Quick facts
- Elevation
- About 1,500 m (4,900 ft), on the Langbiang Plateau 3
- Expats (estimate)
- 2,000–3,000, per Expat.com (unofficial) 4
- Airport
- Liên Khương International, 30 km south 3
- Since July 2025
- Since 1 July 2025 Đà Lạt has been in an enlarged Lâm Đồng province: in June 2025 the National Assembly merged Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông and Bình Thuận provinces into one province named Lâm Đồng. 2
- Rent, 1-bed flat (crowd-sourced range)
- $274–$284 a month 1
- Rent, 3-bed flat (crowd-sourced range)
- $468–$632 a month 1
Rents are crowd-sourced Numbeo averages, not official figures, and may lag the market; see the housing guide (coming soon). Run the calculator for Da Lat →
A short history
- The name comes from the local Lạt people and means roughly "stream of the Lạt". 3
- Alexandre Yersin reached the Lang Biang plateau on 21 June 1893. Governor-General Paul Doumer wanted a highland resort, and Yersin proposed the Dankia area. 5
- Under South Vietnam it stayed a resort and was home to the national military academy. The war mostly passed it by, apart from heavy fighting during the 1968 Tết Offensive. 3
- Today it is one of Vietnam's most popular destinations and a centre for flowers, vegetables and research. 3 In June 2025 the National Assembly merged Lâm Đồng, Đắk Nông and Bình Thuận provinces into a larger Lâm Đồng province, whose local government began work on 1 July 2025; Đà Lạt is in it. 2
Key dates are checked against a second source where we found one (official portal, UNESCO or a founding institution).
Life there
Climate
Spring-like all year. Average highs stay between about 21 and 25 °C (70–77 °F) and lows between about 12 and 16 °C (53–61 °F). May to October is wet, with 20–24 rainy days a month; December to March is mostly dry, with about 2–6 rainy days a month. 3
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | 22.3° | 23.9° | 25.1° | 25.3° | 24.7° | 23.6° | 23.0° | 22.7° | 22.9° | 22.8° | 21.7° | 21.4° |
| Low | 11.7° | 11.9° | 13.0° | 14.7° | 16.2° | 16.4° | 16.2° | 16.2° | 16.0° | 15.3° | 14.6° | 13.2° |
| Rainy days | 2.2 | 2.5 | 5.8 | 12.8 | 20.5 | 21.2 | 23.8 | 23.1 | 24.0 | 20.0 | 11.5 | 5.9 |
Expat community
Expat.com estimates 2,000–3,000 foreign residents, led by South Koreans, French and Japanese (unofficial), and notes that English is limited outside tourist businesses. 4
Healthcare
The U.S. Embassy lists the General Hospital of Lâm Đồng in downtown Da Lat and Hoan My Da Lat Hospital. 7 No international-brand hospital is listed for Da Lat; plan on Ho Chi Minh City for complex care.
The U.S. Embassy notes that care in Vietnam is generally below U.S. standards outside the big international hospitals, and that serious cases may need medical evacuation. 7 More on the healthcare page (coming soon).
Getting around
Liên Khương International Airport is 30 km south, with daily domestic flights. Da Lat station sits on the old Da Lat–Tháp Chàm railway. 3 Grab serves Da Lat. 8
Safety
CDC lists Lâm Đồng province for malaria prevention in rural areas; check before trips into the countryside around Đà Lạt. 12
Across Vietnam
- The U.S. State Department rates Vietnam Level 1, "exercise normal precautions" (advisory issued 24 June 2026; checked Oct 27, 2026 in a browser). It names two risks: petty crime in tourist areas, and landmines and unexploded ordnance, which it says are a low risk in urban and tourist areas. 9 OSAC's 2026 report, which we read, gives the same level. 10
- The crimes foreigners meet most are phone theft, pickpocketing and bag snatching by thieves on motorbikes; petty crime rises around Christmas and Tết. 10
- Traffic is the biggest danger: OSAC says road accidents are the leading cause of death, serious injury and medical evacuation for foreigners in Vietnam, and helmets are required on motorbikes. 10
- OSAC says the June–October monsoon brings flood and landslide risk; in 2025 the country had 11 typhoons and tropical depressions between May and October. 10
- Emergency numbers: 113 police, 114 fire, 115 ambulance. 11
How residents rate crime here (crowd-sourced, not official)
- Numbeo crime index
- 28.4 / 100 (lower = less crime perceived) 13
- Numbeo safety index
- 71.6 / 100 (higher = safer) 13
Numbeo says it needs more contributors for this city, so treat these numbers as rough.
Survey detail
| Worries home broken and things stolen | 29 · Low |
|---|---|
| Worries being mugged or robbed | 21 · Low |
| Worries car stolen | 39 · Low |
| Worries things from car stolen | 38 · Low |
| Worries attacked | 29 · Low |
| Problem people using or dealing drugs | 23 · Low |
| Problem property crimes such as vandalism and theft | 25 · Low |
| Safety walking alone during daylight | 88 · Very High |
| Safety walking alone during night | 61 · High |
Scores 0–100 from Numbeo visitor surveys. 13
Things to do and experience
Food & coffee
Local treats include avocado ice cream, grilled rice paper (bánh tráng nướng) and fruit preserves made from strawberry and mulberry. 3 Arabica coffee is grown in the hills around the city. 4
Sources & “as of” dates
- Numbeo — Cost of Living in Da Lat as of 2026-10-02 (Numbeo "Last update" date) · read 2026-10-27
- Official Gazette (Công báo) No. 773+774, 23 Jun 2025 — Resolution 202/2025/QH15 on rearranging provinces, full text (in Vietnamese; Art. 1 cl. 10, 14, 16; Art. 2) as of 2025-06-23 (PDF opened by Team Web Oct 27, 2026 (~6:53 PM PT): passed and in force 12 June 2025; new local governments to start work 1 July 2025) · read 2026-10-27
- Wikipedia — Da Lat as of 2026-10-14 (revision date of the article version we read) · read 2026-10-27
- Expat.com — Living in Da Lat guide (key facts; unofficial estimate) as of 2025-12-16 ("updated" date on the guide) · read 2026-10-27
- Yersin University Da Lat — About Doctor Alexandre Yersin (1893 Lang Biang expedition) as of 2026-10-27 (checked Oct 27, 2026 (browser check), ~6:50 PM PT; confirms: Yersin reached Lang Biang on 21 June 1893; Doumer wanted a resort and Yersin proposed Dankia) · read 2026-10-27 verified · Grok Boss (browser check)
- Wikipedia — Đà Lạt Plateau (article summary) as of 2026-09-20 (last edit date) · read 2026-10-27
- U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam — Medical Assistance (list of hospitals and clinics) as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date; date = day read) · read 2026-10-27
- Grab Vietnam — Where we are (cities served) as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no date; date = day read) · read 2026-10-27
- U.S. State Department — Vietnam travel advisory (Level 1, issued June 24, 2026) as of 2026-06-24 (checked Oct 27, 2026 (browser check), 6:17 PM PT) · read 2026-10-27 verified · Grok Boss (browser check)
- OSAC — Vietnam Country Security Report as of 2026-06-24 (report date) · read 2026-10-27
- U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Vietnam — Security and Safety Advice as of 2026-10-27 (page shows no update date) · read 2026-10-27
- CDC Travelers' Health — Vietnam as of 2026-08-25 (page review date) · read 2026-10-27
- Numbeo — Crime in Da Lat (crowd-sourced survey, not official) as of 2026-03-18 (Numbeo "Last update" date; Numbeo says it needs more contributors here) · read 2026-10-27
Photo and video credits
- Photo: “Da Lat city” by Castelfranco, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized)
- Video: “Datanla Falls , Dalat , Vietnam” by Le Monde en Vidéo, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (cut to 8 s from 80 s, sound removed, scaled to 480p, re-encoded to H.264; poster = frame from the clip)
- Photo: “Chợ Đà Lạt toàn cảnh” by DHN, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons (resized and converted to WebP)