Places
Every card answers three questions: why go, what to know, and where to be careful. Show on the map →
Automatic scooter
Rental shops city-wide
120–160k₫
$4.70–6.25
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The default way to get around. Monthly rates land near 1.3–1.5M₫ and most shops deliver 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
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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
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Vietnam recognises the 1968 Vienna Convention IDP, with an A or A1 motorcycle endorsement, carried together with your home licence.
Worth knowing. Since Jan 2025 A1 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 must
App · city-wide
25–75k₫
$1–2.85
approx.
Works with foreign cards, needs no Vietnamese phone number, and the app is fully in English. It removes every taxi argument.
Worth knowing. Bike ~25–40k for 3 km, car ~55–75k. There is a 10k night surcharge from 23:00 to 06:00 and coverage thins out in the outer wards.
Street taxis — Mai Linh & Lado
City-wide
12–18k₫
$0.45–0.68
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If you must flag one on the street, use only Mai Linh (green) or Lado. Mai Linh 0263 3838 3838, Lado 02633 666 777.
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 (electric)
App · city-wide
12.5–20k₫
$0.48–0.77
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.
Da Lat ⇄ Ho Chi Minh City must
Phuong Trang (FUTA), 2 Le Quy Don
200–450k₫
$8–18
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With the airport closed this is the main way in and out. Phuong Trang runs 41-seat sleepers with wifi and a free hotel shuttle at both ends.
Worth knowing. Book on Vexere or 12Go two or three days ahead. Ask for the lower deck, berths 4–12 — much steadier on the mountain passes.
Careful. Thanh Buoi has been running this route as contract buses rather than a licensed fixed route since early 2025. Prefer Phuong Trang.
Da Lat ⇄ Nha Trang
Limousine vans, 11 departures daily
170–300k₫
$6.50–11.50
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The fast escape to the sea, and right now also the route to the nearest open airport, Cam Ranh (CXR).
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
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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
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Reopens 19 August 2026 after a full runway rebuild — the new strip is 3,250 m. Vietjet restores five domestic routes; Hanoi gets 28 return flights a week.
Worth knowing. The Phuong Trang shuttle is 50k and ends at 2 Le Quy Don in town. A taxi or Grab is 250–300k.
Careful. The August restart is domestic only. Pre-closure routes to Seoul, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur have not been announced as returning — check before booking an international connection.