Da Lat Transportation

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This was not the measure of transportation that we used, but it was just an option for tourists who want to try something else. The 3rd photo here I am not really sure about those horses if one can ride on them, they were just there and we notice them while hanging around.

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While in Da Lat, you must get to the beautiful cable car line and use it when going up to the temples or other wise down the valley to the Datanla Falls. Don't worry about the line, it is design and construct by an Austrian company that probably build many of those in the Alps. The trip was fantastic with breathtaking view.

Clean and convenient, not to mention cheap!
The counter to buy the bus coupons is just at the baggage carousel at Lien Khuong airport.
If i remember correctly, it;s only about 35000dong.

It's about 30mins ride to the City and alights at the Vietnam air office area, from there it's a cheap cab ride to any hotel in Dalat.

A great, cheap and easy way of travelling the whole length of the country from north to south (or vice versa) is by taking the Sinh Cafe Open Bus. They have an office in each major town/city and offer a daily service between the main sightseeing points of Saigon, Dalat, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and Hanoi on modern clean buses with plenty of leg room and (where applicable) sleeper buses. If you go to their office, they'll explain everything for you along with a timetable and costs (this is also found on their website below so you plan this before you arrive in Vietnam). The first leg of my trip involved travelling between Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat which took about 8 hours with a stop for lunch along the way and cost me 100,000 VND (Jan 2009). They pick up and drop you off at their offices so it's probably best to find out where they are in each place before you arrive.

Just round the corner of the road from where I stayed in Da Lat called the Thuy Tran (see my accommodation tip) is a small place that hires out motorbikes and scooters. I hired a scooter for a day for 100,000 VND so as to get around the sights within town and to go to the Datanla Waterfalls, a few km south of town. Da Lat is a nice place to ride around and is far less hectic than any of the big city's such as Hanoi or Saigon.

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For some nice views over the mountains, there's a cable car that runs from the main road that goes downhill from the south of the town. It runs to the Truc Lam Pagoda which overlooks the Tuyen Lam Lake.

One Way: 40,000 VND, Return: 60,000 VND.

Our bus left from De Tham St at 12.30pm. Good timing as we squeezed in another bowl of pho bo at Pho 2000 and another quick look at Ben Than market before we had to go.
This wasn't an open tour bus. Ordinary upright seats but very comfortable with foot rests. They provided bottled water and the usual towlettes. The bus was almost empty.
The cost was US$6, and the trip took around 7hrs with 2 stops. The bus company name is "Phuong Trang", red coloured buses. The bus stopped once just outside of Saigon for about 15 minutes (to re-fuel) at a very modern supermarket. The 2nd stop was about 4 hrs into the journey at Bao Loc. This stop was for 45 minutes, time for a meal at a rather large cafe with many fruit stalls outside.
The scenery along the way was good, specially once we got up into the highlands.

We used the local taxis several times and found that they offered a good service. Prices were cheap by Western standards, often only one US dollar to travel a distance which would take you a half hour to walk. They will wait if you ask.

I understand you can hire a taxi for approximately US $ 25 per day. If you have your Lonley Planet Guide book, hire a taxi and let your taxi driver get you to all the tourist attractions.