How busy will it be in Saigon during the Tet New Year festival13th Feb 2009
 

We have flights booked arriving in Saigon on the 13th Feb, we have since heard that it is the start of the Tet New Year festival.... can anyone give us some idea on how busy it,s going to be, will we have difficulty getting accommodation also will it be to busy to travel down to the Mekong Delta for a couple of days.... We plan on staying in Vietnam for 8 days.... Can anybody Help.... Many thanks..... Lillian......

Tet creates a problem mostly for hotels, so you should book them now if you haven't already. Note that every hotel will have a wedding party - or several of them - every day of Tet. It's the most popular time of year for weddings.

Tet is not as hard on transport as it is in China, at least it wasn't the last time I was there during Tet, so it won't be that hard to get around, as long as you book everything well in advance.

Many thanks for your prompt reply..... Sounds as if it's going to be lively...We will take your advice on booking our hotel now, we have picked out the An An hotel it gets good reviews... We usually book our trips on arrival and go on local transport, but think now it may be wise to use a travel agent for the Mekong Delta... we have used the web site of Reid On Vietnam it's been very helpful... John from Liverpool....

We were in Hanoi for Tet last year and Saigon about 20 years ago. In Hanoi a lot of the restaurants were closed and it was really difficult to book rail tickets, air tickets etc.(most people in the big cities go home to their families). Saigon seems to be less affected. But tours to the delta should be ok and, with a bit of luck you may get involved in the celebrations. Just go with the flow!

It will be busy the night you arrive, but after that, things will be quite quiet in HCMC as TET starts on 2/14. Many shops will be closed as this is the time for locals to visit families. Most restaurants/bars that cater to expats in D1 will remain open. Hopefully you'll arrive early enough on 2/13 to experience the madness on Nguyen Hue Blvd in D1(they shut down most of it and put up elaborate decorations and there are thousands of people down there the night before TET starts). Have fun!