When is the best time to visit Vietnam?

Vietnam by region in one view

Vietnam is long and narrow, and its mountains separate the coast from the interior, so no single month suits the whole country. The north has four seasons and cool winters, the central coast gets its heaviest rain late in the year, and the south has a clear dry season and wet season.

This page uses 1991 to 2020 monthly averages for four stations that the Viet Nam Meteorological and Hydrological Administration supplies to the WMO: Hanoi for the north, Da Nang for the central coast, Nha Trang for the south-central coast and Ho Chi Minh City for the south. Regional season descriptions come from the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism and a World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank climate profile, read in October 2026.

How the monsoons divide the year

The World Bank Group and Asian Development Bank profile (2020) says the rainy seasons follow the monsoon circulations. It places heavy rain in the north and south from May to October and in the central regions from September to January. For temperature it gives northern averages of 22 to 27.5 degrees Celsius in summer and 15 to 20 in winter, and a much narrower southern range of 28 to 29 in summer and 26 to 27 in winter.

The station tables agree with that outline. Hanoi's wettest month is August at 335 mm and Ho Chi Minh City's is September at 273 mm, while Da Nang peaks in October at 658 mm and Nha Trang in November at 400 mm. All four stations count a rain day from 0.1 mm, according to the WMO page, so the day counts include very light rain.

Northern Vietnam: Hanoi

Hanoi is cool in winter and hot and wet in summer. January has an average high of 20.0 degrees Celsius and a low of 14.6, and June is the hottest month on average at 33.8 degrees. Rain peaks in August (335 mm on 18 days) and bottoms out in February at 19 mm, although February and March still log many light-rain days (12 and 18).

The tourism authority describes Hanoi's December to March as cool, misty and cloudy, April to June as warm to hot, June to August as hot, humid and rainy, and September to November as cool and clear. It lists Ha Long Bay as stormy from June to August, with tropical storms able to cancel cruises, and Sapa as cool, clear and dry from September to November. The station averages for autumn are 29.6 degrees Celsius in October and 26.3 in November, with rain falling from 126 mm to 48 mm between the two months. See Hanoi for our stays.

Central coast: Da Nang

Da Nang reverses the northern calendar. Its wettest months are October (658 mm on 21 days), November (486 mm) and September (394 mm), and rain stays heavy in December at 272 mm. The dry stretch runs from February (22 mm) to July, with each of those months under 100 mm. Highs are hottest from May to August, reaching 34.9 degrees Celsius in June.

The tourism authority lists Hue as rainy from September to February with flooding possible from September to November, and Hoi An as rainy, cool and cloudy from September to January, with tropical storms hitting the central region hard from September. It gives February to August as the warm, sunny part of the year for Hoi An. For a beach stay near Da Nang, the February to July window is the one the averages favour.

South-central coast: Nha Trang

Nha Trang has a short, sharp wet season. Rain climbs to 176 mm in September, 325 mm in October and 400 mm in November, then eases to 224 mm in December. From January to August no month exceeds 78 mm, and February is the driest at 13 mm on 4 days.

Temperatures are steadier: average highs run from 27.2 degrees Celsius in January to 32.8 in June and August. The tourism authority matches the pattern, listing September to December as cool, rainy and cloudy with monsoons, and January to August as hot and sunny. For Nha Trang beach weather, the first half of the year is the safer bet on these averages.

Southern Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is warm all year, with average highs from 31.6 degrees Celsius in December to 34.9 in May. The dry season shows clearly in the data: February averages 8 mm on 1 day, March 18 mm and January 12 mm, while every month from May to October averages above 200 mm, with September the wettest at 273 mm on 18 days.

The tourism authority describes May to November in the south as hot and humid with sporadic rain, usually a few hours of afternoon downpour, and December to April as clear, hot and sunny. November sits in between at 128 mm on 9 days. It also lists Phu Quoc as stormy from July to September, with storms able to make ferry crossings dangerous, and clear from October to June. For a long wet-season stay in Ho Chi Minh City, a kitchen helps on days when afternoon rain changes plans.

Storms, floods and heat

The ADB and World Bank profile says Vietnam has very high exposure to tropical cyclones, with a particularly high rate of landfall along the northern coast, based on tracks from 1970 to 2015. It adds that climate change may interact with cyclone hazard in ways that are not yet well understood. This is a long-run description, not a forecast for any season.

At destination level, the tourism authority points to storms and flooding in specific windows: Ha Long Bay in June to August, Hue from September to November, Hoi An from September, and Phu Quoc from July to September. The tables show why the central months matter. Da Nang's October total of 658 mm is about 5 times Hanoi's 126 mm for the same month. Heat is highest in the hot months in each region: June in Hanoi (33.8 degrees Celsius), June in Da Nang (34.9) and May in Ho Chi Minh City (34.9).

For live storm warnings, use the national weather service and your own government's travel pages rather than seasonal averages.

Best months by purpose

This list is our reading of the tables and sources above. It is a selection by weather, not a ranking, and it ignores crowds and prices.

• Hanoi and the north, cooler and less wet than summer: October and November, when Hanoi averages 29.6 and 26.3 degrees Celsius by day and rain falls to 48 mm in November.
• Central beaches such as Da Nang: February to July, with monthly rain under 100 mm and highs of 26.3 to 34.9 degrees.
• Nha Trang: January to August, when no month tops 78 mm; February is the driest at 13 mm.
• Ho Chi Minh City: December to April, with monthly rain between 8 and 57 mm in February to April.
• Cooler winter days in the north: December to February, with Hanoi highs of 20.0 to 22.1 degrees and lows from 14.6 to 16.2.
• Avoiding the central-coast rain peak: choose another region or an earlier month than September to December.

Shoulder seasons and planning notes

Shoulder months differ by region. In Hanoi, April (79 mm) and October (126 mm) sit between the dry and wet extremes. In Da Nang, August (167 mm) is the last month before the autumn surge. In Nha Trang, September (176 mm) is the first step up. In the south, April (57 mm) and November (128 mm) bracket the wet season.

A multi-region trip often means a different best month for each stop, so pick the region that matters most for the dates you have, then adjust the rest. A longer stay in one place can work well in apartment-style accommodation: see our note on aparthotels in Asia for long stays and when to book an aparthotel. For entry requirements, check the official Vietnamese immigration website before you book.