[Da Lat Travel Diary 2026] Day 1: My go-to route! The breathtaking BBQ is a must!

Xin chào! We're Yuki, a Japanese husband, and Ngoc, his Vietnamese wife, living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. On this blog, we share information about moving to and living in Vietnam, as well as travel information from all over the country. If you come across an article that catches your interest, please follow us first! ♪ Starting today, we'll be sharing a multi-part travel diary about "Da Lat," the mountain highland area in south-central Vietnam! We visited in February 2026. ♪ If reading this article made you think even a little that "Da Lat is a nice place," please give it a like and follow us! ♪ You can check out our Vietnam beach resort "Nha Trang" travel diary below♪ 『【Nha Trang Travel Diary】Day 1: An all-you-can-eat sea urchin resort trip | Vietnam』Xin chào! We're Yuki, a Japanese husband living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and his Vietnamese wife Ngoc.On this blog, I share information about relocating to and living in Vietnam, as well as travel information from all over the country. Curious about…ameblo.jp

On Day 1, I'll introduce my go-to sightseeing route in Da Lat! Absolutely recommended!

Da Lat is a nature resort you can reach from Ho Chi Minh City by a 6-hour sleeper bus. It's not very well known among Japanese travelers, but it's a popular tourist destination for Vietnamese people. However, Da Lat can also be described as "a sightseeing spot that gets boring if you don't decide what to do in advance." So, having traveled to Da Lat dozens of times myself, let me introduce you to the classic, can't-miss sightseeing route to take on your first day exploring Da Lat ♪ When you arrive in Da Lat, start with a barbecue with a spectacular view!

After arriving in Da Lat and checking into your hotel, the first thing on the agenda is a meal, right? These days, I rely almost entirely on Google Maps to find restaurants. Just type "restaurant" or "barbecue" into the search bar, and it shows you a list sorted by distance from your current location. What I'd really like to recommend here is "outdoor barbecue with a great view, rather than an indoor one.Just gazing at this natural scenery while grilling meat over charcoal makes you feel, "Ah, I've really come to Dalat." Is there a dish you absolutely must eat at a barbecue? For those of you who eat delicious meat back home in Japan on a daily basis, Vietnamese meat might feel a little lacking in comparison. But if you come to a mountainous area like Da Lat, you absolutely must try the "chicken and wild boar meat"! However, it seems the price of wild boar meat has recently skyrocketed, so it's a bit of a shame that one plate (enough for about 2 people) costs around 2,500 to 3,000 yen. Also, "Com lam (Cơm lam)" is the quintessential mountain dish. It's a sticky-rice-like dish made by splitting bamboo in half, stuffing it with glutinous rice, and grilling it over charcoal.It's economical, costing about 150 yen apiece, easy on the wallet. If it's a barbecue restaurant, you'll find it on the menu at most places. After the meal, take some souvenir photos at Da Lat Station and enjoy some delicious fresh chocolate!

After finishing your meal, let's take a taxi to "Dalat Railway Station." Located to the west of Xuan Huong Lake, which spreads out at the center of Dalat's sightseeing area, this station is also said to be "the most beautiful railway station in Vietnam.

Da Lat's history began during the French colonial era, when it was developed as a resort area where French soldiers could recuperate. Before that, it was a mountainous region where ethnic minorities lived quietly. Da Lat Station was also built during that period, and even today a Soviet-made steam locomotive still runs back and forth to the neighboring village of Trai Mat.

If you buy a ticket at the station's entrance gate, you can also ride to Chai Mat village. There, you can visit a Buddhist temple wrapped in flashy decorations. Well, this time our schedule didn't line up, so we didn't go. A chocolate feast with "The Choco," a brand from Da Lat!

After visiting the platform at Dalat Station and taking a commemorative photo with the locomotive in the background, please cross the tracks and head to the café right next door. This is a directly-operated café of "The Choco," a chocolate brand that originated in Dalat. There's also a location near Dalat Market, but this one is more spacious and has the full lineup of products, so it's the one we recommend. Did everyone already know this little bit of trivia??

The choco here isn't really all that famous, but for some reason, whenever I come to Da Lat, I always end up eating it (lol) Its special feature is that it's raw chocolate, and it comes in a wide variety of types. The raw chocolate sold here had the product name "nama choco," so I got curious and looked into it — and it turns out raw chocolate was actually born in Japan! By the way, did you all know that?   This time we had raspberry for the kids, rose (with a bit of alcohol) for me, and a chocolate drink as well. Everything was delicious ♪ Dalat trip, Day 1 evening: Off to the rumored barista café!

After finishing the steps so far, it will probably be around 4 or 5 PM. In the evening we'll walk around the night market, but since there's still some time before that, the next stop is this "coffee café where a barista brews your coffee.

Da Lat is one of Vietnam's finest coffee bean-growing regions, and there are many cafes staffed with dedicated baristas who brew coffee with real care and attention. Be sure to take a seat at the counter, watch closely as they brew, and savor a truly delicious cup of coffee! Every night in Da Lat, head out to the "Night Market"!

For your nights in Da Lat, spend your time in the city center rather than heading out to the suburbs. Around Da Lat Market, which sits right in the heart of the tourist area, a night market is held every single night. It's lined with all kinds of stalls—general goods (mostly clothing), delicious street food, and souvenir shops—so please be sure to take your time and explore the whole area.

Souvenirs typical of Dalat include dried vegetables, freeze-dried strawberries, and gummies or jams from Langfarm (a shop name). Also, foods you should try from the street stalls include classics like cheese yogurt, hot soy milk, and avocado ice cream.

By the way, there are stalls selling strawberries everywhere, but strawberries really do taste best in Japan. Da Lat's strawberry cultivation technology is still developing, so they tend to be more sour than sweet. Discussing what to do for dinner on our first day in Da Lat

For dinner, you could eat here at this night market, or you could go find a restaurant by taxi — either is fine! Since I'm the type who loves that Dalat = spectacular-view barbecue kind of thing, I enjoyed an outdoor barbecue at night too ♪ If you do decide to eat at the night market, I'd recommend the "chicken hot pot (Lau ga)." It's known as a specialty of Dalat. It's a refreshing hot pot made with chicken broth~.      Summary: The theme of Day 1 in Da Lat is "Accomplish everything I want to do in Da Lat." Da Lat is a mountainous area at high altitude, so the weather is often unstable. Outdoor barbecues and the night market are only half as fun if the weather isn't sunny, right? So, starting from Day 1, I'll make sure to visit every single spot where I thought, "If I come to Da Lat, I absolutely have to go here!   Of course, if it's sunny again the next day, we'll simply go to the sightseeing spots we planned in advance ♪ What I mean is, for the spots you really want to visit, it's better not to spread them out — I think it's best to focus on them and cover them all in one day (^^♪ Well then, that's it for Day 1. Next time, it's Day 2!!