Da Lat is the capital of the Vietnamese Lam Dong Province and is a popular tourist destination for both the Vietnamese and for foreign travellers. One of the reasons for this is the year round temperate climate, rarely rising beyond 25 degrees in the high season or below 17 degrees in the low season, making it an ideal base for travellers in need of some respite from Vietnam’s heat. 

There are other reasons for Da Lat’s popularity, including its massive man-made lake, measuring 5km square, that takes on a mystical aura early mornings when gently veiled by the dawn mists. With orchids grown in abundance, the town is colourful at the best of times and parks are often resplendent in floral elegance. 

Once you get out of the town centre with its continuous sea of scooters, you can discover waterfalls and canopy bridges across rivers, high up amongst the tree branches. They are quite rickety however so tread carefully! 

There is plenty to see and do in Da Lat. Make an itinerary of your own by hiring a scooter and checking out the local region at your leisure. Alternatively, there are plenty of day tours readily available through agents, which cover the main tourist interests.
There is enough to see and do based upon your own interests. For example for those who appreciate history and architecture, try a cable car ride up to the pagoda and monastery on the hill, or a trip to one of a number of historic houses in or near Da Lat, including the house of the colonial era king of Vietnam. 

Countryside lovers might enjoy taking a ride in a Land Rover up to the top of Langbiang Mountain to admire the stunning scenery, stopping at a dramatic waterfall or two along the way. Or travel to one of the lakes in the area and spend an afternoon soaking up the peace and tranquillity before heading to the flower gardens. 

For adrenalin junkies, the surrounding areas offer great opportunities and terrain for hikers and for canyoning. 

Perhaps one of the most exciting trips of discovery you could make during your stay at Da Lat, is to take a multi-day trip with the infamous Easy Riders. The Easy Riders are a group of motorcyclist guides who, for a reasonable fee, will take you on a several day journey of discovery through Dalat and the surrounding region, sometimes covering much longer distances depending on what you would like to be the emphasis of your trip. With most of them fluent in English and Vietnamese, the Easy Riders open doors for you in a way that is quite difficult to achieve yourself, as they aim to try to integrate you with local people and provide you with an insight into a slice of genuine Vietnamese life (as opposed to some of the tacky tourist expedition where locals are ‘placed’ in an unreal setting). With the easy riders you might experience anything and everything from riding through coffee farms, meeting with genuine hill tribe people and seeing silk made from the silk worms. Most of all though, you should come away with a feeling of what Vietnam is all about and how its people live from day to day and after all, isn’t that what travelling is all about, learning and understanding another’s culture?