Your Second Vietnam Trip: Highlands and the South

If you have already done the first-timer circuit, this route gives you something new: cool highland air, coffee country and a quieter south. It starts with a direct flight into Da Lat and ends with the Mekong, so nothing repeats. Ten days is enough to feel the shift in landscape without rushing.

Who is this route for?

It suits return visitors who want a different Vietnam. It also suits couples and friends who prefer cool weather, cafes and villages over big-city sightseeing.

Fly in to Da Lat. Lien Khuong Airport lists AirAsia flying to Kuala Lumpur International¹. Check current schedules, because direct routes change. You can fly home from Ho Chi Minh City, listed with Malaysia Airlines, VietJet Air, Vietnam Airlines and AirAsia².

The route at a glance

• Days 1 to 3: Da Lat, for cool air, gardens and cafes.
• Days 4 and 5: Buon Ma Thuot, for coffee country.
• Day 6: fly to Ho Chi Minh City.
• Day 7: a city day, kept light.
• Days 8 and 9: the Mekong Delta, based in Can Tho.
• Day 10: back to Ho Chi Minh City and your flight home.

Day by day

Days 1 to 3: Da Lat

Lien Khuong Airport is about 30 km south of Da Lat³, so allow time for the road. Keep Day 1 light: settle in, walk the lakeside and eat early. Da Lat is cooler than the coast, so bring a light jacket.

Day 2 can be a slow circuit of gardens, cafes and a market. Day 3 is for a village or a short hill outing, with a long lunch. See our Da Lat guide for stay areas and character.

Days 4 and 5: Buon Ma Thuot

Travel to Buon Ma Thuot on Day 4. Plan most of the day for this move, and do not add a sight on arrival. Buon Ma Thuot is a working highland city, and its pace is different from Da Lat’s.

Spend Day 5 on coffee plantations, a market and a waterfall if the weather is kind. Our Buon Ma Thuot guide explains what to see and where to stay.

Day 6: fly to Ho Chi Minh City

Take a morning flight and keep the afternoon free. Ho Chi Minh City has a tropical savanna climate, with a rainy season roughly May to November and a dry season from December to April⁴. Carry a light rain layer in the wet months.

Day 7: a light city day

Skip the headline tourist circuit if you did it before. Instead, spend the morning at a market you have not visited and the afternoon in a quiet neighbourhood cafe. If you have not seen Cu Chi, Ben Dinh is the site closer to the city, with reconstructed tunnels enlarged for visitors⁵.

Days 8 and 9: the Mekong Delta

Move to Can Tho on Day 8 and spend a night there. Our Can Tho guide explains the floating markets and delta base. Day 9 is for a quiet boat trip through canals, then back toward Saigon in the afternoon.

For a gentler second day, choose Ben Tre, a coconut-country stop, instead of a long boat day. Our Mekong Delta guide shows how many days to give it.

Day 10: fly home

Keep the morning free and leave for the airport with time to spare.

Where should you base yourself?

Choose areas, not hotel names.

• Da Lat: near the lake for walking, or on a hillside for quiet.
• Buon Ma Thuot: the city centre, near markets and cafes.
• Ho Chi Minh City: a central district you have not stayed in before.
• Can Tho: the riverfront, near the floating-market boats.

How can you adjust it?

For eight days, drop Buon Ma Thuot or the Mekong night. For more time, add a coastal stop such as Vung Tau, a weekend-style stop near Saigon. In the wet months, keep the south flexible and read our heat and humidity planning guide.

What should you book ahead?

• Your flights, and the Da Lat to Buon Ma Thuot move.
• The flight from Buon Ma Thuot to Saigon.
• A boat or guide in the Mekong, so you are not negotiating on the day.

What will it cost?

Price it in lines: flights, internal flights, four bases, transfers, tickets and meals. Prices change by season, so enter current quotes in the trip budget builder. To compare with a first-timer plan, read Vietnam 14 days: adding Sapa, Hue and the Mekong. Browse more itineraries for other routes.