When to visit Vietnam, region by region

Vietnam is long — over 1,600 kilometres from the terraces of Sa Pa to the deltas of the south — and that length means it never has just one season. Pack for the country as a whole and you will always be wrong somewhere.

The north is at its best from September to November, when the rice ripens gold and the mountain air turns crisp. The centre — Hue, Danang, Hoi An — prefers February to May, before the summer rains arrive. The south stays warm year-round, with the driest months from December to April.

The trick to a two-week trip is to follow the good weather rather than the map. Tell us when you can travel, and we will shape the route around the clearest skies.