HCM City – Da Lat – 5 Day Loop
Route Summary
Duration: 5 days - 900 kms
- Day 1 to Cat Tien isn’t a big day but to miss the traffic get away early and spend the afternoon relaxing.
- Day 2 you are on great winding mountain roads through farmland a a great waterfall, the polar opposite to the city you left the day before.
- Day 3 has one of the best panoramic views in the South with more waterfall visits if you want them. As I write this still some road development works happening but will only get more awesome when its completed.
- Day 4 is an easy ride loosely following the coast with a few nice stop in’s along the way.
- Day 5 we takes the lakes option back to the city through diverse farmland areas.
NOTES
The Cat Tien National Park offers plenty of activities so extra days there are well spent. Â Add the Cat Tien – Ta Dung Loop to make this six days. Â Even drop Vung Tau for Mui Ne – HCM City to make it four days or catch up a day already spent elsewhere. Â Obviously the more time you have the better but in any combination this is a great Southern Highlands experience.
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HCM City - Cat Tien via River
Distance - 165 Kms
Over a decade based in Saigon there mustn’t be a route out to the North I haven’t tried. This is one of two favourites and between the two makes the Cat Tien National Park a great weekend escape.Â
The Park covers an area of 750 km² in the provinces of Dong Nai, Bình Phuoc and Lam Dong and preserves one of the largest areas of lowland tropical forests left in Vietnam. Easy to spend some time there if natural beauty in peace and quiet appeals as a nice change of pace.
(A) Is a nice tourist development nicely located for an interesting rest stop with coffee and food available.Â
(B) A coffee shop more a a way point to keep you off the main arterial. Keep at and enjoy the next stop.Â
(C, D and E) are view points to the Tri An Lake. (C) the better of the lunch options in the area.
(F) Just a short, unavoidable stretch on the main road crossing the Dong Nai river. The fisherman live in these shanty dwellings and store their catch live in nets ready for their time at the market.Â
Some great concrete back roads through the farmland. Just the odd local tending to their rice paddies otherwise you have the place to yourself.Â
(G) is this great photo stop just shy of the night destination. This shot is many years ago. Looks a bit different these days.
(H) One of many accommodation options. I use this one mostly for its proximity to the National Park if having a day off to explore. The cabins on the river bank are basic but comfortable and affordable. The restaurant food, mostly Vietnamese is also good and reasonably priced.Â
The park is a great day out with your partner or children. Lots to see and do. The accommodation has bicycles to hire as motorcycles are not allowed to be taken across the river ferry into the park.
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Cat Tien - Da Lat
Distance: 220 kms
This is a great ride and diverse in the countryside it runs through. As the roads open up into mountain country there are many opportunities to go for the camera. Â
(A, B & C)Â are way points to keep you on the right route away from main arterials.Â
(D) Dambri Falls. Its 200k admission per person so not everyone opts in. It’s a nicely set up attraction though with toboggan ride, cinema, cafes but is busy with locals in holiday times. Â
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(E)Â After a particularly good winding section of exceptional hotmix is a great photo stop.Â
(F) Elephant Falls is worth dropping into for a break. The falls aren’t much but the lady Buddha statue which you can climb up through the centre of offers some pretty good views. No entrance fee.
(G)Â is one of many tourist attractions in and around the city. From there the climb to the Plateau is an exception ride but be aware of the young lads using in to hone their riding skills.Â
(H)Â is a good accommodation option but worth a search for a bargain. There are a plethora of options.Â
(I)Â Peter an Aussie does good pub food if you’re after a Western dinner.Â
Dalat has a population of around 650,000 people but in holiday times the hundreds of hotels will fill so book in advance. This unique city sits around a lake in the centre of a farming Plateau at 1500 metres. Its a much cooler climate than the rest of the tropical South so pack accordingly.Â
(H) An Australian owned bar well located with good Western pub food. The chicken parmigiana as good as I’ve had anywhere in Vietnam.Â
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Da Lat - Mui Ne
Distance - 185 Kms
I normally start a map at the likely accommodation but in Dalat, Lorelle is your host for breakfast at One More Café. Very cheap for the quality of the meals though 8am open so depends how early you want to get away.
Vietnam with the exception of the Mekong Delta is very mountainous. With that we are spoilt with not only exceptional riding but the rivers, lakes and waterfalls they create.
Today you will visit up to three of the more Southern ones. How spectacular, like all waterfalls, will be determined by the rainfall in their catchment area. Always good in wet season.
(A) is the Datanla Waterfall. Lots of activities including a toboggan ride there but quite commercial and the least favourite of the three we visit today.
(B)Â is Prenn Waterfall and well worth the visit. Nice area.Â
(C)Â Chicken Village. Don’t expect too much but some interesting history. If its a boys trip could easily skip this.Â
(D) is Bao Dai Waterfall and the pick of them for me. If your only doing one do this one and get a swim in. Â
(E)Â is where we hit the coast and Vietnam’s best sand dunes. Hire a quad or they will take you in 4WD’s. Barter on price. They will get you if you let them.Â
(F) and (G)Â the beach run into the township with the Fairy Stream a local attraction. Over a decade ago i rode an Ostrich there but not sure that’s still on offer.Â
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Mui Ne - Vung Tau via Coast
Distance: 195 kms
As is my habit, a morning swim in any beach town is a great start to the day. Mui Ne though is not the beach paradise of the last few days if you’ve been coming down the coast.
Some areas are decent but unless staying at the adjoining beachside resort most are inaccessible to the public. In most of the town there simply is no beach at all.
All accommodation options have a good pool to fix this problem and we have a great time here regardless. A big breakfast and we get out of town on the coast.
This is a simple and relaxing relatively short day to Vietnam’s Southernmost beach town on the mainland.
(A) Is a viewpoint to keep you off the A1.
(B)Â At 64 metres high and built by the French in 1899 the oldest and highest lighthouse in Vietnam. A great first stop to have a walk and check out the area.Â
(C) One of two recommended lunch stops. Good VIetnamese menu right on the beach so a swim opportunity also.
(D) If a seafood lunch appeals this is the best of many great restaurants in the area.
(E & F) Takes you through a fishing village.
(G & H) PÃns to keep you on the coast to our preferred accommodation options.
(I) Twisted Throttle Tavern for a few cold beers and great pub food.
Vung Tau, the city I choose to base myself, has over 500,000 residents but doesn’t feel that big. A clean city with a good year around climate and a lot to offer visitors. To date not particularly well marketed but I feel that will change with the development of the beach areas in progress and planned for the near future.
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Vung Tau - Cat Lai Ferry via Lakes
Distance: 150 Kms
One of many inaccuracies I hear from foreigners here is that the ride to and from Saigon and Vung Tau is terrible. On the arterials yes, but this diverse farmland ride through rubber, corn, banana, pepper, sweet potato and cassava is relaxed and interesting.Â
If you’re on a loop I likely had you on the river tracks down as it gets you out of the city traffic the quickest but this lakes run is my favourite. Be aware in wet season the trails through the rubber plantations are very slippery.Â
Plenty of great deviations off this map too so if you have time, follow it loosely and enjoy some exploring. Many of the trails aren’t on maps but it doesn’t matter you’ll pick it up again later.Â
(A)Â is a popular photo stop. Usually a lady set up there for a morning coffee too.Â
(B)Â takes you on the beach road through a fishing village and marks where you turn inland to the rubber plantationsÂ
(C) is a memorial cross in memory of the 18 Australian and 245 Vietnamese soldiers killed In the August 1966 Battle of Long Tan. Â
(D) and (E)Â gets you to the next lake though casava and pepper crops.Â
(F) A chocolate factory is your lunch stop on another lovely lake. Orders take a while but the food is good and the portion sizes very generous.Â
(G)Â takes you past two more lakes and is the point we turn left on some trails. Nothing technical but easy to map around it if necessary.Â
(H)Â is a random coffee shop marked only to take you around a favourite police haunt for their coffee indulgence.Â
(I)Â on the ferry and if returning to our D2 shop just 13km dealing with most riders daily reality here.Â
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