Wintering in Vietnam Downsides: What to Expect

Wintering in Vietnam disappoints most people in six places: cold damp weeks in the centre, Hanoi smog, pre-Tet prices, closed shops around 6 February 2027, a 45-day visa that ends before the season does, and building noise. Rain in Da Nang averages about 370 mm in November, Hanoi nights fall to 14 °C in January, and Hanoi air reached an AQI of 243 in December 2025. Each problem below has a fix you can apply before you book.

1. Cold, grey weeks in Da Nang, Hoi An and Hue

Central Vietnam is wet and cool in November and December: long-term averages for Da Nang give about 367 mm of rain in November and about 210 mm in December, and some sources put those months higher, near 500 and 350 mm. Highs sit at 24-27 °C, nights at 18-21 °C. The dry window opens in January, with about 96 mm, and February drops to about 33 mm.

Plan arrival for mid-January if the beach matters to you. A November arrival means weeks of wet clothes, closed beach cafes and mould in cheap flats. I check the wardrobe and the bathroom ceiling of every flat before I pay a deposit. The longer breakdown is in my Da Nang winter guide.

2. Hanoi smog from December to February

Hanoi has the worst winter air of the cities people consider, and it peaks from December to February: IQAir recorded an AQI of 208 on 2 December 2025, and press reports cite 243 around 11 December, with single stations reaching 295. On 15 January 2026 the AQI was still above 170. Authorities told sources of emissions to cut output once the index passes 200.

Winter in Hanoi is also cool: 22/15 °C in December and 20/14 °C in January, with 10-12 rainy days a month in January and February. Buy an air purifier and a PM2.5 mask, check the IQAir app each morning, and keep children and anyone with asthma away from the city between December and February.

3. Prices climb before Tet

Fares and rents rise sharply in the weeks before the holiday: last Tet, domestic flights, trains and sleeper buses sold out four to six weeks ahead and fares ran two to three times the usual level. Tours rose 5-15% on the year, according to Vietstock. No published forecast exists for 2027, so treat the pattern as the safe assumption.

Book internal travel in December for early February, and fix your rent for the whole season in November, before landlords reprice. Ask for a written monthly rate that covers the Tet weeks, since some owners raise it on the spot.

4. Tet 2027: what is shut and when

Small cafes, laundries, tour desks and family shops usually close for about three days, roughly 6-8 February 2027, and some stay shut until 11 February. Tet Nguyen Dan starts on Saturday 6 February, and the Year of the Goat begins that day. Hotels, big chains and tourist streets in Hoi An, Old Quarter and the Da Nang beaches usually stay open.

Stock the fridge and keep cash on 4 February, and book your airport transfer ahead. My Tet 2027 visa run timing guide covers border crossings during the holiday week.

5. A visa that ends before the season does

Russian citizens get 45 days visa-free under Resolution 44/NQ-CP, valid until 14 March 2028. A stay from early November to March needs more. The 45 days cannot be extended or converted inside the country, so you must leave and re-enter on a visa. Passport validity must be 6 months and you need 2 blank pages.

The usual alternative is a 90-day e‑visa from the official evisa.gov.vn portal, $25 for one entry or $50 for multiple entries. The step that stops people is the card payment, since many foreign cards are declined. BestBus Vietnam files the application, pays the fee with our own card and picks the entry point in the 90-day e‑visa service, so the dates are fixed before you fly. A first-timer with a working card can do all of this alone in an evening. If a declined payment worries you, send me your arrival date on WhatsApp and I will tell you what fits.

6. Noise from construction and your landlord

Check noise in person, because it is invisible in photos and I have no measured decibel data for it. Visit the flat at 7 am and at 6 pm, stand on the balcony for ten minutes and look for cranes, scaffolding and open plots within 100 metres.

Beachfront streets in My Khe and the Old Quarter of Hanoi are busy most of the year. Pick a side street one block back, ask the previous tenant how the nights are, and put a clause about noise and early termination into the rental contract.

How do you pick a warmer base for winter?

Nha Trang is warmer than the centre: 26-29 °C by day from November to February, with rain of about 281 mm in November, 165 mm in December and only 40 mm in January. It suits anyone who cannot stand cold nights, though November is still wet. Compare it in my Nha Trang and Phu Quoc winter guide.

Each base needs a different arrival month, a different rent plan and a different visa date.

What to settle before you fly

Pick the city by month: Nha Trang from December, Da Nang from mid-January, Hanoi only with a purifier. Fix the visa for the whole stay, rent for the Tet weeks and book flights home a month and a half ahead. Do all four in November and the six downsides above become line items in a budget.

Every problem above has a date and a fix, so the planning takes an evening. If filling in the application and paying the fee yourself is the part you would rather skip, message me on WhatsApp with your dates and the city you picked.

Frequently asked questions