Vietnam celebrates colourful festivals all year round, from the Lunar New Year in winter to lantern-lit full moons in Hoi An. Planning your trip around one of them is one of the best ways to experience vietnam culture up close.

The most important festival in Vietnam is Tet (Lunar New Year), which falls on 6 February in 2027. The other famous festivals in Vietnam are the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Hoi An Lantern Festival, Hue Festival, the Perfume Pagoda Festival, Buddha’s Birthday (Vesak), the Giong Festival, Vu Lan (Wandering Souls), Doan Ngo and the Ba Chua Xu Festival. Most follow the lunar calendar, so their dates change every year; the table below gives the 2027 dates.

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Vietnam Festival Calendar 2027

Here are the 2027 dates of the 10 biggest Vietnam festivals, the famous festivals in Vietnam most worth planning a trip around, with their lunar dates.

Festival	Lunar date	2027 date	Where
Tet (Lunar New Year)	1st–3rd day, 1st month	6–8 February	Nationwide
Giong Festival (Soc Temple)	6th day, 1st month	11 February	Soc Son, Hanoi
Perfume Pagoda Festival	From 6th day, 1st month, to end of 3rd month	From 11 February (to early May)	Huong Son, Hanoi
Hoi An Lantern Festival	14th day of every month	Monthly (full-moon eve)	Hoi An
Giong Festival (Phu Dong Temple)	9th day, 4th month	14 May	Gia Lam, Hanoi
Buddha’s Birthday (Vesak)	15th day, 4th month	20 May	Nationwide pagodas
Ba Chua Xu Festival	23rd–27th day, 4th month	28 May – 1 June	Sam Mountain, Chau Doc
Doan Ngo Festival	5th day, 5th month	9 June	Nationwide
Vu Lan (Wandering Souls)	15th day, 7th month	16 August	Nationwide pagodas
Mid-Autumn Festival	15th day, 8th month	15 September	Nationwide (best in Hanoi, Hoi An)
Hue Festival	Events through the year	Main programmes vary	Hue

Lunar New Year (Tet)

Tet is the most important and biggest festival in Vietnam, a time for family reunions, honouring ancestors and welcoming spring.

Tet Nguyen Dan marks the start of the lunar year. Families gather after a long year of work, clean and decorate their homes, and visit relatives and pagodas. Across the country you will see fireworks at midnight, lion dances, flower markets and flower streets, and you can try traditional treats such as mut (candied fruits), banh chung and banh tet (sticky rice cakes). For Indian travellers, Tet feels a lot like Diwali. Read our full guide to New Year in Vietnam.

Lunar calendar: 1st to 3rd day of the 1st month (holiday usually about a week)
Gregorian calendar: late January to mid-February (6 February in 2027)

Mid-Autumn Festival

The Mid-Autumn Festival is Vietnam’s children’s festival and its biggest lantern celebration, held on the full moon of the 8th lunar month.

Before and during the festival, streets fill with lanterns of every shape and size, and lion dance troupes perform in the evenings. Hang Ma Street in Hanoi and the old town of Hoi An are the best places to see it. Everyone eats mooncakes; vegetarians can choose mooncakes filled with sweet mung bean or lotus seed, though some fillings contain egg yolk or lard, so check before buying. Learn more about this autumn festival in vietnam.

Lunar calendar: 15th day of the 8th month
Gregorian calendar: September or early October (15 September in 2027)

Hoi An Lantern Festival

Hoi An’s Lantern Festival takes place every month on the eve of the full moon, when the old town glows with lanterns and candles.

The Hoi An Lantern Festival is one of the most famous festivals in Vietnam with international visitors. On the 14th day of each lunar month, shops and houses in the Ancient Town dim their electric lights and hang colourful silk lanterns, and visitors release floating candles on the Hoai River. It is a magical, peaceful evening and a great reason to time your Hoi An visit.

Lunar calendar: 14th day of every month
Gregorian calendar: varies (one evening each month)

Hue Festival

Hue Festival celebrates the culture of the former imperial capital with royal ceremonies, art shows and ao dai parades.

Hue Festival used to be held every two years, but the city now runs festival programmes throughout the year, with headline weeks of royal ceremonies, art exhibitions, street performances and folk music. A highlight is the ao dai show, where you can see the many styles of Vietnam’s national dress; read more about traditional costumes in vietnam.

Hue is also one of the easiest cities in Vietnam for vegetarians, thanks to its Buddhist heritage. Try vegetarian versions of banh loc, banh beo, fried rice and noodles, made with tofu and mushrooms.

Lunar calendar: not fixed
Gregorian calendar: events throughout the year; check the programme before you travel

Perfume Pagoda Festival

The Perfume Pagoda Festival is Vietnam’s longest pilgrimage festival, drawing huge crowds to a cave pagoda outside Hanoi in spring.

The festival takes place at the Huong Son (Perfume Pagoda) complex in Hanoi, about 60 km south-west of the city centre. Every spring, pilgrims come to pray for health and luck. The journey includes a boat ride along the Yen Stream past limestone mountains and rice fields, then a walk or cable car up to Huong Tich Cave. Go on a weekday if you can, as weekends are extremely crowded.

Lunar calendar: from the 6th day of the 1st month to the end of the 3rd month
Gregorian calendar: about February to April or early May

Buddha’s Birthday (Vesak)

Buddha’s Birthday celebrates the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, with lanterns, prayers and processions at pagodas.

Lanterns and prayers at a pagoda for Buddha's Birthday in Vietnam — *Pagodas across Vietnam are decorated with lanterns for Vesak*

For Indian travellers, this festival has a special connection, as the Buddha attained enlightenment at Bodh Gaya and Buddhism reached Vietnam from India. On Vesak, pagodas are decorated with flags and lanterns, monks give teachings, and many people eat vegetarian food. Large celebrations take place at pagodas in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City.

Lunar calendar: 15th day of the 4th month
Gregorian calendar: May or early June (20 May in 2027)

Giong Festival

The Giong Festival honours the legendary hero Saint Giong and is recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The festival honours Saint Giong, a legendary boy hero who grew into a giant to defend the country. It is held at two main sites around Hanoi: Soc Temple in Soc Son, in early spring, and Phu Dong Temple in Gia Lam, in late spring. Both feature processions, ritual performances, folk games and traditional singing, and each is about 30–60 minutes from central Hanoi.

Lunar calendar: 6th day of the 1st month (Soc Temple); 9th day of the 4th month (Phu Dong Temple)
Gregorian calendar: February and May (11 February and 14 May in 2027)

Vu Lan Festival (Wandering Souls)

Vu Lan, also called the Festival of Wandering Souls, is a Buddhist festival of gratitude to parents and ancestors.

Offerings at a pagoda during the Vu Lan Festival of Wandering Souls — *Families bring offerings to pagodas during Vu Lan*

Families visit pagodas with flowers, fruit and food offerings to pray for their parents and ancestors, and make offerings for wandering souls who have no one to remember them. Many people wear a rose: red if their mother is alive, white if she has passed away. It is a moving festival to witness if you are interested in Buddhist traditions.

Lunar calendar: 15th day of the 7th month
Gregorian calendar: August or early September (16 August in 2027)

Doan Ngo Festival

Doan Ngo, or “Tet Diet Sau Bo” (insect-killing festival), is a mid-year festival for good health, celebrated with fermented foods and fruit.

Traditionally, farmers marked this day by getting rid of pests before the new crop. Today, families make offerings at noon and eat com ruou (fermented sticky rice), banh u (rice dumplings) and seasonal fruit, believed to “kill the worms” in the body and keep everyone healthy.

Lunar calendar: 5th day of the 5th month
Gregorian calendar: June (9 June in 2027)

Ba Chua Xu Festival

The Ba Chua Xu Festival at Sam Mountain near Chau Doc honours the Lady of the Realm and is a UNESCO-listed Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Ba Chua Xu Temple Festival at Sam Mountain, Chau Doc — *Pilgrims gather at Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain*

Held at Ba Chua Xu Temple on Sam Mountain in An Giang Province, this is one of the largest festivals in the Mekong Delta. Rituals include the bathing of the goddess statue, the Tuc Yet ceremony and the Xay Chau ritual, accompanied by traditional music. Visitors bring fruit, flowers and offerings to pray for luck and prosperity.

Lunar calendar: 23rd to 27th day of the 4th month
Gregorian calendar: late May or June (28 May – 1 June in 2027)

Tips for Visiting Festivals in Vietnam

To enjoy Vietnam festivals and other cultural events in Vietnam, book early for Tet and big festivals, dress modestly at temples, and check the lunar date for the year you travel.

Book early: transport and hotels fill up and prices rise around Tet and long holidays.
Respect customs: cover shoulders and knees at pagodas and temples, and ask before photographing rituals.
Vegetarian food: on the 1st and 15th of each lunar month and on Buddhist festivals, many Vietnamese eat vegetarian, so “chay” food is easy to find.
Autumn travel: no major national festival falls during Diwali, but October and November have pleasant weather in much of Vietnam. Check vietnam weather in october 2026 and weather in vietnam in november before you book.

Plan Your Festival Trip to Vietnam

Vietnamtour.in can time your trip to match a festival and arrange guides who explain the traditions.

Celebrate the festive season abroad with our diwali tour packages, join friends on our Vietnam group tour packages, or travel from the west coast on a vietnam package tour 7 days from mumbai. You can also add a beach break with a phu quoc island tour package, or browse every vietnam travel package we offer.

Tell us your travel dates, group size and departure city in India. A Vietnamtour.in travel expert will match your trip to the right festival, book hotels early for busy dates, and arrange vegetarian, Jain or Indian meals throughout your journey.

Conclusion

From Tet and the Mid-Autumn Festival to Hoi An’s monthly lantern nights, festivals in Vietnam offer a colourful window into local life. Check the lunar dates of each Vietnam festival for your travel year and plan ahead to make your trip even more memorable.

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