Prescription Glasses in Da Lat: Eye Test, Lens Options and Fitting

Buying prescription glasses away from home feels risky mainly because the vocabulary is unfamiliar. This page explains the choices you will actually be asked to make, so the conversation at the counter is shorter and clearer.

Lens power and lens thickness

The stronger your prescription, the thicker the lens edge for a given frame. Higher-index materials bend light more efficiently, which allows a thinner lens at the same power. Common options run from 1.56 through 1.60, 1.67 and 1.74. Moving up an index reduces edge thickness and weight, and costs more.

Frame choice affects this as much as the material does. A smaller frame with a rounder shape produces a thinner edge than a large, wide, angular frame at exactly the same prescription — which is why lens and frame are best chosen together rather than one after the other.

Coatings

• Anti-reflective. Reduces reflections on the lens surface. Noticeable at night and in photographs.
• Scratch-resistant. Improves durability. No coating makes a lens scratch-proof.
• UV protection. Relevant year-round at Da Lat’s altitude, not only in bright weather.
• Blue-light filtering. Some people who work long hours on screens prefer it. Evidence on eye health benefit is limited; treat it as a comfort preference rather than a medical measure.
• Photochromic. Lenses that darken in sunlight. Convenient for one-pair travel; they typically react less behind a car windscreen.

Single vision, progressive, or reading only

Single-vision lenses correct one distance. Reading glasses correct near vision only. Progressive lenses provide distance, intermediate and near in one lens with no visible line, and require a short adaptation period — the first few days feel unusual for almost everyone, and the fitting height in the frame matters more than with single vision.

How long it takes

Many standard single-vision prescriptions can be completed the same day. Higher powers, progressive lenses, and specific coating combinations often need 24–48 hours or longer if a lens has to be ordered. Ask for an estimate for your prescription before paying, especially if you are leaving Da Lat soon.

Bringing a prescription from another country

Prescriptions written abroad use the same notation and can be read here. Bringing your current glasses as well is genuinely useful: measuring what you already wear shows what your eyes are adapted to, which is information a written prescription alone does not carry.

Lens prices from current stock

Rather than quoting a range with no reference points, here is what the lens categories in our own catalogue actually cost. Every figure is for a pair.

• Standard clear lenses — from 168,000₫.
• Thin, high-index lenses (1.60 / 1.67 / 1.74) — 308,000₫ to 6,240,000₫.
• Blue-light filtering — 697,600₫ to 6,240,000₫.
• Photochromic (darkens outdoors) — 662,400₫ to 3,456,000₫.
• Progressive and bifocal — 841,600₫ to 3,904,000₫.
• Prescription sunglass lenses — 600,000₫ to 5,544,000₫.
• Impact-resistant lenses — 1,168,200₫ to 3,264,000₫.
• Driving-optimised lenses — 720,000₫ to 5,544,000₫.

By brand, we currently list Chemi (27 lines, from 168,000₫), Essilor (14 lines, from 612,000₫), Kodak (5 lines, from 424,000₫), Nikon (2 lines, from 1,480,000₫) and Hoya (1 line, 837,000₫), alongside ZEISS to order.

Coatings, and which ones matter

Anti-reflective coating is the one that changes daily experience most: it removes the reflections that otherwise sit between your eye and the world, and it makes night driving noticeably more comfortable. Hard coating resists scratching. Hydrophobic and oleophobic layers make lenses easier to clean and keep clean. UV protection should be present regardless of tint.

Coatings are usually sold as packages rather than individually, which is why two lenses of the same index can differ substantially in price.

Reading your prescription

SPH is the main power, negative for short sight and positive for long sight. CYL and AXIS describe astigmatism — CYL is how much, AXIS is the orientation in degrees. ADD is the extra reading power used in progressive and bifocal lenses. PD is the distance between your pupils, which determines where the optical centre sits. If your prescription is written in a different format or a different language, bring it anyway; the notation is international enough to read.

How long it takes

Simple single-vision prescriptions with a stocked lens can often be finished the same day. Progressive lenses, very high powers and specialist tints are ordered in. If you are travelling, ask about timing before you choose the lens rather than after.

Check before you travel

If you already know your prescription, send it on WhatsApp or Zalo to +84 925 331 668 and we can tell you which lens options are in stock and what they cost before you come in. A photograph of the prescription is enough.

Related pages

• Optical store in Da Lat — what the shop stocks, what it costs and how a visit works.
• Eye test in Da Lat — what a refraction involves, how long it takes and when to see a doctor instead.
• Same-day glasses in Da Lat — which prescriptions can be finished quickly and which cannot.
• Ray-Ban in Da Lat — checking authenticity, current stock and prescription fitting.
• Sunglasses in Da Lat — UV protection, polarised lenses and prescription sunglasses.

Visit us

• Address: 31 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Phường Xuân Hương, Da Lat, Lam Dong
• Opening hours: Open daily, 09:00 – 21:00
• Phone / Zalo: 0925 331 668
• Directions: Open in Google Maps — about a 5-minute motorbike ride or a 15-minute walk from the Da Lat Night Market.
• Language: Our team can assist English-speaking customers through the whole process, from the eye examination to frame selection and fitting.

Mắt Kính Đặng Phước Quân has served Da Lat since 1991.