The Best Time to Visit Vietnam

The Year at a Glance

Figures are daily means in °C. Rainfall highlights come from the same climate tables: Hanoi peaks at 273.7 mm in August, Da Nang at 628.0 mm in October and Ho Chi Minh City at 490 mm in September. The typhoon season runs from May to November, mainly hitting eastern coastal areas, with Vietnam Tourism putting the central peak at September to November and the first typhoons possible in July.

Remember that Sapa is in the mountains: its January mean is only 8.6 °C against Hanoi's 16.4 °C. The table is a planning tool, not a promise, and a cruise night on Ha Long Bay depends on sea conditions in any month.

The Best Months by Region

For the north, Vietnam Tourism names March to May and September to November, and Wikivoyage adds October to December. Hanoi sits at 24.9 °C in October with about 20 mm of rain in December, which is the window for a Ha Long Bay cruise. For the centre, February to April wins: Da Nang averages 22.4 to 26.5 °C with as little as 23.6 mm of rain, before Hue's rainy season, which brings roughly 70 percent of its 2,936.4 mm annual total, starts in September.

For the south, the dry season runs December to April, and Ho Chi Minh City barely moves from 27.3 to 29.5 °C all year. A trip that must cover all three zones at once is best in March or April, and the 10-Day Vietnam Tour, North to South at $1,099 per person covers all three zones.

The North: Hanoi and Ha Long Bay

Hanoi's daily means run from 16.4 °C in January to 29.2 °C in July, and winter temperatures can drop below 15 °C. Rain is extreme in its spread: about 20 mm in January, February and December against 273.7 mm in August and 264.4 mm in June. February is also the grey month, with just 45 hours of sunshine against 196 in July.

For Ha Long Bay, the cruise season lines up with those dry, cool months. Ha Long town's rainfall runs from 20 to 25 mm in December to February up to 445 mm in August, and typhoons typically pass from late May to early November with a July to October peak, so the drier, lower-typhoon months for an overnight cruise are December to April. October to December also matches Wikivoyage's pick of best northern seasons. Prices follow demand: Tet and Christmas to New Year can raise Bai Tu Long cruise prices by 30 to 40 percent, and the compulsory gala dinner and holiday surcharge on the 8-Day Vietnam Tour, Saigon to Ha Long Bay at $929 per person reflects that. That tour's listing states all sales are final, so date changes are not an option.

The Centre: Hue, Hoi An and Da Nang

The centre has the country's most awkward calendar. Da Nang is warm all year, from 21.5 °C in January to 29.4 °C in June, and its dry season runs January to August with February the driest month at 23.6 mm. Then the northeast monsoon arrives. Rainfall jumps to 350.7 mm in September, 628.0 mm in October and 448.2 mm in November, and Hue is worse: 772.7 mm in October and 641.7 mm in November out of 2,936.4 mm a year. The November 1999 flood in Hue killed 600 people and affected 600,000 homes, so the risk is historical fact, not a rumour. Vietnam Tourism puts the central typhoon peak at September to November.

Practically, that means beach and old town weather is best February to May, when Da Nang sits at 22.4 to 28.4 °C with little rain. Phong Nha caves, 260 km north of Da Nang, face flooding from October to December, and Son Doong runs tours only February to August. The lantern festival in Hoi An falls on the 14th day of each lunar month, so you can catch it in any dry-season month.

The South: Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong and Phu Quoc

The south is the easiest zone to plan. Ho Chi Minh City holds between 27.3 and 29.5 °C every month of the year. The dry season runs December to April, with just 8 to 18 mm of rain in February and March, and Wikivoyage notes April is the hottest month at 33 °C or more at midday. The wet season, May to November, brings afternoon downpours rather than all-day rain, peaking at 490 mm in September.

The Mekong Delta follows the same pattern, and the floating markets run early whatever the weather: Cai Rang's peak trading is 5:30 to 7:30 AM and largely over by 8 AM. For the islands, Vietnam Tourism lists Phu Quoc and Con Dao as best November to March, with heavy rain and rough seas from June to September, when Phu Quoc records up to 485.6 mm in August against 27.2 mm in February. A dry-season trip that combines all of this is the 3-Day Mekong Delta Tour from Saigon at $261 per person, and the 6-Day South Vietnam and Island Tour at $639 per person adds a flight to Phu Quoc for snorkelling, though the listing does not state that its flights are included in the price.

The Mountains: Sapa and Ha Giang

Altitude changes everything. Sapa town averages 15.3 °C a year, with a January mean of just 8.6 °C and a December mean of 9.4 °C. Winters occasionally fall below freezing and snow has been recorded in town on multiple occasions. Rain runs the other way to the coast: December is the driest month at 65.7 mm and July the wettest at 461.0 mm, out of 2,779.6 mm a year. The golden terraces show from September to November according to Indochina Tour, while Local Vietnam narrows the peak colour to September, followed by mild, dry months in October and November. December to February is cold and foggy, which can spoil a Fansipan cable car ride, a ticket that costs 850,000 VND for adults.

Ha Giang has two clear windows: Guides name October, November, March and April as the best months, with June to September the rainy season. The buckwheat flowers peak at the end of October and early November, opening light pink and turning light purple, with the largest fields in Hoang Su Phi, Dong Van, Lung Cu and Sung La. The loop runs on mountain roads, and the 4-Day Ha Giang Loop Tour at $230 per person runs with Easy Rider drivers in groups capped at 8, which matters in the rain. For the season-by-season detail on that road, see the Ha Giang Loop tour guide.

Tet, the Lunar New Year

Tet is the biggest event in the Vietnamese calendar. For 2027 it falls on Saturday 6 February, with New Year's Eve on Friday 5 February. The Ministry of Home Affairs proposed a seven-day break from 4 to 10 February or a ten-day break from 5 to 14 February, and no final decision had been reported, while the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism backed the seven-day plan. Either way, the days around 6 February shut much of the country.

During Tet most small restaurants, street food stalls, cafes, family shops, museums, banks and government offices close from about 6 to 8 February. Hotels, chain restaurants, convenience stores and pagodas stay open. Transport is the bigger problem: for Tet 2026, domestic flights, trains and sleeper buses sold out four to six weeks ahead at two to three times normal fares. Petty theft also rises during Tet, one of the periods the FCDO singles out along with Christmas.

If you travel at Tet, withdraw cash before 3 February, because banks close and small-town ATMs can run dry. If you want quiet streets and celebrations rather than closed museums, Tet can work. If you want a normal touring week, avoid it.

Public Holidays and Festivals Through the Year

Tet is not the only date that fills trains and lifts hotel rates. The table below gathers the holidays and festivals named in the source material, where they happen and when. Where a date belongs to one year, the year is shown.

The Hoi An Lantern Festival falls on the 14th day of each lunar month, so it recurs monthly, and pagoda entry in the Old Town is free on those nights. Mid-Autumn is a children's festival with star lanterns and lion dances, and it is not a public holiday, so businesses and transport run normally.

Festivals Worth Timing a Trip Around

Three festivals reward planning. The Hoi An Lantern Festival turns the Old Town pedestrian-only and floats paper lanterns costing 5,000 to 10,000 VND, with a 30-minute sampan ride on the Hoai River at 150,000 to 200,000 VND. The lantern night officially begins between 8:00 and 9:00 PM, and most Old Town lighting is switched off by 8:00 PM.

The Da Nang International Fireworks Festival ran 30 May to 11 July with teams from Italy, Japan and Australia launching from the Han River Port area. Hue Festival moved from a biennial event to a year-round four-season model, with single major Imperial City performances at 200,000 to 500,000 VND and a full-week pass at 2,500,000 to 3,500,000 VND. Its next dates are announced late in the year, usually in November or December.

For how festivals fit into a longer route, see the Vietnam itinerary page.

Holiday Surcharges and Gala Dinners

Several listings in the comparison carry compulsory extras around the holidays. The 14-Day Vietnam Tour, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City at $1,544 and the 8-Day Vietnam Tour, Saigon to Ha Long Bay at $929 both add a compulsory gala dinner on Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and the Tet date, plus a public holiday surcharge around Christmas, New Year and Tet, with amounts not stated. The 3-Day Sapa Trekking and Homestay Tour at $98 applies a 40 percent public holiday surcharge, especially around Tet, 29 April to 1 May and 30 August to 2 September.

The 2-3 Day Sapa Tour with Limousine at $104 adds an on-site hotel surcharge on peak dates of 950,000 VND for 3-star, 1,450,000 VND for 4-star or 1,950,000 VND for 5-star rooms. Cruise prices around Tet and Christmas to New Year can rise 30 to 40 percent on Bai Tu Long, and the 3-Day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay Cruise at $261 lists a $12 per person peak season surcharge from 1 October to 30 April on top of $35 VAT.

A North to South Route in a Month That Suits Both Ends

A full-country package must satisfy two climates at once. The north's best months are March to May and September to November, while the south is dry from December to April. The centre is dry from February to April but takes 628.0 mm of rain in Da Nang in October and 772.7 mm in Hue in October.

That makes March and April the overlap window where the north's best months, the centre's dry spell and the south's dry season meet. The 10-Day Vietnam Tour, North to South at $1,099 and the 9-Day Vietnam Tour, South to North at $999 both cross all three regions and include a Ha Long Bay cruise night, so their timing matters most. Tours ending in the south, such as the 6-Day South Vietnam and Island Tour at $639, also gain from visiting Phu Quoc in its best months, November to March, as it has rough seas from June to September.

The Mountain Trips by Season

Sapa and Ha Giang have their own calendars. Sapa town averages 8.6 C in January, its coldest month, and snow has been recorded on multiple occasions between 1971 and 2021. Its dry season runs October to March, and the golden terraces show from September, with harvest colour described into November by one source.

Winter nights sometimes sit near 0 C. The 3-Day Sapa Trekking and Homestay Tour works best outside the June and July rains, with July the wettest month at 461.0 mm. Ha Giang's best months are October, November, March and April, and June to September is the rainy season. Buckwheat flowers peak at the end of October and early November, opening light pink and turning light purple days later, with the largest fields in Hoang Su Phi, Dong Van, Lung Cu and Sung La.

The 4-Day Ha Giang Loop Tour at $230 and the 3-Day Ha Giang Loop Small Group at $137 both ride the loop, and October to November is a named best-month window that also has the flowers.

When the Bay Cruise Weather Matters

Ha Long's own numbers put August at 445 mm of rain over 19 rainy days and December at 20 mm. Typhoons typically pass the bay from late May to early November, peaking July to October, and the north's typhoon window is given as June to October with July the peak of risk. A cruise night booked in the December to April window faces the lowest weather risk, and February to April adds milder air at 17.4 to 23.8 C on average.

Any overnight cruise listing, from the 3-Day Ninh Binh and Lan Ha Bay Cruise to the bay night inside the 14-Day Vietnam Tour, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, is exposed to typhoon cancellations if you travel between July and October. For the wider safety picture, see Is Vietnam safe.