Vietnam in November, region by region

Vietnam in November is the month the southern dry season starts and the northern one settles in. The centre is still wet and can still flood, but the rest of the country is entering its best half of the year.

What is the weather like in Vietnam in November?

November in the north is cool and dry, with temperatures in the low twenties, humidity down near 70 per cent and clear skies most days. It is the comfortable end of the northern year, before the January cold sets in.

The centre is still wet, with flood risk running into the first half of the month and the typhoon window not yet closed.

The south begins its dry season: rain tails off through November and the islands come into their own.

Where should you go in November?

Go south and go to the plateau. Phu Quoc, Con Dao and the Mekong Delta all enter their dry window in November, and the sea settles.

The Ha Giang plateau flowers with buckwheat through late October and November, which is the one northern sight tied to this month and the reason the loop fills.

Hanoi and Ninh Binh are comfortable and quiet, with none of the summer heat and none of the January drizzle.

What should you skip in November?

Skip the central coast in the first half of the month if the plan cannot move. Hue and Hoi An still flood in early November, and the typhoon season guide sets out how late the window runs.

Avoid assuming the mountains are warm. Nights in Sapa and on the Dong Van plateau drop into single figures in November, and the wind makes the bike ride colder than the thermometer says.

Beach plans in the north are over for the year, with the sea cooling from October onwards.

How busy is November, and what does it cost?

November is a shoulder month that fills as it goes. Foreign arrivals climb through the month as the dry season starts, and by the end of it the south is at high-season prices.

The centre is still cheap, and the first half of November is the last of the bargain window in Hoi An and Da Nang, where a riverside room can run 600,000 dong against 1.5 million in March.

Ha Giang is the exception in the north: the buckwheat season fills the homestays, and the Ha Giang page explains what that does to the good ones.

What is on in November?

Vietnamese Teachers' Day on 20 November fills the schools with flowers and the streets with students, though it is not a public holiday. The buckwheat flower season on the Dong Van plateau runs through the month and draws domestic photographers in numbers.

Otherwise the calendar is quiet, which suits a month whose selling point is the weather.

What should you pack for November?

Pack a warm layer for the north and summer clothes for the south, the same split that runs from November to February. The mountains need more than a fleece after dark, and a windproof layer matters on a motorbike at altitude.

Rain gear is still worth carrying for the centre in the first half of the month, which the packing guide treats as the wet half of a two-climate bag.

Is the sea swimmable in November?

The south is excellent and improving through the month, with Phu Quoc and Con Dao at the start of their best season. The centre is rough early and settling late, and the north is finished for the year.

By the end of November the swimmable coast has moved entirely south, which is where it stays until March.

So is November a good time to visit Vietnam?

Vietnam in November is a good month with a clear shape: the south is opening, the north is comfortable and the centre is still recovering. Anybody planning a trip that stays below Da Nang or above Hue will find November close to ideal. The best time to visit guide sets it against December, when the split becomes sharper still.