August 2025. There are two kinds of people who retire in Vietnam. Those that can take the heat at sea level and those who can’t. Luckily, Vietnam has a perfect place for both kinds of people.
And that is a good thing. Because both kinds of people, beach lovers and cooler hill station lovers, will absolutely love Vietnam. Today’s report is about one of the most beautiful hill stations in Southeast Asia, called Da Lat in Vietnam.
Even if you are a Vietnam beach lover normally, you will be happy to know that Vietnam also has a beautiful hill station to go to when you are ready to enjoy a cool mountain environment.
I first came to Vietnam in 2014 and really loved the place. Since then, I have been all over Vietnam, from Hanoi down to Phu Quoc. There are many great places to live in Vietnam, but Da Lat is one of our top three places.
Da Lat is a mile high in the sky, surrounded by gorgeous rolling hills. But it is never too hot or too cold. Some call it the eternal spring. When you drive in the country around Da Lat, you will see farms where produce is grown, greenhouses where flowers are grown, and tea gardens.
I travel the world and report on the best places to retire overseas. I left the United States 18 years ago, and I have been to 73 countries so far. I am happy to report that Vietnam remains one of the best places to live, as I will now explain.
The beautiful woman you see in the video with me is Qiang from the Hobo Ventures YouTube channel. I met Qiang in Malaysia in 2016, and we have slowly traveled to every continent in the world except Antarctica.
How We Traveled to Da Lat
After a month in Nha Trang, we took a luxury bus to Da Lat. The luxury bus took 3 hours and cost $12 USD per person. Bus Company. Links to everything I share in this video are on a webpage. Just click the first one in the description below this video. When the luxury bus dropped us off in Da Lat, we took a Grab taxi to our accommodations.
Favorite Area of Da Lat
Our favorite area of Da Lat is shown as the red circle on the Google Map below. This area is fun to hang out in.
We stay in this favorite area of Da Lat so we can walk to all of our favorite restaurants, markets, and things to do. It is fun to walk around this area because it has beautiful architecture, fun shops, and other interesting small businesses.
In this video, I will share my updated cost of living numbers, but the full written report includes retirement desirability factors such as Medical, Walkability, Internet, Food, Weather, Things to Do, Social considerations, Expat Community, Real Estate, along with my Overall Retirement Desirability Score for Da Lat, Vietnam.
Okay, here are my estimated costs of living converted into US dollars if the two of us moved to Da Lat year-round on a tight budget. As I go, I will also share what more typical middle-range expats might spend.
Estimated Cost to Retire in Da Lat, Vietnam
Rents: Our friend Red just rented a 2-bedroom townhouse in Da Lat for $241 USD per month. Here is my report about how to find perfect apartments for cheap around the world.
So, I will show you a table of all expenses in a moment. I will use $250 per month for our lower rent estimate and $575 per month for the middle cost-of-living estimate for expats who want a little more space.
If you are willing to ride public transportation or drive a scooter 10 minutes outside Da Lat’s central area, you can save an additional 20 to 40% on rent.
Utilities: The weather is perfect year-round in Da Lat, so you don’t need AC or Heat. So your utilities are much cheaper here than in other parts of Vietnam. We estimate that the year-round average for our utilities would be about $30 USD per month. The utilities would cost more for the larger space, starting at around $40 USD per month.
Groceries: When possible, we would purchase fruits and vegetables from the public market, small shops, and street vendors to save money. But we would also shop in grocery stores for nonperishable foods and other things like shampoo and detergents. We estimate about $230 per month for groceries. Other expats are likely to shop more often in expensive grocery stores, often spending more than $350 per month on groceries.
Restaurants: We would eat out five times per week, mostly in more local-style restaurants a few blocks back from the tourist areas, for about $1.5 to $2.5 USD per meal per person and one or two splurges per month of $6 to $10 USD per meal per person. If you add all that up, we would spend around $200 per month for the two of us in restaurants. We may have a beer here and there, but that is covered below in alcohol.
Other expats are likely to eat more often at expensive expat-style restaurants and less in local-style restaurants, and cook less at home, so they would likely spend more like $350 per month for 2 people in restaurants. It is lifestyle-dependent.
Cell Phone Data: The cost to get a single prepaid SIM card for your unlocked smartphone is about $7 USD per month. When we were out of the house together, both phones could be online using the hotspot. Other expat couples are likely to buy two prepaid SIM cards so they would spend $14 USD per month.
Laundry: Many long-term apartments in Da Lat have a washing machine and my above grocery estimate includes laundry detergent, so laundry would cost nothing extra. People in SE Asia hang dry their clothes.
Drinking Water: Reverse osmosis delivery in 19-liter jugs is about $1.30 per jug. So we would spend about $15 USD per month on RO water.
Internet: Many apartments include 15 MBPS WIFI in the rent. But other expats might be willing to buy their own dedicated WIFI for 60 MBPS up and down for about $16 USD for in-home wifi.
Transportation: The city of Da Lat is very centralized, so we just walked everywhere. They also have Grab Taxi, Grab Motorcycle, and City buses. It seems like we averaged about $2 USD per Grab taxi ride. Grab scooter is about half that. But, we would walk mostly and spend about $22 USD per month for transportation.
Other expats may take more Grab Taxis, walk less, and possibly buy a scooter, so I estimate $120 per month for them.
Alcohol (Optional): Domestic beers in corner markets are about $0.60 USD for a standard 330 ML can. In bars and restaurants, domestic beers range from around $1 to $3 USD. So, we estimate about $80 per month on alcohol for the two of us.
Other expats often spend a higher amount on imported foreign or craft beers in convenience stores, bars, and restaurants, so we estimate about $200 USD per month for two people.
Entertainment (Optional): We would budget about $200 per month for entertainment for the two of us. We generally enjoy doing more do-it-yourself kinds of entertainment, so other expats would spend a little more, maybe $300 per month, for the 2 of them?
Estimated Costs to Retire in Da Lat, Vietnam
|
Da Lat, Vietnam |
Lower (USD) |
Middle, (USD) |
|
Rent |
250 |
575 |
|
Utilities |
30 |
40 |
|
Groceries |
230 |
350 |
|
Restaurants |
200 |
350 |
|
Cell Data |
7 |
14 |
|
Laundry |
0 |
0 |
|
Drinking Water |
15 |
15 |
|
Internet |
16 |
16 |
|
Transportation |
22 |
120 |
|
Total |
$770 |
$1480 |
|
|
|
|
|
Alcohol |
80 |
200 |
|
Optional Total |
$850 |
$1680 |
|
|
|
|
|
Entertainment |
200 |
300 |
|
Optional Total |
$1050 |
$1980 |
We gathered this data with our feet on the ground here in July of 2025, so adjust for inflation after that. The above lower estimated cost of living would be if the two of us lived in Da Lat on a tight budget.
The middle estimate is just an example of what more typical expats might spend if they moved here.
You should also add anything to the above table that you spend money on in your home country that is not listed in the above table. Presumably, you find those things necessary in life.
To do that, visit Numbeo Da Lat and add anything not mentioned in the above table. Anything not on Numbeo, you should add during your exploratory visit to Da Lat, so you learn your personal cost of living before deciding to move here.
Never move anywhere until you have visited first personally to verify the living costs for your lifestyle and needs. I am not guaranteeing these prices. These are just my notes and estimates from the time of my visit and this post. Your costs will likely be drastically different depending on your lifestyle and the time since this post.
More typical expats’ living costs in Da Lat range from about $1000 to $2500 per month. But people who spend that much often have higher savings, incomes, or pensions. They often report spending more on accommodations and entertainment, eating out more, traveling more, and drinking more alcohol. Many also have more expensive cars, houses, or apartments.
Many of the expats we meet living overseas are self-insured for medical care. That means that not everyone buys health insurance overseas. They just pay for services as they need them. That probably sounds crazy to many of you.
So start with health insurance and consider your options later, after you have lived in your new country for several years, and learn what typical health care costs are the aging population pays for medical procedures in your adopted country.
To understand what it would cost you to live here, you must put your feet on the ground, see how you would choose to live, eat, and entertain yourself, and add it all up. It doesn’t matter what anyone else spends because we are all different.
Make Sure to Have an Emergency Fund
If you are going to try to retire cheaply offshore, make sure to read my report, The Two Biggest Risks of Retiring Early for Cheap Offshore, which explains why you should have emergency funds available for unexpectedly large expenses (and how much).
Vietnam Visas
Tourist Visa: If you are going to visit Vietnam, make sure to apply online and receive your 90-day visa before traveling here. There are websites pretending to be the official website. So use this official government website to apply.
With this visa, you can stay in the country for up to 90 days. If you want to stay longer, exit Vietnam and go to any nearby country. Once you are out of Vietnam, apply for another 90-day visa while you are outside the country. It takes 3 to 4 days to get your new visa. This is called a visa run.
Thousands of foreigners live in Vietnam and do visa runs like this every 90 days. Some people say you can not retire in Vietnam for this reason. But we have met at least 40 or 50 people all over Vietnam who are retired here and do visa runs every 90 days.
Retiree Visa: Vietnam has no retirement visa. Some people are saying that Vietnam will offer retirement visas soon. I will believe it when I see it.
Foreigners living in Vietnam either do visa runs every 90 days or they get one of the other visas, such as tourist visas, business visas, marriage visas, working visas, investor visas, among others.
I suggest you come visit Vietnam on a tourist Visa before spending time or money applying for other visas. While here, chat with the expats you see everywhere and ask them which visa they have and recommend.
Expat’s Living in Da Lat, Vietnam
2025 Updates
New Restaurants
We ate at many of the same restaurants as shared in the earlier reports below. But here are a few new ones we tried for the first time and recommend.
Trang’s Cookery Restaurant: Margherita pizza 175k, Grilled veg salad 145k
Goc ha thanh: Fried Spring roll 99k Tofu curry 89k
Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm Quê 2: Bun Dau 49k, Bun Dau Chay 25k
Blue Parrot Mexican Grill: Burrito bean and cheese 129k, 3 beef taco 149k, beer 29k
Tiệm ăn Đà Lạt Phố – Restaurant: Banh my chao beef 79k, Vegetarian bread pan 79k, Avocado smoothie 49k, beer 25k
CAFETERIA – MEXICAN BURGER TACOS: Chicken taco 2 pcs 130k, Vegetarian burger 120k, free fries
Vegan Heaven: Bun riue 55k, Bun hue 55k, Summer roll 10k
Bếp Chay Thiên Bình (Veg): Buffet 50k, noodle soup 30k
Hỷ Lạc Chay (Veg): Best noodle place – bun riue 35k
Nhà hàng Chay Thực Dưỡng Đà Lạt (Veg): Brown rice mixed dishes 50k, Porridge 30k
Buffet chay NOW and HERE (Veg): Buffet 79k
New Cafes/Bars
Here are a few new bars and cafes we tried and recommend this time.
Beeppub: Whisky shot 90k, happy hour 5-8pm 50%, Rock bands at 9PM
The Green Coffee: Qiang’s favorite coffee shop. Coffee with milk 25k, salter coffee 25k
Quán Hoa Sữa: Fun to sit and watch people in the evenings. Soy milk 15k
Maze Bar: Bar is fun because it is a Maze you have to find your way through. Salt coffee 65k, ice coffee 50k
Chốn Bình Yên Coffee: Black coffee 49k, salted coffee 49k
Gấu ‘s Cafe: Americano 40k, Hot milk 35k
Kem Phung: Avocado ice cream 45k
Marché Sky-Rooftop Bar: City view, Jazz Music. Whisky coke 169k
New Services
Zic Zac Gym: This is the gym where we worked out.
VP Bank: This ATM allowed me to pull out 10 million Dong ($381 USD). Many other ATMs limit withdrawals to 5 million or less.
MB Bank: allows 5 million withdrawals ($190 USD).
Crazy House: Fun place to go see. Click the link to see if the pictures look fun to you.
Dalat GO! Hypermarket: The Biggest mall in Dalat. Also has a Cinema, a Bowling Alley, Retail Stores, and a Large Supermarket.
Public Market: Best deals are in the building behind the roundabout.
Beauty Clinic: Mani-Pedi
Feel free to grab a free copy of my eBook, How to Fire Your Boss and Travel the World, and How to Pay for it All.
And if you would like to see the best places to retire in Vietnam and the expats that I have interviewed all over Vietnam, browse through my Vietnam YouTube Playlist.