The Best Time to Visit Vietnam
Curated by Our Guild Explorers · Updated August 2026
Short answer: March and April are the only months when all of Vietnam is pleasant at the same time, with October the next best compromise. Otherwise, follow the region: the north from October to April, the centre from February to August, and the south from December to April. Vietnam is a thousand miles long, and its weather refuses to agree with itself.
Most countries have a season. Vietnam has three, running at different times, because it stretches roughly a thousand miles from the Chinese border to the Gulf of Thailand — the distance from Boston to Florida. Hanoi has a cool, damp winter and a scorching summer; Hoi An is dry when the north is wet and floods when the north is golden; Saigon simply alternates between dry and wet. The good news is that somewhere in Vietnam is lovely in every month of the year. This guide sets out where, and when.
Three Climates, One Country
Read your region first — the national averages are meaningless here.
The north — Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Sapa
The north is the only part of Vietnam with a genuine winter. From December to February Hanoi sits in the high fifties and low sixties Fahrenheit, often under a soft grey drizzle the Vietnamese call mua phun — atmospheric rather than wet, but bring a jacket, because few older buildings are heated. March and April are the loveliest months, and October and November are their equal: clear, dry, mild, with the light that makes Ha Long Bay look like a scroll painting. Summer, from May to August, is hot, close and prone to heavy afternoon rain.
The centre — Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An
The narrow middle of the country runs on a different calendar from both ends. February through May is the sweet spot — warm, dry, with a swimmable sea and none of the fierce heat that arrives in June and July, when Da Nang and Hue regularly push past 95°F. The rains come late and hard: September through November is the wet season and the typhoon window, and Hoi An’s riverside streets flood in most years, usually in October or November. If the centre is the heart of your trip, aim at spring.
The south — Saigon, the Mekong Delta, Phu Quoc
The south has no winter at all, only a dry season and a wet one. December to April is dry and bright, with the pleasantest temperatures in December and January and the fiercest heat in March and April. From May to November the rains arrive, but they are usually a spectacular hour in the late afternoon rather than a washout — mornings stay sunny, prices soften, and the Delta is at its greenest. Only September and October are reliably soggy.
Nha Trang & the south-central coast
Nha Trang is the great exception, sheltered by mountains and running on its own calendar: it is dry from January to August, exactly when much of the rest of the coast is not, and wettest from October to December. That makes it the obvious beach stop for a June or July trip, when the centre is baking and the south is wet — and a poor choice in late autumn, when the centre is already flooding.
Month by Month
What each month actually feels like, north to south.
January
Cool and dry in Hanoi — jackets in the morning, grey skies as often as blue, and Ha Long Bay frequently misted. Saigon and the Mekong are at their most comfortable of the whole year, warm and rainless. Nha Trang is drying out. A very good month for the south, a quiet and atmospheric one for the north.
February
Arguably the best all-round month. The north warms and brightens, the centre turns dry and mild, the south is still in its dry season, and the sea is calm from Nha Trang southward. Tet, the Lunar New Year, falls on 6 February 2027 — magical to witness, but expect closures, sold-out flights and a week of very busy domestic travel around it.
March
One of the two months when the whole country behaves at once. Hanoi is mild and flowering, Hue and Hoi An are warm and dry, Saigon is hot but rainless, and every beach is open. Prices sit between the Tet peak and the summer rush. If you want to travel Vietnam end to end, this is the month to do it.
April
The other ideal month, and slightly warmer than March everywhere. The centre is at its very best — hot sun, flat sea, long evenings in Hoi An. The south begins to feel the pre-monsoon heat, and the first storms may appear late in the month. Note the Reunification Day and May Day holidays at the end of April, when the domestic beaches fill.
May
Heat arrives in earnest. Hanoi turns humid and thundery, the south begins its wet season with dramatic afternoon downpours, and central Vietnam is hot but still dry. Nha Trang is excellent. Rates begin to drop outside the beach towns, and a mid-morning schedule with a long lunch becomes the sensible way to travel.
June
The hottest stretch of the year in the centre, where Da Nang and Hue can pass 95°F with high humidity. It is nonetheless peak Vietnamese holiday season on the beaches, so My Khe and Nha Trang are lively and hotel rates firm up. In the north and south, expect hot mornings and heavy, brief afternoon rain.
July
Similar to June, hot and bright on the central coast with the sea at bath temperature, and thundery elsewhere. The far north around Sapa is green and dramatic but slippery underfoot. A strong month for a beach-first trip built around Da Nang, Hoi An or Nha Trang, and a poor one for long days of city sightseeing.
August
The last dependable month for the centre before the rains, and often a fine one. The north is at its wettest, with occasional flooding in the mountains; the south continues its pattern of sunny mornings and afternoon storms. Prices ease after the mid-month domestic holidays. Watch the tropical-storm forecasts from late in the month.
September
The turn of the year. The north becomes glorious — dry, mild autumn air and the best light of the year — while the centre enters its wet and typhoon-prone season. The south is in its rainiest weeks. A very good month for Hanoi, Ha Long and Sapa; not a month to build around Hoi An.
October
Autumn in the north is superb, and this is the classic month for Ha Long Bay. In the centre it is the height of the rainy season, with the heaviest falls of the year and the likeliest flooding in Hoi An. Nha Trang turns wet. The south begins to dry out toward the end of the month. Plan a north-and-south itinerary rather than a coastal one.
November
The north stays crisp and clear, the south returns to dry-season form, and the centre is still wet but past the worst. Sea temperatures fall on the central coast. One of the better months for combining Hanoi with Saigon and the Mekong Delta while skipping the middle of the country.
December
Dry, bright and pleasantly warm in the south, cool and often grey in the north, and easing in the centre. The Christmas and New Year fortnight is the busiest and most expensive of the year in the beach resorts, so book early. Outside those two weeks, December offers some of the most comfortable travelling weather of the whole calendar.
The Cheapest Time to Go
Where the value sits, and what you give up for it.
Green season — May, June and September
Outside Tet and the Christmas fortnight, hotel rates in Vietnam are gentle all year; the softest weeks are May, June and September, when the rains are about but the sun still shines for most of each day. Expect discounts of a quarter to a third on resort rates, uncrowded sites, and the countryside at its greenest. Avoid the Vietnamese domestic holiday peak in June and July if your trip is beach-led, since that is when My Khe and Nha Trang fill up.
The two expensive fortnights
Tet — 6 February 2027 — and the fortnight from about 20 December to 3 January are the two windows when Vietnam is both busy and dear. Around Tet the whole country travels home at once, so domestic flights and trains sell out months ahead and many businesses shut. Around Christmas, the beach resorts of Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc charge their highest rates of the year. Book either period six months out, or step around it.
Storms, Heat & Crowds
The four things worth planning around.
Typhoons on the central coast
Tropical storms make landfall on the central coast most often between September and November, with October the peak. They are well forecast several days ahead, and the practical response is travel insurance, a little slack in the itinerary and a willingness to swap a beach day for the museums at Hue. The north sees occasional storms from July to September; the far south almost never does.
Heat and humidity
From May to August much of Vietnam is genuinely hot — the mid-nineties Fahrenheit with high humidity, and hotter still in the central cities. The way to travel comfortably is the way the Vietnamese do: be out early, take a long, slow lunch indoors, rest through the worst of the afternoon, and come out again at five when the light softens and the streets fill. Hats, water and a hotel with a good pool are not luxuries in these months.
Crowds and school holidays
Vietnam now has two distinct high seasons. International visitors come in the cool, dry months from November to March, filling Hanoi, Hoi An and Ha Long Bay. Vietnamese families holiday in June and July, filling the beaches at Da Nang, Nha Trang and Phu Quoc. Travel in April, May or September and you will meet neither crowd.
Hoi An’s autumn floods
In most years the Thu Bon River rises in October or November and water reaches the lanes of Hoi An’s Ancient Town, sometimes for several days. It is not dangerous for visitors and the town copes with great good humour, but shops close and walking becomes wading. If you are travelling in autumn, pick a hotel set back from the river or out toward An Bang beach, and keep the day loose.
Best Time by Region
If you are only going to one part of the country, use this.
Hanoi, Ha Long Bay & Sapa
October and November are the finest weeks of the northern year — dry, mild and clear, with Ha Long Bay at its most photogenic. March and April are almost as good and a little warmer. December to February is cool, often grey and sometimes drizzly, which suits city days and museum afternoons better than boat trips. Sapa is best from September to November and in April and May; its winter can be genuinely cold, with occasional frost.
Hue, Da Nang & Hoi An
February to May is the ideal window: warm without the summer’s ferocity, dry, with a calm sea for swimming at My Khe and An Bang. June to August is superb for the beach and punishing for sightseeing. From September to November the centre is wet and storm-prone, and Hoi An is liable to flood — the one part of the Vietnamese calendar the Guild would actively steer you away from.
Nha Trang & the south-central coast
Nha Trang keeps its own weather. It is dry and sunny from January to August, which makes it the sensible beach choice in June and July when the rest of the country is either baking or soaked, and it turns wet from October to December, exactly when the north is at its loveliest. Pair Nha Trang with Hanoi in spring, or with Saigon in the early months of the year.
Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong & Phu Quoc
The southern dry season runs December to April, and December and January are the most comfortable months of all, warm and clear without the heavy heat that builds through March and April. The wet season from May to November brings a dependable late-afternoon downpour rather than continuous rain, and the Mekong Delta is at its most beautiful in it. Phu Quoc follows the same calendar and is at its best from November to April.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The questions travellers ask most when timing a trip to Vietnam.
What is the best time to visit Vietnam?
For the country as a whole, March and April, with October a close second. Those are the weeks when the north, the centre and the south are all reasonably behaved at the same time. If you are only visiting one region, follow its own calendar: the north from October to April, the centre from February to August, and the south from December to April.
What is the cheapest time to visit Vietnam?
The wet shoulder months bring the softest prices — roughly May, June and September in most of the country, avoiding the Vietnamese school holidays in June and July on the beaches. Rain in Vietnam is usually a heavy hour rather than a lost day, so a green-season trip is far from a compromise. The two periods to avoid if price matters are Tet and the fortnight around Christmas and New Year.
When is the typhoon season in Vietnam?
Tropical storms and typhoons most often affect the central coast — Hue, Da Nang, Hoi An and Quy Nhon — from about September to November, with October the peak. The north can be affected from July to September. Storms are forecast several days ahead, so the practical precautions are travel insurance, a flexible itinerary and a habit of checking the forecast, rather than avoiding the country.
When does Hoi An flood?
Most years, at some point in October or November, the Thu Bon River rises and the lanes of the Ancient Town take on water — occasionally deep enough that shopkeepers move stock upstairs and boats appear on the streets. It usually recedes within days. If you have your heart set on Hoi An, book it for the spring; if you are there in autumn, choose a hotel a little away from the riverbank.
Should I travel during Tet?
Tet, the Lunar New Year, falls on 6 February 2027 and dominates the week around it. It is genuinely beautiful — kumquat trees, flower markets, families in their best clothes — but a great many restaurants, shops and museums close for several days, domestic flights and trains sell out months ahead, and prices rise. Visit during Tet for the atmosphere, with a fully booked itinerary and modest expectations of ordinary services; otherwise travel a fortnight either side of it.