Move
Every card says why to go, what to know before you do, and what catches people out.
call-out, all of Da Lat
100k₫
$3.80
recharging a dead battery · checked
A mechanic who comes to the bike rather than the other way round. This is the number you save in advance: stalled on a pass, a dead battery outside a cafe, a puncture in the rain — no pushing the scooter uphill to the nearest workshop. They fix automatic scooters and motorbikes, and take cars too. They brought our dead battery back to life on the spot for 100,000₫.
Nguyen Khuyen street, Cam Ly
1.8M₫
$68
Air Blade, per month · checked
Where we rent ourselves: a recent Air Blade for 1.8M₫ a month on a monthly deal. When the battery died, they came out the same day and sorted it on the spot.
Automatic scooter
Rental shops city-wide
120–160k₫
$4.70–6.25
per day · checked
The default way to get around. A month works out at about 1,800,000 ₫, and most rentals deliver the bike to your hotel for free.
Worth knowing. Da Lat is steep, foggy and often wet. Check the brakes before you take the bike, not after.
Careful. Film a 60-second walkaround of the bike before you touch it. Da Lat is a national hotspot for fake damage claims. Never hand over your passport — offer a cash deposit or a photocopy.
Semi-automatic (Wave, Sirius) value
Rental shops city-wide
70–130k₫
$2.75–5
per day · checked
Cheapest option and better on Da Lat's hills than a small automatic, because you can hold a gear on a long climb.
Licence rules for foreigners must
Nationwide
2–8M₫
$78–313
fine for riding unlicensed · checked
Vietnam recognises the 1968 Vienna Convention IDP, with an A or A1 motorcycle endorsement, carried together with your home licence.
Worth knowing. The fine depends on the engine: up to 125cc — 2–4M₫, above that — 6–8M₫ (Decree 168/2024, in force since 1 January 2025). From that same January an A1 endorsement covers up to 125cc. Helmets are compulsory for rider and passenger: 400–600k₫ fine. Enforcement has visibly tightened.
Careful. IDPs issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention are NOT valid here — that covers the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and China. Riding unlicensed voids your travel insurance, which costs far more than the fine.
Grab, Be and InDrive must
App · city-wide
25–75k₫
$1–2.85
typical 3 km trip · approx.
Works with foreign cards, needs no Vietnamese phone number, and the app is fully in English. It removes every taxi argument.
Worth knowing. Grab is the default: cars and bikes arrive in minutes and the price is fixed in the app. InDrive works differently — you name your own price and wait longer for someone to take it, which pays off on long runs: people get to Nha Trang for around 500,000 ₫ and order a seven-seat minivan for under a million.
Phuong Trang (FUTA), 2 Le Quy Don
200–450k₫
$8–18
6–7 hours · checked
The alternative to flying to Ho Chi Minh City: Phuong Trang runs 41-seat sleepers with wifi and a free hotel shuttle at both ends.
Da Lat ⇄ Nha Trang
Limousine vans, 11 departures daily
170–300k₫
$6.50–11.50
3–4 hours · checked
The fast escape to the sea — three to four hours over the Khanh Le pass. The same road serves Cam Ranh airport, though since August 2026 Da Lat has its own working one again.
Worth knowing. Runs as daytime vans with hotel pickup, not overnight sleepers. The Khanh Le pass is spectacular — sit on the right going down.
Da Lat ⇄ Mui Ne
Limousine vans, 3 departures daily
250–490k₫
$9.60–19
4.5–5.5 hours · checked
The sand dunes. Since the 2025 merger Mui Ne is technically the same province as Da Lat, and it is one of Vietnam's two Russian-speaking hubs.
Worth knowing. Not a day trip — the dunes are a sunrise and sunset thing. Plan at least one night.
Lien Khuong Airport (DLI) heads-up
28–30 km south, ~45 min
50–300k₫
$2–11.50
shuttle / taxi · checked
Open again since 19 August 2026 after a full runway rebuild — the new strip is 3,250 m. Flights go to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Vinh and Can Tho, five of those routes flown by Vietjet. The international side came back on 2 September: AirAsia to Kuala Lumpur, four times a week.
for a motorbike · checked
Free guarded motorbike parking at the GO! hypermarket, with the entrance off Lam Vien Square. It is about a kilometre from here to the central market — fifteen minutes on foot — so you can leave the bike and walk the centre, where there is nowhere to park at all.
Street taxis — Mai Linh & Lado
City-wide
12.5–14.5k₫
$0.48–0.56
per metered kilometre · approx.
If you must flag one on the street, use only Mai Linh (green) or Lado. Mai Linh 0263 3838 3838, Lado 02633 666 777.
Worth knowing. That is the running rate per kilometre; the pick-up charge is counted separately, so a short hop across town works out dearer per kilometre. Call centres: Mai Linh 1055, Lado 1900 1111; Lado keeps a Da Lat office at 222 Mai Anh Dao.
Careful. The classic Da Lat scam: a driver tells you your hotel is closed or full and takes you to a commission property. It is never true. Use Grab.
Xanh SM taxi (electric)
App · city-wide
12.5–20k₫
$0.48–0.77
per km · approx.
VinFast's all-electric fleet — silent, clean cars and drivers who do not haggle. A good second app when Grab is surging.
Worth knowing. Card support is still patchy; carry cash. A Vietnamese number helps but is not always required.
Xuan Huong
People write that this is the workshop where the problem no one else could solve finally gets found and fixed.