How many days in Da Lat is enough? 2 to 3 Days Itinerary

I recently had two full days and three nights in Da Lat, so in this article, I will share with you my opinion about how many days in Da Lat is enough and my itineraries for 2 to 3 days in Da Lat.

Da Lat is one of my favorite destinations in Vietnam. It is a famous tourist spot in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. I love its cool weather, peaceful atmosphere, delicious food/ coffee, impressive waterfalls, as well as beautiful historical and cultural attractions.

Dalat is easily reachable by air and by road. It has an international airport called Lien Khuong airport, located around 40 minutes drive to Da Lat City center. If you come from big cities in Vietnam like Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh, you can easily find flights to Da Lat.

If you come from a nearby city like Nha Trang or Mui Ne, taking the sleeper buses/ limousines is the cheaper and more popular option. You can also book sleeper buses from HCMC to Da Lat; it is cheaper than flights but it’s gonna be a long journey on the road ( 6 – 8 hours).

How many days in Da Lat is enough?

In my opinion, 2 to 3 days is a good amount of time to spend in Da lat to see most major sights such as waterfalls, temples, pagodas, and night markets, as well as enjoy outdoor activities such as canyoning, mountain biking, trekking. You can try many local foods, drink delicious coffee, and enjoy the nightlife.

Basically, you can spend one full day exploring the city center. You can use a combination of walking and Grab bike/taxi to visit attractions like Ho Xuan Huong Lake, Lam Vien Square, Dalat Cathedral, Crazy House, Bao Dai Palace, the old train station, Linh Phuoc Pagoda, and Dalat night market. You can take a Cable Car from the city center to Truc Lam Zen Monastery and Tuyen Lam Lake.

I recommend spending one full day for 3 Waterfalls Tour. I think it is an inclusive tour to see major waterfalls and cultural attractions in Da Lat. This guided tour will take you to the most beautiful waterfalls in Dalat including Datanla Waterfall, Pongour Waterfall, and Elephant Waterfall. You will also visit places like Van Thanh flower village, Tanung village, Linh An Pagoda, Cricket Farm, and Mr. Cuong’s Silk Factory, and Mê Linh Coffee Plantation.

If you are on an outdoor adventure, you cannot miss the canyoning & zipline tour; trekking/ biking/ hiking on Lang Biang Mountain; or kayaking over Tuyen Lam Lake. Each of these outdoor activities usually takes one day to do.

Da Lat is a famous place to visit for just relaxing, so if you come to Da lat just relax, you can spend as much time as you want. The city has many nice retreat hotels and resorts for your peaceful vacation.

The last time I visited Da Lat, I spent 2 full days and 3 nights in the city. One day in the city center, I explored at my own pace by walking and taking Grab. I walked to most attractions around Ho Xuan Huong Lake, and used a Grab bike for a bit further sights such as Crazy House, Bao Dai Palace, Cable Car Station, and Linh Phuoc pagoda.

I used a guided tour for the 3 Waterfall tours as many attractions are away from the city center and involved lots of traveling. You can rent a bike and explore at your own pace, but I’m not confident with my driving skill so I took a tour. It included lunch, pick up and drop off at the hotel, and entrance fee to most attractions. I had to pay an extra entrance ticket/ alpine coaster at Datanla Waterfall.

I’m not really into outdoor activities, so I skipped canyoning and trekking.

The best place to stay in Da Lat to make the most of your 2 to 3 days in the city is the city center, particularly the area around the night market and Ho Xuan Huong Lake. Lots of cozy homestays, small hotels and guest houses can be found in this part of Da Lat. If you want a 5-star experience in the heart of Da Lat, you can have a look at the Dalat Palace.

You can consider staying outside of the city center in the Tuyen Lam area, especially if you are after a retreat vacation. Here you will find brand hotels and resorts such as Dalat Edensee orTerracotta.

The last time in Da Lat, I stayed at the Felix Dalat Homestay. It was a small, clean, and cozy homestay located on a small slope close to the night market. Lots of nice places to eat nearby. Plenty of local street food stalls open in the morning on the slope for breakfast. The owner was very helpful and friendly, helping me organize the limousine bus to Nha Trang at the last minute.

I stayed in two different rooms at the Feliz, one with a balcony and one with no window. They are both clean and comfortable. I prefer the room with the window as it is more spacious and airy. The toilet and shower was in one room, so the toilet was all wet after the shower. The room with no window is more budget-friendly, had a better bathroom, and was ok for one night. I felt safe as a solo traveler.

How to Spend 2 to 3 Days in Da Lat Itinerary

Day 1: Self explore Dalat city center ( by walking/ taking Grab)

Da Lat city center has plenty of attractions to explore. You can easily explore on foot and by using Grab taxi/ bike. No need to take guided tours.

After checking in the hotel, you can go for a stroll along your neighborhood, get lost, and observe local life. You can head to the bank of Ho Xuan Huong River, which is a big lake in the city center of Da Lat. In its surroundings, you can walk to Lam Vien Square, a huge square overlooking the lake. Yersin Park nearby is also worth checking out as it has lots of nice flowers.

From Lam Vien Square, you can take Grab to the Crazy House. The house is one of the top attractions in Da Lat and has a weird architecture. You can buy a ticket at the entrance. You can spend an hour here exploring different parts of this house, climbing different floors, and have some good view of the city from its top. You can consider staying here for a night, you can book it from booking.com.

Then you can grab a Grab bike, to Bao Dai III summer palace, just a few mins ride away. Tickets are sold at the entrance. The Palace was the mansion of the last King of Vietnam. It is where King and his family lived and worked when he visited Da Lat. It has a French architect with two floors with many different rooms and a beautiful baroque garden next to it.

You can visit Da Lat cable car Station which is located 15 minutes drive from the city center. From here you can buy a return cable car ticket to Truc Lam Zen Monastery. The ride is around 10-15 minutes and you will have some good views of the city, the valley, and the pine tree forest below it.

You can spend an hour walking around Truc Lam Zen Monastery, exploring different halls, and enjoying the peaceful lake/gardens with lots of nice flowers. You can follow the pine tree forest walk to Tuyen Lam lake and have a stroll around the lake. You can take a boat tour around the lake by buying a boat ticket at the booth nearby.

After returning back to the cable car in Robin Hill, you can find many nice cafes near the parking lot that have stunning views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. Ký Ức Đà Lạt coffee shop have a nice view, you pay 100,000VND entrance ticket for one free drink and use their nice setting for taking photos.

From Da Lat Cable Car Station, I booked Grab to Linh Phuoc Pagoda. It is around a 30 minute drive away. Linh Phuoc Pagoda is a well-worth visit pagoda in Da Lat. It is not only a spiritual place but also has beautiful architecture. The pagoda is free to enter, you can spend one hour exploring different halls. Just be mindful of your belongings as it is a crowded place, and pickpocketing can happen.

To get back from Linh Phuoc pagoda to the city center, you can request Grab. It was difficult for me though as it was a bit out of the city center. I had to request a ride a few times and waited quite long to have one driver accept me.

You can also walk to Ga Trai Mat (train station nearby), which is 10 minutes walk away, to get the train to Da Lat old railway station. But the train does not run regularly though, only a few times a day. Don’t miss the Da lat railway station, which was built by the French 1932-1938. It now only runs tourist trains from here to Trai Mat Station where you can visit Linh Phuoc pagoda.

In the evening, you can find some good restaurants to have dinner, and find some bars to chill. I like rice dishes at Goc ha thanh restaurant, and nem nướng Phượng restaurant. For the bar, I checked out Maze Bar. The bar has similar architecture like Crazy House, but it was a bit dirty and smelly for me. I am glad I checked it, but I won’t return back again.

A night in Da lat is not complete without strolling around Da Lat night market. You can watch street performers here, sit on the steps and watch people; try local street food, or browse the souvenirs.

Day 2: Guided tour for 3 waterfall tour, Linh An pagoda, Coffee Plantation

I wanted to do more sightseeing to see waterfalls, and some cultural attractions, so I took a guided tour called the 3 waterfall tours. This tour requires a full day and will take you to different waterfalls (Datanla, Pongour, and Elephant), then flower village, minority ethnic village, Linh An Pagoda, Cricket Farm, Silk Factory, and coffee plantation.

The tour guide first picked me up from my hotel around 8.30am. I joined the tour with 8 other people. We first arrived at Datanla Waterfall, which is very close to the city center. I chose to walk to the waterfall, then buy a ticket for the roller coaster to get back to the entrance.

Then we headed to Pongour Waterfall, located one hour from Dalanta Waterfall. We passed the countryside and saw different farms on the road. You can walk down though steep steps when you arrive (shorter road), and come back to the car park to another road without steps.

The Elephant Waterfall is located 30 minutes drive from Pongour Waterfall. It is the most powerful waterfall of the three. You can walk down to the bottom and have a beautiful picture of the waterfall and Linh Anh pagoda. It is a peaceful place to sit down and relax for a bit before we have lunch at the restaurant nearby.

After having lunch, we headed to Linh An pagoda. This pagoda is next to Elephant Waterfall, and you can climb up to the shoulder of the Lady Buddha. Truly peaceful and quiet place for relaxing and unwind.

In the afternoon, we visited some farms and plantations that Da Lat is known for. They include Mr. Cuong’s Silk Factory, Cricket Farm (try some happy water here), Mê Linh Coffee Plantation, and Van Thanh flower village.

I liked this tour, just one small thing I disliked is that at the Datanla waterfall, the entrance fee and Alpine coaster were not included in the tour price so it was a bit rushed and weird at first. You can easily explore this waterfall by yourself. You can take Grab here, and spend as much time here as you want.

Day 3: Outdoor adventures (canyoning, rafting, trekking, biking, kayaking)

Canyoning is one of the best things to do in Dalat, so if you love outdoor activities, don’t miss it! You can also go trekking in Lang Biang Mountain, or kayaking along Tuyen Lam lake.

See more:

I summarize how long should you spend in Da Lat in this video, you can watch it here:

So there you have it, my guide for 2 to 3 days in Da Lat itineraries. I personally think two to three days are enough to see major waterfalls, pagodas, coffee plantations, and do major outdoor activities. You can take a ride on the cable car, the Alpine coaster, and enjoy local food, cafe, and nightlife.

You can use one full day to explore the city center with attractions like Ho Xuan Huong Lake, night market, Linh Phuoc pagoda, Crazy House, and Bao Dai Palace. One full day for a waterfall tour to visit popular waterfalls like the Datanla, Pongour, and Elephant Waterfalls. One full day for outdoor activities.

A tip from me is having a quick look at the weather forecast during your visit. Choose the sunnier day for waterfall tours and outdoor adventures, and the more rainy day for city exploration. During my visit, One day was forecasted to rain but in reality, it was only a bit of rain in the afternoon, the morning was sunny. The weather during the rainy season, especially in May, usually does not rain in the morning and is unpredictable after 11am.