Vietnamese festivals through the year, and which ones close the country
On this page
- What festivals happen in Vietnam, and when?
- Which one actually closes the country?
- Which festival is easiest to catch?
- What is the mid-autumn festival?
- What is the seventh lunar month about?
- What about the public holidays?
- Is the Hue Festival worth planning around?
- How do you find the dates for your year?
- FAQ
Vietnamese festivals split cleanly into two kinds: the one that stops the country, and everything else. Knowing which is which decides whether a date is worth planning around or planning away from.
What festivals happen in Vietnam, and when?
Six Vietnamese festivals matter for a visitor. Tet in late January or February, the Hung Kings commemoration in April, Reunification Day at the end of April, the Hue Festival in even years, the mid-autumn festival in September or October, and Hoi An's lantern night every single lunar month.
Most Vietnamese festivals run on the lunar calendar, so the western dates move by two or three weeks each year. Check the year you are travelling rather than trusting a date you read once.
| Festival | When | What happens | Travel effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tet | Late Jan or Feb | Lunar new year, family, closures | Country stops for a week |
| Hung Kings | 10th day, 3rd lunar month | Pilgrimage to Phu Tho | One public holiday |
| Reunification Day | 30 April | Parades, fireworks | Beaches and flights fill |
| Hue Festival | Even years, spring | Music, theatre, royal processions | Hue books out |
| Mid-autumn | 15th day, 8th lunar month | Lion dances, lanterns, mooncakes | None, nothing closes |
| Hoi An lantern night | 14th day, every lunar month | Lights off, candles on the river | None, monthly |
| Ok Om Bok | 15th day, 10th lunar month | Khmer moon festival, boat races | Soc Trang and Tra Vinh book out |
Which one actually closes the country?
Tet, and it closes it properly. Shops, museums and a great many restaurants shut. Families travel home, and domestic transport books out solid with fares to match. This is not a festival you attend so much as a week the country takes off.
The days either side are genuinely worth seeing: flower markets, kumquat trees strapped to motorbikes, streets scrubbed and repainted. The week itself is a poor time to be moving around. The Tet guide has the dates and the closures in detail.
If your trip falls inside it, the answer is to stay put. Pick one city, book accommodation early, and treat it as a week of watching rather than a week of travelling.
Which festival is easiest to catch?
Hoi An's lantern night, because it happens twelve times a year. On the fourteenth day of each lunar month, the night before the full moon, the old town switches off its electric lighting. The river then fills with floating candles.
The monthly rhythm makes the lantern night the only significant Vietnamese festival you can plan a trip around without contorting your dates. Hoi An is worth two nights anyway, and timing one of them to the fourteenth costs nothing.
What is the mid-autumn festival?
Tet Trung Thu, on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, usually falling in September or early October. It is a children's festival: lion dances in the streets, star-shaped lanterns, and mooncakes given as gifts for weeks beforehand.
In Hanoi, Hang Ma street in the Old Quarter fills with lantern sellers and turns almost impassable in the evenings. Nothing closes for it, which makes this the best of the Vietnamese festivals to catch: a real one with no travel cost attached.
What is the seventh lunar month about?
Not a festival exactly, and worth knowing anyway. The ghost month closes nothing and changes nothing for a visitor, but it fills the pagodas, puts offerings on every pavement and quietly stops Vietnamese people from holding weddings for four weeks.
What about the public holidays?
Three dates fill the country without much visible celebration. They catch people out precisely because they are not festivals. Reunification Day on 30 April and Labour Day on 1 May run together into a long weekend, and National Day on 2 September does the same.
On those dates domestic flights, trains and the beaches fill with Vietnamese holidaymakers, and coastal prices rise. Nothing shuts, so a city trip is unaffected. The public holidays guide covers the swapped working days that decide how long each block runs.
A trip to Phu Quoc or Nha Trang in that week is a different proposition. The beaches guide is worth reading alongside the dates.
Is the Hue Festival worth planning around?
If your trip already includes Hue and lands in an even-numbered year, yes. The festival runs in the spring across the citadel and the riverfront, with music, theatre and processions in the royal grounds, and it uses the city's history rather than decorating it.
The festival also fills Hue's hotels, so book well ahead or stay in Da Nang and travel in. The central route covers how those days fit together.
How do you find the dates for your year?
Work from the lunar calendar rather than from last year's western dates. Tet falls on the first day of the first lunar month, mid-autumn on the fifteenth of the eighth, and the Hoi An lantern night on the fourteenth of each.
The lunar anchors do not move. The western dates they land on shift by two to three weeks year to year, which is enough to miss something you thought you had timed. The month-by-month guide covers what the weather is doing when they arrive.
FAQ
What is the biggest festival in Vietnam?
Tet, the lunar new year, without any competition. It falls in late January or February and effectively closes the country for a week: businesses shut, transport fills and prices rise on both sides of it. Every other Vietnamese festival is a day or an evening rather than a national pause.
What festivals happen in Vietnam through the year?
Tet in late January or February, the Hung Kings commemoration in April, Reunification Day on 30 April, the Hue Festival in even-numbered years, the mid-autumn festival in September or October, and the Hoi An lantern night on the fourteenth day of every lunar month, which has its own page.
When is the Hoi An lantern festival?
On the fourteenth day of each lunar month, the night before the full moon, so it happens monthly rather than once a year. The old town turns off its electric lights and floats candles on the river. It is the easiest Vietnamese festival to catch because there are twelve chances a year.
Should you avoid travelling to Vietnam during Tet?
Avoid the week itself unless you have somewhere to be. Museums, shops and many restaurants close, domestic transport is booked out and fares rise. The days either side are wonderful to witness. If your dates are fixed inside Tet, base yourself in one city rather than planning to move.
What is the mid-autumn festival in Vietnam?
Tet Trung Thu, held on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, usually September or early October. It is a children's festival with lion dances, star lanterns and mooncakes, and Hanoi's Hang Ma street fills with lantern sellers for weeks beforehand. Nothing closes for it.
Are Vietnamese public holidays the same as festivals?
No, and the difference matters for travel. Reunification Day on 30 April, Labour Day on 1 May and National Day on 2 September are public holidays that fill domestic flights and beaches without much public celebration. Tet is both a festival and the longest holiday.