Christmas and New Year 2026/27 in Thailand and Vietnam: What to Lock In Now

Plan the season around New Year. Thai banks close from Thursday 31 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, and government offices are expected to do the same. Vietnam's law gives one day off, Friday 1 January, and the weekend follows it.

For a beach, sell the Andaman coast. In the cities, expect cool nights in the north of both countries and rain on Vietnam's central coast. Settle each hotel's festive terms now (compulsory dinners, minimum stays, peak supplements) and book the transfers for the busiest days.

Cover: Wat Arun at dusk, Bangkok, in November 2022. Photo: Olivier Darny, Pexels License. Images throughout show earlier seasons and settings, not the 2026/27 event programme.

The dates that matter

Do not copy last season's calendar. Thailand's extra day off on Friday 2 January 2026 was a one-off, approved by the cabinet in November 2024. We found no extra day announced for this break when we checked in October 2026, and the government had not yet published its 2027 holiday list. Thai cabinets have added days in November before, so check again then. Private employers in both countries set their own arrangements.

Two more dates frame the season. In Thailand, the Monday holiday on 7 December makes a long weekend of 5 to 7 December. In Vietnam, Tet 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, with the public-sector break from 4 to 10 February. A trip that runs into late January is closer to the Tet travel peak than it looks.

Watch the last day of the break

Vietnam's New Year holiday is mostly a domestic travel event, and a big one. Over 1 to 4 January 2026, the Vietnam Government Portal reported about 3.5 million visitors. Ho Chi Minh City led with 1.24 million. Ninh Binh came second with 723,000, ahead of Quang Ninh, home of Ha Long Bay.

VOV reported that Noi Bai in Hanoi expected its busiest day on 4 January, the last day of the break, with about 115,000 passengers and 650 flights. Tan Son Nhat in Ho Chi Minh City expected 17% more passengers over the holiday than a year earlier.

Both countries' breaks end on Sunday 3 January 2027, which makes it the probable return day. If your clients need a domestic flight that day, book it as soon as their dates are firm. Given last season's numbers, expect Ninh Binh's rivers to be busy over the holiday, and put the boat trip first thing in the morning. Our Ninh Binh guide has the routes and timings.

Where the weather works

The Thai figures come from the Thai Meteorological Department's climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Vietnam Tourism describes the weather in words, not millimetres, so the Vietnamese rows do too.

On the Andaman side, the dry season still brings rain, just on fewer days. The department's Phuket station recorded 131.8 mm in December 2025, well above its 82 mm average. The Gulf is a different case. The department's 2024/25 winter outlook sets out the pattern the averages show: heavy rain on the Gulf side from late October until early January, with waves of two to four metres at times. If Samui, Phangan or Tao is on the route, ask how the hotel and the boat operator handle a cancelled crossing.

Phang Nga Bay on the Andaman coast, photographed in October 2025. Photo: Siarhei Nester, Pexels License.

Northern Thailand is dry, with chilly nights. The department's records include December lows of 3.8°C in Chiang Mai and 1.5°C in Chiang Rai. Ask for a room with heating in the hills, and pack layers for the early starts.

In northern Vietnam, Vietnam Tourism calls Hanoi "surprisingly cold" from late December and describes Ha Long Bay as "cool to cold, misty, cloudy" until March. Sell the bay for its mood at this time of year, and leave sunset photographs out of the promise.

Turtle Tower in Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi, on a foggy day in January 2019. Photo: Quang Nguyen Vinh, Pexels License.

Sapa is colder still. Light snow fell on the summit of Fansipan on 18 December 2025, and it was covered in frost on Christmas morning. Those reports describe the mountaintop, not the town, and Vietnam Tourism speaks only of "occasional snowfall in January". Do not sell snow. Our Sapa guide covers the winter months.

The central coast is the place to manage expectations. Vietnam Tourism puts Hue's rainy season from September to February, Hoi An's from September to January and Da Nang's from November to February. Hoi An's old town flooded three times in just over three weeks in autumn 2025; by late December the risk is lower, though not zero. Put the centre into a Christmas trip for its food and old towns, and give each outdoor morning an indoor alternative.

The south is the warm half of Vietnam at this time of year. Ho Chi Minh City is in its dry season, and Vietnam Tourism recommends Phu Quoc for December and January.

Christmas: arrange it in Thailand, time it in Vietnam

Thailand does not stop for Christmas. If your clients expect a Christmas dinner, a tree in the lobby or a church service, confirm it with the hotel or arrange it.

Vietnam celebrates more publicly, and mostly on the evening of the 24th. In 2025 the square in front of Hanoi's St Joseph's Cathedral was dressed from early December with warm lights, a giant tree and a nativity scene. On Christmas Eve, Dan Tri reported large crowds around the cathedral and streets that grew more congested by 8 pm. In Ho Chi Minh City, traffic around Notre-Dame Cathedral was heavy, and traffic police were deployed to ease the congestion.

To see a cathedral that night, stay within walking distance and go early in the evening. Arriving by car means sitting in that traffic.

St Joseph's Cathedral, Hanoi, at dusk in October 2025: Nguyen Ngoc Tien, Pexels License. Notre-Dame Cathedral, Ho Chi Minh City, lit for Christmas on 13 December 2025: Bui Viet Hung, Pexels License.

Ho Chi Minh City's Notre-Dame has been under restoration since 2017. Its facade was lit for Christmas 2025, but the work, once due to finish at the end of 2027, is now expected to take longer. We found no announced reopening date. Treat the cathedral as a view from outside, and do not promise a visit inside.

Away from the big cities, look at Phat Diem in Ninh Binh. The cathedral was built between 1875 and 1898, and the province's tourism department lists it as a national historical and cultural relic. In December 2025 a Christmas tree nearly 30 metres tall was going up in its grounds. We would fit it into a Ninh Binh stay as a half-day visit.

New Year's Eve: wait for the programme before you sell the view

We found no 2026/27 countdown programme from either country when we checked on 10 October 2026, so last season is the guide to scale. The Tourism Authority of Thailand listed its Amazing Thailand Countdown at ICONSIAM from 27 to 31 December, with fireworks and drones over the Chao Phraya River, alongside countdowns at CentralWorld, One Bangkok and along Sukhumvit Road. In Vietnam, the Government Portal listed fireworks at five Hanoi locations from 11.45 pm, six sites in Ho Chi Minh City at midnight, and shows in Ha Long, Nha Trang and Da Lat.

Until this season's programme is out, offer a river-view room or a dinner for the night, not a guaranteed view of a particular display. Confirm two practical points with the hotel or venue: how guests get back after midnight, and which roads are expected to close.

The Chao Phraya at sunset, photographed in April 2026. Photo: Zaonar Saizainalin, Pexels License.

A New Year's Eve cruise on Ha Long Bay needs a separate check. Under the rules Quang Ninh issued in 2024, from 1 November to 31 March, day sightseeing boats must be back at the pier by 7 pm, and overnight boats must reach their overnight area by 6.30 pm. Last New Year's Eve, Ha Long's fireworks were listed for 30/10 Square, in the city. Read any cruise offer against those rules before you book it.

What to lock in now

The national figures do not point to a market that is already full. Thailand's foreign arrivals for January to August 2026 were 3.08% below the same months of 2025, according to The Nation. But that is one number for a whole country over eight months. It tells you nothing about a particular resort in the week after Christmas, so it is no reason to wait.

Get the terms in writing. Before you confirm, ask each hotel:

• Is a Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve dinner compulsory? What does it cost per adult and per child, is it paid in advance, and can it be refunded?
• Does a minimum stay apply to any night between 24 December and 3 January?
• Does a peak-period supplement apply, and is it already included in the rate you have been quoted?
• What are the cancellation and amendment terms for those dates?

Then fix the moving parts around the hotels:

• Flights on 31 December and 1 January, and on the likely return day, Sunday 3 January.
• Transfers and guides for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, including the latest time a driver will collect after midnight.
• A plan for any Gulf island or central Vietnam stay: who rebooks a cancelled boat or flight, and what replaces an outdoor day.
• Entry requirements for each passport, checked against our entry requirements guide.

When you send the brief, say which nights matter to your clients and why. "A quiet dinner on the 24th and the fireworks on the 31st" leads to a different hotel from "a beach and nothing compulsory". Our briefing guide lists what else helps.

For an Andaman beach with a few days in Bangkok first, our Bangkok and Southern Islands itinerary follows that route. Send us the brief with the dates that cannot move, and we can check the route against the holiday calendar.

Photographs have been resized and may be cropped by the page layout. Each image and its displayed crop retain the licence linked in its credit.