If you are planning Vietnam in 2027, the dates most likely to change transport demand, hotel availability and opening hours are the public-holiday periods—not every cultural festival on the calendar. Tet runs across the confirmed public-sector break of 4–10 February 2027; the Hung Kings holiday falls on 16 April; Reunification Day and International Workers’ Day create a 30 April–3 May holiday block for the standard public-sector schedule; and National Day creates a 2–5 September break. Vietnam Culture Day on 24 November is also now a paid public holiday.
Other events—such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Hoi An’s monthly Legendary Night, Vu Lan or regional pilgrimage festivals—can be culturally important without closing the country down. That distinction is the useful way to read a Vietnam festival calendar.
Vietnam festival calendar 2027: dates that matter most for travellers
| Event | 2027 timing | Public holiday? | What it means for travellers |
|---|---|---|---|
| New Year’s Day | 1 January; standard public-sector weekend runs 1–3 January | Yes | A short domestic-travel peak, but much smaller than Tet. |
| Tet (Vietnamese Lunar New Year) | Lunar New Year: 6 February; confirmed public-sector break: 4–10 February | Yes, multi-day | The biggest annual impact on domestic transport, family-business opening hours and hotel demand. |
| Hung Kings Commemoration | 16 April; standard public-sector break 16–18 April | Yes | Strongest crowds around the Hung Temple area; also creates a nationwide long weekend. |
| Reunification Day + International Workers’ Day | 30 April and 1 May; standard public-sector break 30 April–3 May | Yes | One of the year’s main domestic-travel peaks, especially for beaches and resort destinations. |
| Mid-Autumn Festival | 15 September | No | Lanterns, mooncakes and lion-dance activity increase, but ordinary travel services generally continue. |
| National Day | 2 September; standard public-sector break 2–5 September | Yes | Another major domestic-travel period. Specific fireworks or parades must be checked year by year. |
| Vietnam Culture Day | 24 November | Yes | A new paid public holiday introduced from 2026; expect cultural programming to expand, but local event schedules remain year-specific. |
Planning note: a statutory holiday and a multi-day break are not always the same thing. Government announcements can specify longer breaks for civil servants and public employees because weekends or compensatory days are involved. Private employers may use a different arrangement while still meeting the statutory entitlement. If a bank, office, supplier or specific attraction matters to your trip, check its own opening notice rather than assuming every business follows the public-sector calendar.
Tet: the one festival period that can reshape an itinerary
Tet is the period we would treat differently from every other festival in this guide. Lunar New Year falls on 6 February 2027, while the confirmed public-sector holiday runs from 4 to 10 February.
For travellers, the practical changes begin before the first day of the lunar year. Vietnamese families travel home, transport demand rises, flower markets and shopping streets become busier, and some family-run restaurants or shops close for several days. Major hotels, airports and tourist infrastructure do not simply shut down nationwide, but the exact mix of open and closed businesses becomes less predictable.
Do not assume you must avoid Vietnam during Tet. It can be a rewarding time to travel if the holiday itself interests you. But if your priority is maximum restaurant choice, normal operating hours and easy intercity transport, arriving after the first few Tet days is usually simpler. For a full decision guide, use our Tet in Vietnam 2027 guide.
Hung Kings Day: a national holiday with one main pilgrimage focus
The Hung Kings Commemoration falls on the 10th day of the third lunar month. In 2027, the public holiday falls on 16 April, with the standard public-sector break extending through 18 April.
The main pilgrimage and ceremonies take place at the Hung Temple Historical Site in Phu Tho. This is not a case where every major Vietnamese city stages the same programme. If the commemoration is not one of the reasons for your trip, the main nationwide effect is the long-weekend travel demand. If you do want to attend the main event, read the Hung Kings Festival visitor guide rather than relying on a generic festival list.
30 April and 1 May: plan for domestic travel, not an annual parade
30 April is observed nationally as the Day of Liberation of the South and National Reunification in official Vietnamese usage, followed immediately by International Workers’ Day on 1 May. In 2027, the standard public-sector calendar creates a four-day break from 30 April to 3 May.
The old version of this page treated parades and fireworks as if they were fixed annual features. They are not. Large commemorative programmes can be organised for specific anniversaries or by individual cities, but travellers should verify the programme for that year. The reliable planning effect is the holiday block itself: domestic flights, trains, buses, beaches and resort areas can become much busier.
For the historical context and the difference between the 1975 event and the formal state reunification that followed in 1976, use our Reunification Day guide.
National Day: September 2 is fixed, the event programme is not
Vietnam’s National Day is observed on 2 September, commemorating the 1945 Declaration of Independence at Ba Dinh Square in Hanoi. In 2027, the standard public-sector break runs from 2 to 5 September.
Flags and commemorative displays are common, but do not build an itinerary around an assumed Ba Dinh parade or a guaranteed fireworks programme. The large A80 parade in 2025, for example, belonged to a major anniversary rather than an annual format. Check the official city programme for the specific year and destination.
See Vietnam National Day 2027 for current holiday-planning details.
Mid-Autumn Festival: culturally visible, but not a national day off
Tết Trung Thu falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, which is 15 September in 2027. It is strongly associated with children, lanterns, mooncakes and múa lân.
For itinerary planning, the key distinction is simple: Mid-Autumn is not a national public holiday. Hotels, domestic transport and most businesses continue operating normally. What changes is the street atmosphere in places with strong community celebrations, lantern markets or organised local programmes.
If food is part of the interest, our Vietnamese mooncake guide explains bánh nướng, bánh dẻo and the ingredients vegetarian or Jain travellers may want to check.
Hoi An’s monthly lantern night is not the same as Mid-Autumn Festival
Hoi An’s recurring Legendary Night is held on the 14th night of each lunar month. Traditional performances, folk games and lantern-related activities can form part of the programme. It is a recurring heritage event, not a separate nationwide public holiday.
This matters because online guides often merge three different things: ordinary lantern-lit Hoi An evenings, the monthly 14th-lunar-night event and the annual Mid-Autumn Festival. They overlap visually, but they are not the same event. If your itinerary already includes Hoi An, matching one evening to the lunar calendar can be worthwhile; we would not redesign a whole Vietnam route solely around it. Use the Hoi An Lantern Festival guide for the monthly event.
Regional and religious festivals: confirm the local programme before travelling for one
Vietnam has hundreds of local, religious and ethnic-community festivals. A national calendar should help you decide which ones may justify a detour, not pretend every event has one fixed nationwide programme.
| Festival or tradition | Usual timing | Where it matters | How to plan it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lim Festival | 12th–13th day of the first lunar month | Bac Ninh area | Best for travellers specifically interested in quan họ folk singing. Confirm the current local programme before making a day trip. |
| Perfume Pagoda pilgrimage season | First to third lunar month; opening dates can vary by year | Huong Son, Hanoi | Expect pilgrimage crowds and boat/foot travel. Weekdays are usually easier than major ritual dates. |
| Vu Lan / seventh-lunar-month observances | Seventh lunar month, with the 15th day especially important | Pagodas and communities nationwide | Treat this as a religious and family observance, not a tourist spectacle. Behaviour at pagodas matters more than chasing a show programme. |
| Khmer New Year and Oóc Om Bóc | Khmer New Year in April; Oóc Om Bóc in the tenth lunar month | Khmer communities in the Mekong Delta | Useful only if the Mekong is already part of your route or the festival is a primary interest. Local event dates and boat-race programmes should be confirmed for the year. |
| Festival Huế events | Programmes are announced by Hue for each year | Hue | Do not reuse a previous year’s “Hue Festival week” dates. Check the official Hue programme once the 2027 schedule is published. |
Vietnam Culture Day on November 24 is now a public holiday
This is a new planning factor that older Vietnam festival guides will not show. 24 November was designated Vietnam Culture Day as a new paid public holiday from 2026. In 2027 it falls on a Wednesday, so there is no automatic long weekend in the standard calendar.
The cultural programme around the date is still likely to evolve as ministries and local authorities develop annual activities. For travellers, treat 24 November as a confirmed day-off factor but verify city-specific events separately.
How should you use festivals when building a Vietnam itinerary?
- Build around Tet only if Tet itself matters to you. It has enough impact on transport and opening hours to shape the route.
- For 30 April–1 May and National Day, protect transport first. These are strong domestic-travel periods; secure the intercity leg and resort nights before worrying about event schedules.
- Do not confuse a cultural festival with a nationwide closure. Mid-Autumn, Hoi An Legendary Night, Vu Lan and most regional festivals do not create a national holiday.
- Use local programmes for local events. Fireworks, parades, boat races and performance schedules can change every year.
- Do not force a detour for a festival that does not fit the route. If you are already in Hanoi, Hoi An, Hue or the Mekong at the right time, an event can add value. Crossing the country for a short local programme often costs more usable holiday time than it adds.
If a holiday forces you to rethink flights between regions, compare the time trade-off in our domestic flights in Vietnam guide. If culture is one of the main reasons for your trip, the Vietnam culture itinerary is a better next step than adding festivals randomly to an already crowded route.
The practical rule
Use this calendar in two layers. First, mark the public-holiday periods that may change transport demand, office closures or hotel availability. Then look for cultural events already on your route. That approach gives you the atmosphere of Vietnam’s festivals without turning the itinerary into a chase from one event to another.
