October is a remarkable month for Da Lat — the Da Lat Vegetarian Food Festival brings highland plant-based cuisine to the foreground; the wet season is easing from September’s peak but remains significant (73% rain chance, 94% humidity); and the city transitions toward the dry-season character that makes it most famous. The highland vegetable harvest (artichokes, cabbages, carrots) peaks in October; the strawberry season has another flush; and the night market’s culinary offering is at its most varied. October’s Da Lat is excellent for food-focused visitors.
Weather in Da Lat in October
- Temperature: 20–27°C (68–81°F) — easing from the wet-season peak
- Rainfall: High (73% chance) — easing from September
- Humidity: 94% — the highest of the year
- Wind: 9.6 mph
- Daylight: 11.9 hours
Events in October
- Da Lat Vegetarian Food Festival (October): A celebration of the Central Highlands’ plant-based cuisine — street food stalls across the city serve the vegetable and tofu dishes that Da Lat’s highland farms make possible; restaurant specials and cooking demonstrations at various venues
Best Things to Do in Da Lat in October
Da Lat Night Market: Harvest Season
October’s Da Lat Night Market is at its most varied — the highland vegetable harvest (artichokes, black cardamom, purple cabbages, and the last of the wet-season produce) fills the market stalls alongside the beginning of the dry-season fruit varieties. The Da Lat Vegetarian Food Festival gives the market its most interesting October character: stalls specialising in artichoke tea, tofu prepared in highland styles, and the deep-fried pastry specialities that Da Lat’s Chinese-Vietnamese community has developed into an art form. October evenings at the night market are cool and atmospheric even in the rain — the canopied stalls and the post-rain highland air make it the year’s best food-crawl month.
Xuan Huong Lake: Transition
October’s Xuan Huong Lake is transitioning from the wet-season peak toward the dry-season clarity — the water level is still high, the gardens are vivid green, but the mist is beginning to thin toward the end of the month. The Da Lat Vegetarian Food Festival brings cooking demonstrations and food events to the lakeside area; the promenade around the lake in October has the most interesting food-culture crossover of the year. An October morning lake circuit (bicycle hire from the lakeside stalls) combined with a stop at the Vegetarian Food Festival stalls in the adjacent park area makes an excellent October morning programme.
Da Lat Coffee Farm Tours
October marks the beginning of Da Lat’s coffee pre-harvest period — the robusta and arabica plants are heavy with fruit approaching their main harvest. The farm tours around the Cau Dat plantation area (the highest elevation coffee growing area in Vietnam, at 1,600 metres) are excellent in October: the plants are laden with cherry-red coffee berries, the highland mist gives the terraced plantation rows a photogenic quality, and the farm guides explain the pre-harvest preparation. The Cau Dat train stop (accessible on the tourist railway from Da Lat station) gives the most scenic access to the plantation area.
Also Worth Doing
- Da Lat Vegetarian Food Festival: Check the specific programme for your visit year — cooking demonstrations, market events, and restaurant specials run throughout October
- Artichoke harvest: October is artichoke peak season — the Da Lat artichoke tea (a highland speciality brewed from the artichoke heart) is best at this time and available from the night market stalls
- Cable car to Tuyen Lam Lake: October’s easing rain gives slightly better cable car conditions than July–September; the lake views from the gondola are beginning to clear toward the dry season
Practical Tips for October
- Best food month: October’s combination of the Vegetarian Food Festival, the highland harvest, and the night market variety makes it the most food-focused month to visit Da Lat
- Humidity is still very high: 94% humidity in October is the year’s highest — comfortable in Da Lat’s cool temperatures but relevant for hiking plans; stick to the morning window
- Coffee farm booking: The Cau Dat plantation tours run with 2–3 days’ notice from Da Lat’s tour operators; book at your guesthouse for the most reliable transport connection
Tours & activities in Da Lat
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