Vietnam in March, region by region
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Vietnam in March is the month to pick if the route crosses the country. The northern drizzle has gone, the central sea is flat, and the south is dry — the rarest alignment in the Vietnamese calendar.
What is the weather like in Vietnam in March?
March in the north is warm, clear and dry, and it is the month Hanoi looks like the photographs. Temperatures climb into the low twenties, the fog lifts, and the mountains give the visibility that January and February withhold. Hanoi averages about 44 mm of rain in March, a fifth of what falls there in August.
The centre is at its most dependable: dry days, flat sea, and beach weather from Da Nang to Nha Trang without the summer heat.
The south is hot and dry, building towards the April peak, with daytime highs in the low to middle thirties.
| Region | March | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| North | Warm, clear, dry | The best northern month with October |
| Sapa and the highlands | Mild days, cool nights | Trekking season proper |
| Centre | Dry, sea flat | Beaches and boats both work |
| South | 32–35°C, dry | Hot but predictable |
Where should you go in March?
Go north first, because March is one of its two good months. Sapa, Ha Giang and Ninh Binh are all at their best, and the mountain roads are open and visible.
The centre is equally good, which almost never happens at the same time. Hoi An, Da Nang and the Hai Van pass are dry and clear, and the sea is calm enough for the islands off Nha Trang.
The south is fine and hot. The delta and the islands are still in their dry season, though the middle of the day is now genuinely warm.
What should you skip in March?
March asks you to skip very little, which is why it books out. The only real caution is heat in the south for anybody who dislikes the mid-thirties, and that is a matter of pacing rather than avoidance.
Mountain nights are still cold, so a trek above 1,500 metres needs a layer. Frost is over, but Sapa at 4am is not warm.
The one thing March cannot offer is the flooded terraces of May or the gold ones of September. The rice year guide sets out which month shows the fields at their best.
How busy is March, and what does it cost?
March is busy with foreign visitors and quiet with domestic ones, which is the comfortable combination. There is no Vietnamese holiday in March, so the trains and beaches belong to travellers rather than to families.
Prices sit at high-season levels in the north and the centre. The south is easing off its January peak, which makes the delta and the islands slightly cheaper than they were a month earlier.
Book the northern mountain homestays ahead. March is when everybody who read about Ha Giang arrives, and the Ha Giang page explains what that does to the good places.
What is on in March?
The Perfume Pagoda festival continues through the month, and the northern temple calendar is at its busiest between Tet and April. The Hung Kings commemoration falls in April in most years, and the run-up is visible in Phu Tho from late March. The public holidays guide covers which dates move with the lunar calendar.
Otherwise March is a quiet month on the calendar, which is part of why it travels so well.
What should you pack for March?
One wardrobe covers March, which is unusual here. Light clothes work the length of the country, with a fleece for northern evenings and mountain mornings. A rain shell is worth carrying for the north, where a wet week is still possible, and sun cover is worth carrying for the south, where it is not optional.
Walking shoes matter more this month than any other, because March is when the trekking routes are actually open — the packing guide covers what the highlands need.
Is the sea swimmable in March?
The sea is swimmable from Nha Trang southwards all month, and in the centre from the start of it. The sea off Da Nang and Hoi An is flat and warming, and the day boats to the Cham islands run reliably.
The north is still cold. Cat Ba and Ha Long are scenery in March, not swimming.
March has the widest swimmable coast of any month before June, which the beaches guide puts against the rest of the year.
So is March a good time to visit Vietnam?
Vietnam in March is the best month in the calendar for a trip that crosses regions. Three climates that usually disagree are all reasonable at once, and nothing on the holiday calendar interferes.
The cost of that is company: March is the busiest foreign season in the north and the centre, and the good rooms go early. The best time to visit guide compares it with October, which is the other candidate.
FAQ
Is March a good time to visit Vietnam?
March is the best month for a trip that crosses the country. The north is warm and clear, the centre is dry with a flat sea, and the south is hot but reliable — an alignment that only happens twice a year. The trade is company, because it is the busiest foreign season in the north.
What is the weather like in the north in March?
Warm, clear and dry, with temperatures in the low twenties and the winter fog gone. It is the month Hanoi, Ninh Binh and the mountain roads look the way the photographs promise, and it is the start of the proper trekking season in Sapa and Ha Giang.
Is the sea swimmable in March?
From the centre southwards, yes. Da Nang, Hoi An, Nha Trang and the southern islands are all swimmable, and the sea is flat enough for the day boats. The northern coast stays cool until about May.
Is March expensive in Vietnam?
Prices are at high-season levels in the north and centre and easing in the south. There is no Vietnamese public holiday in March, so domestic travel is light and the pressure on rooms comes from foreign visitors rather than from families.
March or October in Vietnam?
Both are the good months, and they differ in the centre. March gives a dry, flat-sea coast from Da Nang to Nha Trang; October gives the clearest north of the year while the centre floods. For a full-country route March is the safer of the two.