Vietnam help please

[Passwordsaremynemesis]

We are planning a trip back to the UK and Ireland this year to see our families ( we are in Western Australia). We would prefer to travel during our winter/ uk summer, but are flexible on dates. We are considering a few weeks in Vietnam on our way back, but looks like it is rainy season. Can anyone recommend a good time to go, I realise Vietnam has a few climates so it gets confusing! Can anyone advise when is a good time to go, or where, or should we consider somewhere else? We would like to see as much as possible, probably on some kind of organised tour, so recommendations for that would be great too.

March/ April - May is a good time for traveling throughout Vietnam.
What month do you plan to go?

We were hoping to avoid Aussie winter so July/August would have been ideal. But we are open to going a month or two earlier or later if weather in Vietnam is better. We just aren’t used to cold weather any more so prefer to avoid Uk winter .

We went to Central Vietnam last July and it was hot and not wet. So Hoi An, Da Nang and Hue areas.

I’d like to go back in our winter to Sapa, Halong Bay, Hanoi and the Phu Quoc islands.

Wonderful country. Gorgeous scenery, amazing food, friendly people.

September is not a bad month to go (Start from North to South of VN).

September could work, it would be something to look forward to over our winter. I will have a google and see what weather is like, really don't want to go when its gloomy weather. I'm ok with a bit of rain so long as its not all day, I've been to Bali in rainy season but I'm not a fan of monsoon weather.

We went to Vietnam in late July early August a few years ago. Our planned Ha Long Bay trip was cancelled due to a typhoon (we got the money straight back) but the hotel just organised a good day trip to Ninh Binh instead. The weather the day before and after was warm, humid and not too windy. We caught a couple of heavy showers while in Hanoi but we just went and had a drink for half an hour (watching all the pedestrians and motorcyclists (and even a dog) donning cheap plastic covers/coats) and by the time we finished our drinks it had all gone. It wasn't like a rainy day in UK, it was still nice and warm. We then caught trains down the country and by the time we got to Hoi An it was completely dry for us. I would go again at the same time - it wasn't at all horrific.

We were in Vietnam and Cambodia September last year a couple of weeks after the big typhoon. We were very lucky with the weather, only a few days of rain, otherwise sunny, but a couple of weeks earlier would have been a different story. It was very warm and humid, but ok for travel.

We did Hanoi and a Ha Long Bay cruise, then flew to Siem Reap and did Angkor Wat and associated temples (I realise you didn’t ask about Cambodia but it was beautiful), then a Mekong River cruise back into Vietnam ending in Saigon.

We went in July 2023 taking our DS15. We all loved it and only had one afternoon of rain in Hoi An. We went on an organised tour with GAdventures which was well organised with some group activities and down time too. Loved it and keep talking about returning.

Couple of hints - I booked all 4 bunks in the train compartment so we had it to ourselves for privacy when transferring from Hanoi overnight.

We also did a pre booked food tour in Hanoi via GAdventures (we were the only ones) and it was brilliant!!

Also book more time either end of the tour to do your own things.

This is all very helpful! It looks like summer months aren't out of the question, I don't mind the odd downpour, I'm just keen to avoid grey skies/constant deluge/lots of humidity. I guess I should have a chat with a travel agent, it sounds great! Any further tips very much appreciated, am defo going to do a food tour, I bloody love Vietnamese food.

According to my research - Spring (March/April) is the best time to go as the weather in all three areas (North, central, south) is good at that time.

We cant go that early unfortunately. I'm pretty keen to dodge some of the Aussie winter if possible, and I also want at least the chance of some decent weather in the UK and Ireland, so July/Aug/Sept would be best for us, if its not going to be humid/pissing down.

@Passwordsaremynemesis did you do this trip in the end? I’ve just booked flights into Kuala Lumpur for August 13th with a view to moving into somewhere for 16 nights on Aug 17th. Central Vietnam is top of my list but really worried about lots of rain.

We have found this to be pretty accurate.

“…Central Vietnam is top of my list but really worried about lots of rain.”
You can make a reference on weatherspark site.