Best Time to Visit Da Nang: The Dry Months, the October Floods, Beach Season, and the Hai Van Pass in Cloud

Da Nang sits on the central coast, where the weather runs opposite to the north and south: the dry, hot season is February to August, and the rain arrives in September and peaks in October and November, when typhoons and the north-east monsoon bring days of continuous rain and the Thu Bon and Han rivers flood. Hanoi and Saigon guides will tell you December is dry; in Da Nang it is grey and cool with a rough sea. Plan central Vietnam by its own clock.

February to April: the best months, 24 to 30 degrees, dry, the sea calming, the rice green, Ba Na and the pass mostly clear. May to August: hot (33 to 36) and sunny, the beach season, with domestic holiday crowds in June and July and the fire on the Dragon Bridge every weekend night. September: the change, with the first typhoon risk. October and November: the wettest months in Vietnam, flooding in Hoi An's old town some years, Ba Na in cloud, Cham Island closed. December and January: cooler (20 to 25), drizzly, the sea unswimmable, but the town quiet and the pass dramatic on clear days.

The beach and Cham Island are a March-to-August proposition. Ba Na Hills at 1,400 metres is often inside cloud from October to January, when the Golden Bridge photographs are grey; the Ba Na guide covers it. The Hai Van Pass is clearest in the dry months and spectacular in cloud, which is a matter of taste. The Marble Mountains and the city are fine in any month with a rain jacket. Hoi An's lantern evenings run year-round.

The tourist peak is February to April, with Vietnamese holiday crowds at the beach in June and July and around the 30 April and 1 May holidays. Hotel rates drop sharply from October to January, when the weather is the reason. Tet (late January or February) brings the domestic holiday and closures. The getting around page has the transport for any month.

February to April for the classic trip, May to August for the beach with early starts, September to January only with a rain plan and no beach expectations. Tours run in all months; Cham Island boats and Ba Na cable car close only in storms. If a typhoon is forecast the operators reschedule and refund, and Da Nang airport is the one that closes, so keep a day of slack in October and November.