Tet in Vietnam 2027: dates, closures and whether to travel

When Tet 2027 falls, and how long the country slows down

Tet is fixed by the lunar calendar, not the Western one: the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism (VNAT) describes it as the first day of the first lunar month, usually in January or February. For 2027 that is Saturday 6 February, the first day of the Year of the Goat, with Tet Eve, the most important night, on Friday 5 February.

When we checked on 2026-10-03, the state news agency's English service reported that the government had approved a seven-day Tet holiday from 4 to 10 February 2027 (the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month to the fifth day of the first) for civil servants and public employees. Private businesses set their own days, so treat those dates as the core of the shutdown, not its edges.

In practice the season is much longer than the holiday. VNAT's Tet guide says the celebrations begin three days before New Year and last a few days after, and that preparations start weeks in advance. Vietnam Railways' Tet timetable, put on sale on 5 September 2026, covers travel from 23 January to 25 February 2027, which is a good measure of how long the peak in long-distance travel lasts.

The weeks before Tet: flower markets, shopping and Tet Eve

For most visitors, the run-up is the best part. VNAT describes homes and offices decorated with 'Chúc Mừng Năm Mới' (Happy New Year) signs, kumquat trees and peach blossom set in places of honour, and markets jammed with shoppers buying red and gold decorations, zodiac lanterns and red lucky-money envelopes (lì xì). Everything is open, the streets are at their liveliest, and transport within a city still works normally.

In Hanoi, the tourism board picks out the Quảng Bá flower market near West Lake in the week before Tet, where people buy pink peach boughs for luck; Hang Luoc, in the Old Quarter, is another flower market that fills up in those days. On Tet Eve, VNAT suggests the alleys of the Old Quarter, where makeshift altars with fruit and boiled chicken appear along the kerbs, and it notes that fireworks are lit in major cities at midnight.

In the south, the New Year flower is the yellow ochna blossom (mai). In Ho Chi Minh City, VNAT says Nguyễn Huệ Street in the city centre hosts the country's largest Tet flower show, crowded with families in new clothes and women in áo dài.

What closes during Tet, and what you can still do

VNAT is direct about it: with staff gone home to their families, businesses and restaurants typically close for at least the first few days of Tet, and the cities are quiet, with limited dining and shopping. The tourism board's FAQ calls this an inconvenience for travellers who are short of time. Plan breakfast and at least one meal a day in your hotel, buy snacks and water before Tet Eve, and carry enough cash for several days in case the shops you rely on are shut.

The upside is just as real. The same guide calls the first days of Tet a rare chance to see the big cities empty of noise and traffic, and suggests exploring by bicycle, scooter or on foot. Pilgrimage sites are busy rather than closed, as the Perfume Pagoda figures below show.

Some heritage sites around Hanoi even waive their fees. Hanoi's fee rules, as reported by the culture ministry in December 2023, made the Perfume Pagoda (chùa Hương) free on the last day of the lunar year and the first two days of Tet, and gave the same days free at Duong Lam ancient village and the Thay and Tay Phuong pagodas. The Perfume Pagoda's pilgrimage season starts straight after Tet: in 2026 the festival ran from the second day of the first lunar month to 11 May, and the organisers reported almost 136,000 visitors in the first five days of the new year. Expect queues, not closures, and check the 2027 dates before you go.

Petty crime also rises at this time of year: the UK government's travel advice notes an increase in theft and bag-snatching around Christmas and Tet. Keep phones and bags close in flower-market crowds and at the fireworks.

Transport: book the long journeys first

VNAT's Tet guide warns that people returning to their home towns create heavy demand for buses, trains, planes and hotel rooms, and advises booking transport and accommodation far in advance if you must travel then. Its transport guide asks for train tickets to be booked well in advance for holidays, and for open-tour bus seats at least two weeks ahead on a Vietnamese holiday. Its airport guide says domestic flight prices go up around public holidays.

For trains, the dates are already set. When we checked on 2026-10-03, Vietnam Railways said it had put about 300,000 north–south tickets on sale on 5 September 2026 for travel between 23 January and 25 February 2027, with seven pairs of Reunification Express trains a day plus two extra pairs (TN3/4 and TN5/6) between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. It also planned extra trains on some routes, such as Saigon to Da Nang and Nha Trang, and Hanoi to Vinh, during the holiday itself, from 5 to 8 February 2027.

Tet tickets also come with their own exchange and refund rules. The railway's booking site (dsvn.vn) listed a separate notice for Tet 2027 when we checked; for Tet 2025 it had set a 30% deduction on exchanged or returned tickets in the peak period, compared with 10–20% normally, so do not book a Tet train you are unsure of.

The pattern to avoid is a long journey in the last days before Tet Eve, when everyone is going home, or in the days after the holiday, when they all come back. Book those legs first, then fit the hotels around them.

Three ways to plan a trip around Tet

This is an editorial suggestion based on the official dates above, not a timetable. Check opening days for anything you have set your heart on.

• See Tet, stay put: arrive in late January 2027, do your long-distance travel in the week before, then spend 4–10 February in one city. Shop the flower markets, watch Tet Eve in the street, and use the quiet first days for walking and cycling.
• Travel straight after: spend the first days of the new year in one place, then start touring once the official holiday ends on 10 February. The Lim Festival in Bac Ninh, about an hour from Hanoi, falls on the 12th or 13th day of the first lunar month, which by our count is 17 or 18 February 2027, and the Perfume Pagoda pilgrimage season is under way by then.
• Avoid it: if your trip is about covering ground, with trains, buses and day tours every few days, come from early March instead, when the Tet travel peak is long over.
• Short on time: do not plan a one-week, multi-city trip between about 1 and 12 February 2027; the closures and full transport cost too many of your days.

Etiquette: invitations, greetings and lucky money

An invitation to a family's home at Tet is an honour. VNAT explains that you should not drop by a Vietnamese home uninvited during Tet, because the first guests of the year are specially chosen to bring the household good luck. If you are invited, small gifts such as fruit, sweets or a box of tea are a safe choice.

Lucky money (lì xì) in red envelopes is customarily given by elders to younger family members and by managers to employees, and VNAT notes that moving from receiving lì xì to giving it is a sign of growing up. On the first days of the year, a smile and 'Chúc mừng năm mới' to the people you meet goes a long way.