Vietnam During Tet 2027: What Is Open, and Your Data Plan
Tet 2027 lands on Saturday 6 February. Banks and family-run shops shut, ATMs can run dry and the whole country travels. Here is what stays open, and the one thing to settle before you fly: your data.
Quick answer: Tet 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, and Vietnam's official break runs from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027. Over the core days (Tet eve on 5 February and the first two or three days of the year) banks, money changers, markets and most family-run shops close, while hotels, chains and restaurants in tourist hubs mostly stay open. Install a travel eSIM at home before you fly, so maps and Grab work on landing without hunting for a phone shop that may be shut.
Key takeaways
- The dates: Tet day is Saturday 6 February 2027; the official break is 4 to 10 February, and many stretch it to 14 February.
- What shuts: banks for about a week, money changers for a few days, and most small family businesses over the core days.
- What stays open: hotels, convenience-store chains and restaurants in tourist areas, at higher prices in Vietnamese holiday towns.
- Travel is the hard part: the days before Tet are when the whole country moves. Book flights and trains early.
- Sort data and cash first: install the eSIM at home and withdraw before 4 February.
You land in Hanoi on the evening of 5 February. The streets are oddly calm, the shutters along Hang Bac are down, families are heading home with peach blossom branches tied to motorbikes, and the Grab driver is calling a number you cannot answer because your phone has no data. Tet is the most beautiful week of the Vietnamese year and the least forgiving one for a traveller who planned to sort things out on arrival.
If you are flying in that week, settle the data part tonight: get a Vietnam eSIM on fizen.io, install it on home Wi-Fi, and switch it on when the plane lands. It is one less shop you need to find open, and it means Grab, maps and your hotel's Zalo or WhatsApp messages work from the arrival hall.
When is Tet 2027, and which days does Vietnam actually stop?
On 2 October 2026 the government confirmed a seven-day Tet break for public servants, from Thursday 4 February to Wednesday 10 February 2027. Private companies follow their own variant, so the real rhythm on the street looks like this:
| Date (2027) | Lunar date | What it feels like |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 1 to Wed 3 Feb | 25 to 27 Chap | Peak travel out of the cities; flights and trains full |
| Thu 4 Feb | 28 Chap | Official break starts; banks wind down |
| Fri 5 Feb | 29 Chap, Tet eve | Shops close by afternoon; family feast, fireworks at midnight |
| Sat 6 to Mon 8 Feb | Days 1 to 3 | Quietest days; pagodas busy, most small places shut |
| Tue 9 to Wed 10 Feb | Days 4 and 5 | Holiday crowds at beaches and mountains; places reopen |
The richest time to be there is the run-up, when flower markets and banh chung fill the streets. It is also the hardest time to move around, because half the country is going home.
What closes during Tet, and what stays open?
- Banks and money changers: banks close for about a week; forex counters usually shut for a couple of days after Tet eve.
- ATMs: they work, but regulars have reported machines running dry around Tet for years. Withdraw before 4 February.
- Food: family-run places close over the core days. Tourist areas keep plenty open; outside them the choice is short.
- Transport: flights and trains sell out before Tet, local minibuses stop on Tet eve and day one, and Grab runs but gets busy.
- Prices: hotels in Vietnamese holiday towns can cost three times their normal rate; tourist hubs rise less.
Listed opening hours rarely account for Tet. If a restaurant matters, message it before you walk over, which needs working data, not hotel Wi-Fi.
What people who have done it say
- Base yourself somewhere touristy for the core days. A Saigon-based regular advised the outskirts of Hoi An over Tet 2026: a tourist hub always has something open and reopens quickly.
- It is not a week-long shutdown. Replies in an August 2026 thread about Tet 2027 agreed family businesses close for a few days, while hotels and many tourist-area restaurants keep going.
- The crazy travel day is the start of the holiday. A traveller who spent Tet 2025 in Cao Bang said workers heading home made it chaotic, then nobody moved on Tet eve and day one.
- Carry cash before the long weekend. Older threads repeat it: banks close, some ATMs run dry, money changers shut.
Which eSIM plan fits a Tet trip?
Over Tet your phone does more of the work: finding which restaurant is open, booking Grab when no taxi passes, keeping up with hotel messages. Use the eSIM for data and keep your home SIM on, with its data roaming off, so bank and airline codes still arrive.
One option in the Fizen catalogue, read on 2 November 2026: Vietnam runs on Viettel 4G inside an Asia plan that covers 18 countries, in 5, 10, 20 and 50 GB sizes with 7, 15 or 30 day windows; once the data is used, speed drops to 128 kbps, enough for messages, not for maps. Check the eSIM tab in the app or fizen.io/esim for current plans for Vietnam.
| Your Tet trip | Rough use | Size that survives it |
|---|---|---|
| One week, mostly one city | About 0.7 GB a day | 5 GB, 7 days |
| Two weeks moving around | About 1 GB a day | 20 GB, 15 days |
| Three to four weeks | 1 GB a day or more | 50 GB, 30 days |
These are our estimates. Most Fizen eSIMs cannot be topped up, and more data means a new eSIM, so size it for the whole trip; the same plan also covers a stopover in Bangkok or Singapore. If something fails on Fizen's side, a real person answers in the in-app chat, and a verified fault gets a free 1-for-1 replacement for the length of the trip. Changed plans? An unused, not-yet-installed eSIM can usually be taken back; eligibility depends on the plan, check Package details or ask chat.
The honest alternative: a Viettel or Mobifone tourist SIM from the arrival hall, with your passport. Fine on an ordinary day; over Tet, count only on the airport counters, not a phone shop in town.
Can you pay with USDT when cash gets tight?
Where a stall or cafe is open, it very likely shows a VietQR code. Fizen QR Pay lets foreign visitors pay those codes with USDT. It will not open a shuttered shop, but a dry ATM matters less. It is for travellers and foreigners only, not Vietnamese residents, and in Vietnam it pays QR codes of Vietnamese account holders.
The flow: create or import your Fizen wallet (self-custody), get USDT on Solana or BNB Chain into it, deposit from the wallet into QR Pay (no gas on BNB Chain; Solana needs a little SOL), complete KYC for that wallet and device, then scan and pay. Limits: US$800 per payment and US$1,000 per week. USDT on an exchange? Withdraw it on Solana or BNB Chain to your Fizen wallet address; USDT on another network, or another token, cannot be deposited. Steps are in the QR Pay getting-started guide.
Sorted, Tet looks like this: the Grab finds you at the kerb on Tet eve, the open pho shop on day two takes your QR, and day one is a quiet morning at a pagoda. Fizen is building the stablecoin neobank for people on the move, and this is the week it earns its place.
Frequently asked questions
When is Tet 2027?
Saturday 6 February 2027. The official break runs from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027.
Is it a bad idea to travel in Vietnam during Tet?
No, but plan it: book transport early, stay in a tourist hub for the core days, and carry cash before banks close.
What is open during Tet in Vietnam?
Hotels, convenience stores and many tourist-area restaurants. Banks, money changers, markets and family-run shops close over the core days.
Can I buy a SIM card during Tet?
Airport counters are your best bet. Simpler still: install a travel eSIM at home and land with data.
Does a Fizen eSIM give me a Vietnamese number?
No, it is data-only. Keep your home SIM on for codes and use WhatsApp, Zalo or Grab chat over data.
Land for Tet with data already working
Install a Vietnam eSIM at home, keep your home SIM for codes, and land with maps and Grab ready. Pay by card via Stripe (international Visa or Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay), or with USDT on Solana or BNB Chain in the Fizen app. New in the app: a US$10 eSIM credit is waiting in the eSIM tab for new users, taken off the bill automatically at checkout (up to 30% of each plan), no code needed.
Terms and conditions
- Information only. This article is information only, not an offer or sale, and not financial, legal or travel advice. Holiday dates for private businesses vary, and opening hours change; check before you rely on them. Plan details were read from the Fizen catalogue on 2 November 2026; check Package details before you buy.
- For readers in the United States. This is information only, not an offer or sale, and not advice. Fizen products and services are not offered to US Persons.
- Data-only. Travel eSIM plans are data-only and do not include a Vietnamese phone number or SMS. Keep your home SIM active for calls, SMS and bank codes.
- QR Pay availability. QR Pay is for cross-border use by travellers and foreigners in Vietnam and the Philippines only, and is not available to residents of those countries. It is funded only with USDT on Solana or BNB Chain; USDT on another network, or another token, cannot be deposited. Use of QR Pay is governed by the Fizen QR Pay Terms. KYC applies.
- Independent. Fizen is not affiliated with Viettel, Mobifone, Grab or Tripadvisor.
Sources
- VietnamPlus, Tet 2027 holiday confirmed: 4 to 10 February 2027 (2 October 2026, Vietnamese)
- Tripadvisor Vietnam forum, Lunar new year 2027 (August 2026)
- Tripadvisor Da Nang forum, visiting Da Nang during Tet 2026 (December 2025)
- Tripadvisor Vietnam forum, Traveling during Tet (about 2025)
- Tripadvisor Vietnam forum, tour plan during Lunar New Year: banks, ATMs, money changers (2019)
- Fizen Docs, QR Pay getting started
- Fizen Docs, 1:1 Trip Guarantee and refunds
Tet 2027 dates checked 2 November 2026 against the 2 October 2026 government decision; forum threads from 2019 to August 2026; Fizen catalogue read 2 November 2026.
