Go Back  Fodor's Travel Talk Forums > Destinations > Asia
Reload this Page >

best month to travel in Vietnam/Cambodia

best month to travel in Vietnam/Cambodia

Old Oct 27th, 2009, 10:55 AM
  #1  
Original Poster
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 127
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
best month to travel in Vietnam/Cambodia

We are just beginning our plans to take a 2-3 week trip to Vietnam/Cambodia
and would like to know the optimal month to travel.
Thanks
Cdnfolks is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2009, 11:03 AM
  #2  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 171
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Best months are from late November until mid April.
HappyMom32 is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2009, 11:23 AM
  #3  
 
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 33,288
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
It depends on where you want to travel to in VietNam. Central Vietnam gets flooding in November. In Dec and especially January it can be cold in Sapa and Halong Bay. For the Cambodia Nov, Dec and January are the least hot.

take a look at www.weatherbase.com and look at each location you want to visit.
Kathie is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2009, 10:56 PM
  #4  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
I agree that you need to look at each place in terms of rain and temps, as they can vary. I think Hanoi would be great in January, but you may find the temps too cool if you were expecting “tropical”. You do have to watch rain in Vietnam in November.

You also will want to look out for holidays. Tet (i.e., the Lunar New Year) can be a good or a bad time to be in Vietnam, you can see local festivities and eat the seasonal foods, but can also find crowds when travelling, and some closures of sights. The time of the holiday varies with the moon phase, it can be anytime from mid Jan to late Feb. Also in places like Ankor Wat you will find lots of Western expats taking a long holiday from places like Hong Kong, Singpaore and the PRC (which are celebrating at that time as well), which may increase prices and make flights less available. So you may want to work around that.

The Cambodian new year is in generally in April, as in Thailand. There are other holidays in both countries which you may want to time your visit with. See guidebooks and websites.
Cicerone is offline  
Old Oct 27th, 2009, 11:39 PM
  #5  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 441
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
My daughter says April is the worst month in Seim Reap but then her house was flooded in September! I usually visit in July and have no problems with the heat. I try to avoid over air conditioned cars and travel round by tuk tuk. I feel the abrupt changes in temperature are more likely to lead to colds etc.
silverwool is offline  
Old Oct 28th, 2009, 03:55 AM
  #6  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 43
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
In my experience March is the perfect time to visit north and central Vietnam. By then the north has warmed up after the winter, central Vietnam has not yet attained the very high temperatures that prevail in the summer, and in both locations rainfall is minimal. Saigon is pretty hot and humid all year round, so there it's more a question off avoiding the rainy season.
RedKite is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Original Poster
Forum
Replies
Last Post
aussiedreamer
Asia
5
Sep 21st, 2011 02:35 PM
krgystn
Asia
9
Oct 1st, 2010 02:56 PM
Maggie68
Asia
4
Jul 25th, 2009 01:08 PM
zulu
Asia
4
Jun 3rd, 2005 02:25 PM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are On


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information -