Renting a Motorbike for a Sunrise Ride to the Cau Dat Tea Hills

A rental plan built around sunrise

The Cau Dat tea hills are about 20–25 km east of the centre, roughly 40–60 minutes by scooter. To arrive in the soft light before sunrise, most riders leave between about 4:30 and 4:45. That timing decides everything about your motorbike rental for the Cau Dat sunrise ride: when you collect the bike, which one you choose and how much fuel you carry. The route, the season for clouds and photo tips are in our Cau Dat tea hills sunrise guide — this article covers the rental side.

Which bike for Cau Dat

• Honda Air Blade 125cc — our recommendation. The round trip is about 50 km with long, gentle climbs. The Air Blade has more power for hills and two riders, and it is more comfortable on a cold, dark road.
• Honda Vision 110cc: fine for one experienced rider who travels light.
• Electric scooter: not recommended for this trip. One battery lasts about 35–40 km and each scooter comes with 2 batteries (about 60–70 km in total), but long climbs drain them fast and leave little margin. Keep electric scooters for the city.

When to pick up the bike

You have two easy options:

• At 4:30 am, when we open. Message us the evening before with your pick-up time and the bike you want. It will be ready; the paperwork takes a few minutes (passport or ID card, no cash deposit), you take a short test ride and we film the bike's condition together. A rental day runs from pick-up until 21:00, so this counts as one day.
• The day before. Leaving straight from your hotel is more relaxed, but remember that each rental day ends at 21:00 — a bike collected the evening before counts as two days. If you are renting for 2 days or more anyway, we deliver free of charge to hotels in central Da Lat.

More about our opening time is in early-opening motorbike rental in Da Lat.

Fuel: fill up the evening before

Gas scooters come with 1 litre of fuel — enough to reach a petrol station, but not a comfortable margin for a 50 km dawn ride in the hills. Some petrol stations are not open yet at 4:30, so fill the tank the evening before. If you pick up at dawn, tell us and we'll point you to the nearest station on your way out of town.

What to bring on the bike

• A warm jacket, gloves and long trousers — before dawn it is much colder than in the centre, and the wind on the road makes it feel colder still.
• A raincoat under the seat and closed shoes for muddy paths between the tea rows.
• A charged phone with the route saved offline, and a small power bank. Every bike has a phone holder.
• Helmets are free — ask for the right size for both riders.

Riding in the dark

• Check the headlight, brake light and indicators during the test ride.
• Ride slowly in fog, keep to the right and watch for early vegetable trucks.
• No alcohol or beer when riding, and strictly follow Vietnamese traffic law.

Book your sunrise bike

Every bike costs 150,000 VND per day, with a helmet and a phone holder included. Send us your date and pick-up time on WhatsApp, Zalo or Telegram, or see all bikes on our Da Lat motorbike rental page. Want clouds too? Read our cloud hunting guide.