Planning

When to go: weather, seasons & Tết

Vietnam has three climates at once, so no month is perfect everywhere. What each region does through the year, what February is really like, and how to plan around Tết 2027.

5 min read Checked 14 Nov 2026

Short version: No month is perfect everywhere. March to May is the kindest window for a full Saigon → Hanoi ride; September to early December is the season to respect on the central coast. February means hot, dry days in the south and cool grey drizzle from about Hue northwards. Tết falls on 6 February 2027 and reshapes the country for a week or more.

Three climates at once

The south has two seasons (dry and wet), the north has four, and the central coast keeps its own calendar, with its heaviest rain in autumn while everyone else dries out. On the same day one rider can be in a T-shirt and another in everything they own.

Region	Dec–Feb	Mar–May	Jun–Aug	Sep–Nov
South (Saigon, Mekong Delta, coast to about Nha Trang)	Dry, sunny, hot	Dry, then very hot; first rains in May	Wet season: heavy afternoon downpours	Still wet; drying during November
Central Highlands (Da Lat, Buon Ma Thuot, Kon Tum)	Dry, bright days, chilly nights	Warm; storms begin in April or May	Wet and misty	Wet into October, then clearing
Central coast (Quy Nhon to Hue and Phong Nha)	Cool, grey and damp, more so further north	The sweet spot: warm, mostly dry	Hot, mostly dry	Heaviest rain of the year; floods and typhoons
North (Hanoi, Ninh Binh)	Cool to cold, overcast, drizzly	Mild spring, warming quickly	Hot, humid, big storms	Clear and dry: the best season
Far north (Ha Giang, Cao Bang, Sa Pa)	Cold and foggy; occasional frost on high passes	Clearer and milder	Heavy rain, landslide risk	Cool, clear, superb riding

Treat this as a pattern, not a promise.

Typhoons and floods on the central coast

Tropical storms can reach Vietnam's coast from roughly May to December (sources differ on exact dates). The north's risk peaks from July to October; the central coast's from September into early December.
October and November are the months to respect between Da Nang and Hue. Hue averages about 750 mm of rain in October alone, more than London usually gets in a year. In autumn 2025 the city flooded repeatedly and some schools stayed shut for over ten days.
On a bike that means flooded roads, landslides and closed sights.

Heads up: If you ride the central coast between September and December, build in spare days, check the forecast every morning, and be ready to sit out a storm or put the bike on a train.

The best windows for the full ride

March to May: the best all-round. The south is dry, the central coast is at its finest and the north is mild and warming. April is the sweet spot.
Late August to October: second choice. The north is heading into its loveliest season, but you cross the central coast as storm season begins, so stay flexible.
June to August: workable. Hot everywhere, and wet in the south and north.
November to February: bring layers. Fine in the south; grey and cool from the central coast upwards.

Which way to ride

Riding in	Better direction	Why
February to May	South → north	You leave the south before its fiercest heat and arrive as the north warms up
June to September	South → north	You reach the northern mountains as autumn starts
October to January	North → south	Northern autumn first, southern dry season to finish

For a February start, south to north is the sensible direction. Day-by-day planning is on the Saigon to Hanoi route page.

February

Typical February temperatures (long-term averages, night / day):

Place	Night / day
Saigon	23 / 33°C
Da Lat (highlands)	12 / 24°C
Nha Trang	22 / 28°C
Da Nang	20 / 26°C
Hue	18 / 25°C
Hanoi	16 / 22°C
Sa Pa (far north)	8 / 14°C

South and highlands: dry season at its best, with hot sun on the coast and fresh mornings in the hills.
From about Hue north: the winter monsoon brings mưa phùn, a fine drifting drizzle under low cloud that can sit for days. It rarely pours, but it soaks you slowly, makes roads greasy and hides the views. Inland, the Ho Chi Minh Road is often grey, damp and cold at this time of year.
Far north: properly cold on a moving bike. Averages hide cold snaps, when the mountains drop towards freezing and passes vanish into fog.

Pack for both ends of the thermometer: see Gear & packing list.

Tết

Tết, the Lunar New Year, is Vietnam's biggest holiday: Christmas, New Year and a family reunion rolled together.

Dates. New Year's Day is Saturday 6 February 2027. The official holiday for state employees runs from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February (announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs in October 2026). Private firms may shift it by a day, and many family businesses close for longer.

What closes. From New Year's Eve (5 February) through at least the first three days, expect most markets, family restaurants, small shops, banks, offices and many mechanics to be shut, reopening gradually over the following week. Hotels stay open. In tourist towns some restaurants do too, often with a holiday surcharge.

Fuel and repairs. In recent years most larger fuel stations have stayed open through the holiday, but small rural ones may keep short hours, so fill up whenever you pass one. Get the bike serviced before 3 February.

Traffic. In the week before Tết, millions head home and the highways out of Saigon and Hanoi fill with heavily loaded bikes and buses. On the holiday itself cities fall quiet, but drink-driving peaks. Vietnam's limit is zero, police checks are common, and fines for riders start at 2–3 million VND (about US$75–115, 2026). From about the third day, domestic tourists fill beach and hill towns, and everyone rides back as the holiday ends.

Prices. The railway's Tết season runs from 23 January to 25 February 2027; tickets went on sale in September at fares 4–8% above last year's. Buses and hotels in popular spots also charge more, and the best sell out.

How to plan around it

Start after it. Leaving Saigon from about 12 February dodges most of this.
Or park up and enjoy it. Pick a town you'd happily spend 5–8 February in, book three or four nights ahead, and arrive with cash, snacks and a full tank.
Avoid long highway days on 1–5 and 9–11 February if you can.

If you're there for it, enjoy it: flower markets, kumquat trees wobbling past on scooters, midnight fireworks in the cities. If a family invites you in, say yes. Chúc mừng năm mới means Happy New Year.

Sources and further reading

Last checked on 14 Nov 2026. Rules and prices change; confirm anything important before you rely on it.