6,000,000 VND
per car, up to 4 people
Before dawn
pickup in Da Lat
Moc Bai
exit and re-entry
19:00-21:00
back in Da Lat
The option
What the private car run is
A private car visa run is the direct version of the Da Lat to Moc Bai trip. A driver picks you up at your hotel or guesthouse in Da Lat before dawn, drives the roughly 300 km down to the Cambodian border at Moc Bai, waits while you clear exit and re-entry, and brings you back the same day. You are home by evening, usually between 19:00 and 21:00.
The price is a flat 6,000,000 VND per car, not per person. That covers up to four passengers. Split four ways it comes to 1,500,000 VND each, which is where the private car stops looking like a luxury and starts looking like the sensible choice for groups. You keep a full night of sleep in your own bed and skip the bus station entirely.
The drive
Route and timing: Da Lat to Moc Bai
The run follows QL20 out of Da Lat, drops through Bao Loc, then joins the ring roads around HCMC before heading west to Tay Ninh and the border. Round trip it is roughly 600 km, most of it mountain road on the first leg. That is why we leave early: the earlier the car gets on the road, the earlier you cross, and the earlier you are home.
A typical private car day looks like this. Pickup in Da Lat before dawn. A stop in the Bao Loc area to collect anyone riding along from there. Arrival at Moc Bai mid-morning, when the border is usually moving well. About an hour at the crossing for both stamps. Lunch somewhere in Tay Ninh on the way back. Then the climb up QL20 again and drop-off at your door in the evening.
Why before dawn?
The border queues build up as the morning goes on, and the return drive is long. Leaving Da Lat early means you hit Moc Bai before the crowd and still have a full evening left when you get back. It also leaves slack in the day, so a slow border crossing or a rain delay on QL20 does not turn into a midnight arrival.
In the fare
What the 6,000,000 VND covers
The private car fare is genuinely door to door. Tolls, fuel, and the driver are in the price, as are the bilingual driver, blankets, water, and snacks for the road. The Tay Ninh fixer who queues with you at immigration is included too. You do not touch money for the car again after booking.
Included
- ✓Private car, up to 4 passengers
- ✓Door-to-door pickup and drop-off
- ✓Driver, tolls, and fuel
- ✓Moc Bai fixer at the border
- ✓Snacks, water, blankets
- ✓WhatsApp updates through the day
Separate line items
- •Cambodia visa at Bavet: 1,100,000 VND
- •90-day Vietnam E-Visa: from 2,400,000 VND
- •Lunch in Tay Ninh, your own
- •Passport photos, if you forgot them
The visas are the part people forget. You still need to actually enter Cambodia and re-enter Vietnam, so the Cambodia visa and a fresh Vietnam visa apply on top of the car fare. The full breakdown, including the sleeper bus combo, is on the Da Lat visa run cost guide.
Pickup
Pickup zones in Da Lat and Bao Loc
Pickup is from your accommodation. Most guests stay around the center of Da Lat, near the lake or the night market, and the car comes to the door. If you are on a steep side street where a car cannot turn, the driver will meet you at the nearest accessible corner and send the exact spot in advance.
The route also collects passengers in the Bao Loc area on the way down, so if you are staying south of Da Lat, you can be picked up there instead and save the early start. When you book, tell us the address or the name of your hotel, and you get a live location pin plus a photo of the vehicle and its license plate before arrival. You know the car, the plate, and the place to stand.
Groups riding together
If two couples or a few friends each want a visa run on the same day, you can share one car and split the flat rate. Everyone still gets their own border paperwork handled; only the ride is shared. That is how four people end up paying 1,500,000 VND each for a private car day.
The border
What happens at Moc Bai
The fixer meets you at Moc Bai and stays with you through the whole crossing, so the border part is the smoothest hour of the day. You exit Vietnam, walk across to Bavet in Cambodia, complete the entry procedure, and walk back through the Vietnam side for your re-entry stamp. The fixer queues with you, handles the forms, and photographs each stamp for the record.
If your passport needs a Cambodia visa, add the 1,100,000 VND add-on and the fixer fills the form and pays the counter fee for you. If your nationality is visa-exempt for Cambodia, you skip that step but still follow the fixer through both stamps. Most nationalities also need a fresh Vietnam visa to re-enter, and the 90-day E-Visa add-on is submitted while you are on the Cambodian side so it is ready when you come back through. Details on both are in the step-by-step visa run guide.
Carry backup cash
Even with the add-ons prepaid, keep about 50 USD in small bills on you. Border fees and the occasional photo or printing request come up, and cash in small notes solves them on the spot.
Compare
Private car vs sleeper bus combo
The sleeper bus combo is the budget route: an overnight bus from Da Lat to HCMC the night before, then a car transfer from the bus station to Moc Bai and back. It starts at 2,500,000 VND for a solo traveler. The private car is a flat 6,000,000 VND per car, whatever the passenger count up to four.
Choose the combo if
- •You travel alone or as a pair
- •You sleep fine on a bus
- •You want the lowest possible price
- •You do not mind an early transfer in HCMC
Choose the private car if
- •You are 3 or 4 people splitting the fare
- •You want a full night in your own bed
- •You travel with kids or older family
- •You want door-to-door, zero transfers
The crossover point is three people. At that size the private car costs the same as three solo combos, and you gain a night of sleep and a full day. At four it is outright cheaper per person than the combo, which is why most group bookings from Da Lat take the car.
Booking
How to book the private car
Booking takes a few minutes. Send your name, your pickup address in Da Lat or Bao Loc, and the number of passengers. Add the Cambodia visa and the 90-day E-Visa if you need them, and the total is locked in before you leave. The car is paid on return to Da Lat, in VND or USD cash or by bank transfer. Visa add-ons accept Wise or Revolut.
Check the live prices page for current rates, or start with the full cost breakdown to see what the day adds up to for your group size.
Your own car to the border
Same-day run from your door in Da Lat, up to four people, flat rate. Sleep in your own bed and be back by evening.