unique ecotourist option in Dalat. Contact Brian and Kim (young U.S. expats), who can arrange anything from day treks to jungle expeditions, mountain biking (they have a stable of top-quality bikes and hold daily clinics), rock climbing, repelling, or canyoning. Daily rates for most activities start at $19 and include lunch, transport, and a knowledgeable guide. Safety and environmental stewardship are their trademarks. They also book classic tours through their affiliate, Dalat Tours, which shares space with Phat Tire Ventures and has the same contact information.

Budget Tours

An Phu Tourist Co., 07 Hai Thuong St. (tel. 063/823-631), provides the same budget buses and tour services here as in their Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh offices.

Groovy Gecko Tours, 65 Truong Cong Dinh (tel. 063/836-521) is a groovy, albeit unoriginal outfitter providing basic ecotours in the area. Another budget version of Phat Tire (above).

Sinh Café, 4A Bui Thi Xuan St. (tel. 063/822-663), has an information and tour office adjacent to Trung Cang, the company's budget hotel (see the section on accommodations below). The standard services here include arrangements for the open tour and some budget countryside and city tours.

TM Brothers, 02 Nguyen Chi Thanh St. (tel. 063/828-282), can book standard budget tours for you from its office on "cafe street" (overlooking the market). These guys will pick you up at your hotel and are very accommodating and professional, especially considering their prices.

Youth Action Tour, 50 Truong Cong Dinh St. (tel. 063/510-357), is one of two budget copies of Phat Tire . Trekking, abseiling, and mountain biking trips start as low as $15.

Getting Around

There are no cyclos in Dalat, but walking is very pleasant in the cool air. You can catch most of the city sights like the market and the lake, on foot. For sights outside of town, it's best to rent a motorbike or join a tour. On weekends, the busy streets of the central city are closed to motorbike and auto traffic.

By Taxi -- For taxis in town, try Dalat Taxi at tel. 063/830-830.

By Bus -- Because most sights are outside city limits, one very good option is to take a half- or full-day tour through your hotel or a tourist cafe, which hit many of the main sights. Some spots, like homes in the weaving villages or at the "Crazy Monk" do require some kind of introduction, so going with a guide or following a tour is smart.

By Car -- You can rent a car with a driver for about $25 per day with most tour companies. Contact any hotel front desk or the folks at Dalattourist (01 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St.; tel. 063/834-144) just south of the market area in the very center of town.

By Motorcycle -- Dalat is a good place to rent your own motorbike. The cheapest options are with the street-side places on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai St. (between the market and the lake), for about $3 per day ($4-$5 from hotels and cafes). Be sure to check the brakes, and be sure the horn is working because you should beep-beep all the way, especially when passing or on curves. The hillside, windy roads will have you feeling like a Hell's Angel if you can forget that you're riding the motorcycle equivalent of a hair dryer. This is a good, adventurous way to get to all the funky sights outside the city, but you may find it hard to get "in" to places like the Chicken Village or at the closed door of the "Crazy Monk" -- some attractions are best visited on tours.

Another option is to get a motorbike with a driver for the day (about $1-$2 per hour, or fix a rate for the day and the destinations) or hook up with Dalat's famous Easy Riders, a group of motorbike taxi drivers that are more than your average motorbike taxi (for more information, see the "Get Your Motor Running!" box, above). Meet up with them at the Peace Cafe in the backpacker district at 66 Truong Cong Dinh St. (tel. 063/822-787). These guys speak English well, and a day spent with an Easy Rider is fun and educational. You'll hear of their experiences in the war years and benefit from their knowledge of the country, not to mention their driving skills. They ride sturdy bikes, the real deal from Japan, and charge $12 for a 1-day tour of the sights around Dalat. For about $50 per day including gas, guiding, and budget accommodations, saddle up with an Easy Rider for trips far afield -- up to Buon Me Thuot, farther north to Pleiku, and even along the Ho Chi Minh Trail as far as Hoi An. These guys are real adventurers. "The world is round," my driver said when we parted; "I know I'll see you again."