Lak Lake
Lak Lake
4.4
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.4
85 reviews
Excellent
50
Very good
22
Average
9
Poor
1
Terrible
3
Joseph
Manila, Philippines15 contributions
Jan 2015 • Solo
On my investigated trip to Central Highland I went to most of tourist places and stayed in Lak town 2 nights. From the eye of man who are also working in this industrial field, I am so much appreciated nature of this rural area such as elephant rider in Lak lake, history of this land and the local M'nong people..
Thanks Mr. Ân - who is my colleage, my host and my local guide. I found him is a tour guide with full of knowledge, passion and experiences since he is man of Ede tribe and I am happy to hear that he is starting his business in this area.
If you are going there, I recommend you contact him about tours, accomodations and advices. His phone number is +84 90 5424239 or email him via anlak.elephant@gmail.com.
Thanks Mr. Ân - who is my colleage, my host and my local guide. I found him is a tour guide with full of knowledge, passion and experiences since he is man of Ede tribe and I am happy to hear that he is starting his business in this area.
If you are going there, I recommend you contact him about tours, accomodations and advices. His phone number is +84 90 5424239 or email him via anlak.elephant@gmail.com.
Written February 3, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Steve C
Hue, Vietnam8 contributions
Mar 2014 • Family
We stayed in the minority village at Lake Lake, organised through Mr Duc at Duc Mai Cafe. It is easy to miss the cafe, basically opposite where the elephants are. Not sure what the minority village is, I thought Hmong, but I saw another review saying it was Jun. Anyway, for $5 we stayed in a long house, very basic, just a mattress on the floor with a good mosquito net, toilet out the back, plus a beautiful meal cooked at the cafe, soup, chicken satay, huge lake fish cooked in ginger, greens and rice. One of the best meals I had in Vietnam. Locals were friendly, welcome change of pace after the frenetic pace of most cities in Vietnam. Mr Duc's daughter, the lovely Miss Linh, speaks excellent English and was an excellent host. Her brother took us on a walk to a nearby waterfall (transport, guide and an excellent lunch for $15 a head), which was very refreshing and also organised an elephant ride which was cheaper than the prices quoted from
Lak Resort. Overall it was a very relaxing stay, but be prepared for an early wakeup from the roosters. So if you are in Dalat and are heading to Buon Ma Thout, go via Lak Lake and enjoy the hospitality of Mr Duc and his lovely family.
Lak Resort. Overall it was a very relaxing stay, but be prepared for an early wakeup from the roosters. So if you are in Dalat and are heading to Buon Ma Thout, go via Lak Lake and enjoy the hospitality of Mr Duc and his lovely family.
Written March 8, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
The_Pale_Ridah
Gladesville, Australia1,945 contributions
Surrounded by picturesque low lying mountains, windy country roads & lush green rich paddies, Lak Lake is in blessed country. So much so that even the last Viet emperor built one of his many villas here, good riddance Bao Dai fled the country after he spoilt the views with his crap villa.
The lake, being far from any crowded city & population centre is relatively clean in many parts & not spoilt by floating sewage. It is surrounded by rice paddies & lonely roads devoid of people. Tourism is slowly picking up here as evidenced by the encroaching development.
Jun Village, whose inhabitants are of local highland tribes is located on the banks approx 2 kms from the main highway 26. Lak Lake Resort is the government owned hotel complete with traditional rong houses on stilts & more modern lakeside bungalows. Emperor Bao Dai’s rundown villa has been converted to a hotel which flogs its infamy as a former royal residence which really isn’t much of a mansion by today’s standards but would have been impressive to the local peasants in their grass huts back in the day.
Sunrise over the Annamite mountains on the banks of the lake at Jun Village is spectacular & could be followed by a walk thru rice paddies & around the huge lake in the cool morning air before the humidity wrecks the day.
Buon Ma Thuot is approx 50 kms away & is easily reached by waiting by the roadside for the frequent local buses costing a meagre 15,000 VND. It is also easy to reach Lak Lake from Dalat via the bus terminal in a mini-van which cost approx 150,000 VND. Lak Lake is an excellent peaceful alternative to the overcrowded coastal tourist route.
The lake, being far from any crowded city & population centre is relatively clean in many parts & not spoilt by floating sewage. It is surrounded by rice paddies & lonely roads devoid of people. Tourism is slowly picking up here as evidenced by the encroaching development.
Jun Village, whose inhabitants are of local highland tribes is located on the banks approx 2 kms from the main highway 26. Lak Lake Resort is the government owned hotel complete with traditional rong houses on stilts & more modern lakeside bungalows. Emperor Bao Dai’s rundown villa has been converted to a hotel which flogs its infamy as a former royal residence which really isn’t much of a mansion by today’s standards but would have been impressive to the local peasants in their grass huts back in the day.
Sunrise over the Annamite mountains on the banks of the lake at Jun Village is spectacular & could be followed by a walk thru rice paddies & around the huge lake in the cool morning air before the humidity wrecks the day.
Buon Ma Thuot is approx 50 kms away & is easily reached by waiting by the roadside for the frequent local buses costing a meagre 15,000 VND. It is also easy to reach Lak Lake from Dalat via the bus terminal in a mini-van which cost approx 150,000 VND. Lak Lake is an excellent peaceful alternative to the overcrowded coastal tourist route.
Written April 21, 2010
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
SmokeyWhelan
15 contributions
Aug 2016 • Couples
Visited this spot when we were travelling from DaLat to Nha Trang by motorbike with a guide. Stopped here for lunch (most guides book tourists in for elephant rides too but I told our guide I didn't want to go on one).
The lake is beautiful and the surrounding scenery is lovely but
when we saw the poor elephants it would make your heart bleed...
They all seemed so sad and beaten down, no spirit left at all.
As we were having lunch it started lashing rain. A group of recently fed tourists put on their ponchos and
queued up for the elephant rides...
And one by one they were led out...in the soaking rain, being hit with a wooden stick with a nail at the end of it to control them.
I read in the Lonely Planet that the seats on the elephant should be made of light bamboo and at least 7 layers of padding between the elephant and the seat...but these looked like metal seats and one or two layers max of padding.
Each elephant was directed, by hitting or kicking or whatever way possible, to the next tourist waiting and off they went for a walk in the rain.
When they'd all left we went for a walk around the lake and we spotted one elephant left in a field on his own, his foot chained to a tree.
He was so small and helpless and seemed so sad .... A million miles away a from the majestic creatures they actually are...
Please please....if you decide to go here...do not go on the elephant rides....instead ask to just see the elephants in their natural habitat...and pay to just see them rather than ride them instead....maybe that way the people could still make money without having to be so cruel to the poor elephants.
The lake is beautiful and the surrounding scenery is lovely but
when we saw the poor elephants it would make your heart bleed...
They all seemed so sad and beaten down, no spirit left at all.
As we were having lunch it started lashing rain. A group of recently fed tourists put on their ponchos and
queued up for the elephant rides...
And one by one they were led out...in the soaking rain, being hit with a wooden stick with a nail at the end of it to control them.
I read in the Lonely Planet that the seats on the elephant should be made of light bamboo and at least 7 layers of padding between the elephant and the seat...but these looked like metal seats and one or two layers max of padding.
Each elephant was directed, by hitting or kicking or whatever way possible, to the next tourist waiting and off they went for a walk in the rain.
When they'd all left we went for a walk around the lake and we spotted one elephant left in a field on his own, his foot chained to a tree.
He was so small and helpless and seemed so sad .... A million miles away a from the majestic creatures they actually are...
Please please....if you decide to go here...do not go on the elephant rides....instead ask to just see the elephants in their natural habitat...and pay to just see them rather than ride them instead....maybe that way the people could still make money without having to be so cruel to the poor elephants.
Written August 21, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
naa v
6 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
We totally agree with one of the reviews below: do not go on the elephants. It’s hard to believe that people just jump on them so mindlessly. We saw the animals doing one loop through the lake after another, with a metal seat on top and only one pad below it, and of course at least 2 if not 3 or 4 people on its back. If they were not working, they were standing in a closed and very limited space, waiting for another ride. Appaling! These are wild animals and they have to go through very cruel training and have miserable lives just because people lack imagination and need to fill their time with “entertainment”. The lake is beautiful, and so what if you have to witness this hearbreaking reality? On top of it, the place that offers rides has chosen the most innacurate word: “ecotourism”.
Written August 24, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jimmy A
Boston, Massachusetts, United States62 contributions
Dec 2015 • Friends
My friends and I spent Christmas in Dak Lak, for two days and a night. Our guide Hoang, took us out into the national park, camped with us in the forest, took us fishing, showed us waterfalls, took us trekking, and brought us to Lak Lake.
Lak Lake was AMAZING! Such a peaceful landscape, much different than the big city Saigon. Hoang was perfect, because he spoke perfect English and grew up in the area.
I would strongly recommend, if you do choose to camp/trek Dak Lak - to reach out. There are many tour companies, but thanks to another TripAdvisor review, we found our solo guide. Unbelievable time - words can't do justice :)
Hoang Tuan. 0943810787 / hoangtuan121975@gmail.com
Lak Lake was AMAZING! Such a peaceful landscape, much different than the big city Saigon. Hoang was perfect, because he spoke perfect English and grew up in the area.
I would strongly recommend, if you do choose to camp/trek Dak Lak - to reach out. There are many tour companies, but thanks to another TripAdvisor review, we found our solo guide. Unbelievable time - words can't do justice :)
Hoang Tuan. 0943810787 / hoangtuan121975@gmail.com
Written January 1, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nikki K
Geneva, Switzerland9 contributions
Dec 2015 • Couples
Just stayed two nights at a long house / home stay true mr Duc s Mai cafe, i don't like writing bad reviews, but this one definitly needs one! There was only one girl who spoke a little English, all the other staff seemed not to even understand their own language, we asked for dinner, hour later, no you didnt order dinner, we dont have it for you, night before, you are vegetarian we will make nice vegetables for you, got Rice and a few leaves of salad, booked a hiking trip which would be with a guide from the village, it were two small boys who didnt say a word and made a waterpipe for themselves while we were having our bbqed Bread... Booked a canoe for an hour for 150.000 dong, only got 20 minutes and so on.... Then we had laundry done for 70.000, came to nha trang, all my underwear was not there, after a call it was my own fault and they didnt even want to look if they still had it! Lak lake is nice but very windy, sunset was definitly nice, but i recommand not to stay with mr duc!!
Written December 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cindy G
New York City, NY24 contributions
Aug 2016 • Solo
As a female solo traveler, I wanted to take a break from the frenetic cities I had just visited in Vietnam (Hanoi, Nha Trang) and experience a more unspoiled natural setting. I found on TA my wonderful tour guide, Mr. Hoang Tuan. I was completely clueless as to how to get to Dak Lak from Nha Trang, and once there, what to do, where to go, and if it was within my budget.
After discussing options with Hoang, I followed his instructions and arrived one evening in Buon Ma Thout. He helped me find affordable accommodation, and the next day showed me great places such as the coffee museum, Draynur waterfalls and the Edo minority village. From there we went to Lak Lake. We arrived before sunset, and oh boy what a magnificent sunset it was!
Thanks to his knowledge, approachable demeanor and honesty, I enjoyed thoroughly my stay in Buon Ma Thout and Lak Lake. I could not have found on my own all we saw and did, the delicious homemade food we ate, for the price he helped me get.
Contact him to discuss your ideas and be specific about what you wish. He will give you his honest opinion, he has great ideas and will quote you fairly. Thank you Hoang!!
hoangtuan121975@gmail.com
After discussing options with Hoang, I followed his instructions and arrived one evening in Buon Ma Thout. He helped me find affordable accommodation, and the next day showed me great places such as the coffee museum, Draynur waterfalls and the Edo minority village. From there we went to Lak Lake. We arrived before sunset, and oh boy what a magnificent sunset it was!
Thanks to his knowledge, approachable demeanor and honesty, I enjoyed thoroughly my stay in Buon Ma Thout and Lak Lake. I could not have found on my own all we saw and did, the delicious homemade food we ate, for the price he helped me get.
Contact him to discuss your ideas and be specific about what you wish. He will give you his honest opinion, he has great ideas and will quote you fairly. Thank you Hoang!!
hoangtuan121975@gmail.com
Written March 30, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jacques b
Hanoi, Vietnam3,505 contributions
Nov 2013 • Solo
As far as I am concerned, it is one of the biggest disappointments of all my numerous crisscrossings of Vietnam (where I live on retirement) ; a large shallow lake surrounded by low hills, an interesting small village (Jun) with numerous local "long houses" and a so-so elephant ride, and a totally overpriced resort, not well maintained in addition to everything else. Worth a lunch + visit of tiny Jun on the way between Buon Ma Thuot and Dalat, both cities being worth a stay on at least 2 days (il you have time, go to the wonderful Yok Don National Park near BMT, it's far more exhilarating than Lak Lak) !.
Written October 26, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
vanisle_al
Vancouver Island, Canada297 contributions
Jan 2013 • Couples
This is another area the guidebooks have not described properly. They give the impression you are in a remote location when in fact it is adjacent to a busy market town. There is little to do here even for nature lovers. The villages are more westernized and so not that interesting.
Written January 25, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Здравствуйте! Кто отдыхал в этом месте подскажите пожалуйста название отеля на берегу озера! Спасибо заранее!
Written June 24, 2018
How did you get there and from what City did you start? We would like to avoid a Motorbike-Tour :/
Written September 21, 2016
If you would still like to know an answer, we went there by motorbike. However no tour, just rent your own. There hardly is any traffic as soon as you leave the city and drive through the villages and the mountains. Just use google maps, or maps me as your guide along the way. Renting a motorbike costs about 5$ per day, and there are gas stations everywhere, even in the smallest villages. Just ask around for Xang (gasoline/petrol) when you can't find one.
Written October 11, 2016
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