Vietnam When To Go

When you go depends on where you go. The country’s climate is completely subject to the whims of tropical monsoons, which are unpredictable, especially on the coast. Northwest and southeast monsoons are seasonal; travelers will be delighted to know that additional, unscheduled tropical storms can wreak havoc at any time. Monsoons on the northern coast are most likely to occur between July and November, while from Hu\ south they hit earlier, in April and May. And it is always humid, almost everywhere in the country.

The timing and character of Vietnam’s seasons vary substantially from north to south. In the south, temperatures remain reasonably constant, but precipitation is seasonal, with the dry season from November to March and the wet season from May to October. The farther north you go, the more the temperature varies between winter and summer, hitting punishing spikes in the northwestern highlands (40˚C in the summer; the odd snowfall during January and February). Just to complicate matters, dry and wet seasons are inverted along the central coast, where the dry season occurs from March to August—but beware that on the coast, “dry season” is an admittedly optimistic term.

Thus, travelers destined for the north should time their visit between October and December or March and April, the months between the summer’s heat and humidity and the cold, misty drizzle of the winter. During the summer, lower temperatures make Hà Nÿi somewhat more bearable than the rural areas of the Red River Delta. Along the Northern Coast, September through December and March through April are the most advisable periods during which to visit, as errant tropical storms are less likely after October. Farther down the coast, especially from Hu\ south, visits are most pleasant between February and May, due to the reversal of the wet season. The Central Highlands are best visited during the dry season between December and April, although the later you go, the hotter it gets; the same applies to H· Chí Minh City (HCMC) and the Mekong Delta, where summer torrents prove particularly disruptive to regional transportation. On the bright side, there’s usually somewhere in the country that’s sunny and dry at any given time. But if you’re traveling throughout the country, do what everyone else does: bring a durable raincoat, and expect to get wet anyway.