Dalat Tours and Activities

Whether you are after trekking, canyoning or white water rafting, Dalat has you covered.

Trekking in Dalat

We found that one of the most popular tours to do in Dalat is the 2-day jungle trek, which gave us a real sense of the area surrounding the city. There is something for everyone on this tour and our favourites included trekking through thick jungle forests, taking refreshing swims in the lakes, taking in the magnificent views from the top of Langbian Mountain and sleeping in rustic accommodation. The price of the tour is USD126 and is operated by BT Tours.

Canyoning in Dalat

Dalat is home to some of the best canyoning in the country, so it is a must and you won’t regret it. We didn’t need any previous experience as the guides gave us training and the whole trip took around 5 hours. They taught us how to tie knots, techniques of how to abseil and how to wear the harness. They will then take you down 3 different abseils, which are at 15, 25 and 40 metres but does depends on how you feel.

You can do this activity all year round with the cost being around USD75 and pretty much every tour agency in Dalat sells it.

White water rafting in Dalat

Another adrenaline activity we experienced was white-water rafting. It’s the first of its kind in Vietnam and this day trip starts at Da Don village, which is an hour south of Dalat. The guides gave us an orientation at the start where we were taught paddling techniques, safety instructions and how to manoeuvre the rafts. We were taken through intense rapids and various waterfalls including a heart-stopping 6-meter jump as well as taking in the beautiful scenery on the flat sections. The fee is USD70 and most agencies sell this.

City tours

One of the best ways to see what Dalat has to offer is by motorbike and we took some out for the day, which was only USD7. The great thing about taking the bikes out is that you are left to your own devices but there is the option of being taken around while you take in the beautiful scenery as a passenger. We saw all the must-see attractions including Crazy House, Linh Phuoc Pagoda, Tuyen Lam Lake, Truc Lam Pagoda and Elephant Waterfalls.

Also, there is the choice of renting the bikes for a multi-day trip (USD70-120), where you can ride to other cities and drop the bikes off when you get there.

Waterfalls around Dalat

We checked out all of the waterfalls that are in the area and we agreed on Elephant Waterfalls as the most impressive. What makes it so impressive is that you can get super close to the falls and it only takes 10 minutes to get to from the entrance. Some of the path down to the bottom can be a little slippery so it’s best to take some decent hiking boots. The entrance fee is VND10,000 and you can get here either by bike, taxi or bus. The other waterfalls to check out are Datanla and Pongour with Datanla being the closest and Pongour being the quietest as it’s the furthest away.

Cooking classes

Like the saying “do as the Romans do”, we participated in an authentic Vietnamese cooking class with an entertaining lady called Son who owns Life In Laugh Cooking Class. She picked us up from our hotel and gave us the options of what we wanted to make including starters and main courses. Once we gave her our answers she took us to the main market and grabbed the ingredients before heading back to her traditional Vietnamese house. She then taught us how to make spring rolls, stir fries and salads. You can choose day or night time packages and she can be contacted on her website.