First published November 2016 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle
This post was last updated 8 years ago. Please check the comments section for possible updates, or read more on my Updates & Accuracy page.
INTRODUCTION | REVIEW | MAP | RELATED POSTS
The Central Highlands is famous for its coffee and its mountains. Photo & Bike Cafe marries these two elements nicely, making it the perfect pit-stop on any road trip that passes through Bao Loc, on the way between Saigon and Dalat on National Highway QL20.
Drink in the views: Photo & Bike Cafe in Bao Loc makes the most of the local coffee & landscape
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REVIEW: PHOTO & BIKE CAFE
Address: 1037 Tran Phu Street (Highway QL20), Bao Loc City, Lam Dong Province [MAP]
Price: 20,000-40,000vnd ($1-$2) | Phone: (+84) 0933 216 246
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Opened in October 2015, Photo & Bike Cafe has been attracting Vietnamese cyclists and phượt travellers (road-trippers) for the quality of its coffee and its good highland views. Located on the south side of Highway 20 before entering Bao Loc City, Photo & Bike is a smart-looking, four-storey townhouse perched on a ridge above sprawling coffee plantations, small hold farms, and mountains.
Dawn: Photo & Bike is a four-storey townhouse on a ridge just outside Bao Loc in the Central Highlands
The cafe signage is hung with bicycle frames, and the biking theme continues inside, where bike tyres and wheels decorate the ceiling above the coffee bar. The interior is clean and shiny, with wooden tables and chairs, big glass windows and lots of natural light.
A bike theme runs throughout the cafe, including colourful bicycle wheels above the coffee bar
Doors open onto a long, narrow balcony, furnished with a wooden bar and high stools. From here you can look out over the coffee plantations and across to the mountains. Order a coffee or tea and enjoy the views in the purple highland light.
Mornings & late afternoons are the best times to visit for the views: it’s open 6:30am-9pm daily
The drinks are excellent quality and reasonably priced. Choose from rich, aromatic, Italian-style hot coffees (with fresh highland milk, if you choose), or strong, brooding Vietnamese-style coffees served iced or hot. There are also frappuccinos and teas (including matcha, peach, and ginger). All the coffee beans (robusta and arabica) are locally sourced: either from the Bao Loc area or Cau Dat, near Dalat. Prices are between 20,000-40,000vnd ($1-$2).
Coffee is good quality and locally sourced; frappuccinos and teas are also available
Owner, Ms Hà, is very modest, but her cafe is fast becoming an essential stop for any young travellers passing through on Highway 20, and for locals with a taste for good coffee and good views. Opening hours are 6:30am-9pm daily. Make sure you stop by here if you’re following one of my guides in the area, such as the Binh Thuan Inland Loop, the Lunar New Year Classic, Dalat’s Waterfalls, Cat Tien National Park, or Juliet’s Villa Resort.
Photo & Bike is becoming an essential stop for passing travellers and young locals
Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: all my content is free and all my reviews are independent. I’ve written this review because I want to: I like this cafe and I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements here
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Hi Tom,
I wrote a long comment here on my last trip, while enjoying the majestic view and a coffee, and then it was suddenly gone… So frustrating. So now I got back from my roadtrip I wanted to reply on some articles. it was a great stop after Phuong Boi! Nice vibe of road trippers hung here, a lively place with majestic views. A great stop, completely unexpected along the highway (you cant really see the views as the buildings are blocking them) with unexpected vistas over the landscape of Lam Dong. Fortunately, as you wrote, an increase in beautiful cafes with great vistas along roadtrip roads are everywhere to be found. Which make great stops to take in the awesome views.
Hi Tim,
Thanks, good to hear you enjoyed the coffee and views here. I was just there a few days ago actually 🙂
Tom
Hi Tim how has your Tet trip been going ?
I made a beautiful southern coastal-highlands loop, having the stop before the last stop in bao loc, and I wanted to share this amazing cafe with you that I found. Just off the highway in a narrow hidden, bushy lane descending and opening up into this beautiful valley (it’s the same valley as From Photo & Bike coffee as it’s near) that turns around into a loop . There are other cafes too that I didn’t check out yet along this lane, but you will be stunned by this one (if you don’t already know it) Quán Đồi gió – Nhà của Gió.
Have a good one!
Hi Tim,
Thanks for this tip. That’s funny, I was staying in a hotel just a couple of weeks ago that looked right over the Quán Đồi gió-Nhà của Gió cafe. It looks excellent.
Best,
Tom
I have made 3 trips to Vietnam in the last 12months & on every trip I have stopped & enjoyed the great service & delicious coffee offered by Ms Ha & Mr Chung.. actually now I see them as my friends.
It’s that warmth & friendly service that keeps me coming back for more.
Looking forward to my next trip in near future..
for all coffee lovers it’s worth the stop highly recommend it..
Hi,
Yes, thanks. It’s a great little coffee shop.
Tom
Hello Tom
Photo & Bike Cafe in Bao Loc has got a lot more to offer than just great Italian style Coffee, Ice Cream and Fruit Juices. The view out the two tier open balcony at the rear of the coffee shop is to die for. Whenever I go there ,(and I have been there on many occasions) , I grab a double shot Espresso and just sit there gazing at the distant mountains which change the color by the hour depending on the rotation of the sun ,the shadows ,the clouds . Early morning the deep valley in front of you is shrouded in fog which quickly dissapears by mid morning revealing a sea of Tea and Coffee trees, some in flower and some already bearing coffee beans which are being collected by an army of workers . You will not find a better view or better brewed Coffee in a long shot. Miss Ha , Mr Chung and a small team of two other staff are all proficient Baristas, so next time passing thru Bao Loc on the way to, or from Dalat, do stop in for an unforgettable moment in your life.
Enjoy , Boris .
Hi Boris,
Yes, I agree, that’s what this article is all about: the coffee and the views. I always stop by on my way to or through Bao Loc and will continue to do so. That’s why I wrote this review: to share it with other readers who might not know about it yet, but would surely enjoy it if they stopped by.
Thanks,
Tom
Have been through Bao Loc a few times enroute from Dalat and Saigon and i promised myself that next time i am over there will have a good look.Will be there [Saigon from 4th Dec and staying for a few months looking around on motor bike]Will be meeting with a friend who lives in Dalat[ Aussie like me ]
Hi Darryl,
Great. I hope you get a chance to stop by this cafe when you’re there.
Tom