When Is Tết 2027 in Vietnam, and What Closes for Travelers?

The official Tết 2027 holiday schedule

The schedule comes from Ministry of Home Affairs Notice 11483/TB-BNV of 9 October 2026, after the Government approved a 7-day break. Provincial government portals such as Hà Tĩnh's republished it the same day, and the state news agency VietnamPlus reported the private-sector options on 12 October. Earlier in 2026 the ministry had floated a longer 10-day option, so pages still describing a "proposed" schedule are out of date.

• Tết (mùng 1, first day of the lunar year): Saturday 6 February 2027

• New Year's Eve (giao thừa): the night of Friday 5 February. The last lunar month of the Bính Ngọ year has 29 days, so there is no "30 Tết" this time

• Civil servants and public bodies: 7 days off, Thursday 4 February (28th of the last lunar month) to Wednesday 10 February (5th of the first lunar month), made up of 5 Tết days plus 2 weekend days

• Private businesses: 5 days, with the employer choosing 1 day before New Year and 4 after, 2 and 3, or 3 and 2, and telling staff at least 30 days ahead. The ministry encourages them to match the public-sector dates

Why Vietnam's Tết and Korea's Seollal fall on different days in 2027

Lunar New Year starts on the day of the new moon in each country's own time zone. The February 2027 new moon falls at 15:56 UTC on 6 February, which is 22:56 in Hanoi (UTC+7) and 23:56 in Beijing and Hong Kong (UTC+8), so Vietnam, China and Hong Kong all start the year on 6 February. In Seoul (UTC+9) the same moment is 00:56 on 7 February, so Korea's new year falls a day later. See our Seollal 2027 guide if a February trip takes in both countries.

What closes during Tết, and what usually stays open

No government body publishes a closure list for shops and sights, so this is the usual pattern reported by travel and local sources, not an official rule. Check individual opening hours closer to the date.

• Banks, government offices and visa services: closed for the official holiday, 4–10 February. Withdraw cash early, because ATMs in smaller towns can run low

• Family-run restaurants, cafés and street food stalls: many close from about New Year's Eve for three to five days, and some longer. Hotel restaurants, chains and places in busy tourist areas are more likely to stay open, often with a holiday surcharge

• Markets and shops: very busy in the week before Tết as people buy flowers, food and gifts, then quiet for the first days of the year

• Museums and sights: some close for a few days; big outdoor sites such as Huế's Imperial City and Hội An's old town generally stay open because domestic tourists visit over the holiday

• Convenience stores and supermarket chains: mostly open, sometimes with shorter hours on the first day

Hanoi has traditionally held midnight fireworks on New Year's Eve, and Ho Chi Minh City sets up the Nguyễn Huệ flower street. The 2027 fireworks and flower street plans have not yet been announced (as of 21 October 2026).

Trains, buses and flights around Tết 2027

The weeks around Tết are Vietnam's busiest travel period of the year, as millions of people travel from the cities, especially Ho Chi Minh City, to their home towns and back again.

• Trains: Vietnam Railways opened Tết 2027 sales at 08:00 on 5 September 2026: about 300,000 tickets on 57 trains for travel from 23 January to 25 February 2027. Peak days run 29 January to 17 February, when refunds and changes on some trains carry a 30% fee. Buy through dsvn.vn, the official apps or a station counter, and carry ID. Our Reunification Express sleeper guide explains classes and booking

• Flights: Vietnam Airlines Group opened sales on 25 August 2026 with nearly 3.7 million seats and a peak period of 22 January to 20 February 2027. Vietjet announced 3.1 million Tết seats. The airlines say fares in the opposite direction to the main holiday flows start lower, for example from 888,000 VND one way on Vietnam Airlines between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, but popular dates sell out early

• Buses and ride-hailing: long-distance buses fill up and some operators raise fares for the holiday; Grab and taxis keep running but prices are often higher on the first days of the year

Should you travel in Vietnam during Tết?

We traveled Vietnam from north to south, but not during Tết, so this is planning advice rather than a holiday diary. The trade-off is clear from the schedule: you see the decorations, the flower markets and the build-up, but you lose some restaurants and sights for several days and pay more for transport.

• Best plan: arrive before about 1 February, travel between cities before 3 February, then stay in one big city or a resort town from 4 to 10 February

• Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City: both empty out as residents go home, which makes the streets quieter but closes many local eateries. Hội An and the beach towns stay busier because they fill with domestic tourists

• Avoid: long intercity journeys on 4–5 February and around 9–14 February, when people head home and then back to work

• If your dates are flexible: late February or March gives you the same dry-season weather in the north and center without the closures

For a route that fits around the holiday, see our 2-week Vietnam itinerary from Hanoi to Saigon.

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