Transportation of Dalat and what to use to move

Overview of transport and ways to get around Dalat

Dalat is a large city, which is not so easy to get around on foot. In addition, most of the most interesting places in Dalat are not located in the city at all, but at least on its outskirts and in distant neighborhoods, where sometimes you can't get there by taxi. Therefore, there is no way to do without transport here.

In short, in Dalat you can:

• To move on foot – but this is only suitable for walking around the center.
• City buses are a very cheap option and will allow you to get even to some suburban attractions, but it's impossible to figure out the routes, there is no information.
• Using a rented vehicle is, in our opinion, the best option.
• Taxi is quite a normal option for short trips within the city.
• Hiring a guide with a car or from Riders is a great option if you don't drive, but it's expensive.
• Buying group excursions is convenient, interesting and inexpensive, but group excursions are not developed here.

And now we will tell you more about everything from our experience:

On foot

You can walk along Dalat only within the city center. This is the area around Xuan Huong Lake, the main market, Lam Vien town square. From here you can visit several temples and churches, Dalat flower gardens or just walk. To be honest, our opinion is that you can walk here and visit the sights along the way, if you have a lot of time for it. But to purposefully use "walking" to get somewhere here, well, that's not such an idea. After all, the distances are long, it is inconvenient and dangerous to move due to the lack of sidewalks and crazy Vietnamese traffic

If you decide to go for a walk, then install the Organic Map apps (we recommend it), Maps.me or other similar ones, download points from our map and have fun.

City buses

There is a network of city buses in Dalat, Russian FutaBus Gazelles run along the routes. Moreover, these are mostly rather suburban buses, since their routes go far beyond the city limits. The fare costs from 7000 VND(0.27 USD), depends on the distance in the zones. Ie, when boarding, you need to tell the place where you are going to name the price. Payment in the cabin to the conductor or driver.

There are two places to send city and suburban buses to Dalat:

• Bus station of suburban buses in the very center near the market (bus station on the map).
• The main intercity bus station. It is located a little further from the center, but walking is not a problem (bus station on the map).

They can take you at least as far as Elephant Waterfall, to Longbiang Mountain, to Linh phuoc pagoda, to Datanla Waterfalls. But, unfortunately, there is no information about routes and schedules online, everything will have to be found out on the spot. Therefore, just come to one of the bus stations (preferably to the suburban station), and ask there who is going where.

Transport rental

In Dalat, you can rent a motorbike, a car and a bicycle, and in our opinion this is the most convenient and most affordable way to get acquainted with all the places of Dalat and the surrounding area.

• Bike rental

  Bike rental is not very common here, you'll have to look. More or less a large rental works on the street near the ring near the street with the night market, here it is on the map, the landmark is the Dalat Hasfarm flower shop. But there is no guarantee that it will work there when you are in Dalat, so you will have to look. The rental fee is 50,000 VND/day (1.9 USD).

  Our personal opinion is that you can't get far by bike in Dalat. Firstly, the bicycles themselves are rented by simple urban, even funny tandems. On such as a maximum, you can ride around the lake on a flat surface. Well, secondly, there are no bike paths, and there is terrible traffic on the road, so it's just dangerous.

  

• Rent a motorcycle

  The real price of renting a motorcycle from personal experience is from 130,000 VND (4.93 USD). Somewhere they ask for more, somewhere you may be able to bargain cheaper. In general, from personal experience, motorcycle rental in different cities of Vietnam, the real prices are 80 000 – 150 000 Dong for daily rent, for a week and a month cheaper. They ask you to leave your passport as a deposit, we left an internal Russian one.

  

  There are not so many rentals here, as, for example, in Nha Trang or Mui Ne, you still have to look for them. The greatest concentration in the center is in the tourist area. These are the streets near the market and around the suburban bus station (bus station on the map). You can just walk around the streets in this area and find everything.

  If you are not staying in the center, then it is better to take care of this issue in advance. You can find the nearest rentals on Google map on request Motorcycle for rent. You can check in advance with the rental owner using the contacts on the card (Whatsapp and Zalo are widely used here), and arrange rental and delivery to the hotel.

  There is Anh Tay rental near the main intercity bus station, where large buses from Nha Trang, Mui Ne, Ho Chi Minh City, etc. arrive. G At the exit from the station building to the parking lot, the taxi is located immediately to the right at 1/1 To Hien Thanh, here it is on the map. What was easier to find, you will see a small gas station there, the rental will be behind it, here it is in the photo:

  

  Well, be sure to watch our video about renting a motorcycle in Dalat:

• Rent a car

  Renting a car is much more complicated. Car prices in Vietnam are very high (from $ 50/day), there are few rentals, conditions are tough. Therefore, if you want to rent a car, it is better to deal with this issue in advance. You can find contacts again through the Google map or try on these sites:

  Alternatively, you can rent a car in Nha Trang or Mui Ne and drive to Dalat.

• What rights are needed and what you need to know

  To manage transport completely according to the law in Vietnam, international rights are needed, and category "A" is required for a motorcycle, and this is required even for the most low-powered scooter. There are international IDP rights in the form of a booklet, which can be obtained in addition to the usual Russian ones in the form of a card. IDP is done through the website of public services or MFC without re-passing exams and medical examinations, everything is very simple. Issued for 3 years, you need to pay a fee of 1600 rubles.

  As for the practice, everything is a little different. In order to rent a motorcycle, you will not be asked for a license at all. There are very few policemen for expensive things, literally a few. We have traveled more than one thousand, but rather even a couple of tens of thousands of kilometers in Vietnam, and we have never communicated with traffic policemen, and we have seen them literally a few times. But this is not a guide to action, but a statement of fact from personal experience, and it's up to you to decide.

  Everything else you need to know about renting motorbikes, including how and what to refuel, how much gasoline costs, where to park, etc., all read the instructions here ...

Taxi

There are many taxis in Dalat, there are car and motorcycle taxis. You can install the Grab or Maxim application, order a car through them, or you can do it the old-fashioned way by phone, through the reception, or on the street.

When ordering via apps, the price will be displayed immediately, payment in cash at the end of the trip, or you can link a foreign card. When ordering on the street, fares are based on mileage or by agreement. All official taxis on board have price information, you can see it before boarding, as in the photo:

• According to the meter, the landing and the first 0.75 kilometers are 15,000 VND (0.57 USD).
• Each subsequent 0.8 kilometers – 14,500 VND.

In general, a short trip within the city limits will cost from 30,000 VND (1.14 USD), to the airport from 250,000 VND (9.49 USD). A motorcycle taxi is twice as cheap, you can drive around the city for 15,000 VND.

In addition to the usual taxi in Dalat, there are also tourist golf carts. They look very funny, they take walking routes around the lake, but they can also be hired as a taxi. But the price for them will be at least twice as high as for the usual.

Isiriders or car rental with drivers

In Dalat, the services of "Easy Riders" are offered, with whom you can get acquainted very comfortably, inexpensively and with great interest with the sights in the city and in the surrounding area. This is a local "invention", at least we haven't seen it anywhere else. The essence of isirading is that you hire a personal guide-a motorcycle driver for one or more days, and travel around the country with him. If you do not drive a motorcycle yourself and at the same time want to be independent and independent of tourist groups – this option is ideal for you. You can also ride with them yourself behind the wheel on a rented motorbike, and he will be your guide on his motorbike. For more information, who are "easyriders" - here.

Isiraders in Dalat are conditionally official from travel agencies. You can find them in agencies on the streets in the tourist area. There are also many private traders. They are "on duty" and catch tourists in places of congestion and walks near the city lake Xuan Huong (Xuan Huong Lake). You don't have to look for them: just take a walk in the area, and they will offer you their services themselves. They have notebooks with reviews, you can read them before choosing. The cost of hiring them starts from $ 20 / day, but it all depends on the conditions, all this needs to be discussed.

You can also rent a driver with a car. It is also offered at travel agencies and private traders near the lake. It will cost from $ 50 a day, but what's good, you can drive a group by car.

Excursions

There are few group excursions offered in Dalat. After all, the local "trick" is Isiraders and individual excursions with a driver by car. This does not mean that group tours cannot be found here, but there are very few of them and they are carried only to the most famous places crowded with tourists. But if you really want, you can try to pick something up online on the site Trip.com, they accept Russian cards there. But the tour is in English.

If you want to see Dalat with an excursion in Russian, then it may be more correct to buy it right away at Nha Trang or Muine. There are very widely offered Russian-language excursions for one or two days, cost from $ 35 / person, excluding entrance fees to attractions.