Last updated: 11 October 2026
Tết is the biggest week of the year in Vietnam. Families travel across the country to be home, cities hang red lanterns and peach blossom, and then, for a few days, much of the country simply stops. For a visitor it is one of the most beautiful times to be there and one of the trickiest to plan. Here is what is confirmed for Tết 2027 on 11 October 2026, what closes and for how long, why transport sells out, and how to keep your trip running when the shutters come down, if you are flying in from the US, the UK or Australia.
Tết 2027 at a glance
| Details | Status on 11 October 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lunar New Year's Day (mùng 1 Tết) | Saturday 6 February 2027, start of the Year of the Goat (Đinh Mùi) | Fixed by the lunar calendar |
| New Year's Eve (Giao thừa) | Night of Friday 5 February 2027, midnight into the 6th | Fixed by the lunar calendar |
| Official holiday for state employees | Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027, 7 days | Approved by the government on 2 October 2026 |
| Private sector | Employers choose how the five statutory Tết days fall | Varies by employer |
| Holiday trains | Run 23 January to 25 February 2027 | On sale since 5 September 2026 |
| Airlines' Tết peak | 22 January to 20 February 2027 | On sale since late August 2026 |
| Lantern Festival (Rằm tháng Giêng) | Saturday 20 February 2027, the 15th day of the first lunar month | Fixed by the lunar calendar |
| Nguyen Hue flower street, Ho Chi Minh City | Not yet announced for 2027 | 2026 dates below |
When is Tết 2027?
Lunar New Year's Day falls on Saturday 6 February 2027. It is the first day of the first month of the lunar year Đinh Mùi, the Year of the Goat. New Year's Eve, Giao thừa, is the night of Friday 5 February, and midnight is the moment the year turns.
The government has already fixed the official holiday. On 2 October 2026 Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà approved the Ministry of Home Affairs' proposal: the Tết 2027 holiday runs for seven days, from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027, the 28th day of the last lunar month of the Year of the Horse to the 5th day of the first month of the Year of the Goat (Government Office document No. 10065/VPCP-KGVX, reported by Vietnam News and VietNamNet). The ministry had also put forward a ten-day option with a swapped working day. It was not chosen.
That schedule applies to civil servants and public employees. Private employers decide how the five statutory Tết days fall for their own staff, so a family restaurant or a tour company may close on different days from a government office. Plan on the whole week of 4 to 10 February being the holiday, with the first three days of the new year, 6 to 8 February, the quietest.
What closes, and for how long
Tết is a family holiday, and most of Vietnam spends it at home. What that means in practice:
- Government offices and banks follow the official schedule and close from 4 to 10 February 2027. Change money and sort anything administrative before Thursday 4 February.
- Family-run restaurants, cafés, street food stalls and small shops close the longest. Many shut a day or two before New Year's Eve and reopen around the 4th to 6th day of the new year, some later still. Your favourite pho stall may well be dark for a week.
- Markets are packed in the days before Tết, as people buy flowers, food and gifts, then go quiet on the first days of the new year.
- Museums and attractions vary. Some close on New Year's Eve and the first days, others stay open with shorter hours. Check the official page or ask your hotel before you plan a day around one.
- Tailors, repair shops and the small services a traveler relies on often stop completely for the week.
The first three days are the quietest. On New Year's Day itself, streets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City that are normally a wall of motorbikes can be close to empty. Life picks up from the 4th day, and by the end of the official holiday most businesses are open again.
What stays open
You will not go hungry, and you will not be stuck.
- Large hotels and international chains stay open and staffed through Tết, and many put on a special breakfast or a New Year's Eve dinner. Smaller guesthouses run by families may close or run a skeleton service: ask before you book.
- Convenience stores and supermarket chains in the cities keep trading, some with shorter hours on the first days. Stock up on water and snacks before the 5th.
- Tourist areas stay the liveliest: the Old Quarter and the streets around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi, District 1 around Nguyen Hue in Ho Chi Minh City, and the old town in Hoi An, which is decorated and busy with domestic visitors over the holiday. Expect fewer places open than usual even there, and prices a little higher.
- Grab keeps running for rides and food delivery, but with fewer drivers on the road, waits can be longer and fares higher around New Year's Eve and the first days.
Transport: book now
Tết is the largest migration of the year in Vietnam. Millions travel home before the holiday and back to the cities after it, and every train, bus and domestic flight in those directions fills.
Trains. Vietnam Railways put about 300,000 Tết tickets on sale at 8:00 on 5 September 2026, for holiday services running from 23 January to 25 February 2027 (VietnamPlus). The official site is dsvn.vn. Sleeper berths on the north to south line between Hanoi, Hue, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City sell first for the days before Tết.
Domestic flights. Vietnam Airlines Group opened Tết 2027 sales on 25 August 2026, with about 3.7 million seats for a peak period from 22 January to 20 February 2027, and about 15% more seats between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City than the year before (Mekong ASEAN, 20 August 2026). Vietjet has also opened its Tết sales. Even with the extra seats, flights out of the big cities in the days before Tết and back into them after it fill early, and the remaining fares rise. Flights in the opposite direction, into Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City before Tết, are usually easier to get.
Buses and taxis. Long-distance buses fill and fares go up around the holiday. In the cities, ride-hailing and taxis are harder to find on New Year's Eve and the first days.
What this means for you. If you are moving around Vietnam over Tết, book every train and flight now. Better still, pick one or two bases for the holiday week itself, and travel either side of it.
What to see: flowers and fireworks
Nguyen Hue flower street, Ho Chi Minh City. Every Tết the city turns Nguyen Hue, the broad walking street in the centre, into a flower street with large displays. In 2026 it ran for eight days, from 19:00 on 15 February to 21:00 on 22 February, along the central lane from Le Loi to Ton Duc Thang, with the main gates left up until 22 March (Tuoi Tre News). The 2027 dates had not been announced on 11 October 2026; going by past years, expect it to open a couple of days before New Year's Eve. It is crowded in the evenings.
Fireworks at midnight on New Year's Eve. Cities mark Giao thừa with fireworks from midnight. For Tết 2026, Hanoi staged 15 minutes of fireworks from midnight at 33 sites, including Hoan Kiem Lake and Thong Nhat Park (Tuoi Tre News), and Ho Chi Minh City used 17 sites, among them the Saigon River Tunnel entrance and Dam Sen Park. The 2027 sites are usually announced a few weeks before Tết, so check the city announcements in January. Plan to be at a viewpoint well before 23:30, and expect the streets around the main sites to close to traffic.
Flower markets. In the days before Tết, flower markets fill the cities with peach blossom (đào) in the north, yellow apricot blossom (mai) in the south and kumquat trees everywhere. They are some of the best photos you will take in Vietnam.
Etiquette: what to know as a guest
- Greet people with "Chúc mừng năm mới", "Happy New Year". It will be appreciated everywhere, from your hotel's front desk to the family who invites you in.
- Lucky money (lì xì) is given in small red envelopes, mostly to children and older relatives. If you are invited to a family's home, bringing a small gift such as fruit, sweets or tea is welcome. If you give lì xì, use new notes.
- The first visitor of the year matters. Xông đất, first-footing, is the belief that the first person to enter a home after midnight sets its luck for the year. Families often choose that person in advance, so do not drop in on a Vietnamese household early on New Year's Day unless you have been asked.
- Keep it positive. The first days are about good luck: avoid arguments, talk of illness or bad news, and sweeping up in someone's home.
- Pagodas and temples are busy on New Year's Eve and the first days, as people go to pray for the year ahead. Dress modestly and keep out of the way of worshippers.
Weather in February, north to south
Vietnam is long, and February weather depends on where you are. Climate normals compiled from the Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology and the World Meteorological Organization give these February averages:
| February average | Daytime high | Night-time low | Rain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hanoi | about 22 °C (72 °F) | about 16 °C (61 °F) | about 20 mm, on some 12 days |
| Da Nang | about 26 °C (79 °F) | about 20 °C (68 °F) | about 24 mm, on some 6 days |
| Ho Chi Minh City | about 33 °C (91 °F) | about 23 °C (74 °F) | about 8 mm, on about 1 day |
The Fahrenheit figures are our conversions. Hanoi and the north are cool, grey and damp: rain falls on many days but mostly as light drizzle, so pack a warm layer and a light rain jacket. Sapa and the far north are colder. Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue are mild, with less rain than in the winter months. Ho Chi Minh City and the south are in the dry season: hot, sunny and close to rainless.
Staying connected over Tết
Your phone matters more during Tết than at any other time of year, because the usual backups, the café round the corner and the agency down the street, are closed.
- Grab and maps. Grab is how most visitors get around and order food in the cities, and over the holiday it is often the easiest way to find what is still open. Google Maps opening hours are not reliable over Tết, so call or message before you cross town for a restaurant.
- Payments. Vietnamese people pay most things by bank transfer, scanning a VietQR code with their banking app. Those codes are mostly for local bank accounts, so as a visitor, carry cash in Vietnamese dong and a card. Withdraw cash before the holiday: banks are closed from 4 to 10 February, and ATMs in busy areas can run low.
- Translation. Download Vietnamese for offline use in your translation app, for menus, signs and messages to your host. A camera translation of a handwritten sign saying a shop reopens on "mùng 6" saves a wasted trip.
- Crowds slow mobile data. At midnight on New Year's Eve, thousands of phones around Hoan Kiem Lake or the Saigon riverfront share the same cells. Agree a meeting point before the fireworks, and send your videos afterwards.
- Download offline maps of the cities you are staying in before you land.
- Check your home plan's rate for Vietnam. US carriers charge by the day for their international passes, and UK and Australian networks set their own rates for Vietnam, often a daily fee too. See our guides to Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile roaming.
Over a Tết week, with every ride, every opening hour and every booking going through your phone, a daily fee adds up. A travel eSIM installed at home is the simpler fix: a data-only line that works as you land at Hanoi Noi Bai or Ho Chi Minh City Tan Son Nhat, with your usual number still on your home SIM for calls and texts. Our Vietnam page lists the Asia Pacific bundle, which also covers Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, and the global plans. Check that your phone supports eSIM, install it on Wi-Fi before you fly with the guide for iPhone or Android, and compare plans on our Vietnam eSIM page.
FAQ
When is Tết 2027?
Lunar New Year's Day is Saturday 6 February 2027, the first day of the Year of the Goat. New Year's Eve is the night of Friday 5 February. The official public holiday for state employees runs from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027, as approved by the government on 2 October 2026.
Is it a good idea to visit Vietnam during Tết?
Yes, if you plan for it. The decorations, flower markets and fireworks are beautiful, and the cities are calm. But many small restaurants and shops close for several days, and trains, buses and flights around the holiday sell out. Book transport early and stay somewhere with a big hotel or a lively tourist area during the first three days of the new year.
How long do shops and restaurants close for Tết?
It depends on the business. Banks and government offices close for the official holiday, 4 to 10 February 2027. Family-run restaurants and shops often close from a day or two before New Year's Eve until the 4th to 6th day of the new year. Large hotels, chains, convenience stores and tourist areas stay open, some with shorter hours.
Are there fireworks for Tết in Vietnam?
Yes. Cities hold displays from midnight on New Year's Eve. For Tết 2026, Hanoi had fireworks at 33 sites and Ho Chi Minh City at 17, each lasting 15 minutes. The 2027 sites are usually announced a few weeks before Tết.
When is the Nguyen Hue flower street in 2027?
The 2027 dates had not been announced on 11 October 2026. In 2026 the flower street ran for eight days, from 15 to 22 February, opening two days before Lunar New Year's Day.
What do you say for Tết?
"Chúc mừng năm mới", Happy New Year. It is the standard greeting during Tết and for the weeks after it.
Will Grab work during Tết?
Grab keeps operating over the holiday, but with fewer drivers on the road, waits can be longer and fares higher, especially on New Year's Eve and the first days of the new year. Keep cash on you as a backup.
Dates checked on 11 October 2026 against the government's approval of the Tết 2027 holiday (Government Office document No. 10065/VPCP-KGVX, as reported by Vietnam News and VietNamNet on 2 October 2026), VietnamPlus on the Tết 2027 train tickets (5 September 2026), Mekong ASEAN on Vietnam Airlines Group's Tết 2027 sales (20 August 2026), Tuoi Tre News on the 2026 Nguyen Hue flower street and the 2026 Hanoi fireworks, Vietnamese press reports on the 2026 Ho Chi Minh City fireworks, and climate normals from the Vietnam Institute for Building Science and Technology and the World Meteorological Organization. The photos are illustrations.