Watch the Mekong Delta city light up for Tết Nguyên Đán
On the evening of Friday, 5 February 2027 — Lunar New Year's Eve — Can Tho settles into the country's most important annual celebration. Tết Nguyên Đán marks the start of the lunar year, and the city observes it the way the rest of Vietnam does: families return home, houses are cleaned and decorated, special New Year meals are prepared, red envelopes of lucky money are handed to children, temples fill with visitors, and flower displays appear across town. The zodiac year turns at Tết rather than on 1 January, and 2027 is the Year of the Goat — Đinh Mùi in Vietnamese. New Year's Day itself falls on Saturday, 6 February 2027, with the main celebrations concentrated on New Year's Eve and the first three days of the lunar year.
Join the Eve crowds and the first three days of the lunar year
Public New Year's Eve gatherings and fireworks are a nationwide fixture of Tết, staged at designated locations in Vietnam's cities; confirm Can Tho's 2027 sites and timing locally once you arrive. The days that follow are when the city's public life is at its most ceremonial. Build your visit around this window:
- Friday, 5 February 2027 — Lunar New Year's Eve, the centerpiece evening of the holiday.
- Saturday, 6 February 2027 — Tết Nguyên Đán, Lunar New Year's Day.
- 6–8 February — the first three days of the lunar year, when the main celebrations take place.
- 20 February 2027 — the Lantern Festival, on the 15th day of the first lunar month, closing out the season.
Expect the city's temples to be busy with visitors paying respects and seeking good fortune, and look for the flower displays that are part of the Tết tradition. Government offices close for the public-sector holiday of 4–10 February 2027, though private businesses set their own schedules.
Shop the Tết markets and eat the New Year table
The run-up to Tết is when Can Tho's markets and shops fill with the things the holiday runs on: flowers and decorative plants for the house, ingredients for the special New Year meals, and the red envelopes given to children. Tết food is a family affair across Vietnam — meals are prepared at home and shared — so the most reliable way to eat well is to book a hotel that keeps its kitchen open through the holiday and to ask your hosts where local families are buying their New Year provisions. Note that many family-run shops and restaurants close or run reduced hours for part of the holiday, and that some businesses reopen from the fourth day of the lunar new year onward.
Time your trip around the holiday's rhythms — and its crowds
Tết is one of Vietnam's busiest domestic travel periods, and domestic flights between New Year's Eve and the fourth day of Tết are the hardest to book. Reserve flights and hotels well ahead. February weather in southern Vietnam is warm and comparatively dry, which suits days spent outdoors around the city. Practical points worth planning around:
- Cash: banks may close — withdraw money in advance and carry small denominations.
- Paperwork: government offices close and visa or e-visa services may be suspended; apply at least seven working days before the holiday and check any issued e-visa for errors.
- Transport: airports and border control stay open but are busy around peak dates.
- Timing: arriving from the fourth day of the lunar new year onward keeps much of the festive atmosphere while more businesses have reopened.
Use Can Tho as your Delta base
Can Tho sits at the heart of the Mekong Delta, and the holiday is a good reason to make the city your base rather than a day stop. Hotels and major attractions in Vietnam generally stay open through Tết, though hours vary by location and date — confirm with your hotel before you set out each morning. If you want to extend the trip, the general Tết pattern across the country is easy to plan around: decorated streets and public New Year's Eve events in the big cities, temple and pagoda visits, and family tables laden with tea and candied fruit. Wherever you go, the same advice holds — book transport and rooms early, keep cash on hand, and let the holiday's slower pace set your schedule rather than fight it.
Start with the dates: New Year's Eve on 5 February 2027, New Year's Day on 6 February, and the Lantern Festival on 20 February. Lock in flights and a hotel in Can Tho before the domestic rush, plan to arrive in the first week of the lunar year, and leave room in your days for temples, markets and long Delta evenings. The Year of the Goat comes once every twelve years — plan now to be there when it begins.