Discover the best time of year, based on historical climate, temperature, and precipitation.
The best weather in Haiphong is from February, November, December. — consistent weather climate
⛈Hot & rainy
| Score | 82 | 83 | 79 | 75 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 67 | 88 | 88 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Climate | Mild | Pleasant | Pleasant | Humid | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Hot & rainy | Humid | Pleasant | Pleasant |
| Temperature | 14–21°C | 15–22°C | 19–25°C | 22–28°C | 25–31°C | 27–33°C | 27–32°C | 26–31°C | 25–31°C | 22–28°C | 19–26°C | 15–22°C |
| Feels like | 14–21°C | 15–22°C | 21–27°C | 25–32°C | 30–37°C | 33–40°C | 32–39°C | 32–39°C | 30–37°C | 25–32°C | 21–28°C | 14–22°C |
| Precipitation | 52mm 9 days | 43mm 9 days | 45mm 11 days | 94mm 10 days | 207mm 17 days | 230mm 17 days | 304mm 23 days | 448mm 27 days | 341mm 25 days | 150mm 13 days | 51mm 8 days | 27mm 7 days |
| Sunshine | 4.4h ☀︎ 40% | 4.3h ☀︎ 38% | 4.2h ☀︎ 35% | 7.1h ☀︎ 57% | 7.8h ☀︎ 60% | 6.2h ☀︎ 46% | 6.5h ☀︎ 49% | 5.5h ☀︎ 43% | 7.1h ☀︎ 58% | 8.2h ☀︎ 70% | 7.9h ☀︎ 71% | 5.5h ☀︎ 50% |
| Wind | E · 14 km/h | E · 15 km/h | E · 15 km/h | SE · 17 km/h | SE · 16 km/h | SE · 16 km/h | SE · 16 km/h | SE · 13 km/h | E · 13 km/h | NE · 14 km/h | NE · 14 km/h | NE · 13 km/h |
| Humidity (%) | 79% | 80% | 84% | 83% | 83% | 80% | 82% | 86% | 86% | 79% | 77% | 72% |
| Day length | 11.0h | 11.5h | 12.0h | 12.6h | 13.1h | 13.4h | 13.3h | 12.8h | 12.3h | 11.7h | 11.2h | 10.9h |
Haiphong celebrates its city anniversary with a citywide festival timed to the bloom of red flamboyant trees, filling th…
Held in the coastal Do Son district under warm late-summer skies, this centuries-old festival pits trained buffaloes fro…
Standard guidebooks tell you to hold out for November's blue skies, but Haiphong belongs to March, when the winter chill lifts, the suffocating summer humidity is still weeks away, and the tour buses have yet to claim the harbor.
Haiphong is Northern Vietnam's industrial heavyweight and historic gateway to the Gulf of Tonkin, but travelers rarely come here just to admire shipping docks and colonial-era rail lines. They come because this is the launchpad to the karst towers of Cát Bà and the faded coastal retreat of Do Son, or because they want an authentic, unvarnished slice of northern port life without the tourist sheen of Hanoi. Yet timing this coastal strip is notoriously tricky. Most visitors default to late autumn, lured by crisp weather ratings, only to find themselves hemmed in by tour groups and inflated rates. The real secret is stepping in at the tail end of winter, when the city breathes easy and belongs entirely to itself.
If you look purely at meteorology charts, you would book November without thinking twice. But travel is not a spreadsheet. March is the smartest month to drop your bags in Haiphong precisely because everyone else is somewhere else. The biting northern winter damp has dissipated, replaced by gentle, drifting warmth that sits comfortably around the mid-twenties. The air holds just enough maritime moisture to soften the daylight without turning into the oppressive soup of midsummer.
Down along the Tam Bạc River and through the old French colonial quarter near the Haiphong Opera House, street vendors push carts piled high with fresh herbs, steamed rice rolls, and spicy crab noodles without fighting for sidewalk real estate. The ferries departing for Cát Bà run on schedule without the frantic summer scrums on the slipway. You get soft overcast mornings, easy walking afternoons, and cool evenings that invite long dinners on low plastic stools. The slight trade-off in cloud cover is a bargain compared to the peace you buy.
By April, the quiet evaporates. Domestic travelers arrive en masse, driving the city to its busiest pitch of the year. The weather remains relatively accommodating early in the month, with bright spells and longer days, but the atmosphere thickens rapidly. By the time May rolls around, afternoon heat indices routinely spike into the high thirties, and sudden downpours begin washing over the coastal plains.
Yet May possesses a dramatic character unique to this corner of Vietnam. This is when the flame trees that line the boulevards burst into electric scarlet blossom. During the Red Flamboyant Flower Festival, the city centers its pride around these flaming canopies with street parades, performances, and public spectacles. If you come now, accept that you will sweat through your collar before noon and share the central plazas with thousands of revelers. It is loud, proud, and undeniably vibrant, but it is not a month for leisurely strolling.
Summer in Haiphong is a heavy, unrelenting trial of heat and water. From June through August, apparent temperatures hover stubbornly around 39 degrees Celsius. The humidity does not drop when the sun goes down; it hangs over the Gulf of Tonkin like a hot, sodden blanket. To make matters worse, August unleashes torrential deluges that dump hundreds of millimeters of rain in violent bursts capable of drowning plans in minutes.
Paradoxically, this is when domestic vacationers pour down to Do Son Beach and ferry out to Cát Bà to escape inland heat. The result is a chaotic collision of drenching monsoon rain, swollen crowds, and sweltering afternoons. Island boat tours are routinely held in port by sudden maritime squalls, leaving travelers stranded in transit hubs. Unless your sole desire is to witness tropical storms rolling across the bay from the shelter of a covered balcony, avoid this quarter entirely.
September remains wet and sticky, with coastal storms always a lingering threat, but it carries a distinct cultural gravity. In coastal Do Son, the centuries-old Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival draws massive domestic crowds into village arenas. It is a fierce, visceral spectacle of local ritual and folk tradition, completely unlike the polished heritage performances staged in bigger tourist hubs. Getting a vantage point requires jostling with dedicated locals under a fierce late-summer sun.
October brings a genuine, palpable exhale. The monsoon abruptly loses its punch, the rain intensity drops off, and the sun shines with clean, golden clarity. Apparent temperatures fall back toward humane levels. It serves as a brief, gorgeous bridge between the violent storms of summer and the cooler dry season, offering clear waters for those wanting to explore the outlying islets or paddle the perimeter of Cát Bà.
November is the darling of standard travel guides, and on paper, it deserves the praise. The days are dry, bright, and breezy, delivering the clearest skies and most comfortable walking conditions of the calendar. But you will pay for it in company. Tour buses clog the transit points to Cát Bà, central accommodations book solid, and the sense of discovery is muted by the sheer volume of visitors.
As December turns into January and February, the sun withdraws behind a classic northern overcast shield. Temperatures plunge into the low twenties and high teens, accompanied by a persistent coastal drizzle locally known as 'mua phun.' It is not freezing, but the moisture penetrates your layers, making outdoor dining clammy and boat trips across the bay gray and moody. February brings local holiday closures and spikes in domestic travel around the Lunar New Year, making it an awkward window for anyone seeking smooth logistics.