TET Festival in VIETNAM - What do you think?

Question

Its usually held in January to February. Im planning on going in 2008 for 3 weeks. It so happens that the festival is being held right in the middle of my trip.

Has anyone been there or heard anything about it?

How does it affect things such as price, crowds, hotels, airfares, tours, etc???

Is it worth seeing compared to how busy things will be?

Does it only affect certain areas on Vietnam??

All detailed answers will be VERY appreciated!!!

Thanks you

Answer 1

tet is a lot of fun all over viet nam. yes the prices are just a little higher but the bigger problem is getting around. local busses, train tix ,plane tix, are hard to come by .even hotel rooms can be scarce. in all cases book as far ahead as you possibly can. be flexable and always  have a back up plan . always take your camera& dont be  to commpulsive about doing things as schedualed , go with the flow and you will ultimately enjoi.

Answer 2

Tet Holiday is the most important days for Vietnamese. This is a traditional Lunar New Year.So everything will be excited for preparing. It is worth for visit VN in these days. And yes, It may affect on things as hotels, price a little bit, but it is ok for that.

Hope u have a great vacation.

Tell me if u want to ask more , cuz i live here :)

Answer 3

I travel to Vietnam regularly and if I were still single, I would avoid Tet religiously (ha,ha, get it). Now that I have a family in Vn, I'm kind of expected to make the trip.

During Tet, almost everything is closed and the few places that stay open are unbelievably crowded. It's harder to travel since all the hired cars are pretty much booked. The prices for airline tickets and hotels are also much higher.

If you are going then, make sure that your travel plans are "written in stone". Have all your rooms and transportation booked well in advance and maybe even consider some sort of travel insurance.

Tet is the biggest holiday in Vietnam. It affects the entire country. It's deffinately worth seeing but it is a lot of work.

Good luck !

Answer 4

u should come in case u have a guide or relatives here , as it's packed with ppl on the last days of da year , but on da 1st days streets r empty , therefore a stranger 'd be totally isolated

Answer 5

Tet festival more commonly known by its shortened name Tết, is the most important and popular holiday and festival in Vietnam. It is the Vietnamese New Year which is based on the Chinese calendar, a lunisolar calendar. The name Tết Nguyên Đán is Sino-Vietnamese for Feast of the First Morning, derived from the Hán nôm characters 節元旦. In modern Chinese, the characters for Nguyên Ðán (元旦) have evolved to refer to New Year in the Gregorian calendar, that is, January 1.[1]

Tết is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year though exceptions arise due to the one-hour time difference between Hanoi and Beijing. Tết shares many of the same customs of its Chinese counterpart. It is celebrated from the first day of the first month of the Chinese calendar (around late January or early February) until at least the third day. Many Vietnamese prepare for Tết by cooking special holiday foods and cleaning the house. On Tết, Vietnamese visit their families and temples, forgetting about the troubles of the past year and hoping for a better upcoming year. Tết traditionally marks the coming of Spring, so Spring (Xuân) is sometimes used interchangeably with Tết in Vietnamese.

Mike from Trafest