Pleiku travel guide
Crater lake, highland coffee and two-bowl pho
A highland town in the Central Highlands with a crater lake, coffee country around it and its own two-bowl pho. Visit from November to March, in the dry season. One or two nights is enough, usually as a stop between Quy Nhon and Kon Tum or Buon Ma Thuot. Costs are low, and the e-Visa is open to all.
Pleiku sits high on the plateau of the Central Highlands, a cool, breezy town surrounded by coffee, tea and pepper plantations. Long the home of the Jarai and Bahnar peoples, the town is now mostly Kinh. It works best as a stopover between the coast at Quy Nhon and the highland towns of Kon Tum and Buon Ma Thuot.
Bien Ho, a crater lake a few kilometres north, is the local landmark: deep, still water edged with pines. On the way, the Bien Ho tea estate has a long avenue of pine trees that draws photographers. Back in the centre, give Minh Thanh Pagoda an hour, partly for its lurid murals of sinners being punished in hell.
Food is a good reason to linger. Pleiku is the home of pho kho, a two-bowl dish of dry rice noodles topped with minced pork, with the broth served on the side. The coffee is strong and grown nearby. In November wild sunflowers line the roads, just as the dry season settles in.
Explore Pleiku by theme
Find your kind of trip: 24 travel themes, each with the packages in Pleiku.
Pleiku at a glance
The essentials first-time visitors ask about, in one place.
Explore more of Vietnam
Pick a place by travel style: beaches, nature, cities, heritage, hills, islands.
Nothing in that category yet.
Top things to do in Pleiku
A crater lake, tea estates and a pagoda in town, plus a noodle dish you will not find done better elsewhere.
No things to do in Pleiku are listed yet. Browse all things to do
Best time to visit Pleiku
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Dry, sunny days and cool nights; wild sunflowers flower in November.
Heavy afternoon rain most days; carry a rain jacket and plan outings for the morning.
Bring a warm layer from December to February; nights on the plateau turn chilly after warm days.
Packages in Demand
A Journey to Remember
Tours, activities and day trips in and around this destination, with the details you need before booking.
No packages in Pleiku are listed yet. Browse all packages
Create Your Custom-Made Trip to Pleiku
Traveling to Pleiku? Chat with a Local Travel Specialist in Pleiku Who Can Help Organize Your Trip.
START HEREOur Travel Experts are Recommended by
Plan your trip
Practical answers before you go. Pick a topic.
Getting there
PXU flights and coaches from Duc Long station
Pleiku Airport (PXU), about 5 km north of the centre, is small but has flights to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang. Taxis meet each arrival, though xe om drivers rarely bother, and the ride into the centre takes only a few minutes. On the ground, almost everything uses Duc Long bus station, about 3 km east of the centre: coaches to Quy Nhon on the coast in about 3 hours, frequent runs to Buon Ma Thuot further south, an overnight bus from Da Nang that pulls in early in the morning, and international services to Attapeu (about 7 hours) and Pakse (about 12) in Laos. Buses from Kon Tum stop at a separate halt near the market. A few local buses link Duc Long with the centre, though you may wait a while.
- Pleiku Airport (PXU)
- About 5 km north; flights to Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang
- Duc Long bus station
- About 3 km east; Quy Nhon in about 3 hours
- Night bus from Da Nang
- Leaves in the evening, arrives early morning
- From Kon Tum
- Frequent buses to a stop near the market
- To leave the airport on foot, turn left out of the terminal and follow the barracks wall to the main road, where buses coming down from Kon Tum and Da Nang pass.
- Arriving overland from Banlung in Cambodia, carry a paper Vietnamese visa or qualify for visa-free entry; e-visas are not accepted at that crossing.
Getting around
Hiring a driver for Bien Ho and Chu Dang Ya
Pleiku's centre is manageable on foot, with Minh Thanh Pagoda, the market and the main café streets close together. Everything worth leaving town for is spread across the plateau, and local buses are too infrequent to plan around, so budget for taxis or a hired driver. Taxis are the default for the airport, Duc Long station and the run up to Bien Ho. Xe om riders are easy to find in the centre and suit short hops. For a longer loop to the Bien Ho tea estate and the volcano at Chu Dang Ya, either hire a car with driver for half a day or ask your hotel to arrange a scooter; the plateau roads are wide and fairly quiet outside town.
- Taxi
- Simplest for the airport, Duc Long station and Bien Ho
- Xe om
- Plentiful in the centre; agree the fare before you set off
- Car or scooter
- For the tea estate and Chu Dang Ya, arranged through hotels
- Before setting off for Bien Ho with a xe om rider, settle whether the fare covers waiting at the lake and the ride back.
Know before you go
What makes Pleiku worth the trip, and what catches visitors out.
Why travelers love it
- Early morning at Bien Ho, when mist lies on the water and the pines are quiet.
- A bowl of pho kho with its separate bowl of broth, the Pleiku breakfast.
- The hell murals at Minh Thanh Pagoda, vivid and more than a little gruesome.
Good to know
- Afternoon downpours are near-daily from May to October, so plan Bien Ho and the drive to Chu Dang Ya for the morning.
- Local buses are infrequent, so arrange a taxi or xe om for Bien Ho and the bus station.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Pleiku, month by month
Pleiku's plateau is cooler than the coast, with a dry season and a long, very wet rainy season. Tap a month to see long-term averages.
Climate figures are approximate long-term averages for Pleiku (Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology, via Wikipedia).
Mist on the crater lake, hell murals after lunch
Get to Bien Ho, Pleiku's crater lake, in the first hour of light, when mist hangs on the water and the shoreline pines are silent. Walk down the long stairway to the edge, then stop on the way back at the Bien Ho tea estate, where an avenue of tall pines runs between the tea rows.
By eight the photographers have arrived, so this is one place where getting up early pays.
Breakfast back in town is phở khô, ideally at a busy shop near the market. Walk it off at Minh Thanh Pagoda, which mixes a pagoda and a temple on one site, and take your time over the murals that show sinners being punished in hell. They are graphic and oddly compelling.
Rest through the early afternoon in a cafe; Pleiku runs on coffee grown on the surrounding farms. In November, hire a driver and head north to Chu Dang Ya, an extinct volcano whose slopes turn yellow with wild sunflowers, and stay for the light at the end of the day. In other months, the plateau's coffee and pepper farms make a gentler drive. Eat dinner in the centre and, if you are moving on, catch the morning coach from Duc Long.
Two-bowl phở khô, sun-dried beef and plateau robusta
Pleiku's signature is phở khô Gia Lai, the two-bowl phở. Thin, chewy rice noodles come dry in one bowl with minced pork, shallot oil, soy and chilli; the other holds clear beef broth with sliced meat, sipped between mouthfuls. It is morning food, and the best shops are busiest before nine.
The province's other famous dish comes from the dry lowlands of Krông Pa in the east. Bò một nắng is beef sliced, marinated and dried under a single day's sun, then grilled and eaten with salt pounded with red ants, which gives it a sour, lemony bite. Shops in Pleiku sell it vacuum-packed, and many restaurants grill it to order.
Highland restaurants also serve cơm lam, sticky rice cooked inside bamboo tubes over embers, with grilled chicken and a dish of salt and wild herbs. Wash any of it down with coffee. The farms around Pleiku grow mostly robusta, brewed strong through a metal phin filter and served with condensed milk or over ice. Coffee shops line the centre and stay full from early morning until late.
Travelers are asking
No questions yet about Pleiku. Ask the community or our travel team, and the answer will show here once it is published.
Our travel desk answers questions about Pleiku
How we research our Pleiku travel guide
Pleiku's flights, Duc Long bus routes into Laos and the Bien Ho details are checked against the city's Wikipedia entry and Vietnam Travel, and visa rules against the official Vietnam e-Visa portal.
Last updated . Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Checked against trusted sources:
Vietnam official e-VisaVietnam Travel
See all 2 sources
Before You Go...
Discover Trips & Info
A Travel Network Connection Travelers and locals
Incredible Event & Festival, Don't Miss!
Most Popular Event & Festival of Pleiku
Festivals and events in this destination, with dates, venues and ticket details where available.
No upcoming festivals or events in Pleiku are listed right now. Browse all events
Memorable Experiences
Where to Go (& NOT Go) In Pleiku!
Roaming the World one Adventure at a Time: Travel Tales, Tips, and Inspiration for wanderlusters.
Subscriber
Popular car hire destinations
Explore more options to hire a car for cheap
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Quick answers to the questions travelers ask most before visiting Pleiku.
Getting there
Rarely. Take a taxi for the 5 km into town, or walk out to the main road and flag down a passing bus from the north.
Yes. Buses from Duc Long station reach Attapeu in about 7 hours and Pakse in about 12, crossing at Bo Y. Check visa rules for that border before you go.
General
The noodles come dry with minced pork in one bowl and the beef broth in another, so you eat them side by side.
Mostly robusta, brewed strong through a metal phin filter and drunk with condensed milk or over ice in the town's many cafes.
Yes. The lake fills the crater of an extinct volcano a few kilometres north of the centre, which explains its round shape and depth.
Painted scenes of sinners being punished in the underworld, on a pagoda and temple site in the centre of Pleiku. Entry was free when last reported.
Yes. It is about an hour north, with frequent buses that stop near the market.
Pleiku's centre is manageable on foot, with Minh Thanh Pagoda, the market and the main café streets close together. Everything worth leaving town for is spread across the plateau, and local buses are too infrequent to plan around, so budget for taxis or a hired driver. Taxis are the default for the airport, Duc Long station and the run up to Bien Ho.
Pleiku is best known for:
- Early morning at Bien Ho, when mist lies on the water and the pines are quiet
- A bowl of pho kho with its separate bowl of broth, the Pleiku breakfast
- The hell murals at Minh Thanh Pagoda, vivid and more than a little gruesome
Timing & weather
About 3 hours. Coaches leave several times a day for the coast.
In November, at the start of the dry season, when the volcano's slopes and many roadsides north of Pleiku turn yellow.
The best time to visit Pleiku is Nov to Mar. Dry season on the plateau, with clear skies and wild sunflowers in November.
- Best: November - March (Dry, sunny days and cool nights; wild sunflowers flower in November)
- Rainy: May - October (Heavy afternoon rain most days; carry a rain jacket and plan outings for the morning)
March is the warmest month in Pleiku, with average highs of 31°C, and January the coolest, with lows of 14°C. August is the wettest month, at about 463 mm of rain; January is the driest. Pleiku's plateau is cooler than the coast, with a dry season and a long, very wet rainy season.
Visa & documents
No. That crossing does not accept Vietnamese e-visas, so you need a visa in your passport or visa-free entitlement.
Health & safety
Vietnam is generally safe. Traffic is the main hazard, and bag snatching from motorbikes occurs in cities.
