Vietnam is one of the most beautiful, historic and cultural countries in the world. Not only is the food amazing, the people are incredibly hospitable, shopping is cheap and the landscape is amazingly unique. To make it the best experience, we’ve listed some of our favourite and least favourite times to visit Vietnam.

Not-so-good times

Lunar New Year

Although it is highly celebrated around the world with fireworks and lion dancing, it is customary for Vietnamese people to take up to a whole week off to give respects to their families and elders, pray and spend time with their families. Many local shops, eateries, market will all be closed for this first week making parts of Vietnam unusually quiet. Shops and tours will not have such a long break however, if you’re wanting to see Vietnam’s local bustling scene outside of the major tourist attractions, you’d be disappointed over this Lunar New Year period. Unlike the western world’s calendar, the lunar calendar follows the cycle of the moon, meaning that the date for the new year changes yearly. It is usually between late January or early February.

Monsoon periods

Vietnam’s climate is considered quite tropical, so despite there being 4 seasons in their calendar year, summer can see torrential rain and winter can be completely dry, particularly in Hanoi (North Vietnam). Vietnam’s climates can be broken into 3 regions- the North, Central and South.

The Northern Region, which includes Hanoi, is usually warm and sunny between October to December, cold between December and February and hot (sometimes with maximums of 40C in some areas) between March to August. However, summer is also the rainy season in the north so beware of downpours of rain, hot and sticky weather and potential flooding. For those who don’t enjoy being wet, avoid March-August.

The Central Region has their rainy period between November and December however Hue and Danang experiences a longer rainy period, between September to February . Also being on the coast, some coastal central regions may experience typhoons between August to November. For those who don’t enjoy being wet, avoid November-January to be safe.

The Southern Region’s dry season lasts from December to May with the rainy season being between May and November. Despite the rainy weather, temperatures generally stay about 20C and the downpours are generally seen as heavy afternoon rain periods. For those who don’t enjoy being wet, avoid May to October.

During school holidays or university holidays

Although this is probably during the best weather, the flights during these times are usually the most expensive, so sometimes you have to bite the weather bullet for cheaper flights!

Better times

Mid-Autumn festival

One of the most anticipated events of the calendar year for children and adults alike. During the festival, that usually occurs on a full moon in September, streets are filled with lanterns, lights, lion dancing (sometimes the dancers will even enter local’s homes to entertain the children), moon cakes and every colour under the sun. On the night of the full moon, you will see children singing in the street with lanterns and lights, touring their neighbourhoods. The festival is celebrated throughout all regions of Vietnam!


Non-monsoon periods

Although the weather is unpredictable and non-linear between the regions in Vietnam, it is acceptable to say that February-April and August-October are the best months to visit Vietnam as a whole.

If you want to visit specific regions:

North Vietnam (Sapa, Hanoi, Ha Long Bay) is best to visit between March-April and September-November

Central Vietnam (Hue, Hoi An) the best time is February-August

South Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong Delta) is best to visit December to May. However, temperatures can become extremely hot (40C) between March-May.

Whenever you can!

Although there are some great things to experience in Vietnam and although the weather can be rainy Vietnam is beautiful every month of the year. Seeing the cities filled with poncho-covered locals driving motorcycles, flooding entering local houses and business whilst still being warm and simply observing how the country continues to thrive under all conditions is something that is worth traveling for!

We would recommend putting Vietnam near the top of your bucket list for sure.

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