How to Go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

Ho chi minh to Dalat
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After the sweltering heat of Ho Chi Minh City, Dalat will come as a bit of a relief.  This ex-French hill station city has been used for decades as a cool retreat in the hills.   We actually found it just plain cold!  But that was good for a while.  Dalat is also an adventure capital on the route north, and it’s a great place to come for a few days.  And it’s easy to get to, although it could take you up to a full day to get there, but it’s a pleasant enough trip.  Here’s our guide on how to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat.

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Sleeper Bus Icon

The Easiest Way from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

The sleeper bus from Ho Chi Minh to Dalat is the easiest way to travel this route. You can book and prepay for seats here to guarantee your trip.

Book your bus here

Where is Dalat?

Dalat is in the south of Vietnam’s Central Highlands and sits on the Langiban Plateau and while nearly 50% of the city of Ho Chi Minh lies at just one meter above sea level, Dalat is at an altitude of 1500 meters (4921 feet) above sea level.  It is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat.

Going from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

There are five ways that you can go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat, the quickest will take just under 3 hours, and the longest about 9 hours.  Many of the overland routes travel overnight so you can (potentially) get a free night’s accommodation, but likely not much sleep.  Before you decide on the transport method, here are the details of all the different ways to go to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City.

How to get to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City

In deciding how to travel between HCMC and Dalat, you’ll first need to decide if you want to travel during the day or at night.  This can be a particularly scenic route, (if you’re taking a private transfer, the slightly longer route, is prettier), but it depends on what you want to spend your time doing in Vietnam.  I’ll start with the most popular way to travel from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh) to Dalat.  The Sleeper Bus.

Taking the Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat Sleeper Bus

This is the most popular (and cheapest) way to go to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City and it takes about 8 hours to get there using this mode of transport.  And while I say sleeper bus, you can actually take daytime buses as well.

As with all Vietnam buses that travel long distances, they tend to depart and arrive from their own offices, rather than a specific bus station, but on this route most leave from near Pham Ngu Lao in Ho Chi Minh City. However, all of them arrive some distance outside the center of Dalat.

Use 12GoAsia to check where the buses both leave from and arrive here.

The first bus of the day leaves Ho Chi Minh City at midnight and arrives in Dalat at 08:00.  It’s also the last bus of the day, well, that one leaves two minutes before midnight.  But there are some much more sensibly timed buses – leaving for instance at 08:30 and arriving in Dalat at 16:40 if you want a daytime trip.  You’ll still get the Vietnamese sleeper seats, you’ll just travel during the day. 

If you want to save on accommodation then evening buses run from up until midnight.  Some of the buses timetabled on this route run as “Seated” buses, rather than sleeper buses, so check your booking carefully, if you want to lie down, or a least recline on the way.

Check the times and book tickets for the Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat buses here.

Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat Minivan

You can shave a bit of time off that 8 hour trip by taking a minivan.  You might sacrifice a little comfort though.  Minivans from HCMC to Dalat take a little over 6 hours, and you’ll also need to get to the station where they leave from in HCMC.

Book a minivan from Ho Chi Minh to Dalat here.

The minivans are sometimes called “limo vans” and you will actually find some of them leave directly from Phan Ngu Lao – they’re usually only a couple of dollars more expensive than the sleeper buses and you can check the departure times here.

Similar to the buses that run this route, they may not arrive exactly where you want to be in Dalat, but you can easily pick up a Grab in Dalat to get you to where you’re going.  Dalat is well serviced by Grab and it’s cheap to get around. (Note that Grab in Vietnam is charges a 4% foreign card fee, so you might want to opt for paying cash)

Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat Flight

The quickest way to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat is to fly.  Bear in mind, however, that you’ll have to get to the airport and back at both ends of the journey.  Flights to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh depart from the main international airport (SAI), about 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) from downtown HCMC.  (My guide is here on how to go from HCMC to the Airport or book an airport transfer from HCMC to SAI airport here.

There are usually 5 flights a day from SAI to DLI.

The first flight of the day from Ho Chi Minh to Dalat is at 07:00 and the last flight of the day to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City is at 17:25.

Check the times and prices of flights to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City here.

You’ll fly into Lien Khuong Airport aka Dalat Airport aka DLI.  It’s a 55 minute flight.  (and usually, it’s pretty expensive for the time spent in the air, you can check the flight prices here.).  Dalat Airport is about 45 minutes by taxi from the city center of Dalat.  You can take the airport bus too, which takes about an hour, but I figure if you’re shelling out for a flight you’re in a hurry, so book your transfer from the airport too, it’ll cost around US$13 for the transfer but will get you right where you want to go.

Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat Train + Bus

I’m detailing this option because I love taking trains in Vietnam, not because I think this is a particularly good way to travel on this particular route.  It’s a little bit convoluted.  (Strike that, it’s painful, but I’ve started, so…)  If you want to take the train from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat, then you’ll need to do the following:

Ho Chi Minh to Nha Trang Train

First, you need to get the train (and you’ll need to prebook the train here) to Nha Trang from Ho Chi Minh City.  There are both daytime and night trains, but pick your time carefully, as you could end up arriving in Nha Trang at 02:30, which will NOT coincide with a bus from Nha Trang to Dalat!

The train from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang usually takes just over 7 hours, although some take as long as 8 hours and 20 minutes. 

Nha Trang Railway Station to Nha Trang Southern Bus Station

See you’re reading this and already thinking this is a mistake.  I’ll agree with you.  This is not a good way to go to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City.  It’s 5.7 kilometers (3.5 miles) between the two stations.  The only sensible way to do this is to get a Grab.

Nha Trang to Dalat Bus

Most, if not all of the buses from Nha Trang to Dalat leave from the Nha Trang Southern Bus station, that you just took the Grab to above. The first bus of the day is at 00:25 and the last bus to Dalat from Nha Trang is at 18:00.  It’s going to take you two hours and 30 minutes to do this part of the route (and you can get bus tickets here).

Dalat Bus Station to Dalat City Center

Honestly, I’m exhausted even thinking about this.  But once you’ve arrived at the Dalat Bus station you need to get into Dalat City Center or wherever you’re staying.  Most of the buses that arrive in Dalat arrive about 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) from Dalat Center.  So you’ll need to take a Grab or walk to get where you’re going. 

Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat Private Transfer

If you’ve got the money for a private transfer, then it’s going to take you about 6 hours to do this trip, but you’ll also get to take the scenic route and take a few stops along the way.  Prices for private transfers between Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat are here.

You can decide what you want to stop off and see on the way, Tom of Vietnam Coracle wrote about this route (and although he rides this on a motorbike you can still see the scenic options available)

Key Routes to Travel in Vietnam

Want to know more about different forms of transport in Vietnam? Our guide to Vietnam transport is here. And here’s how to travel some of the popular routes around Vietnam, your options, and how we did it.

Map of Bus Stops and Train Stations for going from Dalat to Ho Chi Minh City

You can also see the airports, railway stations, and bus stations from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat here

Map of How to Go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat, Vietnam

The quickest way to get from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

The quickest way to go from HCMC to Dalat is to fly.  Even with the transport to Ho Chi Minh Airport and then from Dalat Airport it will only take an elapsed time of about 2 hours and 45 minutes.  And to be honest, even when you add in check-in time, this is still by far the fastest way to go from Ho Chi Minh to Dalat.  You should book flights early for the best prices.

The easiest way to go to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City

For most people the easiest way to get from Dalat to Ho Chi Minh City is to take a bus.  There are lots of buses each day, so you can pretty much pick what time you want to depart, where you want to depart from, and so on.  Don’t forget that you’ll likely need to check in about 60 minutes before departure time.  Here’s the timetable for buses to Dalat from Ho Chi Minh City.

The cheapest way to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

The cheapest way to get to Ho Chi Minh City from Dalat is to take the bus.  You’ll not only save on your ticket price, but if you take the overnight bus you’ll save a night’s accommodation too – reserve your seats here.

The best way to go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

The best option for this transport route is the bus.  Unless you’re in a hurry, then hop on a plane.

Travel Tips for Exploring Vietnam

Final Words on How to Go from Ho Chi Minh City to Dalat

If you choose to fly this route you’ll shave at least 3 hours off this popular route in Vietnam, although most people take the sleeper bus between Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat, but there are also train and bus options, as well as minivan limos.

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AUTHOR

Sarah Carter
Sarah Carter is an avid reader, writer and traveller. She loves hiking, sailing, skiing and exploring the world through food. She left a successful career in IT security and compliance in both the UK and US to travel the world with husband and partner in adventure, Nigel.

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