Travel Guide
The Venue
Rừng Thông Mơ (The Forest of Dreams) is nestled in the serene hills of Da Lat, approximately 9km from the city center. This enchanting venue features 5 beautiful villas, perfect for those looking to immerse themselves in Da Lat's peaceful atmosphere.
We particularly recommend Villa of the Spring, which is next door to where we're staying during the wedding celebrations. It's the perfect place to stay if you want to be close to all the action.
Getting to Da Lat
From Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)
The most convenient way to reach Da Lat (DLI) is by flying from Saigon (SGN). Vietnam Airlines offers regular flights that take just 30-45 minutes. We recommend flying with Vietnam Airlines as they have the most reliable schedule.
Since you'll be flying into Vietnam anyway, we highly recommend spending some time in Saigon first - it's where we live and we'd love to show you around our city!
From Da Lat Airport to Venue
From Da Lat Airport, you can easily get to the venue using Grab (Vietnam's ride-hailing app) or a local taxi. The journey takes about 35-45 minutes.
For guests staying in Da Lat city center, we'll arrange a bus to pick you up on the wedding day and bring you to the venue.
Our Recommendations
In Da Lat
Ana Mandara Villas
"Beautiful French colonial villas right in the city centre. Very old fashioned e.g. showers in bathtubs and no AC. But it has a lot of character, great service, and a perfect romantic getaway."
Le Récit Boutique Hôtel
"Nice boutique hotel in the centre. Lots of convenience stores and restaurants nearby. Not our favourite, but a great option with a reasonable price. King Suite has a lovely big bathroom."
Mercure Dalat
"One of our all time favourite hotels, super romantic, beautiful classic French style. Unfortunately a bit overrun with influencers these days. We absolutely love their suites, just make sure to ask for the type with double bathroom doors."
Blue Dream Bread
"Our absolute favourite bakery in Da Lat. They have a delicious selection of cakes and pastries, a lovely garden, and a great selection of tea. They have another branch in Saigon, which is our favourite here too."
The Florest
"While it is a bit overrun with people posing for photos, it is in an absolutely stunning location surrounded by a pine forest. Breathtaking views, beautiful flowers, lovely lake, and a small pet zoo with dogs, rabbits, and hamsters."
Soy Milk
"Hot soy milk is a signature drink in Da Lat. It's a must-try. Our favourite place is in a small alley just a couple doors up from Phuc Long Coffee & Tea, just a small family business near Da Lat Market. Just $0.48 per cup."
Sticky Rice Lady
"This street food stall is another one of our must-eats. It's sweet purple sticky rice, topped with coconut milk, wrapped in a fried donut. It's delicious. We have eaten way too many of these. Doesn't have a name, just look for the purple rice."
Bánh Mì Xíu Mại Ri 79
"A must-eat while in Da Lat. Lovely crispy bread, somehow light yet flavourful broth, and super juicy meatballs. Very friendly staff, they let us take our dogs here before. Extremely affordable. Refills recommended."
Wi Steak
"Yes, we know it's not Vietnamese, but their steaks, chicken, fish, are all delicious. Amazing views of the city, it's also shared by a coffee shop, a BBQ restaurant, and a bakery. Explore all while you're there, see the sunset, and have a lovely romantic dinner."
Madame de Dalat
"This is a lovely historic mansion and gardens previously owned by a legendary powerful woman in Vietnam politics. The stand out is the Madame Show, unfortunately only in Vietnamese, but a beautiful story and theatre showing the history of Da Lat."
Da Lat Night Market
"We rarely buy anything here, but it's a great place to walk around and experience classic Da Lat. We'd recommend buying food/snacks just outside of the market, the ones directly inside are usually worse."
Reo Campsite
"If you want somewhere to take some beautiful photos or possibly do some kayaking, this is where we did our wedding photoshoot. It's a bit of a walk in if you travel by car, but the views are spectacular."
In Saigon (Our Home)
Liberty Central Citypoint
"A decent hotel right in the city centre, across the street from Saigon Centre and 1 minute walk from Nguyễn Huệ. It's a good place to stay if you want to be in the city centre."
La Vela
"Another lovely hotel with a huge rooftop pool. It's not walking distance to the centre, but still very centrally located, not far at all in a Grab."
Blue Dream Bread Saigon
"Our favourite bakery in both Saigon and Da Lat. Mouth watering selection of cakes in a cosy little house that feels like you're sitting in Grandma's house."
Phuc Long
"We know what you're thinking, it's more like foo not fuh. Very popular chain of coffee shops in Vietnam. Nothing special looking, but great selection of teas."
Cong Ca phe
"Another popular chain of coffee shops in Vietnam. These are designed super vintage like war time Vietnam. Their specialty is coconut coffee ice blended, though we prefer the coconut cacao."
Highlands Coffee
"Another popular chain in Vietnam, you'll see them everywhere. They don't look special, but if you like sweet creamy coffee their bạc xỉu is absolutely delicious."
Bakes
"Another great bakery with a delicious selection of cakes. Bakes cakes both look amazing and taste amazing. Multiple locations again, all look great."
Xing Fu Tang
"Brown sugar boba from Taiwan. Their boba is super soft and chewy. If you're in Asia and never tried Boba, you absolutely have to. This is one of our favourite spots."
Cacao Dầm Flan Khổng Lồ
"Super chocolatey iced chocolate milk drink, topped with an insanely good Flan. If you have a sweet tooth, this is a must try. We've drank way too many of these."
ChaTraMue
"More milk tea options, this one is a brand from Thailand. If you like milk tea, try their iced red Thai milk tea. It's so so good. They have a vegan option too."
Pizza 4P's
"Pizza? In Saigon? Yes, Vietnam actually has amazing food of all types. Pizza 4Ps is an amazing Italian-Japanese fusion restaurant. Try the crab spaghetti, or if you want something weirdly yummy, the 4-cheese pizza with honey is great."
Banh Trang Nướng
"This crispy pancake-like thing is amazing. It's savoury, topped with cream cheese, meat and veggies - some people call it Vietnamese pizza. But main thing is, it is delish. You'll find them all over the place, try it."
Morico
"Japanese restaurant with Sushi, Ramen, Udon, and more. Bit on the pricier side, but decent food. Great for vegans/vegetarians too. Personally though, we love their cakes like basque cheesecake, skillet cookie, and crepe cake."
Cocotte
"French restaurant with far better looking dishes than you'd expect for the price. We like their duck breast, beef bourguignon, and onion puff pastry soup. Bit slow service, but delicious food and reasonable prices."
ZumWhere
"Multiple locations in Saigon, all look great. Zumwhere have amazing food, no specific recommendations as we love a lot here, we'll usually just order a handful of dishes to share family style."
Bún Thịt Nướng
"This is a favourite Vietnamese dish. It's grilled pork of two types, noodles, veggies, sauce, and usually a couple spring rolls. Super delicious, must try."
Di Mai
"The best Vietnamese food is always going to be local and street food. But if you want AC and a nice restaurant, this is a great option. Plenty of dishes, we pretty much like them all."
Cơm tấm
"A signature dish of Vietnam. It's broken rice which makes it extra fluffy, with grilled pork, fish sauce, and usually topped with a fried egg. It's absolutely delicious and a must try while in Vietnam."
Hum
"For our vegan and vegetarian friends, this is an amazing restaurant which we'd recommend to everyone. Lovely vibe and delicious food. We've been here a few times, and it's always a great experience."
Meet & Meat
"A buffet style barbecue restaurant with a great selection of meats and veggies at a very reasonable price. We've been here far too many times. Definitely worth trying if you've never done this before, though does feel weird cooking your own food the first time."
Manwah
"A buffet style hotpot restaurant. Pricier than most options, but the better service, food selections, drink options, etc make this worth it. Again, you'll need to cook it yourself, but it's a great experience."
Sushi Tei
"Amazing sushi restaurant in a cool warehouse they've refurbished and literally built a huge wooden boat in the middle of. Honestly, everything we've tried here is tasty. Busy place, recommended to book a table."
Chilli Thai
"A chain restaurant of Thai food. They have a great selection of dishes, we love their crispy pork, creamy tom yum soup, pad thai, and others."
Soko
"Both a restaurant and a bakery, both options are yummy. Try the tiramisu or any types of cream filled pastries. Or any of their food dishes we've tried are great."
Thao Dien
"Thao Dien is the expat area of Saigon. The hipster area. The area is full of cafes, restaurants, and bars. It's a great place to relax and enjoy the city."
Nguyễn Huệ (Walking Street)
"Always buzzing in the evening. It's just a long street to walk around full of locals hanging out. On weekends, they'll close the roads. Look out for the banh trang vendors, good place to get it."
Saigon Centre
"Right near Nguyễn Huệ, this is a big shopping mall with a lot of shops and restaurants. It's a great place to shop and eat. You'll find a few restaurants and a lot of cakes in the basement. And even more restaurants at the top floor."
Vincom Center Dong Khoi
"For actual shopping, this is the place to go in District 1. Don't miss the basement, there's multiple floors underground including many restaurants at the bottom. Only a 5-7 min walk from Saigon Centre and 2 mins from Nguyễn Huệ."
Independence Palace
"This used to be the equivalent of the White House in Vietnam. It's a big palace with a lot of history to learn about. Don't miss the basement, our favourite part, it's so cool walking through the bunker."
Landmark 81 / Blank Lounge
"Landmark 81 is the tallest building in Vietnam with 81 floors. There's a lovely park, mall, and coffee shops/bars near the top. We recommend Blank Lounge on the 75th & 76th floor, amazing view. Go on a weekday otherwise you may have to queue to get in."
Other Places We Love
Da Nang & Central Vietnam
Our favorite region for a longer trip. Da Nang is the perfect base to explore:
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Hoi An (45 mins)
Beautiful ancient town, perfect for tailoring and food tours
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Hue (90 mins)
Imperial city with amazing history and food
Phu Quoc Island
Perfect for a beach getaway after the wedding. We love:
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Long Beach
Beautiful white sand beaches and amazing sunsets
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Night Market
Fresh seafood and local specialties