Vietnam in December

December is the month people are most often surprised by in Vietnam, because they arrive in Hanoi expecting the tropics and find they need a coat. The country has three climates and December separates them more than any other month.

The north: properly cold

Hanoi in December sits in the mid to high teens by day and can fall to ten or below at night. It is often grey, with a fine drizzle the Vietnamese have a specific word for, and the humidity makes the cold feel sharper than the thermometer suggests.

The thing to know is that buildings in northern Vietnam are built to shed heat, not hold it. Hotels frequently have no heating, and an air conditioning unit set to warm is not the same thing. Pack layers and check whether your accommodation has heating if you feel the cold.

Sapa and the far north are colder still, down to freezing, with occasional snow on Fansipan. Which is its own attraction: Vietnamese visitors travel up specifically hoping to see it.

Clear days in December give the best mountain views of the year.

The centre: improving

The central coast is coming out of its wet season through December. Early in the month you can still get heavy rain and flooding in Hoi An; by the end it is usually drying out.

Temperatures around the low twenties, the sea too cool for comfortable swimming for most people. Good weather for looking at the Citadel in Hue and walking around Hoi An, less good for the beach.

The south: the best of the year

Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta and the southern islands are in their dry season and this is the pick of it. Around 30 degrees, sunshine, low humidity by local standards, and almost no rain.

Phu Quoc, Con Dao and the southern beaches are at their best in December, which is exactly why they are full and expensive.

Christmas and new year

Vietnam is not a majority Christian country, but Christmas is visible, particularly in Saigon, where the cathedral area and the big hotels decorate heavily and the streets fill on Christmas Eve. It is a social occasion rather than a religious holiday for most people, and very little closes.

The western new year is a bigger night out than Christmas. Tet, the lunar new year and the one that actually stops the country, falls in late January or February rather than December.

Prices and crowds

December is high season and prices reflect it, especially over the Christmas and new year fortnight, when southern beach accommodation can double and flights are at their worst.

The first half of the month is considerably better value than the second. If your dates are flexible at all, come before the 20th.