How to Book a Da Lat Visa Run 2026: What to Send, When You Hear Back, How You Pay

The short version

Booking takes five minutes, and almost none of it happens on trip day

You send a few details, the desk confirms them by message the day before, and you pay when the run is done and you are back in Da Lat. No deposit, no prepayment, no card form to fight with at midnight.

Here is the whole flow in one paragraph. You pick your transport, sleeper bus combo or private car, choose any add-ons like the 90-day Vietnam e-visa, send your name, pickup point, and passenger count through the booking form, get a confirmation message the day before with the exact spot and time, do the run, and settle up on return in VND or USD cash or by bank transfer. That is the entire transaction. The rest of this page is the detail on each step, including what happens if you book late or need to cancel.

The booking form lives on the homepage at the Book Now section, and the same options are on the prices page. Both feed the same desk, so use whichever is open. The form itself asks for transport, passengers, add-ons, your date, and contact details, and it shows the total before you send anything, so there are no surprises at the end.

Step one

What info to send

The booking form needs five things from you, and four of them are obvious. Your name, your pickup point, how many passengers, which date, and which transport option. That is it. No passport scan, no flight number, no bank details. The passport matters later, at the border, not at booking time.

The pickup point is the one field people get wrong. Da Lat city pickups cover the hotels and homestays around Xuan Huong Lake, the central market area, and the Bui Thi Xuan backpacker streets. If you are staying outside the center, write the hotel name anyway; the desk will tell you the nearest stop. If you are joining from Bao Loc or Di Linh, say so, because the private car can meet you on QL20 around 05:00 with no extra charge, and that changes the timing. For the bus combo the pickup is a city center stop, and the car meets you at the HCMC station with a name board on arrival.

Passenger count matters for pricing, since the private car is a flat 6,000,000 VND for up to four people and the bus combo is 900,000 VND per person plus 1,600,000 VND per car. If you are a group of three or four, the math on the private car works out better per head, which is why the form asks before it shows a total. Pickup point detail for both options is on the schedule page.

Step two

Which transport to pick

Two options leave Da Lat, and they run on completely different clocks. The sleeper bus combo boards around 22:00, rides overnight to HCMC, hands you to a waiting car with a name board, and reaches Moc Bai about 07:30. The crossing is done by around 08:30, then lunch in Tay Ninh, and the afternoon bus brings you back to Da Lat the next evening. It costs from 900,000 VND per person plus 1,600,000 VND per car, so it is the budget pick.

The private car picks you up at your door at 04:00, meets any Bao Loc or Di Linh passengers on QL20 around 05:00, and reaches Moc Bai about 08:30. Crossing done by around 10:00, lunch in Tay Ninh, and you are home between 19:00 and 21:00 the same day. It is a flat 6,000,000 VND for the whole car, up to four people, which makes it the better deal for groups and the only same-day option from Da Lat.

The full departure times and pickup points are on the schedule page, and every line item of both options is broken out on the cost guide. If you are still deciding, the short version is this: solo and flexible on time, take the bus. Two or more people, or a tight schedule, take the car. The difference is about 2,000,000 to 3,000,000 VND per person once the car is split, and the car buys you a full day back.

Step three

Add-ons worth adding

The booking form has three add-ons, and two of them are near-compulsory for most runners. The Cambodia visa, 1,100,000 VND, is what lets you into Cambodia at Bavet so you can turn around and re-enter Vietnam. It is handled on the spot at the border by the fixer, paid in USD, and most people tick it without thinking. Bring about 45 USD per person in cash for it.

The Vietnam 90-day e-visa, 2,400,000 VND for single entry, is the add-on that actually resets your stay. The desk submits it the moment you exit Vietnam, and it is usually approved before you come back through, so you re-enter on the fresh visa rather than on a new exemption stamp. If you are living in Da Lat on the 90-day cycle, this is the one you book every time. Multiple entry is available as an extra option in the form.

The third add-on is guided support, 250,000 VND online or 1,000,000 VND onsite, for people who want someone to walk them through the border windows rather than follow the fixer. First-timers who are nervous about the four stamps usually take the online tier. The whole add-on list with current prices is on the cost guide, and the 90-day visa process has its own walkthrough if you want the details before booking.

Step four

The confirmation message

Once the form goes through, you hear back the day before the run, by message. That confirmation carries the exact pickup spot and the time window, and it is the message you reply to if anything changes. The driver confirms again when they are on the way, so you are never standing on a corner guessing.

For the private car, that window opens early. Be ready 15 minutes before your slot, because the driver knocks at 04:00 sharp and the border does not wait. For the bus combo, boarding is around 22:00 and you want to be at the stop by 21:45. The confirmation message tells you which stop, because there are a few in the center and the exact one depends on where you are staying.

If you booked from Bao Loc or Di Linh, the confirmation sets the QL20 meet point and the 05:00-ish time, and it is worth keeping that message open on the morning of the run, since the drivers know the highway coffee shops and the meet spot is precise. The full timing breakdown of both options is on the what-time page if you want to know what happens after the pickup, minute by minute.

Step five

How payment works

You pay when the run is done, on return in Da Lat. That is the policy, because the only thing that matters in the morning is you and your documents, not your wallet. Accepted forms are VND or USD cash, bank transfer, and for the visa add-ons specifically, Wise or Revolut.

Cash is the default for most people, and both currencies work. VND for the transport, and the Cambodia visa at the border is paid in USD anyway, about 45 USD per person, so a small USD stash covers that. The Vietnam e-visa add-on can be settled by bank transfer or through Wise or Revolut, which is handy for digital nomads who do not carry that kind of cash around Da Lat.

One note on the total: the form shows it before you send, and the price you see is the price you pay, because the transport rates are flat for 2026. No surge pricing, no fuel surcharge added at the end. If a holiday week like Tet is involved, the desk will tell you before you book rather than after. The complete price breakdown for both transport options and all add-ons is on the cost guide if you want to check the math yourself, and the payment guide goes through each way to settle, from cash at the border to Wise for the visa add-ons.

Plan changes

Cancellation and booking late

Cancellation is free up to 24 hours before departure, no forms, no fee, just a message. Since you have not paid anything yet, there is nothing to refund, which makes the policy painless in both directions. Plans change, weather happens, and the desk would rather reschedule you than run an empty car.

Booking late is where the rules tighten. The transport side is usually flexible, because the private car has a fixed price regardless of headcount, but the add-ons are not. The 90-day Vietnam e-visa needs processing time, so the desk needs enough lead time to submit it the moment you exit Vietnam. If your visa expires tomorrow and you are booking tonight, say so in the message, because the answer depends on when the e-visa can land, and that is a conversation, not a form field.

The other late-booking factor is holiday weeks. Around Tet and National Day, the border runs slower and the roads fill up, so slots go first and the schedule stretches. If you are booking within a few days of a holiday, book the earliest slot you can and expect the return end of the window. The schedule page covers holiday timing, and the step-by-step guide walks through what happens on the day if this is your first run.

Quick answers

Booking questions, short answers