Best Time to Visit Vietnam: A Region-by-Region Guide
VNORAS Vietnam desk · Sep 11, 2026 · 2 min read
Hanoi's dry season and Hoi An's dry season do not line up the way you would hope - here is the window that works for a trip covering both, and the months to avoid.
Vietnam runs over 1,600 km north to south, so "best time to visit" depends heavily on which half of the country you are in. A trip like ours that pairs Hanoi and Halong Bay in the north with Da Nang and Hoi An in the centre has to work around two different climates at once, not one.
North (Hanoi and Halong Bay): October-April is dry season
The north has a genuine dry season from October to April, with October-December the sweet spot - warm days, cool evenings and clear skies for cruising the bay. January-March turns cooler and can bring a persistent light drizzle locals call crachin, which softens photos of the karsts but is worth packing a light jacket for.
May-September is hot, humid and the wettest stretch of the year, with July-September carrying the highest typhoon risk for Halong Bay cruises - itineraries do sometimes get shuffled at short notice in this window.
Centre (Da Nang and Hoi An): the dry season runs the other way
Central Vietnam is dry roughly February-August, warming from a pleasant low-30s in February-April to properly hot and humid by June-August. Hoi An's Old Town is at its best in the February-April window, before the summer heat and the crowds both peak.
September-January is the wet season here, and it is not a minor one - October-November bring the heaviest rain and the annual risk of the Thu Bon River flooding Hoi An's riverside streets.
The window that works for both halves: February-April
Line the two seasons up and February-April is the stretch where the north has cleared into its dry season and the centre has not yet turned hot - the best single window for an itinerary that covers Hanoi, Halong Bay, Da Nang and Hoi An in one trip.
One caveat: Tet, the Lunar New Year, usually falls in late January or February and shifts every year. Many family-run restaurants and shops close for several days around it, and domestic flights and trains get booked out early - worth checking the dates for your travel year before you lock an itinerary.
Months to avoid for this route
July-September is the hardest stretch to plan around: peak heat and humidity in the centre overlapping with the north's highest typhoon risk. If your dates are flexible, this is the window to move away from.
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