Dalat Countryside & Pongour Waterfall Tours (Small Group)

Waterfalls, coffee, silk, and crickets fill one long day. This $22 Dalat countryside tour packs the region’s best-known natural and working-life sights into eight hours, from Pongour Waterfall and Linh An Pagoda to a coffee plantation, silk factory, flower village, and cricket farm. I like the mix of scenery and local production, and guides such as Su, Phat, Hoang, Bao, and Vinh have earned praise for making the long drives lively with stories about Vietnamese life. The main consideration is pace: you see a great deal, but this is not a quiet, slow countryside outing.

I especially like that Pongour Waterfall gets a full hour, and that the tour includes admission, hotel pickup and drop-off, bottled water, an English-speaking guide, rice wine, and a cricket tasting. Lunch and optional purchases cost extra, and one important stop has changed: Elephant Waterfall is temporarily closed, so you view it from nearby Linh An Pagoda rather than enter the falls area.

Key points at a glance

• Pongour’s seven cascades: The day’s strongest natural sight gets about an hour, with time for views and photos.
• Coffee with a view: Me Linh Coffee Garden explains local coffee production and offers weasel coffee for an extra charge.
• Elephant Waterfall from above: The waterfall itself is temporarily closed, but Linh An Pagoda gives you a close view.
• Working countryside stops: You see silk pulled from cocoons, visit a cricket farm, and learn about local flower production.
• Strong guide-led experience: Su, Phat, Hoang, Bao, Vinh, and others are praised for humor, clear English, and useful explanations.
• Good low-cost coverage: At $22, transport and entry fees make this a strong choice if you have only one full day in Dalat.

Why this $22 day trip works

Dalat is easy to enjoy in town, but its best scenery and many of its working farms sit outside the center. This tour solves that problem with a van, a driver, and a guide who links the stops together. You do not need to arrange separate taxis to waterfalls, coffee farms, temples, and craft workshops.

The price is the biggest attraction. For $22 per person, you get pickup and drop-off in Dalat, transport, entry to the listed attractions, bottled water, an English-speaking guide, a cup of rice wine, and a cricket-based tasting. You still pay for lunch, coffee purchases, and optional activities, but the basic price covers the expensive part of a countryside day: moving between far-flung sights.

I would treat this as a sampler rather than a private tour. The schedule gives you a broad look at the area, not hours at any one farm or waterfall. The group may also be larger than the small-group label suggests. One guest described a sizable group, though the guide made an effort to let everyone see and touch the items being explained.

The strongest part of the tour is the guiding. Su receives repeated praise for humor, energy, and explanations about Vietnamese history, religion, politics, and daily life. Phat is also described as funny and warm, while Hoang, Bao, Vinh, Duyen, and Bell are praised for clear English and personal attention. Guides can change, but the pattern is clear: this tour depends heavily on a good guide, and the company has been producing plenty of them.

Me Linh Coffee Garden and the Ta Nung road

The first major stop is Me Linh Coffee Garden, about 23 kilometers southwest of Dalat. Getting there means crossing the winding Ta Nung Pass, which gives you an early taste of the hills beyond the city.

You spend about 30 minutes at the plantation. The point is not a long farm walk. It is the setting, the explanation of coffee production, and the chance to sit with a plantation view. Weasel coffee is available for an additional, self-paid tasting. If coffee matters to you, this is one of the more useful stops because the guide can put the drink into the context of local farming and trade.

Do not assume the coffee is included simply because the plantation visit is included. The tour covers admission, but extra drinks and purchases are separate. Bring cash for these small additions unless you prefer to skip them.

The coffee garden also helps set the tone for the day. You are not just driving from one attraction to another. You are seeing how the Dalat area earns a living through agriculture, food, flowers, silk, and small local businesses.

Van Thanh Flower Village in 30 minutes

Van Thanh Flower Village comes next, with about 30 minutes for a visit and photos. Dalat is closely tied to flower growing, and this stop gives you a short look at one of the area’s better-known farm industries.

The timing is brief, so I would keep your expectations sensible. You get an introduction and a chance to take pictures rather than a long gardening lesson. One useful seasonal note from the day-to-day experience of the tour is that the flower village can be less impressive at certain times of year. A February visit, for example, may not deliver the same display you would hope for in December.

Still, the stop earns its place because it shows a different side of Dalat. Pongour is nature, the coffee garden is an agricultural business, and Van Thanh shows how ornamental flowers shape the local economy. If you like taking photos, keep your phone ready, but do not let this short stop make you late returning to the van.

Pongour Waterfall, the day’s main attraction

Pongour Waterfall is about 50 kilometers south of Dalat in Duc Trong District, along National Highway 20. It is also called the seven-cascading waterfall, and it is the natural high point of the tour.

You get approximately one hour here, which is a sensible amount of time for a group excursion. The falls spread across a series of rock levels rather than dropping in one narrow column. That gives you more than one angle for pictures and makes the site feel broad and powerful.

Water levels can affect the view. Recent rain may make the falls louder and fuller, while dry conditions may reveal more of the rock shelves. Rain can also make walking surfaces slippery, so shoes with a firm sole are a better choice than smooth sandals.

This is the stop where the tour’s schedule feels most generous. Many low-cost day trips race through major sights, but an hour gives you a chance to look, photograph, and simply listen to the water. Several people who enjoyed the tour singled out Pongour as the highlight.

After Pongour, the group returns toward Dalat for lunch. Lunch is not included, but the food is described as good, reasonably priced, and offered with plenty of choices. Carrying a small snack is wise, especially if you need food at a particular time. The tour provides bottled water, not a full meal between stops.

Elephant Waterfall and Linh An Pagoda

Elephant Waterfall was once a major reason to take this route, but the attraction is temporarily closed because of an operational issue. You cannot count on entering the waterfall site or exploring the windy cave beneath it.

The useful adjustment is the visit to Linh An Pagoda, located about 33 kilometers from Dalat. From the pagoda, you can still see the waterfall from a close distance, giving you a strong view even though the access situation has changed.

Linh An Pagoda is also worth visiting on its own. The grounds are known for a huge Lady Buddha statue, described as the largest in Vietnam. The pagoda adds a religious and cultural layer to a day otherwise filled with farms and waterfalls.

I appreciate the way this stop has been handled. The closure is not hidden, and the replacement view prevents the day from losing one of its main sights. Still, book this tour for the countryside as a whole, not on the promise of walking beneath Elephant Waterfall. Conditions can change, so confirm the current access situation before you go.

Silk from cocoon to fabric at Cuong Hoan

Cuong Hoan Silk gives you a close look at an old-fashioned production method. The visit lasts about 30 minutes, but the process is easy to follow.

Cocoons are placed in hot water. The delicate thread is found and wound onto a machine, then collected on a reel before being sent to a loom. The loom turns the thread into patterned fabric.

What makes this stop useful is that you see the chain from raw material to finished cloth. You are not only looking at silk in a shop window. You can watch the work that makes it possible. This is also described as the only silk factory in Vietnam that still maintains this older method of removing silk from cocoons.

The stop may not suit you if factory visits are not your thing. For me, it is one of the better cultural visits because it is short, visual, and tied to a real local industry. You can also decide for yourself about buying silk instead of being shown only finished products.

Cricket farming, rice wine, and an unusual tasting

Thien An Cricket Farm is the tour’s most unusual food stop. The farm owner explains how crickets are raised, cared for, and bred. You then have the chance to taste a cricket-based dish.

The included extras are a cup of rice wine and a tasting of the cricket dish. You do not have to turn the tasting into a full meal. Think of it as a small introduction to a food practice that may be unfamiliar to you.

This is a good place to keep an open mind. The point is not to pretend cricket is an everyday dish for every visitor. It is to see how local producers raise an ingredient and how Vietnamese food culture can extend beyond the dishes most commonly served to tourists.

The guides help here. A clear explanation makes the farm more interesting than a quick look at cages and insects. If you are uneasy about trying the dish, you can still learn about the farming process and choose your own comfort level.

Bamboo knitting and the final countryside visit

Bamboo knitting is included among the experience’s countryside attractions, along with the flower village. The schedule also allows about 45 minutes for a visit near the end of the day, though the supplied timing does not identify that stop by name.

You should expect the day to keep changing subject: coffee, flowers, waterfalls, religion, silk, crickets, and local handicrafts. That variety is the point. It gives you a quick picture of how people in the Dalat area work with plants, animals, food, and traditional materials.

The tradeoff is that no single subject gets a full workshop treatment. If you want a serious coffee farm visit or a long silk demonstration, choose a more focused excursion. If you want several introductions in one day, this format works well.

The van ride, group size, and pace

The tour lasts eight hours, including the drive between Dalat and the countryside. The van is praised for being comfortable, and the driver receives credit for handling rough roads and potholes safely.

You will spend meaningful time in the vehicle. That is unavoidable when Pongour Waterfall lies roughly 50 kilometers from Dalat and the other stops spread across different directions. The guide makes the drive part of the experience by talking about local life, history, religion, and the region.

The group may include solo visitors, couples, and families. Several people enjoyed meeting others, but one practical comment is worth noting: the group can feel bigger than expected. That affects photo time, boarding the van, and how close you can stand to the guide.

A good guide reduces the problem. Su, Phat, Hoang, Bao, and Vinh are repeatedly praised for keeping the mood light without losing the substance. Duyen is remembered for sharing Vietnamese snacks, while other guides have added stops when conditions allowed. One group even visited Datanla Waterfall and rode the alpine coaster, although that was not part of the advertised route. Treat such additions as possible surprises, not guaranteed features.

What to bring and what costs extra

Wear shoes that can handle uneven or damp ground. A hat is useful, and a small snack can help during a full day with lunch between major stops. Bottled water is supplied.

Keep some cash for lunch, coffee, souvenirs, and optional activities such as the alpine coaster if one is offered. One couple spent just over 1 million Vietnamese dong on extra activities and food, though you can spend less by choosing only the included items.

The child fare is based on height:

• Children under 90 centimeters use the free infant ticket.
• Children from 90 to 110 centimeters receive the child rate at 50 percent off.
• Children above 110 centimeters use the adult ticket.

The tour is listed as wheelchair accessible, though the waterfalls and countryside sites may still involve outdoor surfaces. If mobility is a major concern, ask the operator about the current conditions at each stop before booking.

You can cancel up to 24 hours before departure for a full refund, and the reserve-now, pay-later option keeps payment flexible.

Who should book this Dalat tour?

I would choose this tour if you have only one full day in Dalat and want a broad sample of the area. It is especially good for first-time visitors who want waterfalls, coffee, flowers, a pagoda, silk, local food, and countryside views without organizing each stop themselves.

It also suits solo visitors. The shared van and guide-led format make it easy to meet people, and the friendly atmosphere described by many participants can turn a day trip into a social outing.

Families can enjoy the range of sights, but the full eight-hour schedule and long drives may test very young children. The cricket tasting, waterfall walks, and production visits offer variety, though you should choose the correct child ticket by height.

I would skip it if you want private transport, a slow schedule, or a single deep look at coffee and farming. I would also skip it if your main reason for booking is to enter Elephant Waterfall, since that site is currently closed.

Should you book it?

Yes, if you value variety and strong guiding more than a leisurely pace. At $22, the included transport and admissions make the tour unusually good value, and Pongour Waterfall, Linh An Pagoda, Me Linh Coffee Garden, and Cuong Hoan Silk give the day real range.

Before booking, accept three facts: lunch and some tastings cost extra, the group may be fairly large, and Elephant Waterfall is viewed from Linh An Pagoda rather than entered. If those points suit your plans, this is one of the easiest ways to see Dalat beyond its city streets in a single day.

FAQ

How long does the Dalat countryside tour last?

The tour lasts eight hours, including transport, sightseeing, lunch time, and the return to Dalat.

What is the price of the tour?

The listed price is $22 per person.

Is lunch included?

No. Lunch is not included, although a local restaurant stop is scheduled and the food is described as reasonably priced.

Is Elephant Waterfall open during the tour?

Elephant Waterfall is temporarily closed because of an operational issue. You can view the waterfall from nearby Linh An Pagoda.

What waterfalls does the tour visit?

The tour visits Pongour Waterfall and includes a view of Elephant Waterfall from Linh An Pagoda.

Is coffee included?

The Me Linh Coffee Garden visit is included, but weasel coffee and other coffee purchases are self-paid.

Is the cricket tasting included?

Yes. The tour includes a tasting of a cricket-based dish and a cup of rice wine.

What languages are available?

The tour provides an English-speaking guide.

What ticket should I choose for a child?

Children under 90 centimeters use the free infant ticket. Children from 90 to 110 centimeters use the child ticket at 50 percent off. Children above 110 centimeters use the adult ticket.