If you’ve ever tried to plan a trip to Vietnam during Tet and found yourself scrambling for last-minute hotel rooms, you already know how important it is to understand the festival calendar before you sell a program. That’s exactly why we created this Vietnam Festivals 2026 guide to make your job easier, help you avoid operational headaches, and give your travelers a trip they’ll rave about.
As a Vietnam local tour operator & trusted DMC, we’ve spent years running groups during busy festival seasons. We know when to avoid the traffic jams, which festivals are worth building a tour around, and how to secure those hard-to-get allocations. Think of this as our insider playbook that you can use to design smarter, more marketable itineraries.
January – Getting Ready for Tet & Early Spring Festivals
January is when Vietnam starts to hum with excitement, everyone’s preparing for Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year, which falls on February 17 in 2026). This is one of our favorite months to bring travelers here, because they get to see all the energy and colors leading up to Tet without worrying about holiday closures.
Here’s how we’d suggest you build a January program for your clients:
- Start in Hanoi: Stroll through Quang Ba Flower Market at dawn, where locals pick out peach blossoms for their homes. We usually pair this with a street-food breakfast, your travelers will love it.
- Include Ho Chi Minh City: Nguyen Hue Boulevard becomes a giant flower street. We can set up evening walking tours so your groups can see the displays lit up at night.
- Add Hoi An or Hue: These towns are perfect for culture seekers. Hoi An’s lantern streets look magical just before Tet, and we can even arrange a lantern-making workshop for your group.
January is also when the Lim Festival happens in Bac Ninh – home of Quan Ho folk singing (UNESCO-recognized). We can build a half-day excursion from Hanoi so your travelers experience this unique performance in a real cultural setting.
Pro tips from our operations team:
- Avoid heavy intercity travel in the last five days of the month, when locals are heading home.
- Book hotels and transfers early – space fills fast as Tet gets closer.
- Build in hands-on activities (cooking classes, calligraphy, market visits) to give your travelers a real connection to Tet traditions.
When you use our Vietnam Festivals 2026 calendar as a guide, January becomes one of the most colorful and culturally rich months to sell – and we’ll help you turn it into a smooth, worry-free experience for your travelers.
February – Tet Week: Vietnam’s Biggest Celebration
Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) is the single most important event in the Vietnam Festivals 2026 calendar, running from February 17–23, 2026. If you’ve ever had travelers here during Tet, you know it’s both magical and tricky, cities go quiet, shops close, but temples and markets come alive in a way you won’t see at any other time of year.
Here’s how we usually approach February when we design programs for our partners:
- Time it Right: Bringing travelers a few days before Tet is gold – they can soak in the flower markets, watch families preparing, and avoid the heaviest travel days (Feb 16–18). If you have groups that must be here during Tet week, we secure hotels and transfers months in advance to keep things smooth.
- Focus on Cultural Immersion: Instead of rushing from city to city, we slow the itinerary down. We include temple visits, fortune-telling sessions, and even arrange for home-hosted Tet dinners where guests can join locals in offering New Year wishes.
- Choose the Right Destinations:
- Hanoi: Empty streets after Tet Eve are perfect for walking tours and photography.
- Hoi An & Hue: These towns look like living museums during Tet, with calligraphy markets and lion dances. We can even arrange for lantern boat rides on the Thu Bon River.
- Mekong Delta: A homestay experience here during Tet gives travelers a rare peek into traditional family life.
Insider Tips for Agencies:
- Transport and domestic flights are the biggest pain point. We hold allocations and build flexible buffers so your travelers don’t miss connections.
- Museums and some shops close for 3–5 days, we plan more outdoor and cultural activities to keep itineraries engaging.
- Post-Tet (from Feb 24 onwards) is a hidden gem: prices normalize, the weather is perfect, and you get the festive vibe without the crowds.
When you sell February departures, market them as “Celebrate Tet Like a Local” packages – your clients get bragging rights for experiencing Vietnam’s most important celebration, and you get programs designed to run smoothly because we’ve already handled the logistics.
March – Pilgrimage Season in Full Swing
March is when Vietnam’s pilgrimage season reaches its peak. The weather in the north is still cool and dry, rice fields are lush, and thousands of locals head to pagodas and mountains to pray for prosperity. It’s one of the most authentic cultural windows in the Vietnam Festivals 2026 calendar and a great opportunity to sell programs that go deeper than sightseeing.
Here’s how we usually approach March when designing programs for our partners:
- Time It Right: We schedule Perfume Pagoda (Chùa Hương) visits early in the morning on weekdays to avoid the biggest crowds. The experience includes a scenic rowing boat ride on Yen Stream, a cable car or short hike to Huong Tich Cave, and a countryside lunch before returning to Hanoi.
- Mix Culture & Village Life: March is also perfect for Thay Pagoda Festival near Hanoi, with water-puppet performances and village games. We combine it with visits to Tay Phuong Pagoda and nearby craft villages for a full cultural day.
- Add a Touch of Romance: If your clients are in Hoi An, we line up their trip with the monthly Lantern Festival (full-moon night). We arrange lantern-making workshops, riverboat lantern releases, and reserved tables along the Thu Bon River so they get the perfect photos without the stress of crowds.
Insider Tips for Agencies:
- We pre-book boats, cable car tickets, and local guides to keep groups moving smoothly during busy pilgrimage days.
- We build itineraries that balance morning cultural immersion with relaxed afternoon options, like cooking classes or spa time so travelers don’t get exhausted.
- March is ideal to market as “Spring Pilgrimage & Heritage Journeys” for cultural FITs, photography groups, and even alumni or faith-based tours.
When you sell March departures, you’re offering travelers the chance to witness Vietnam’s spiritual life up close and we’ll make sure the logistics are seamless so they can simply enjoy the experience.
May – Vesak (Buddha’s Birthday) & Labour Day Getaways
May is a beautiful transition month in the Vietnam Festivals 2026 calendar – warm but not yet peak summer heat, perfect for combining cultural immersion with early beach escapes. Two major dates shape our May programs: Vesak (Buddha’s Birthday) and International Labour Day (May 1), which together create both a spiritual and festive atmosphere.
Here’s how we usually approach May when designing programs for our partners:
- Offer Spiritual Journeys: Vesak is celebrated at pagodas nationwide, with chanting ceremonies, lantern offerings, and vegetarian feasts. We design programs that include guided pagoda visits (like Tran Quoc in Hanoi or Thien Mu in Hue), private meditation sessions with monks, and lantern-lighting activities – perfect for wellness or faith-based travelers.
- Capitalize on the Holiday Break: May 1 is a public holiday in Vietnam, so locals often travel to the beach. We secure room blocks at key coastal destinations such as Da Nang, Nha Trang, and Phu Quoc so your travelers still enjoy availability and competitive rates. Pairing a festival visit with a few nights of seaside relaxation is a winning combo.
- Mix Culture & Leisure: A popular itinerary we run for agencies is “Hanoi Vesak + Hoi An Lantern + Beach Break”, giving travelers a spiritual highlight, a cultural evening, and downtime by the sea all in one trip.
Insider Tips for Agencies:
- Book hotels and domestic flights early for the May 1 holiday week, demand surges across Vietnam.
- Keep transfers short on holiday dates to avoid road congestion.
- May is great to market as “Culture + Beach Wellness Packages,” appealing to multi-generational groups, FITs, and corporate retreats.
When you sell May departures, you’re giving travelers a unique combination: meaningful spiritual experiences and time to unwind. We’ll handle the festival schedules, reserve space at busy beaches, and keep your itineraries smooth even during the holiday rush.
June – Coastal Escapes & Summer Festivals
June officially kicks off Vietnam’s summer season, and in the Vietnam Festivals 2026 calendar this is prime time to market beach getaways and coastal culture programs. The weather is hot and sunny across central and northern Vietnam, perfect for seaside leisure, but it also coincides with local summer festivals that make trips more memorable.
Here’s how we usually approach June when designing programs for our partners:
- Promote Beach Destinations: We secure allocations early at top beaches like Da Nang, Nha Trang, Quy Nhon, and Phu Quoc. June is peak domestic travel time, so booking ahead ensures your travelers get the best resorts and private beach setups.
- Add Cultural Flavor: Central Vietnam hosts events like the Da Nang International Fireworks Festival (often late May–June) and local whale-worship festivals in fishing villages. These create colorful evening experiences we can easily add to a leisure itinerary.
- Mix Leisure & Activity: June is ideal for active travelers – snorkeling, island-hopping, cooking classes, sunrise yoga by the beach. For incentive groups, we often design team-building programs on private beaches followed by gala dinners under the stars.
Insider Tips for Agencies:
- Domestic tourism peaks during school break, so we hold room blocks and arrange private transfers to avoid long wait times.
- Plan early-morning excursions (snorkeling, city tours) and leave afternoons free for the pool or spa to beat the midday heat.
- Market June packages as “Summer Beach & Culture Getaways,” appealing to family groups, multi-country itineraries, and MICE travelers looking for incentive-friendly weather.
When you sell June departures, you’re giving travelers the perfect mix of sun, sand, and local culture — and we’ll make sure operations are smooth, with secured inventory and curated experiences that feel premium even in peak season.
Wrapping Up: Why January–June Is a Golden Window
The first half of the Vietnam Festivals 2026 calendar is full of opportunities, from Tet and spring pilgrimages to Vesak ceremonies and vibrant summer beach festivals. If you plan ahead, these months let you create itineraries that are more than just sightseeing: they become stories your travelers will tell for years.
Working with a local expert makes all the difference. We know which dates will be crowded, which ones are perfect for VIP access, and how to time transfers so your groups avoid the worst traffic. Whether it’s securing boats at Perfume Pagoda in March, priority seating for Hung Kings’ Festival in April, or beachfront inventory during June’s peak, we take care of the hard parts so you can focus on selling.
Let’s Build Your Festival & Seasonal Programs
We’re Venus Travel – a Vietnam local tour operator and trusted DMC with years of experience crafting smooth-running, profitable itineraries for international agencies.
Tell us the markets you serve (Europe, US, Australia, Asia), the type of travelers you target (FITs, small groups, MICE, educational), and your preferred departure windows – we’ll deliver:
- Ready-to-sell sample itineraries aligned with January–June festival dates.
- Guaranteed allocations for busy periods (Tet, April 30, summer beach season).
- On-the-ground expertise to keep your programs running like clockwork.
Get in touch today to lock in your Vietnam departures for early 2026 and secure the best rates, guides, and festival access before they sell out:
- Office 1: 14 An Nhon 10, Da Nang City, Vietnam
- Office 2: 429A Cua Dai St, Hoi An City, Viet Nam
- Email: [email protected]
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- Website: www.venusvietnamtravel.com
- Travelers’ Choice in 2024 on Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com.vn/Attraction_Review-g298082-d12261731-Reviews-Venus_Travel-Hoi_An_Quang_Nam_Province.html
- Top Rated on GetYourGuide: www.getyourguide.com/s/?q=supplier:87597
- Whatsapp/Zalo/Viber: (+84) 905 775 088 (English)/ (+84) 964 056 190 (Chinese)
