Where should I sleep?

Downtown, around Nguyen Tat Thanh and Le Duan. Y Ngong, the square, and the afternoon bún đỏ streets are a short ride away. Lak Lake and Yok Don are day trips, not the usual hotel address.

When does bun do start?

From about 15:00 or 16:00 on Le Hong Phong. Noon is too early, so make it the mid-afternoon stop after Khải Đoan or the museums.

When is the coffee festival?

Every two years in March, with the main stage on October 10 Square. The ninth edition ran 9–13 March 2025: the opening at 20:00 on 10 March, a street parade from the Ngã Sáu monument at 15:30 that afternoon, and the closing at 20:00 on 13 March. The Buon Don elephant fair was on the same week's program. Confirm the 2027 dates before you book.

Is this a beach trip after the Phu Yen merger?

From 1 July 2025 Phu Yen and Dak Lak are one province, and the administrative center is Buon Ma Thuot. The city is still the highland coffee town. The coast is a separate ride. Nha Trang is its own trip.

Fly into BMV: about 60 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City and about 1 hour 45 minutes from Hanoi, then a taxi or Grab into town. There is no passenger train.

Dak Lak

Buon Ma Thuot

The coffee capital of the Central Highlands. Drink a slow phin, see the coffee museum and Dray Nur, take the dugout on Lak Lake, and eat bún đỏ on Le Hong Phong in the afternoon. Two days suits coffee lovers heading into the highlands.

●●●●○ Worth a special trip in this corridor

November to April Coffee Mountains Markets Family

Photo: Rdavout · CC BY-SA 3.0

Time2 days

Get thereBuon Ma Thuot Airport (BMV). About 60 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City

Best monthsNovember to April

Start with a phin. Buon Ma Thuot trades in robusta, and the morning is a slow drip on a low table before the heat. October 10 Square, Quảng trường 10 tháng 3, is the roundabout in the middle of town: a tank under a white arch, a statue on the column, motorbikes circling. Stay when the highland coffee day is the trip. Choose Nha Trang when it is the beach, and Da Lat when it is the pine hills.

Late morning is the coffee museum. The World Coffee Museum stands on Nguyen Dinh Chieu in Tan Loi. An adult ticket is 150,000 VND and a child from 7 to 12 pays 40,000 VND. The shows are sold separately. The museum lists two sets of hours, 7:00–18:00 and 8:00–17:00, so go between 8:00 and 17:00 to be safe. Trung Nguyen Coffee Village is a different campus on the edge of town, with coffee gardens and longhouse displays, on its own ticket.

Dak Lak Museum and Bao Dai Palace share 02 Y Ngong, a short ride from the downtown hotels. The museum is three floors of ethnology, history, and natural history, at 30,000 VND for an adult and 20,000 VND for a child. Go on a weekday morning to miss the school groups, and walk out to the longhouse model behind the building. The palace is the 1926 French-era villa later used by Bao Dai, a monument rather than a hotel, and 45 to 60 minutes covers it. The old prison at 18 Tan Thuat is the yellow French-built compound kept as a heritage site. Give it 45 minutes in the morning.

Noon is too early for bún đỏ. The stalls on Le Hong Phong open from about 15:00 or 16:00: thick red noodles in a pork-and-crab broth, with shrimp paste on the side. Before that, Khải Đoan pagoda in the Phan Boi Chau area takes 30 to 45 minutes, and late afternoon softens the light on its wooden hall. Ako Dhong, on the north edge, is the quiet evening: Êđê longhouses and garden cafes, free to walk through.

The half-day south is Dray Nur, a curtain about 250 m wide on the Serepok, about 25 to 30 km out by car. Swim only where the staff allow it. The rock is slippery. Lak Lake, about 45 km east, is a dugout at sunset: a boat at Buon Jun is 80,000 VND for 30 minutes, and the Lak tourism area charges 150,000 VND for two guests for 30 minutes. Yok Don, about 40 km west, is a walk beside retired elephants, not a ride. The park operator's half day runs 08:00–11:00 or 13:30–16:30, at 850,000 VND for the first adult and 650,000 VND for each extra guest, plus park entry of 60,000 VND for an adult, 20,000 VND for a Vietnamese student, and 10,000 VND for a child. Book ahead, because elephant time is limited, and confirm full-day prices when you book.

Common questions

Where should I sleep?: Downtown, around Nguyen Tat Thanh and Le Duan. Y Ngong, the square, and the afternoon bún đỏ streets are a short ride away. Lak Lake and Yok Don are day trips, not the usual hotel address.
When does bun do start?: From about 15:00 or 16:00 on Le Hong Phong. Noon is too early, so make it the mid-afternoon stop after Khải Đoan or the museums.
When is the coffee festival?: Every two years in March, with the main stage on October 10 Square. The ninth edition ran 9–13 March 2025: the opening at 20:00 on 10 March, a street parade from the Ngã Sáu monument at 15:30 that afternoon, and the closing at 20:00 on 13 March. The Buon Don elephant fair was on the same week's program. Confirm the 2027 dates before you book.
Is this a beach trip after the Phu Yen merger?: From 1 July 2025 Phu Yen and Dak Lak are one province, and the administrative center is Buon Ma Thuot. The city is still the highland coffee town. The coast is a separate ride. Nha Trang is its own trip.
How do I arrive?: Fly into BMV: about 60 minutes from Ho Chi Minh City and about 1 hour 45 minutes from Hanoi, then a taxi or Grab into town. There is no passenger train.

Top attractions in Buon Ma Thuot

Dray Nur Waterfall Thác Dray Nur

A curtain of white water about 250 m wide on the Serepok, about 25 to 30 km south of Buon Ma Thuot.

5.0 ★★★★★ Editor

Half day · Check on arrival

Ako Dhong Buôn Akô Dhông

Walk the Ede longhouses at Buon Ako Dhong, about 2 km north of the center in Tan Loi.

4.0 ★★★★☆ Editor

Check on arrival · Check on arrival

Trung Nguyen Coffee Village Làng cà phê Trung Nguyên

Walk the old buildings and coffee trees at Trung Nguyen Coffee Village.

4.0 ★★★★☆ Editor

Check on arrival · No entry ticket

Bao Dai Palace Biệt điện Bảo Đại

Tour the 1926 villa at 02 Y Ngong, the French resident's house later used by Bao Dai.

3.0 ★★★☆☆ Editor

Check on arrival · Check on arrival

Khai Doan Pagoda Chùa Sắc Tứ Khải Đoan

A wooden hall hung with yellow lanterns, a carved stair, and a white pavilion across a quiet courtyard in t…

3.0 ★★★☆☆ Editor

30 to 45 minutes · Check on arrival

Buon Ma Thuot Prison Nhà đày Buôn Ma Thuột

The yellow French-built prison at 18 Tan Thuat, kept as a revolutionary heritage site: arched blue doors, t…

3.0 ★★★☆☆ Editor

45 minutes · Check on arrival

Events

Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Festival Lễ hội Cà phê Buôn Ma Thuột

9–13 March 2025. Opening 20:00 on 10 March and closing 20:00 on 13 March at October 10 Square. Held every two years. Later dates: Check on arrival.

Every two years in March, the coffee festival puts its main stage on October 10 Square, Quảng trường 10 thá…

Side trips from Buon Ma Thuot

Da Lat

A cool mountain town in the Central Highlands, with pine hills, flower gardens and a lake in the centre.

Nha Trang

A beach city on the south-central coast, with a long city beach, a bay full of islands, and mud baths.

Ho Chi Minh City

Former Saigon in the south, with Thảo Điền, Japanese streets, and Chợ Lớn.

Buon Ma Thuot by interest

Dining and F&B

Pagodas and the square

Waterfalls and lakes

Museums and the prison

Shopping

Getting there and around

Fly into Buon Ma Thuot Airport (BMV), in Hoa Thang commune. Flights from Ho Chi Minh City take about 60 minutes and from Hanoi about 1 hour 45 minutes. Da Nang has flights too. By road the city is about 350 km from Ho Chi Minh City, roughly 8 hours by bus at about 200,000–400,000 VND, and about 1,400 km from Hanoi. Da Lat is the road over the hills. There is no passenger train.

In town, Grab and taxis do the work. The coffee museum, Khải Đoan, the prison, and Y Ngong are all short rides from the hotels around Nguyen Tat Thanh and Le Duan. Dray Nur, Lak Lake, Yok Don, and Ea Kao need a car or a tour. Ea Kao is the nearer lake, just south of town. Do not confuse it with Lak. Rain slows the hill roads, so leave slack on a waterfall or lake day.