Buon Ma Thuot, an under-the-radar destination in Vietnam
+ indigenous cultures and food, history, the great outdoors and much more
Last June, after a five-day stay in Hanoi, we headed to Buon Ma Thuot. What? You’ve never heard of the capital of Dak Lak province in the central highlands? It’s alright. Many people are unfamiliar with it.
Buon Ma Thuot is also known as Buon Me Thuot, Ban Me Thuot, and even BMT. It’s ground zero for much of the coffee grown in Vietnam. Not sexy, right?
My chic Hanoi cousin’s reaction to our going there was: If you two go to the highlands, go to Dalat. It’s romantic and beautiful. Why Buon Ma Thuot?
Dalat is over touristed. We wanted a place that’s not crowded, where we could experience natural Vietnam along with interesting history, food and culture. Dak Lak is home to about 45 ethnic minority groups.
My sister, Linh and her husband visited BMT in 2023 and found the scenery to be compelling and the foods intriguing. Some of her photos:
Plus, the co-founder of spice importer Burlap and Barrel connected me to a farmer who invited me to visit his farm. I was excited to meet the person who grew my go-to black peppercorns.
Traveling (sorta) off the Beaten Path
And so early one morning, we flew from HAN to BMV to spend two days with a farmer named Dũng Võ Ngọc and his wife, Hạnh; they live in a town about 1 1/2 hours from BMT. Then we had two days on our own in BMT proper to savor the region’s indigenous cultures, their lovely crafts and interesting food.
Flying into Buon Ma Thuot, you notice the high elevation, jungly forest, and red soil. It’s a refreshing change from urban lowlands of Vietnam. The airport is small and efficient. The air is significantly cleaner than in Hanoi. There are tons of trees and shade. Car traffic is light. Streets are wide.
Because of agriculture, Dak Lak province and BMT are relatively prosperous. They are set up for tourism but as of this writing, most visitors are Vietnamese. Few Viet Kieu expats and foreign tourists come so services aren’t as polished as say, Dalat. But that’s an opportunity for a certain amount of adventure.
As I mentioned in the Hanoi travelog, I’m not a risky traveler but after landing, we hopped into a jitney packed with strangers bound for parts unknown. The driver let us sit in the prime front row and tapped my arm when it was our turn to exit at the town specified by farmer Dũng, who arranged things for us.
We arrived at Krong Nang, the town where Dũng is based. You’ll likely not ever go there so here are some rural Vietnam charm scenes:
Whether we were in BMT or Krong Nang, the region reminded us of traveling in Vietnam in the early 2000s. Things were mellow, slightly rough around the edges, but totally navigable, especially nowadays with reliable ride share apps, cell service and wifi.
In this post, you’ll gain the following insights about diverse Buon Ma Thuot and Vietnam:
Local food and drink highlights (plus a clunker!)
Worthy activities and excursions
A video tour of King Bao Dai’s BMT palace
Resource and address listings