When to go to Da Lat: what blooms when, and when the city is full
Da Lat has two calendars. One is about flowers and harvests — it decides what you will see. The other is about public holidays in Vietnam and Korea — it decides what you will pay and how long you will crawl down the pass. Both are known years ahead, so the trip is worth planning around them.
What each month is for
| When | What is on |
|---|---|
| Late October to late November | Wild sunflowers, da quy, along the roadsides and slopes — the city’s most recognisable bloom |
| November to December | Pink grass, co hong, on the hills near Lang Biang |
| 19–31 December 2026 | The eleventh Flower Festival: opening on 19 December at Lam Vien square, closing on 31 December |
| Late January to mid-February | Mai anh dao, the local cherry: pink streets and the Prenn pass |
| December to March | The dry season: clear days, cold nights, the best time for passes and treks |
| May to October | The rainy season: afternoon downpours, green, cheap, few tourists |
The dates not to come On these dates the city fills with domestic tourists, hotels double or triple their rates, and the road from Ho Chi Minh City or Nha Trang takes twice as long. If you have no choice, book a month ahead and forget about a quiet walk downtown.
The crowd calendar
| Dates | What it is |
|---|---|
| 24–26 September 2026 | Chuseok, the Korean autumn holiday: three days off, and a share of it lands in Vietnam |
| Around 5–9 February 2027 | Tet, Vietnamese New Year: 6 February is day one. The official schedule is not out yet; in recent years the break has run 7–9 days. Half the places are shut, prices peak |
| 15 April 2027 | Hung Kings’ commemoration: one day off, a Thursday |
| 30 April to 3 May 2027 | Reunification Day and May Day: four days in a row, the heaviest domestic wave of the year |
| 2 September | National Day. The 2027 schedule has not been announced |
| June to August | Vietnamese school holidays: not a weekend spike but a steady flow of families for three months |
How to use this
- Flowers and weather together — late November: the sunflowers are still out, the rains are over, and both the festival and Tet are far away.
- Quiet and cheap rooms — the rainy season. Rain here comes after lunch and clears by evening; the morning is almost always yours.
- Coming on a holiday — take a room away from the centre and walk: the downtown jams cost more time than the distances.
Festival dates follow the programme of the eleventh Festival Hoa Da Lat (main events 19–31 December 2026). Tet 2027 falls on 6 February; the official holiday schedule was not published at the time of checking. Hung Kings’ day and 30 April – 3 May 2027 follow the provisional holiday calendar. Chuseok 2026 is 24–26 September. Bloom timings are long-run norms and shift by a week or two year to year. Checked on 8 August 2026.