Best Time to Visit Hanoi

Hanoi has four seasons, which surprises people who expect tropical weather everywhere in Vietnam. It sits far enough north to get a real winter.

October to December is the best stretch: dry, mild, clear, and comfortable for walking all day. March and April are the other good window, warming up before the summer rains.

May to August is hot and very humid, with heavy afternoon downpours that clear quickly but flood streets while they last. January and February are cool and grey, often with a fine persistent drizzle the Vietnamese have their own word for, and it does not really stop.

None of it is a reason not to come. It is a reason to pack differently than the brochure suggests.

⚠️ Tet, the lunar new year, falls in late January or February and is the one period that genuinely changes what a visit is like.

In the days around it a large share of restaurants, shops and family-run businesses close, staff travel home across the country, and transport is booked out well in advance. The city is quieter and more beautiful than at any other time, with flower markets everywhere, and also substantially less open.

It is a wonderful time to see Hanoi and a poor time to rely on it. If your dates fall near Tet, check the exact year's date and assume that a third of what you planned will be shut.

Summer needs light clothing and something waterproof you can walk in, not an umbrella that turns inside out on a motorbike-filled street.

Winter needs more than most people bring. Buildings are not heated, so an indoor 15°C is felt all day rather than escaped from in the evening. A warm layer and a light waterproof handle it.

For Ha Long or Sapa on the same trip, add one more layer than Hanoi needs. The coast is windier and the hills are several degrees colder.