July is summer in Northern Vietnam, hot season in the Central Coast, the rainy season with daily short-lived heavy rain and with pleasant temperatures in the Central Highlands, Southern Vietnam.
There may be typhoons or tropical depressions which often disrupt holidays and tours in Northern Vietnam and sometimes in the North of the Central Coast of Vietnam. In these circumstances, boat trips on Halong Bay are often banned and torrential rain may cause flash floods and landslides, rock slides in the far northern mountains.
If you travel in the North or Central Region of Vietnam in July, make sure to drink enough water and always bring along a sunhat or umbrella when going outdoors.
In the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam, the heavy daily rain may cause temporary floods in places and cities. Be extra cautious if you take part in a flooded road with running water and open sewage. Exercise good care if you travel to the Central Highlands as heavy rain poses fatal threats from flash floods and landslides.
General Weather Patterns in Vietnam in July
In July there are tow main monsoons affecting Vietnam:
- The Northeast, Northwest and lowland of Northern Vietnam often have the Southeasterly Wind which brings along moisture and which makes the temperatures pleasant.
- The remainder of the country including part of the Northwest of Vietnam, the Central Coast, the Central Highlands is to have the Southwesterly Wind. This wind causes rain in the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam but causes dry heat and high temperatures in the Central Coast due to the foehn effect. This wind still causes dry heat and high temperatures in part of the Northwest of Vietnam but to a lesser degree compared to May and early June.
The rain in the mountains in the far Northern Vietnam, in the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam may cause places flooded temporarily.
Part of the the Central Coast of Vietnam are to undergo series of heat strikes in July with daily temperatures surpassing 36-38oC. The hottest places include Lao Cai, Hoa Binh, Son La, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri.
The Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam are in the rainy season in July with daily rain (which lasts 30 minutes – 1 hour per day). The rain makes the temperatures pleasant mostly. But heavy rain may make streets flooded which may disrupt traffic temporarily. And it is very dangerous in case of open sewage and possible leakage current (or leakage of electricity).
July is among the months that the Southwesterly Wind is most active which may cause high rainfalls in the South and Central Highlands of Vietnam.
What to expect from your holidays to Vietnam in July, where to go in Vietnam in July?
Taking the general weather conditions in Vietnam into consideration, for those travelers planning holidays to Vietnam or those who are on vacations in Vietnam in July, then there may be some notes as follows:
- Those planning an adventure tour, a sightseeing trip, a family holiday in the far northern mountains of Vietnam in July should expect strong sun, high humidity, high temperatures (except for places on high altitudes) and heavy to torrential rain. All visits and outdoor activities should be avoided at mid day from 11:00 A.M through 14:30 during which the temperatures are the highest of a day and it is easily to get sun-stroke.
Trekking trails are often muddy, slippery and those embark on adventure trips should exercise top caution. On several trekking tours, you will have to walk through bodies of running water or streams or rivers with running waters. Rocky and/or dirt paths turn extremely slippery.
- While Dong Van Karst Plateau in Ha Giang and Moc Chau Plateau in Son La are to have some days with lovely weather which is suitable for relaxing holidays, relaxing family vacations and sightseeing tours, Sapa may be different. The weather in Sapa in July may change from scorching sun to torrential rain and vice versa in every short interval of time within one day. Trails in Sapa are quite muddy and slippery during this month.
- Families on holidays to Vietnam in the lowland of Northern Vietnam and in the Central Coast should make sure you have sunshade and enough drinking water, especially those with kids and/or senior travelers. Outdoor visits or activities should be avoided at mid day. During this time, even the Vietnamese workers/farmers take a break from work; they would rather start work earlier or extend their work later in the day, but not during mid day.
- July is a good time for junk cruises on Halong Bay as it is often clear skies and you have lovely photos of the islands in sunshine. But it is worth noting that there may be tropical depressions or typhoons in July during the time Northern Vietnam under the impact of which, cruises on Halong Bay are prohibited.
Those on cruises on the Mekong River in Southern Vietnam should have a good time in July too; the temperatures in the Mekong Delta are mostly pleasant this month thanks to daily short-lived rain.
- July is not a good time for bird watching tours as migratory bird species have traveled back to their homeland, and bird parks and national parks in Vietnam are not busy with wildlife. At the Xuan Thuy National Park there maybe summer migratory bird species which come from Southern Vietnam, Cambodia… But it is not certain that the wildlife at this park is busier than normal.
- July is a good time to go for beach holidays in Vietnam and is the best time for island vacations in Vietnam. The best beaches should be in the South of the Central Coast (Quy Nhon, Phu Yen, Nha Trang, Phan Rang, Mui Ne) and South of Vietnam (Vung Tau, Long Hai). Those on boat trips and sea exploration tours like snorkeling and scuba diving should have a great time as the sea is calm, and the sea water is clear. One thing you may like to know is that July is among the peak Vietnamese tourist season; it is school holidays and Vietnamese families travel which drive up prices in several popular spots insanely.
- The Con Dao Islands and Phu Quoc Island are the best destinations for island vacations in Vietnam in July. On these islands, the sun is bright and the temperatures are mostly pleasant (29-30oC) in July. The down side is that prices are often higher and lack of air tickets for flights to these islands. If you plan to stay in luxury hotels and resorts, the costs of goods and services are likely not changed much between high season and low season. Water sports and sea exploration tours should bring great experiences.
- For more adventure travelers and families you may like to consider the Cat Ba Island in Northern Vietnam, Ly Son Island and Phu Quy Island in the Central Region of Vietnam. It is hot in Cat Ba but you can get some nice sea breezes while at Ly Son and Phu Quoc, the weather should be just wonderful! Cat Ba is extremely busy during the summer months and traffic jams may keep you waiting in strong sun for hours. Traveling by speedboat to the Cat Ba Island may experience rough sea. The two latter islands are new destinations and are busy during weekends.
Below you can find Paradissa’s reviews and statistics of the weather in different regions in Vietnam in July 2023
At the end of June and the beginning of July 2023, there was a heat strike across the lowland of the North and the Central Coast of Vietnam. But there was heavy rain across Northern Vietnam that the heat strike was interrupted and replaced by a couple of days with pleasant temperatures and cloudy weather in the North.
The highest recorded temperatures on 3-July were found at: Tĩnh Gia (Thanh Hóa) 38.5oC, Tây Hiếu (Nghệ An) 37.3oC, Hương Khê (Hà Tĩnh) 37.2oC,... Averaged humidity was mostly around 50-60%.
Rainfalls measured in 12 hours from the evening of 2-July to morning of 3-July-2023 : Bản Lang (Lai Châu) 97.2mm, Chế Tạo (Yên Bái) 119.6mm, Thượng Sơn (Hà Giang) 214mm, Tĩnh Túc (Cao Bằng) 67.6mm,…
Regional weather patterns in Vietnam at the beginning of July 2023:
- Northeast: sun, clouds, rain, 26-32oC;
- Northwest: sun, clouds, rain, 26-33oC in Hoa Binh, Yen Bai, Lao Cai; 23-30oC in Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau;
- Lowlands: sun, clouds, rain, 27-35oC.
- North of the Central Coast: sun, clouds, 28-36oC;
- Central Coast from Quang Binh to Hue: sun, clouds, rain, 27-36oC;
- Central Coast from Da Nang to Quy Nhon: sun, clouds, isolated rain, 26-34oC mostly;
- Central Coast from Tuy Hoa to Nha Trang: sun, clouds, rain in Khanh Hoa, 26-35oC in Phu Yen and 26-33oC in Khanh Hoa;
- Central Coast from Phan Rang-Thap Cham to Phan Thiet: sun, clouds, rain, 26-33oC;
- Central Highlands: rain, 20-31oC;
- East of Southern Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh): rain, clouds, 24-34oC;
- West of Southern Vietnam ( The Mekong Delta): clouds, rain, 24-32oC.
In the first half of July 2023, the weather patterns were hot in Northern Vietnam, heavy rain in the far northern mountains ; heat strike from Thanh Hoa Province to Phu Yen Province ; heavy rain and temporary floods in the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam.
On 14-July a tropical depression crossed the Luzon Island (The Philippines) and entered the East Vietnam Sea. On 15-July, the tropical depression strengthened and turned into the First Typhoon in Vietnam in 2023 internationally coded Talim. The projected path was Northwest and West Northwest : Luzon – Loi Chau (China) Peninsula...
Regional weather patterns in Vietnam in mid of July 2023:
- Northeast: sun, clouds, rain, 24-33oC;
- Northwest: sun, clouds, rain, 25-35oC in Hoa Binh, Yen Bai ; sun, clouds, rain in 26-36 in Lao Cai; sun, clouds, rain, 22-33oC in Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau;
- Lowlands: sun, clouds, rain, 27-35oC.
- North of the Central Coast: sun, clouds, rain, 28-34oC;
- Central Coast from Quang Binh to Hue: sun, clouds, rain, 27-36oC;
- Central Coast from Da Nang to Quy Nhon: sun, clouds, isolated rain, 26-34oC mostly;
- Central Coast from Tuy Hoa to Nha Trang: sun, clouds, isoalted rain, 27-35oC ;
- Central Coast from Phan Rang-Thap Cham to Phan Thiet: sun, clouds, rain, 27-37oC in Phan Rang, 26-34oC in Phan Thiet;
- Central Highlands: rain, 20-28oC;
- East of Southern Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh): rain, clouds, 27-32oC;
- West of Southern Vietnam ( The Mekong Delta): clouds, rain, 25-31oC mostly, 26-33oC in An Giang.
Typhoon Talim made landfall in the southern coast of China (Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces) on 18-July and made it to Cao Bang – Lang Son only after having weakened substantially to be a tropical depression on the same day. Vietnam did not suffer much directly from this typhoon. But the typhoon caused the Southwesterly Wind in Southern Vietnam more active which destroyed crops, houses in the Mekong Delta and felled trees in cities in the South.
Phu Quoc Island was flooded partially due to continuous heavy rain for 3 days as an impact by Typhoon Talim. There was heavy rain also across the South as well as the Central Highlands of Vietnam due to the strong Southwesterly Wind.
Regional weather patterns in Vietnam in the last week of July 2023
- Northeast: sun, clouds, rain, 25-35oC;
- Northwest: sun, clouds, isolated rain, 26-36oC in Hoa Binh, Lao Cai, 25-34oC in Yen Bai ; sun, clouds, rain, 23-33oC in Son La, Dien Bien, and23-31oC in Lai Chau;
- Lowlands: sun, clouds, 27-37oC.
- North of the Central Coast: sun, clouds, isolated rain, 28-38oC;
- Central Coast from Quang Binh to Hue: sun, clouds, isolated rain, 28-38oC;
- Central Coast from Da Nang to Quy Nhon: sun, clouds, isolated rain, 26-36oC mostly;
- Central Coast from Tuy Hoa to Nha Trang: sun, clouds, rain, 26-34oC ;
- Central Coast from Phan Rang-Thap Cham to Phan Thiet: sun, clouds, rain, 25-35oC in Phan Rang, 25-31oC in Phan Thiet;
- Central Highlands: rain, 22-29oC;
- East of Southern Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Tay Ninh): rain, clouds, 25-32oC;
- West of Southern Vietnam ( The Mekong Delta): rain, 25-29oC mostly, 26-32oC in An Giang.
In the last few days of July 2023, there was torrential rain across the Central Highlands and Southern Vietnam. There were landslides and floods in several places. The Cat Tien National Park was closed for a few days due to high water levels.
