Not only when traveling to Da Lat, but no matter where you travel, tourists are always at risk of being deceived or unfairly losing money due to things that are not clear. Here I will show you that just because you don’t carefully consider these 5 things, you can become easy prey for scammers to pick your pocket when traveling to Da Lat.
5 “DON’Ts” when traveling to Da Lat
1. DON’T take a taxi to find a hotel.
After a long journey by car from various provinces and cities, you can ask the shuttle bus to take you back to the city center of Da Lat and then find a hotel room for yourself. Usually, these rides are free. Moreover, who knows, by riding with other tourists, you can gather useful information for your trip. Then you can walk or go online to find a suitable hotel near you and head straight there. By doing this, the hotel will give you a discount on the driver’s fee when dropping you off (this is a rule, my friends). Just pay attention, when you arrive at the hotel, if the hotel staff in Da Lat asks, “Who directed you here,” just say, “I came on my own.” If you are in the city center, some streets with hotels are: Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street, Bui Thi Xuan Street, Thu Khoa Huan Street, Nguyen Chi Thanh Street, Phan Dinh Phung Street, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Le Dai Hanh Street, Ly Tu Trong Street, etc.
2. DON’T follow the “middlemen” to strawberry gardens
You will easily encounter guys driving cars, standing and inviting you. Their lines are like: My house has a strawberry garden, come in for a visit and pick strawberries right at the garden, here is my name card, etc. In the end, you lose money.
Surely, when you arrive in Da Lat, you will encounter cases like this: When you are looking for a strawberry garden to visit, or just stepping out of the gates of tourist areas, some people run up to you, give you their name card, and say, “My (sister) house has a strawberry garden right over there, take the card and come in for a visit.” Or “Strawberries hanging on the trellis, follow me to visit”… Many lines like that, but in the end, where you end up is a jam shop, being pressured to buy, being deceived because there is no strawberry garden to be seen, and if there is, there are no fruits.
This is the most common case to be aware of, and in the previous article, we also mentioned this issue for you to pay attention to. This time, we will provide you with the most reliable information about visiting strawberry gardens in Da Lat: Go to Thanh Mau Street near Dream Hill, there are many strawberry gardens on this street, just ask the garden owner to enter, for example: Chú Hùng Strawberry Garden, Bích Ngọc Strawberry Garden,.. (This is the easiest way to visit effectively, oh, these places also offer you to eat at the garden, if you pick and bring back, it will cost more, the price of strawberries at the garden this season is around 100,000vnd/1kg)
3. DON’T buy specialties at jam shops near tourist areas
If you want, you can go to the market, the quality is still good, the price is still reasonable, if in doubt, you can visit L’angfarm on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, guaranteed quality and price)
Jam shops near tourist areas often have “cutthroat” prices because the prices here are also shared with middlemen and taxi drivers, usually they share from 20 – 30%. For example, if you buy 100,000vnd, only 70,000vnd goes to the product. The price will double or triple at the Da Lat market. A useful tip for you is to go straight to the Da Lat market, where there are many stalls for you to compare prices and the quality is the same, but it is guaranteed to be lower than at the jam shops. If you want to be even safer, visit L’angfarm – Jam, Da Lat’s reputable specialty shop, located right at the entrance of the Da Lat market (Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street), the price and quality are very good. Here they also offer a buffet of self-selected sweet dishes for 39k/1 person, with dishes like: Grilled lang, grilled corn, dried persimmons, soft persimmons, various ice creams, various aitiso teas,… Various Da Lat specialties, eat until full and then return
4. DON’T buy strawberries at the market
In Da Lat market, some people don’t know where the strawberries come from, but every season, strawberries are sold for only 15k – 20k/1kg, such a cheap price, who would believe it. Customers who buy them and bring them home find them all rotten the next morning, they might look good but lack quality, don’t believe it, just touch the strawberries. The best place to buy delicious strawberries: Choose the last day before leaving Da Lat to go home, then visit the end of Nguyen Cong Tru street, where there are strawberry fields picked from the garden, very reputable, priced from 60,000vnd – 80,000vnd/1kg, buy them early in the morning, as the strawberries are freshly picked. Or you can visit the strawberry fields at the address mentioned at the beginning of this article!
Don’t ask why your strawberries are all rotten and inedible after one night.
5. DON’T eat at the street food stalls near Da Lat market without knowing the prices
Recently, there was a story of a tourist who said: “They ate 3 bowls of porridge and were charged 400,000vnd.” You must have heard about it, right? The night market area is one of the places you must visit when in Da Lat. But please pay attention to my advice, if you eat, pay close attention to the prices and ask VERY CAREFULLY beforehand, as being overcharged is not fun.
Only eat at places with clear menu and prices. Don’t be an easy target for those street stalls.
And if you don’t pay attention to the 5 DON’Ts mentioned above, you will definitely encounter the 9 SCAMS below when traveling to Da Lat. If you don’t believe it, take a look.
9 SCAMS you may encounter when traveling to Da Lat
1. SCAM Free strawberry tasting, buy strawberries for 30,000đ/1kg
If you walk on streets like Phu Dong Thien Vuong, you will see some “Strawberry Girls” running around and starting with very “sweet” greetings like free strawberry tasting, free photos, buying delicious strawberries at a cheap price of 30,000đ…. This is the most common scam you will encounter in Da Lat.You hear it, you like it, you’re tempted, you think it’s cheap. You follow, you try. Well, congratulations, you’ve fallen for the first scam.
The market price for strawberries in Da Lat is at least 80,000 – 100,000đ during strawberry season. So why are strawberries in Da Lat only 30,000đ? Let me tell you, these are trash strawberries, ugly and bad quality. But still, having strawberries to eat is lucky because you won’t always be lucky to have strawberries, and you might not even see any strawberry fruits. No one sells at a loss to anyone, remember that.
The truth is, the strawberry girls will lead you to special product stores. And they will demand you to buy before taking you to the strawberry field. Many conflicts and arguments have occurred when entering the strawberry field that turns out to be a special product store. But believe it or not, those strawberry fields usually only have leaves or if you’re lucky, a few strawberries.
And if you resist, or refuse to buy strawberries, or if you wonder about buying at those specialty shops with sky-high prices, who knows, you might end up getting punched without a miss.
Tips for visiting strawberry gardens: research strawberry gardens that have been well-reviewed and proactively visit them with available addresses. Don’t trust those middlemen.
2. TRICK Visiting and taking photos at flower gardens, strawberry gardens.
Da Lat has a cool and pleasant climate, and people even want to settle down here, not to mention the flowers. Truly, Da Lat is an extremely pleasant place, the flowers and grass here have their own beauty and attraction. Just a garden of fresh green cabbage flowers is already a hot check-in spot. Therefore, more and more self-made flower gardens by local residents are opening up as virtual living spaces for tourists to explore.
With entrance fees ranging from 10,000 VND to 50,000 VND per visit to cabbage flower gardens, sunflower gardens, hydrangea gardens, or even strawberry gardens, there’s nothing to discuss. However, in return, there is the “light deception” of the garden owners here. Many of you eagerly travel thousands of miles to explore. However, when you arrive, the garden is tiny, the scenery is mediocre, sometimes the garden is “off-season.” There are trees but no flowers, fruits nowhere to be seen, not knowing where the million-like scenery is.
Imagine walking into a garden with withered leaves, not a single flower in sight, who wouldn’t feel a bit frustrated, right?
Notes when checking in at flower gardens in Da Lat: each time you want to visit a flower garden, you need to research beforehand to find reliable gardens. Reduce the tendency to visit gardens on a whim. Sometimes, going on a whim will take you to extremely beautiful places; but in that case, the risk will also be higher. If there is a phone number, you can call to inquire about some information and verify it
3. TRICK Too much trust in photos on the internet.
If you want to go to Da Lat, surely you will search the internet for websites, blogs about Da Lat as well as information about Da Lat. However, the truth is, not every image on there is accurate, my friends. The most common thing is that these sites often use images from a few years ago or another time, causing many people to mistakenly believe that Da Lat is currently as beautiful as shown. The consequence is that many tourists who do not research carefully have been deceived by online sites and visit tourist areas, flower gardens mentioned above… only to return with nothing but disappointment. Embrace the frustration and then throw a sky full of feedback online.
Tips for finding tourist spots in Da Lat: Check multiple websites to verify. Refer to the sharing of travelers who have been to Da Lat and the photos they took here
4. TRICK Da Lat specialties sourced from China
Da Lat is also a paradise for specialties, various dried fruits: dried vegetables, dried jackfruit, and many other types. When you go to Da Lat, buying gifts like dried vegetables or dried fruits is the right thing to do. However, the important thing is that various specialties are imported from China flooding Da Lat and “hiding” under the labels of Da Lat products.
Tips for buying Da Lat specialties: Learn how to differentiate between genuine Da Lat specialties and fake Da Lat specialties. People can research to distinguish.
Besides, there are some types that are only available in Da Lat, so you can rest assured when buying those products.
5. TRICK Misplaced trust
When taking a taxi, many people often trust and ask taxi drivers to recommend restaurants, coffee shops, homestays, places to buy specialties…However, among the taxi drivers, many collaborate with certain shops, locations to boost revenue. Some even conspire to deceive tourists. Regardless of quality, price, and customer feedback, the taxi drivers will take you to the places they have pre-arranged to receive a “huge” commission.
Similarly, with those seemingly “genuine” motorbike taxi drivers who ultimately take you to the “scam machine” of Da Lat specialties.And of course, those “gods” will be scammed beautifully by the team. In short, in Da Lat:Taxi drivers are cons, cons are taxi drivers. Motorbike taxi drivers are cons, cons are motorbike taxi drivers
Tips for buying Da Lat specialties: You can actively research all information beforehand, and in this case, the taxi driver is just a normal driver
6. TRICK Extremely cheap homestays for only 60,000 VND/1 person
It must be said that there are many homestays in Da Lat. Not only increasing in number, the quality and styles of homestays in Da Lat are becoming more diverse and unique, each with its own distinctive mark. Many Da Lat homestays are designed to cater to the check-in needs of tourists. Therefore, instead of choosing hotels, more and more tourists are turning to virtual living homestays.
Usually, homestays in Da Lat have prices ranging from 300,000 – 600,000 VND per night. However, there are also many places advertising cheaper rooms with beautiful photos, and many people have been easily deceived and booked by transferring a deposit in advance to the homestay only to end up disappointed. When they arrive, the homestay is dirty, difficult to access, dark, dusty, noisy… At this point, staying there is not an option, but leaving also feels like a waste of money because the deposit cannot be refunded. Many travelers have had negative experiences during their trip to Da Lat.
Tips for booking hotels when visiting Da Lat: When wanting to book a room online, you should carefully review the overall images and reviews of the place you want to stay. If there is only one corner shown in the photos, be prepared that only that corner may look nice. If there is a video available, that’s the best option. Reviews from customers who have used that homestay before are also very important and useful.
7. Beware of being overcharged when eating at the market in Da Lat
Visiting the night market in Da Lat is a cultural experience that is a must when traveling to Da Lat. Concentrating a large number of visitors like that also creates an environment for overcharging at the Da Lat market. In my personal opinion, I think you should not eat food at the night market. You can easily find eateries located in peaceful areas with very cheap and delicious food, suitable and without overcharging.
Tips for eating in Da Lat: If you want to eat, make sure to ask for the price very clearly, the restaurant must have prices listed or a menu with prices. The prices may still be cheap, but a glass of iced tea could cost tens or hundreds per cup, or main dishes could be very cheap, while side dishes are sky-high. Sometimes questioning the price could lead to being scolded or threatened, and it’s not a pleasant experience.
8. Beware of being charged for taking photos
At the night market in Da Lat, tourists often have the habit of taking selfies in various spaces and landscapes. Many tourists have been charged a fee for: taking photos with stuffed animals outside the market, taking photos with horse carriages at tourist sites, taking photos with people dressed as movie characters, cartoons… If you don’t pay, it won’t end well.
Small tip for you: If you want to take a picture with anyone or anything suspicious, make sure to ask for the price first. Usually, if you want to take a photo together, you will have to pay for it. It can cost from 10-30k for one photo, and even if you use your own camera, you still have to pay.
9. FALL for the “trap” because of the overly genuine salesperson
Many people choose Da Lat market as a souvenir shopping spot for their trip to Da Lat. At Da Lat market, there is a variety of products and a bustling atmosphere with buyers and sellers. Just like many other tourist spots with lots of visitors, the prices here can be quite high. Don’t fall for the warm and enthusiastic free samples from the salesperson and end up being tricked. They will charge you a high price.
Small tip for you: When buying items, stay alert to negotiate the price for a good deal. My bargaining experience at the market is to start at one-third of the price and gradually increase it.
Hopefully, with the above points in mind, you can have more meaningful and enjoyable experiences on your trip to Da Lat, avoiding any unpleasant incidents or scams.
