Self-guided 3 days 3 nights Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak) & Ta Dung (Dak Nong) 08/2022 Tour

I will share my experience from the self-guided 3 day 3 night trip to Buon Ma Thuot & Ta Dung in August 2022 in this post. Buon Ma Thuot - the land of coffee - is the largest city in Dak Lak with the typical beauty of the Central Highlands; Ta Dung lake is known as the "Ha Long Bay on Land", a masterpiece bestowed by nature.
Self-guided 3 days 3 nights Buon Ma Thuot (Dak Lak) & Ta Dung (Dak Nong) 08/2022 Tour
Last updated 04:39 13/11/2023 GMT+7

I booked a sleeper bus with Phuong Trang https://futabus.vn 23:00 from Mien Dong Bus Station to Phuong Trang bus stop in Buon Ma Thuot arriving at 06:00 the next day. The ticket price was 255k VND.
Tip: Buon Ma Thuot also has an airport, suitable for those from the North to fly in and avoid motion sickness.

See pictures of the trip on my Facebook. Note: I don't read Facebook messages so please don't message me.

DAY 1

The first task after arriving at Buon Ma Thuot bus station was... dragging the suitcase across the street, walking 160m to the Huong Me Garden Hotel. I had booked in advance via Agoda. You can contact https://zalo.me/0941504477, the room rate is 250k VND/room for 2 people. If you go as a group of 4, you can get a room for only 350k VND. Huong Me Hotel has a garden, clean rooms, quiet, air conditioner, hot water, cheap price, near the bus station, very good. The first task was quite easy.

07:30 I rented a motorbike from Huong Me hotel, went for breakfast, then visited Dray Sap, Dray Nur and Gia Long waterfalls.

As one of the most famous destinations in Dak Lak, Dray Sap, Dray Nur and Gia Long waterfall complex is not only a place for local people to visit and relax but also an extremely cool destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

You can have breakfast nearby the hotel for 25k VND/bowl of Huế style beef noodles, fish noodle soup, etc. If you have time, you can go into the city center to eat Bun Bo Gio Heo Ba Mo or Bun Chia Co Chua (about 10 mins, but it's in the opposite direction of the falls).
See directions here

The entrance fee for Dray Sap, Dray Nur and Gia Long waterfalls is 80k VND/person. From the foot of Dray Sap falls you can find a bamboo bridge across Dray Nur falls. Go kayaking, jungle trekking, visit the wildlife zoo, explore the longest volcanic cave system in Southeast Asia, etc. here for amazing experiences!

I like discovering Buon Ma Thuot by motorbike. If you want a car and tour guide, you can contact Mr. Phuong https://zalo.me/0976941982, he will make an itinerary, drive and take photos for you. The cost for 7 people for one day is 1,500k VND.

These three falls are located on the mighty Serepok River of Buon Ma Thuot. Dray Sap Falls is called the Husband Falls and Dray Nur is called the Wife Falls. The heavy and large flow creates magnificent scenery. The landscape here will truly take you from one surprise to another.

For lunch I ate at Suoi Tien Restaurant (owned by the boss of Huong Me Hotel).

In the afternoon I:

  • Visited the World Coffee Museum: a architectural work built in Buon Ma Thuot - the coffee capital - with the desire to bring exhibition spaces displaying the formation and development of coffee, as well as coffee culture around the world.
  • Visited Sac Tu Khai Doan Pagoda: This is not only the oldest and first pagoda in Dak Lak but also the last pagoda in Vietnam to be granted imperial seals by the feudal regime.
  • And prayed at Buon Ma Thuot Cathedral.

Entrance fee for the Coffee Museum is 150k VND/person. You can purchase in advance on Klook to save more (15% discount).

The museum architecture consists of 5 curved houses, inspired by the longhouses of the E De people and the communal houses of the Central Highlanders, surrounded by spacious grounds with lots of greenery. In addition to the unique architecture, integrating the cultural quintessence of the Central Highlands ethnic groups while still modern, the World Coffee Museum is also an interesting place for coffee lovers with spaces like exhibitions, conference halls, library and coffee tasting areas, etc.
See directions here

For dinner... Google map "Bun do" and many shops pop up at the market near the cathedral. Each bowl is only 25k VND heart

Buon Ma Thuot has many other attractions that I haven't visited yet such as:

  • Elephant Rock
  • Buon Don (Chu Voi Con O Ban Don song)
  • Ea Kao Lake
  • Thuy Tien Waterfall (Three-Tiered Waterfall)
  • Ancient Knie tree (Bong cay Knie song)
  • Buon Ako Dhong (near Coffee Museum)
  • etc...

I will visit more next time, hi hi.

DAY 2

08:00 on the second day I got on the Limousine from Buon Ma Thuot to Gia Nghia city. Ticket price was 180k VND/person. I booked on https://vexere.com, the car picked me up at Huong Me hotel.

When arriving in Gia Nghia, the Limousine driver had contacted Mai Linh taxi, I simply... switched to the taxi to go to Mr. Dong's house (TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY). The taxi fare was around 750k VND for 07 people. You can also wait for the Hoang Long Dai Nghia bus https://zalo.me/0961878750 to TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY, cheaper option. I chose the taxi to save time from waiting.

The taxi arrived at TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY just after 11am, I went to the restaurant to eat then came back to check-in. I had booked in advance, with room rates from 400k VND up to 2,000k VND. You can check out http://nhachudong.com/ or contact https://zalo.me/0982234232 to choose a room suitable for your budget and number of people. This is the most beautiful homestay in Ta Dung with an extremely impressive design: spacious grounds with a cool swimming pool, sundeck, picnic area, etc...

After tensing my stomach muscles, I relaxed my eye muscles and took a nap until 3:30pm then woke up to take photos at TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY as well as the 800 year old banyan tree national heritage site (locals said the tree is 800 years old).

There are many beautiful photo spots at TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY like the bathtub in the rooms, the outdoor bird houses, the car, the stairs, the pool, the Hello Ta Dung sign, the colorful 3D murals of nature scenes, the stairs to heaven or the gardens around the homestay, etc... Everywhere can yield gorgeous photos at one of the homestays with the best views in Ta Dung.

DAY 3

08:00 in the morning I took a 45 minute boat ride around Ta Dung lake. The pier is about 12km from TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY, traveling to the pier is self-guided, the road has many dangerous curves, drive carefully (luckily there was little traffic).

You can rent a motorbike for 100k VND, the gas station is about 3km away at the intersection if you need to refuel (the pier is a right turn at the intersection, hopefully your bike has enough gas so you don't have to go like me).

The 45 minute boat tour fare is 120k VND/person for joining a shared group, you should contact TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY for their staff to call and ask if there is a boat going soon so you don't have to wait for enough people. Paddle boats are also available here.
See directions here

It was so wonderful to row a boat on the lake, gently gliding past the green islands, breathing the fresh air, immersed in the romantic scenery.

For lunch I ate at Ta Dung K'Jang Restaurant then went back to TA DUNG TOPVIEW HOMESTAY. The Hoang Long Dai Nghia sleeper bus https://zalo.me/0961878750 picked me up at Uncle Dong's house at 11:50pm to go back to Mien Dong Bus Station (fare 200k VND/person). At 19:00 I was back at Mien Dong Bus Station, ending the Buon Ma Thuot - Ta Dung tour.

This trip with the amazing Dray Sap, Dray Nur, Gia Long falls and Ta Dung lake was excellent!