I booked plane tickets to Vietnam for the end of January, not realizing that Tet falls out on February 10 in 2024. We're flying into Saigon and the plan was to spend four nights in Saigon (January 31-February 4) and then fly to Phu Quoc for 5 nights and get to Hanoi February 9 and spend 5 nights there before flying to Bangkok for 6 nights. Now I'm thinking that Hanoi may not be a great place to be during Tet if everything, including restaurants, closes down. What is Hanoi like during Tet? Will we have problems finding good restaurants to eat in for lunch and dinner? Will the sights be closed?

I'm thinking that perhaps we should fly to Hanoi from Saigon and spend February 4 to 9 in Hanoi, and then fly to Phu Quoc since we will be staying at the Regent there, a resort, so even if things are closed on the outside, it really won't matter. When we were at the Regent Phu Quoc this past February, we never left the resort. Then we can fly to Bangkok from Phu Quoc. There are a few non-stop flights, unfortunately the best flight is on the dreaded VietJet, but we can always fly to Saigon from Phu Quoc and on to Bangkok. No shortage of non-stop flights on those routes.

The first time I visited Hanoi over Ten was Avery long time ago, 25 plus years at a guess. Back then, pretty much everything seemed to closed down as the people head back to spend time with their families. The entire city seemed very quiet. We were there more recently over Tet , circa ten years ago and there was far more open in terms of restaurants etc. Some of the museums do open over that period although you need to check opening hours. These days I don't think it is the case that "everything closes down, it's just a lot quieter than normal and there may not be the choice of places to eat that would normally be the case. Having said that were were there in October and it was also very quiet and a lot of our previous haunts had closed permanently but things seemed to be on the up again. I doubt it will be too long before things are back to normal. I was told due to the fact that many people had still not returned to the city post pandemic.I suppose the upside is that there are fewer crowds and less traffic

We have also been in Saigon over Tet and the impact there seems much less marked IME.

One problem is always booking flights and trains etc as the Vietnamese domestic market will be booking seats well in advance to travel over TET. Book early!

On balance holing up in the Regent seems like a plan! I think the critical time for transport is at the beginning of tet and the days leading up to it.

No doubt someone else with have different views..

Thanks crelleston, I was hoping you would chime in. I do think flying to Hanoi from Saigon is the better plan, and then on to Phu Quoc. Just in case Hanoi during Tet doesn't have the choice of restaurants and sights during Tet. Also, After Saigon and Hanoi, two somewhat frenetic cities, it might be nice to relax for 5 days before going on to an even more frenetic Bangkok.

Now I just need to figure out where to stay in Hanoi. In Saigon, we will be at the Hotel des Artes again; in Phu Quoc, the Regent of course (I wish I would have realized before I booked the plane fare to Saigon that the prices at the Regent drop about $200/night in mid to late February. Oh well, we'll just suck it up and pay it); in Bangkok, I am determined to finally stay at the Hilton Millennium and check out that panoramic executive suite. But I don't want to stay at the same hotel in Hanoi this time (Aira Boutique Hotel and Spa). Not that it wasn't nice, it was, and seemed to be in a good location. But too many bad memories, sitting in the room for hours, waiting to go to the airport to fly home and see my dying mother. I need somewhere else to stay. I have been looking but not sure about the locations so I will be posting the hotels and asking what people think (I'm looking at you crellston, but no pressure!)

Change your plan to do Phu Quoc island on Tet holiday is a wise choice.

PQ during Têt is a great idea, but a very advanced flight reservation is quite necessary because more and mor Vietnamese go on vacation during Têt instead of going to their family village like before,

Being in Hanoi during Tet is also an interesting experience.