Skip to content The road from Da Lat to Nha Trang
Leave Da Lat on Highway 27C, which runs east out of the hills, then crosses pine forest to the Khanh Le pass, a 33 km stretch of bends that ends on the coastal plain. The whole trip is about 135 km and takes 3 to 3¾ hours by private car. Daylight makes the difference here: the descent is a long series of hairpins with a rock face on one side and a drop on the other, and a calm driver who brakes early and keeps off the horn matters more than on any flat road.
If you’ve been in Da Lat’s 17°C evenings, notice the temperature change on the way down. Nha Trang is hot, so pack a light layer on top. For the Da Lat end of the trip, see the Da Lat page, and for the beach at the other end the Nha Trang page.
Is the Khanh Le pass open?
The pass is open to all vehicles, in daylight only. Landslides on 16 and 17 November 2025 cut the road completely. It reopened on 24 December 2025 for vehicles under 5 tonnes and cars with 16 seats or fewer, and since 12 February 2026 it has been open to all vehicles from 5 am to 6 pm. Our sedans, 7-seaters, limousine vans and 16-seaters all qualify.
Work is still going on. Press reports on 9 September 2026 said repairs at nine landslide-prone points were around 40–50% complete, with a target of 5 October 2026, and short closures of up to an hour were scheduled for slope work. The rainy season on this coast runs roughly October to December, so heavy rain can still close the pass for a few hours or a day. If it shuts on your date, we’ll tell you and suggest an earlier or later departure, or the longer route on Highway 27B.
Plan to be through the pass well before 6 pm. A morning departure from Da Lat is the safe choice.
Car or bus from Da Lat to Nha Trang?
For one person the bus is cheaper. For two or more with luggage, the private car makes more sense. Limousine vans and buses run about 110 departures a day, at 180,000–550,000₫ a seat (Vexere, 2026), and take about 3½ hours on the road, or 4 to 5 hours once you add the pickup round and the depot at each end. Marketplace listings for a private car on this route run from about 1 to 2.1 million ₫.
A booked car collects you from your Da Lat hotel’s door, gives you the luggage room, and drops you at your hotel in Nha Trang with no depot in between. You also know the driver and the vehicle in advance, and the price is fixed. The standard we hold drivers to is a non-smoking, clean car with working seatbelts and no overpowering air freshener, which counts for a lot on 33 km of bends.
What to do on the way
Most people want one stop, and the best is a lookout on the pass. The road is among the most scenic in the south, and on a clear morning the view down to the coast is worth five minutes. Skip it in cloud or rain.
If you arrive in Nha Trang before 6 pm, the Po Nagar Cham towers are at the northern end of town and make a good first stop on a long day. Add a stop when you book, or just ask the driver.
Choosing your car and your day
A sedan or VinFast is fine for two people. Take a 7-seater for a family of four or five, anyone tall, or a lot of luggage. Child seats are on request.
Some Da Lat hotels sit up narrow lanes, and the driver may stop at the end of the lane and help with bags. In Nha Trang, tell us the hotel name at checkout so the driver goes to the right door on the seafront or in the quieter streets behind it.
If you are doing both ends of the highlands and coast, the Mui Ne to Da Lat route links Da Lat to the south, and the booking box prices any combination. If you’re flying in, Lien Khuong airport is about 150 km from Nha Trang by the same road.
Stops worth asking for
- Khanh Le pass lookouts: The 33 km pass is all bends, with views down to the coast. Ask the driver for a pull-in on a clear morning. Not a place to stop in cloud or rain.
- Po Nagar Cham towers, Nha Trang: The brick towers are at the northern end of town and close at 6 pm, so a stop on arrival works if you leave Da Lat by about noon.