Notes on Bao Loc – Like Da Lat as it once was

Bao Loc is a city in Lam Dong Province in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. Bao Loc is the closest highland city to Ho Chi Minh City, and the construction of a new expressway has made it more accessible.

I was reading about some recent tourism developments in Bao Loc, which are being built to cash in on weekenders from Ho Chi Minh City.

There are frequent local buses from the popular tourist city of Da Lat, so I got the bus to Bao Loc to see what is happening.

[Local bus from Da Lat to Bao Loc.]

I thought it would be a short ride as Bao Loc is in the same province as Da Lat. It ended up taking 3 hours, not including the time it took driving around Da Lat to pick up more passengers. I should have looked at the time and distance on the map.

From a tourism perspective, there is not a lot going on in Bao Loc. It is pleasant yet unremarkable town. It doesn’t have the old French villas like Da Lat, and the mountains are not as dramatic as in Da Lat. Like Da Lat, Bao Loc has an artificial lake in the city centre, though the lake was being dredged when I visited.

There are nice tree-lined streets, and you can walk around without worrying about getting mown down when trying to cross the road.

If you are stuck for things to see, look on the map for a pagoda.

[Phuoc Hue Pagoda.]

Phuoc Hue Pagoda is not far from the main lake.

Whenever I am in a small city or town in Vietnam, I look for cafes hang out at. There are plenty of cafes in town to chill out in.

In addition to the lake being restored, the 28/3 Park was was also closed for renovation.

I had been travelling around the South Central Coast and Highlands in March of 2025, and every city had 30/4 posters to commemorate the upcoming liberation day anniversary. Each southern city has their own liberation day, and I was in Bao Loc leading up to the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Bao Loc (28 March). If you are in a southern city and see a park with a date in March or April, then you can guess that this is a liberation park.

Bao Loc in 1975 was known as B’Lao Town, and it was the capital of Lam Dong from 1958 to 1975. The provinces and capitals were reorganised after reunification, and Da Lat became the capital of Lam Dong.

It’s hard to imagine now that Bao Loc could have been the capital, but there was a time when Da Lat was not the tourism juggernaut that it is today.

I walked around the peaceful streets of Bao Loc and wondered if this is what Da Lat felt like 30+ years ago.

Bao Loc is starting to get more local media attention, with such headlines as, Is Bao Loc the new Da Lat? It’s also being called a hidden gem, which is probably a sign that it’s no longer a hidden gem.

Most of the tourism activity is outside the city, so the city doesn’t feel like it is becoming the next Da Lat. I didn’t see any westerners when I was there (not even a stray English teacher), and there are no signs in Korean or Chinese.

There are holiday home developments in the surrounding hills with names like Sky Hills and Sakura Gardens, aimed for the short-break market from HCMC. I keep a list of developments in Da Lat and Lam Dong if you want to see more.

[Sky Hills Bao Loc.]

In my previous research about Lam Dong province, I found some plans for various railways in the Central Highlands. One railway was planned to connect a mining project in the highlands to a port, via Bao Loc. I made a map of all of the proposed Central Highlands railways, and this is what Bao Loc would look like if it was connected to a passenger railway system.

[Bao Loc in a futuristic Central Highlands railway network.]

This map has now changed because in July 2025, Binh Thuan province was merged into Lam Dong province. This means that Lam Dong is now a coastal and highland province.

There was also a plan to build a commercial airport on the site of the old Loc Phat airfield.

The railway and airport plans are extremely unlikely to happen, so for now, Bao Loc will retain its sleepy small city charm.

I stayed at the Camellia Hotel, which is located in the city centre near the lake (hopefully filled with water again if you plan to visit).