Lam Dong province
Wedged towards the southern end of the Central Highlands, the rolling hills and lush landscape of Lam Dong province have attracted domestic and international visitors ever since the founding of the provincial capital, Da Lat, in 1897. The province boasts a comfortably temperate climate and tremendously fertile soil -- both of which have helped it develop as a tourist retreat (the original intention) and as an agricultural centre producing some of the finest fresh produce in the region.
Once linked to Vietnam's coast by both rail and road, today the railway has been reduced to a short touristic spur jutting out of Da Lat, but the province retains a comprehensive network of roads bringing into relatively easy reach many of the province's best attractions. If you're in Lam Dong, aside from Da Lat town itself you'll be there to visit the lakes and waterfalls, enjoy the mountain roads and scenery and of course visit some of Vietnam's most contrived tourist "attractions" -- you've not really experienced kitsch till you've done Lam Dong.
The province is surrounded by Binh Phuoc, Dak Nong and Dak Lak to the west and north, Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan to the east and Binh Thuan and Bien Hoa to the south. The most common approaches are direct from Saigon, via Phan Rang Thap Cham on the coast or from Buon Ma Thuot further north in the highlands -- despite all these centres having regular (and inexpensive) bus transportation links, the vast majority of tourists arrive in Da Lat via the Open Tour minibuses.
