May is beginning of summer in Northern Vietnam, the dry season with hot temperatures in the Central Coast, the beginning of the rainy season with pleasant or warm temperatures in the Central Highlands, and the beginning of the rainy season with pleasant or warm temperatures in Southern Vietnam.
In northern Vietnam, May is often the time of sun, clouds, occasional showers, pleasant or warm temperatures.
Parts of the Northwest of Vietnam (Son La, Dien Bien) may have some days with hot temperatures. The sun is often bright in most of northwestern Vietnam this month.
The Central Coast often has sun or clouds with warm or hot temperatures.
The sea is calm all over Vietnam in May, and sea exploration tours could be operable in most places. There are rarely typhoons in the country this month.
Again, Vietnam is a narrow country with a long coastline and the country is to be affected tremendously by any change in sea temperatures and/or climate change. This is the reason that the weather patterns in Vietnam nowadays may vary from year to year and could be totally different from the norm.
Recap of Vietnam Weather in 2026
1/ In the first month of 2026, it is found that the weather patterns were not normal:
- Winter in northern Vietnam was mostly with pleasant temperatures, only two periods with cold temperatures and each was for 4-5 days. The region enjoyed autumn-like weather from October 2025 through January 2026.
- The Central Coast of Vietnam had sun mostly after the first week of January 2026. It is normal that this region starts having dry season from late February. The temperatures were very pleasant.
- The Central Highlands and southern Vietnam had lower temperatures than normal: 8oC and 14.3oC respectively.
- Southern Vietnam had torrential rain for a day in the middle of the dry season.
2/ In February 2026, all of Vietnam enjoyed mostly dry weather with pleasant sun and temperatures. Quite a few plant species started yielding flowers 1 to 1.5 month later than normal. So did the presence of migratory birds.
3/ In March 2026, there were unseasonal rain in the Central Coast, in the Central Highlands and in southern Vietnam. There were hails and strong gusts of wind in Ha Giang, Son La, Yen Bai Provinces which are very unusual.
The lowland of northern Vietnam experienced some rain and mostly dry weather and the extremely moist air was not found in the region as compared to normal.
4/ April in 2026 did not find the moist air at the beginning of the month as normal. This is rare.
There was rain in the Central Coast, in the Central Highlands and in southern Vietnam in April which was extremely different from normal as it was supposed to be a dry time.
In Son La, there was hail which destroyed houses and crops.
In the Northwest of Vietnam, there was rain and the temperatures were pleasant mostly. This is not the norm that it is dry and bright sun, high temperatures.
In Long An and Dong Thap Provinces in the Mekong Delta, rain accompanied by strong winds destroyed hundreds of houses.
Monsoons in Vietnam in May
In May there are two main monsoons affecting Vietnam:
- The Southeasterly Monsoon which blows mostly in northern Vietnam which causes moist air and pleasant temperatures.
- The Southwesterly Monsoon which comes from the Equator and which causes daily short-lived rain in the Central Highlands and in southern Vietnam.
- The Westerly Wind, which is actually the Southwesterly Wind blowing through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand before hitting part of the Northwest and part of the Central Coast of Vietnam, is a foehn wind. This wind causes sun, dry air and hot temperatures in the affected regions.
What to expect from your holidays to Vietnam in May, where to go in Vietnam in May?
Taking the general weather conditions in Vietnam into consideration, for those travelers planning tours to Vietnam or those who are on holiday in Vietnam in May, then there are some notes as follows:
- May is a fine time to visit Vietnam given the dry weather mostly and pleasant temperatures in many places of the country.
In northern Vietnam, May is not a good time to go on trekking trips, biking tours to the far northern mountains. The exception is the Dong Van Plateau of Ha Giang Province where the temperatures are cool all year round.
All trips through the lowland of the North are more likely to experience beautiful weather with bright sunshine, pleasant or warm temperatures.
May is the end of the bird wintering or migration season. It is not the best but is still a good time for birdwatching in the North, in part of the Central Coast, in the Central Highlands and in southern Vietnam. But it is good to know that most migratory bird species have left Vietnam for returning to their resident places.
It is more likely that sea exploration tours like scuba-diving, snorkeling... are to be operable in all places.
The beaches in the Central Coast from Quang Binh to Nha Trang: Nhat Le, Cua Viet, Da Nang, Hoi An, Quang Ngai (Sa Huynh), Quy Nhon, Tuy Hoa, Doc Let, Nha Trang... are to offer great beach vacations.
The beaches in Vung Tau, Long Hai and Mui Ne, Phan Thiet are good options near Saigon Ho Chi Minh City.
Con Dao Islands, Phu Quoc Island are to have sunny weather with lovely temperatures of 27-32oC.
The sea is calm in May, hence island vacations or sea exploration tours are great, especially it is just dry weather with mostly sun in most of the country!
Below you can find Paradissa’s reviews and statistics of the weather in different regions in Vietnam in May 2026
1/ Vietnam Weather in the First Decade of May 2026
2/ Vietnam Weather in the second decade of May 2026
3/ Vietnam Weather in the last decade of May 2026
Disclaimer: Vietnam weather summary is for reviews of Vietnam weather by month on the basis as “it is” to the best of our knowledge. Paradissa does not guarantee the accuracy of our monthly reviews of Vietnam Weather. Our Vietnam Weather Reviews by month must not be used for making travel decisions or for any other purposes. Paradissa disclaims any liability in connection with with the use of our information.
