HCMC is in the South of Vietnam. The monsoon or wet season runs from May to September. Rainfall is infrequent and light during the remainder of the year. During the wet season Ho Chi Minh City weather gets pretty wet, and usually has an annual rainfall exceeding 1000mm. Temperatures are high all year round. Even though it can snow in the North of the country, HCMC is sheltered from outbreaks of colder northerly air and the dry season is warm to hot with a lot of sunshine.
Below is a table put together by the Vietnam Embassy in the UK
| Ho Chi Minh | ||||||
| Month | Rainfall (mm) | Temperature (Celsius) | ||||
| Average monthly | Ave no of days with 1mm | Average daily | Lowest recorded | Highest recorded | ||
| min | max | |||||
| Jan | 14 | 3 | 21 | 32 | 13 | 37 |
| Feb | 4 | 2 | 22 | 33 | 15 | 38 |
| Mar | 12 | 2 | 23 | 34 | 19 | 39 |
| Apr | 42 | 5 | 24 | 34 | 20 | 40 |
| May | 220 | 15 | 25 | 33 | 21 | 39 |
| Jun | 331 | 22 | 24 | 32 | 22 | 38 |
| Jul | 313 | 23 | 25 | 31 | 20 | 35 |
| Aug | 267 | 20 | 24 | 32 | 19 | 34 |
| Sep | 334 | 21 | 23 | 31 | 21 | 35 |
| Oct | 268 | 20 | 23 | 31 | 20 | 34 |
| Nov | 115 | 12 | 22 | 30 | 18 | 35 |
| Dec | 56 | 8 | 22 | 31 | 15 | 36 |
Vietnam is an extremely long country and the weather varies considerably from North to South. It also has mountainous and coastal regions where weather patterns differ again. Believe it or not it sometimes snows in the mountains in the far north. Just planning your trip based on Ho Chi Minh City weather might see you shivering in your boots when you head into the hills during February.
But don’t just let the weather be the sole reason for coming to Vietnam at a certain time. As I said on the Planning and Resources page, there’s always something to do even if it’s raining and there’s lots happening that will make your trip awesome all year round. Check out all the festivals and special holiday, the amazing food and great tours that you can do all year.
If you are considering visiting the rest of the country after your stay in Ho Chi Minh City, Owee58 has done a great job of summarising the weather in charts on his blog
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