Weather in Vietnam in February 2027, Plus Tet Closures

The weather in Vietnam in February splits three ways: cool and grey in the north, drying out in the centre, hot and dry in the south. Hanoi averages 21°C by day and 16°C at night with only 48 hours of sun all month, Da Nang 26°C with 24 mm of rain, and the Mekong 31°C with almost none. Tet falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, and the official holiday runs from 4 to 10 February.

Tet shapes a February trip more than the weather does. For about a week, transport sells out, fares double and small businesses shut. Arrive from 13 February and you get the same weather at normal prices.

Weather in Vietnam in February: the region table

Every figure below comes from one dataset, the long-term station averages in Vietnam's national building climate standard, QCVN 02:2022/BXD. They describe a normal year, not a forecast. The tables have no station in Hoi An, Phong Nha or Saigon, so those rows use Da Nang, Dong Hoi and Can Tho, 170 km south-west of Saigon.

Read the rain days with the millimetres beside them. Hanoi gets rain on 11 days but only 25 mm in total, because most of it is drizzle, logged on about seven February days. Some guides promise clear northern skies this month. Hanoi's station records 48 hours of sun in February, about 1.7 hours a day, and only March is duller.

Where to go in Vietnam in February, and where to skip

Go south and central. Can Tho, the nearest station to Saigon, averages under 4 mm of rain and 243 hours of sun, the driest month of its year. Phu Quoc gets 27 mm on four days. Da Nang and Hoi An drop to 24 mm on six days, under a third of January's 82 mm. The Vietnam in January guide has the month before, when Hue is still wet.

The north works for a city trip if you pack a jacket and accept grey skies. Skip Sapa if green terraces are the point: they stay bare until planting in May. Skip a one-night Ha Long cruise if the views matter more than the boat, because Bai Chay averages 48 hours of sun in the month.

With two weeks, travel north to south so the weather warms as you go: Hanoi, Phong Nha, Hue and Hoi An, then fly to Saigon or Phu Quoc. Hanoi to Dong Hoi, the airport for Phong Nha, is about 1 hour 20 minutes by air. For how February ranks against the other eleven months, see the best time to visit Vietnam.

North Vietnam in February: Hanoi, Halong and Sapa

Hanoi in February runs 21°C by day and 16°C at night, with humidity near 83%. That feels colder than it sounds, and most guesthouses and older houses have no heating. Cold fronts still come through: the station's February record low is 5°C. Late in the month the air turns sticky and walls start to sweat, the damp spell locals call nom.

Over Tet the Old Quarter's family shops close for the first two or three days of the year while temples fill. The Temple of Literature holds a calligraphy fair by Ho Van lake each Tet. In 2026 it opened on 11 February, and people queued on New Year's Day for a character to hang at home.

Hanoi logs drizzle on about seven days in a normal February.

Sapa, at 1,570 metres, averages 14°C by day and 8°C at night, with fog on about 17 days and drizzle on 14. The station's February record low is minus 1°C, so frost happens and snow is rare. Our guide to snow in Vietnam covers where it falls and how often.

Fog fills Sapa's valleys on about 17 days in February.

Ha Long runs 20°C by day and 15°C at night, with 25 mm of rain. The sea sits around 20°C to 21°C, too cold for most swimmers, and fog can reduce the karsts to grey outlines. Cruises sail all month. A two-night cruise gives you two mornings for a clear view.

Central Vietnam in February: Hue, Da Nang and Hoi An

February is when the central coast leaves its wet season behind. Hue's rain halves from 129 mm in January to 63 mm, on 12 days, with highs of 25°C. It is still the dampest stop in the centre, and the first week is wetter than the last. Da Nang and Hoi An are drier: 24 mm on six days, 146 hours of sun and highs of 26°C.

The sea lags behind the air. Off Da Nang it averages 22°C to 23°C in February, fine for a quick swim and cold for a long one, and the beaches warm properly in March. The Da Nang weather guide goes month by month.

Hue's rainfall halves between January and February.

Phong Nha in February

Dong Hoi, 45 km from Phong Nha, averages 22°C by day and 18°C at night in February, with 40 mm of rain on 11 days, most of it light. Humidity sits near 89%, so wet clothes dry slowly. That is cool trekking weather, and the rivers run low after October's 649 mm. Every Jungle Boss tour runs in February, including the Hue tours to Bach Ma and Do Quyen Waterfall, which reopen each year on 1 December.

The Phong Nha Cave boat runs through Tet. A boat costs 700,000 dong and carries up to 12 people, plus a cave ticket of 150,000 dong each. In 2026 the park counted nearly 3,000 visitors in the first two days of the lunar year, so between 6 and 10 February go before 9 am.

Boats for Phong Nha Cave leave from this landing on the Son River.

February's cool nights suit the long trips. The Kong Collapse Top Adventure runs 5 days and 4 nights for 35,000,000 dong, about US$1,330, prices checked 13 November 2026. It departs on Tuesdays and Fridays with up to 10 people, takes no one under 16 and needs a health check first. You camp at Dai A Cave, inside the Kong collapse and at the mouth of Pygmy Cave. Over Tet, confirm the 5 and 9 February departures before booking flights.

The guide to multi-day cave expeditions compares it with the two and three day options.

The south in February: Saigon, the Mekong and Phu Quoc

This is the south's best month. Can Tho averages 31°C by day, 23°C at night, under 4 mm of rain and 243 hours of sun, nearly eight hours a day. Saigon often reaches 33°C in the city. Reach the Mekong floating markets before 7 am, when trade is busiest and the heat has not built.

Cai Rang, near Can Tho, trades hardest in the early morning.

Phu Quoc averages 31°C, 27 mm of rain on four days and a sea of 27°C to 28°C, calm on the west coast. Tet is its busiest week. In 2026, most of the island's hotels ran above 95% occupancy over the holiday, so book Tet-week rooms by November.

Tet 2027 and other February festivals

Tet 2027, the Year of the Goat, falls on Saturday 6 February. The government approved a seven-day holiday from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February. Our Tet 2027 guide goes through what opens, day by day. The short version:

• 30 January: Kitchen God Day. The pre-Tet rush starts and flower markets fill the pavements.
• 3 to 5 February: the outbound crush. Trains, sleeper buses and flights out of Hanoi and Saigon run full.
• 6 to 8 February: the first three days of the year. Most small restaurants, street stalls, family shops, tailors and banks close. Hotels, convenience stores, pagodas and the tourist streets of the Old Quarter and Hoi An stay open.
• 9 to 12 February: the return rush. Most cities are back to normal by 11 or 12 February.
• 11 February: the Perfume Pagoda festival opens south of Hanoi on the sixth day of the year. In 2026 the scenic-area ticket was 120,000 dong and the boat 110,000.
• 19 and 20 February: Hoi An's monthly lantern night, then the first full moon of the year, when pagodas fill again.

Take out the cash you need before 3 February, because banks stay shut until the holiday ends. The Hoi An lantern festival page lists every 2027 lantern night.

Crowds and prices in February 2027

Train tickets for Tet 2027 went on sale on 5 September 2026: about 300,000 seats for a peak running from 23 January to 25 February. Over Tet 2026, rail fares rose 5% to 10%, airfares to Da Nang roughly doubled, and Dong Hoi was among the routes that sold out. Book Tet-week transport now.

Hotels split by place. Over Tet 2026, Sapa's four and five star hotels ran about 90% full on the second to fourth days of the year, while Hoi An sat near 50% and downtown Hanoi at 50% to 60%. Grab adds a Tet surcharge to rides in every city it serves. From about 12 February, fares and room rates fall back, which makes the second half of the month the better buy.

Outside Tet week, a Phong Nha day trek needs no booking weeks ahead. The Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley Jungle Trek leaves daily with pickup around 8 am, costs 1,950,000 dong, about US$74, and takes children from 9, prices checked 13 November 2026. Lunch is grilled by Ma Da Lake, and the water-cave swim is cold in February, so pack a dry layer.

If your dates are flexible, Vietnam in March has the same southern weather, a warmer sea in Da Nang and no national holiday.

What to wear in Vietnam in February

• A fleece or warm jacket for Hanoi evenings at 16°C, plus a hat, gloves and a thermal layer for Sapa nights at 8°C.
• A thin waterproof for northern drizzle and for Hue.
• T-shirts and light trousers for the centre, where days reach 25°C to 26°C.
• Summer clothes, a hat and high-factor sunscreen for Saigon, the Mekong and Phu Quoc at 31°C.
• Quick-dry clothes and a dry set for the end of a cave day in Phong Nha, where 89% humidity keeps wet kit wet.
• A light layer for air-conditioned buses and sleeper trains.