Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum in Hanoi shuts for the first three days of Tet. So does the street food stall on your corner, the family restaurant two doors down from your hotel, your tailor, your laundry and the bank you were planning to visit on the way to breakfast.
And yet we think Tet, Vietnam's Lunar New Year, is one of the best weeks of the year to be here, and 2027's falls on Saturday 6 February. Hanoi's Old Quarter fills with flower markets. The pagodas are packed. Hoi An's lanterns are up. The catch is that the whole country stops for the holiday at once, and the everyday services a visitor relies on stop with it.
This is the honest version, and it comes down to one piece of advice. Arrive by 2 February, then stay put.
Tet 2027 in a nutshell
- Tet falls on Saturday 6 February 2027. New Year's Eve (Giao Thừa) is Friday 5 February.
- The official public holiday is 7 days, 4-10 February 2027, confirmed by the government on 2 October 2026.
- Small restaurants, street food stalls, museums, banks and most local services close on 6-8 February. Some family-run places close earlier and reopen later, so budget for closures anywhere from 4 to 11 February.
- Transport sells out weeks ahead, flights and trains first, sleeper buses close behind. Book as early as you can.
- Base yourself somewhere self-sufficient. Hoi An is the easier choice, Hanoi the more traditional one.
When is Tet 2027, and how long is the holiday?
Is the date itself settled? Yes, and now so is the length. Tet falls on Saturday 6 February 2027, the first day of the first lunar month and the start of the Year of the Goat (Đinh Mùi). These are the days you'll hear named most.
- Giao Thừa: New Year's Eve, Friday 5 February
- Mùng 1: the first day of the new year, Saturday 6 February
- Mùng 2 and mùng 3: Sunday 7 and Monday 8 February, still deep in the holiday
The government confirmed the holiday length on 2 October 2026, settling on a seven-day break, 4 to 10 February 2027. The Government Office's Document No. 10065/VPCP-KGVX has Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà agreeing with the Ministry of Home Affairs' recommendation for this shorter option, over a 10-day version that would have run to 14 February with a working Saturday swapped in later to make up the time.
We'd call that good news. Seven days is a tighter, more contained closure window than Tet 2026's nine, and it now lines up closely with the closure pattern below rather than leaving two different end dates to plan around.
Mùng 1 to mùng 3 shut things down regardless, and everything else in this guide holds.
What actually shuts down
This is the detail that decides whether Tet works for your trip, not the flower markets or the lanterns. The core of it is mùng 1 to mùng 3, 6-8 February 2027. Around that core there's a looser window, because family-run places sometimes close a few days early and reopen a few days late. The realistic span to plan around is roughly 4-11 February.
Closed on 6-8 February
- Small and family-run restaurants
- Street food stalls and local cafés
- Tailors, laundries, spas and independent tour desks
- Museums and mausoleums, including Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum in Hanoi
- Banks, post offices, government offices and visa or immigration offices (get any visa extension done before Tet starts, not during it)
What stays open
More than you'd fear, though the choice is narrower.
Hotels and their restaurants keep going, and for three days they're the most reliable meal in the country. International chains like KFC and Lotteria stay open. Convenience stores keep running too, Circle K, GS25 and VinMart+ among them, though expect shorter hours. In expat areas, a handful of restaurants keep going too, Korean, Japanese and Indian among them.
The tourist districts themselves stay busy. Hanoi's Old Quarter, District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Hoi An, Da Nang and the Nha Trang beach strip all keep running. In central Vietnam, cave and national park operations around Phong Nha carry on with reduced staff.
Pagodas and temples are the exception to the whole pattern. They're open, and they're busier over Tet than at any other time of year.
Guided tip: Book a hotel with its own restaurant for the nights of 5-8 February. It's the one kitchen you can count on during mùng 1-3, and a convenience store sandwich makes a poor plan A for three days running.
Why transport sells out, and when to book
Transport for Tet 2026 sold out 4 to 6 weeks ahead, flights first, then train berths, then sleeper buses, all at 2 to 3 times the normal fare. That's according to Jungle Boss Tours, a Vietnam-based operator, and there's no sign 2027 will be any easier.
Sleeper-train berths on the north-south line are expected to go first this time too. Peak outbound travel runs 3-5 February 2027, and the return peak is 9-12 February. Try not to be on a train, bus or plane on any of those days.
The same operator recommends booking as early as possible, ideally the same week the official holiday dates are confirmed. We'd book now. The announcement won't move Tet itself, and the outbound rush in the days before it is coming regardless of which option the government picks.
Where to base yourself
For most people, Hoi An. Hanoi if atmosphere matters more to you than convenience.
Whichever you pick, the rule is the same. You need somewhere that can feed you for three days without its small businesses, which means a big, dense tourist area. Small, remote places that depend on tourism are the ones most likely to shut down completely during mùng 1-3, so they're the ones to skip.
Hanoi
Hanoi has the more traditional northern Tet. The Old Quarter flower markets are the reason to come, along with lakeside life around Hoan Kiem.
The trade-off is that Hanoi is a big residential city as well as a tourist one, so more of it closes properly over Tet. The mausoleum is shut, and the neighbourhood restaurants that make Hanoi such a good food city go quiet for those three days. You'll eat at your hotel more than you'd like. If you want to feel what Tet means to the people celebrating it, we'd still pick Hanoi.
Hoi An
Hoi An is the practical choice. The Ancient Town and its lantern displays look the part, and because the town is so densely packed with visitors, more of its businesses have a commercial reason to stay open than you'd find in a residential neighbourhood.
It's also small enough to walk.
Phong Nha is the outside bet. The same source names it alongside Hoi An as a good Tet base, and the caves keep operating with reduced staff. It suits travellers who'd rather spend the holiday underground than in a crowd.
Arrive by 2 February, then stay put
This is the one piece of advice in this whole guide worth following even if you ignore everything else. What does staying put actually look like? It's a short timeline.
- By 2 February: arrive at the base where you'll spend Tet.
- Before 3 February: withdraw cash and book your hotel directly. Banks close, and ATMs in small towns can run dry.
- By the evening of 5 February: be settled in. This is Giao Thừa.
- 6-8 February: stay where you are for 2-3 nights. Don't plan to move on mùng 1.
- From 8 February: things start to reopen from mùng 3.
- 11-12 February: most cities are back to normal. Rural areas take longer.
Arriving on 2 February puts you ahead of the 3-5 February outbound peak, which is the whole point. You'll be tempted to squeeze in one more stop on the 4th. Don't.
Guided tip: Withdraw more cash than you think you'll need before 3 February. Assume no bank or small-town ATM will help you until the holiday is over.
A little Tet etiquette
Lì xì are red envelopes of money given at Tet, mostly to children. If you're staying with a family or at a small guesthouse, having a few ready is a kind thing to do. The usual amount is roughly 20,000-100,000 VND. Use crisp new notes, skip any amount with the digit 4, and hand the envelope over with both hands. One more thing to know if you're staying with a family. Many people won't sweep or take out the rubbish on mùng 1, so leave the bin alone.
So, should you travel over Tet?
Yes, for the right kind of trip. Here's how to tell.
- Go if you want to see Vietnam at its most festive and you're happy to spend 6-8 February in one place.
- Go if you can book your transport as early as possible.
- Skip it if your itinerary only works by moving every couple of days.
- Skip it if your must-sees are museums, the mausoleum or a tailor fitting.
If Tet doesn't fit, our guide to the best time to visit Vietnam covers the rest of the year.
Our guide to the best places in Vietnam is worth a look too once you've settled on when to go.
If it does, pick Hoi An, arrive on the 2nd, and push your departure past 12 February if your schedule allows it. That's when the return-travel rush clears, now that the holiday's dates are locked to 4-10 February.
Once you've got those dates locked in, Guided's trip planner app can help you build the rest of the trip around them.
