Villa Doc May

Top choice in Dalat


More a homestay than a guesthouse, with just four individually decorated rooms, all comfortable, as well as pleasant communal areas and an upstairs Middle Eastern–style shisha cafe. The cheaper ground-floor rooms don't have windows but are still pleasant. Owner Yom is helpful with restaurant suggestions and scooter rental. Find it up a steep alley off the street, on the left.

An overspill hotel a few doors further down offers brighter, spacious rooms (double 350,000d to 450,000d) with balcony but less of a homestay vibe.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Dalat attractions

1. Xuan Huong Lake

0.35 MILES

Created by a dam in 1919, this banana-shaped lake was named after an anti-authoritarian 17th-century Vietnamese poet. It has become a popular icon of…

2. Dalat Cathedral

0.38 MILES

The gingerbread-style Dalat Cathedral was built between 1931 and 1942 for use by French residents and holidaymakers. The cross on the spire is topped by a…

3. Hang Nga Crazy House

0.49 MILES

A freewheeling architectural exploration of surrealism, Hang Nga Crazy House is a joyously designed, outrageously artistic private home. Imagine…

4. Linh Son Pagoda

0.67 MILES

Built in 1938, the Linh Son Pagoda is a lovely ochre-coloured building that fuses French and Chinese architecture. The giant bell is said to be made of…

5. Linh Quang Pagoda

1.17 MILES

Flanked by enormous coiling concrete dragons rearing out of a pond, and with a fabulously kitsch outdoor tableau featuring the young Buddha atop a lotus…

6. Dalat Flower Gardens

1.21 MILES

These gardens were established in 1966 and include hydrangeas, fuchsias and orchids, the latter in shaded buildings to the left of the entrance. Like any…

7. Crémaillère Railway Station

1.35 MILES

From Dalat’s wonderful art deco train station you can ride one of the nine scheduled trains that run to Trai Mat (return from 108,000d, 30 minutes) daily…

8. Lam Dong Museum

1.71 MILES

This hillside museum is a stampede through Dalat's history, with a side trip into natural history, complete with outrageously bad taxidermy, and plenty of…