When to go

Experienced travelers would like to have an idea regarding what is the best time to visit Hanoi. Weather surely tops the information-list so that when they visit, they have a pleasant weather to have the best of Hanoi.

The most pleasant weather to visit Hanoi is from January to April and September to December avoiding the heat and the rain. The official peak season in Vietnam is also from September to April.

Tourist season runs from late June through August and October through Tet, the grand New Year's celebration that takes place in late January or early February. Hanoi is worth visiting during the festival times as the city celebrates in a grand manner. Just make sure that you book your accommodations and transportations prior to the time of your visit because Vietnamese tend to travel in the summer and around Tet, making it difficult to get the booking in time.

Best time to go to Vietnam:
There is no neither ideal nor bad time to visit Vietnam as there are distinct regional weather variations between the Northern, Central and Southern regions.

January & February
The weather in north and along the coast of Vietnam in Jan and Feb is very comfortable, and among best months to travel of the year.

March, April and May
March/ April are pretty good too and less busy. It will start to rain more in May, but not all day. March is one of the best month to travel as it is one of the driest times of the year, although there can be occasional rain showers around Hue and Hoi An.

June-Aug
June-Aug are summer months and extremely hot in northern & central cities. It's also the wet season in HCMC and the central highlands and it's the hottest time of year in Hanoi.

November & December
Nov and Dec are good months to visit Vietnam; not so cold in northern Vietnam at that time, Hanoi about 15-25oC, while Sapa about 10-20oC. The coldest months are Jan and Feb. Central and southern Vietnam are great at that time (except typhoon). The November visit was by far the most comfortable in terms of temperature and humidity (or lack of).

South Vietnam, the weather is fine, a little warmish and sticky, but not at all oppressive. No rain, only a few evening dry thunderstorms, very beautiful over the Mekong.