January is winter in the North of Vietnam, is the rainy season in the Central Coast, the dry season in the Central Highlands and South of Vietnam. January is among the coldest time in the North of Vietnam and the temperatures are pleasant in all the rest of the country.
In the North of Vietnam there are often successive spells of cold Northeasterly Monsoon arriving which makes possible light drizzles for a couple of day each time. Normally it is dry and cold with strong wind in all the North.
In the Central Coast of Vietnam, it is still the rainy season. But the rain becomes lighter, more isolated and not as continuous as back in October, November and December. The sun may come out briefly now and again. In the south of the Central Coast, there is more sunshine and dry weather in January.
The Central Highlands and South of Vietnam begin enjoy the dry season with mild sunshine and extremely pleasant temperatures. This is the best time to travel in these regions be it family trips, luxury beach vacations or adventure tours.
Below you can find our review and statistics of the weather in different regions in Vietnam in January 2020.
1/North Vietnam
The North of Vietnam received four successive spells of cold Northeasterly Monsoon in every week of the month which caused some light rain and drops in temperatures. It was cold all over the region.
- The Northeast of Vietnam (Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Ba Be National Park…) had sun, clouds, light rain, 4-26oC.
Dong Van Karst Plateau Dong Van Plateau had sun, clouds, some rain, 3-18oC.
- The eastern Northwest of Vietnam (Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Lao Cai) had mostly sun and clouds, isolated rain. The temperatures were 6-26oC.
Sapa had sun, clouds, rain on some days, 3-20oC.
Mu Cang Chai had sun, mostly clouds and some rain, 4-24oC.
Mai Chau had mostly sun, clouds, some rain on some days, 14-28oC.
- The extreme North West of Vietnam (Son La, Lai Chau and Dien Bien) had mostly sun, clouds, light isolated rain on some days only, 6-31oC.
The Moc Chau Plateau Moc Chau Plateau had sun mostly, clouds, some isolated rain, 4-22oC.
- The low lands in northern Vietnam (Halong Bay, Hai Phong, Hanoi, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh) had sun, clouds, rain, 9-26oC in Halong Bay and Hai Phong, 9-28oC in Hanoi and the Red River Delta.
2/The North of the Central Region (Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh)
The North of the Central Region of Vietnam had some sun, mostly clouds and rain, 11-27oC.
3/ The Central Coast of Vietnam (Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Hue, Da Nang, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Phu Yen, Binh Dinh, Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan).
The Central Coast was in the rainy season most but the southern area from Nha Trang to Binh Thuan had mostly sun and wonderful weather.
- Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Hue had sun, clouds and rain, 16-31oC.
- Da Nang, Hoi An and the provinces to the south of the Hai Van Pass (Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen) had sun, clouds, rain, 17-31oC.
- Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan: mostly sun and clouds, isolated rain in Nha Trang, 19-33oC.
4/ The Central Highlands of Vietnam (Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak, Lam Dong)
January is the start of the dry season in the Central Highlands of Vietnam. In January 2020, it was mostly sun, clouds in the region. The temperatures were 11-34oC.
Da Lat had mostly sun, clouds, some isolated rain. The temperatures were 9-28oC.
5/The South of Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh, Vung Tau, Dong Nai, and the Mekong Delta)
January is the dry season, the temperatures are also very pleasant mostly and some days with chilly air. This is the best time to visit the South of Vietnam.
- Vung Tau, Saigon, Mekong Delta had sun mostly, clouds, isolated showers on some days in the Mekong Delta, 23-32oC in Vung Tau, 20-35oC in Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta.
- Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc: sun, clouds, 18-35oC.
- Con Dao Islands had sun, clouds, strong winds, rough sea, 22-28C.
- Phu Quoc Island had sun, clouds, isolated showers on a day or two, 23-32oC. Nice time for beach vacations.
