What's on in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam through the year

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

• Holiday

  Tet

  14–22 FebLunar New YearClosures

  Half the city goes home to the provinces and the other half shuts for a week. Flights and buses sell out days ahead, and the empty streets are the one time Saigon is quiet. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — Tet, Dry season

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Tet (14–22 Feb), Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

• Festival

  Ao Dai Festival

  1–31 Mar · usuallyMajor festival

  The city tourism department gives Nguyen Hue and the Nha Rong wharf over to ao dai parades and workshops for a few weeks in March, and office workers in District 1 wear one to work for it. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Busy — between the peaks, Hung Kings' Commemoration Day

• Holiday

  Hung Kings' Commemoration Day

  5–20 Apr · usuallyNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  A public holiday on the tenth day of the third lunar month, usually mid-April. Offices shut, and in years when it lands near the end-of-April holidays the whole country takes one long break and the coast fills. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Reunification Day and May Day

  30 Apr – 1 MaySchool holidaysCrowded

  Two public holidays run together, so the whole country moves at once. Domestic flights and coastal hotels are the first things to go. Source ↗

Still on: Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)

Busy — between the peaks, Reunification Day and May Day

Nothing new starts in May.

Still on: Reunification Day and May Day (30 Apr – 1 May)

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Summer break in Vietnam

Nothing new starts in June.

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Summer break in Vietnam

Nothing new starts in July.

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, Summer break in Vietnam

• Festival

  Vu Lan and the ghost month

  1 Aug – 5 Sep · usuallyMajor festival

  The seventh lunar month: pagodas in Cho Lon burn paper offerings, vegetarian stalls take over the food streets, and many Vietnamese put off buying a car, a house or a big trip until it is over. Source ↗

Quiet — the editor's quiet month, National Day

• Holiday

  National Day

  1–2 SepNational holidayCrowdedClosures

  Offices and government buildings close for two days and the city centre fills for the evening fireworks over the river. Source ↗

• Festival

  Mid-Autumn Festival

  25 SepMajor festivalCrowded

  Luong Nhu Hoc street in District 5 turns into a wall of paper lanterns for a fortnight beforehand, and mooncakes appear on every corner. Source ↗

• Hazard

  Peak tide flooding

  15 Sep – 15 Dec · usuallyFlood season

  The year's highest tides push the river back into District 7, Nha Be and Binh Chanh, usually around the new and full moons. Roads there flood for a couple of hours at a time. Source ↗

Still on: Vu Lan and the ghost month (1 Aug – 5 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — between the peaks, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Mid-Autumn Festival (25 Sep), Peak tide flooding (15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

• Season

  Dry season

  15 Nov – 30 AprCrowded

  Six months with almost no rain, which is when the city is worth walking. It comes with dust and the traffic haze that goes with it.

Still on: Peak tide flooding (15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually))

Peak crowds — the editor's peak month, Dry season

• Festival

  Ho Chi Minh City Marathon

  1–10 Dec · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedClosures

  Around twenty thousand runners on a Sunday in early December, on closed streets through District 1 and along the riverfront. Le Duan and the roads by the cathedral shut well before dawn. Source ↗

Still on: Peak tide flooding (15 Sep – 15 Dec (usually)), Dry season (15 Nov – 30 Apr)