Tết Nguyên Đán (Lunar New Year)

Tết Nguyên Đán — usually shortened to just Tết — is the lunar new year, the single most important holiday in Vietnamese culture. The country effectively pauses for a week (officially) or 10–14 days (in practice). Streets that normally roar with motorbike traffic empty. Restaurants and shops close. Hundreds of millions of urban Vietnamese travel home to their family villages.

For visitors, Tết is double-edged: visually unique and culturally rich, but logistically the most difficult travel window of the year.

When Tết falls

Tết follows the lunar calendar — first day of the first lunar month — which means it shifts between late January and mid-February each year.

Year	Tết Day 1
2026	17 February
2027	6 February
2028	26 January
2029	13 February
2030	3 February

The official public holiday is typically the day before Tết (giao thừa / new year's eve) plus the first 5 days of the lunar new year — but many businesses close for 10–14 days, especially small shops and street vendors.

The build-up

The week before Tết is the most photogenic Tết experience:

• Flower markets open in every major city — peach blossom (đào) in the north, apricot blossom (mai) in the south, kumquat trees (quất), chrysanthemums.
• Sticky-rice cake making (bánh chưng in the north, bánh tét in the south) in courtyards and households.
• Streets decorated with red lanterns and "Chúc Mừng Năm Mới" banners.
• Markets bustling with shopping for the family feasts.

This pre-Tết week is genuinely lovely and one of the best windows for street photography.

During Tết (Days 1–5)

During the actual holiday:

• Streets quiet — even HCMC and Hanoi feel peaceful, motorbike traffic reduced 70%+.
• Hotels open but with skeleton staff.
• Restaurants — most close; a few in tourist districts stay open.
• Pagodas crowded — first-day-of-the-year visits are traditional. Worth observing.
• Shops closed — convenience stores (Circle K, Family Mart) usually stay open in cities, but small shops shut.
• Transport disrupted — domestic flights and trains either booked solid (pre-Tết) or empty (during).
• Money exchange and banks — closed during the holiday days.
• ATMs — usually working but can run out of cash; refilling depends on staff.

What's good about visiting during Tết

• Empty cities — Hanoi's Old Quarter, normally chaos, becomes walkable. The Long Biên Bridge at dawn during Tết is one of the most atmospheric experiences in Vietnam.
• Pagoda visits at their most authentic — Vietnamese families in traditional dress, incense filling temples.
• Lower-volume Hạ Long Bay and other natural attractions.
• Domestic flights cheap on the actual Tết days (paradoxically — most Vietnamese have already travelled home).

What's hard about visiting during Tết

• Restaurants limited — particularly outside hotel-tourist zones.
• Shopping difficult — most local shops closed.
• Transport bookings tight — pre-Tết travel within Vietnam books out months ahead; flight prices double or triple.
• Some attractions closed — museums, smaller tourist sites often close on Tết itself.
• Tour operators reduced — many cruise operators in Hạ Long limit operations.
• Markets closed — wet markets and morning food markets often don't open Day 1–3.
• Pricing higher at remaining open hotels and restaurants ("Tết surcharge").

How to time travel around Tết

Three viable strategies:

1. Avoid Tết entirely

Don't be in Vietnam for the 14 days centred on Tết. Most travellers should choose this — go a fortnight earlier or later.

2. Be there for the pre-Tết build-up only

Arrive 7–10 days before Tết. See the flower markets, the bánh chưng making, the pre-Tết bustle. Leave on Tết Day 0 (new year's eve) before the shutdown. Strong choice.

3. Be there for Tết itself

Arrive 2 days before, stay through Days 1–5, leave after Day 5 or 6. Accept the restaurant constraints in exchange for the unique atmosphere of an empty Vietnamese city. Best for repeat visitors who already know the country.

Practical Tết tips

• Book hotels early — months ahead.
• Book flights even earlier — particularly the days immediately before (pre-Tết outbound) and after (post-Tết return).
• Carry cash — VND, USD as backup; banks closed.
• Have alternative restaurants identified — your hotel restaurant, foreign-chain outlets (Pizza 4P's, restaurant chains in malls), tourist-zone restaurants.
• Be respectful — don't loud-party near pagodas on lunar New Year's Day.
• Receive lì xì politely — small red envelopes with money given to children and unmarried adults. Vietnamese friends may give you one; the polite response is grateful acceptance.

Lì xì etiquette

• Money in odd amounts is considered luckier than even (so 50,000 VND notes more common than 100,000).
• Always given in red envelopes.
• Recipients are typically children and unmarried adults; foreigners receiving from Vietnamese friends should accept graciously, take a small photo (the gesture matters more than the amount), and don't reciprocate unless you know the custom locally.

Honest take

Tết is the cultural heart of Vietnam — and the single hardest week to be a tourist here. For first-time visitors, avoid the actual holiday days; arrive the week before for the build-up and leave before Day 1 or arrive a week after.

For repeat visitors or those who specifically want to experience Tết, the eerily quiet cities and authentic pagoda visits are unforgettable. Plan around the constraints and the experience is rich.

See festivals calendar for the broader picture and best time to visit for the general seasonal advice.