There is no single best booking date for Vietnam: Kayak gives anything from 6 to 22 weeks ahead depending on the route, and the average return fares read on 6 October 2026 run from €545 (Milan–Hanoi, January) to €1,224 (Paris–Saigon, July). From London the cheapest nonstop seen was £614 with Vietnam Airlines; tickets with a stop on Chinese airlines dipped to €511–€561 from Vienna, Frankfurt and Paris but take far longer. The real traps are the seller and the entry rules: with an e-visa you pick your port of entry when you apply.
The essentials in numbers (read on 6 October 2026, sources in the text):
- Fares (average return, euro routes): from €545 (Milan–Hanoi, January) to €1,224 (Paris–Saigon, July); from London £495 in November to £804 in July.
- Nonstop: London–Hanoi from £614 with Vietnam Airlines, 11 h 20 on average; in euros, €710 (Milan–Hanoi) to €906 (Paris–Hanoi).
- Booking window per Kayak: 6 weeks (Madrid) to 22 weeks (Rome) ahead; from London, 14 weeks for the lowest price.
- Tết 2027: official holiday from 4 to 10 February.
- Entry: 45 days without a visa for the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain; otherwise the e-visa ($25, up to 90 days).
When to book a flight to Vietnam
There is no single date. Kayak works out, route by route, how many weeks before departure tickets cost less on average than a last-minute booking.
Full guide: Things to Do in Vietnam: 15 Highlights Worth the Trip
| Route | Book at least … | Saving against last-minute |
|---|---|---|
| Paris → Hanoi | 12 weeks | −14% |
| Paris → Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) | 21 weeks | −18% |
| Frankfurt → Hanoi | 8 weeks | −15% |
| Frankfurt → Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) | 14 weeks | −11% |
| Vienna → Hanoi | 10 weeks | −18% |
| Rome → Hanoi | 22 weeks | −30% |
| Madrid → Hanoi | 6 weeks | −23% |
The lead times are far apart: six weeks from Madrid, 22 from Rome, 12 from Paris to Hanoi and 21 to Saigon. From London Kayak says 14 weeks ahead gives the lowest price. All the routes share one finding: last-minute costs more. The percentages measure the advantage over a late booking, not the lowest possible fare, and no data point promises that the price will fall later. If you plan to fly in February or March 2027, compare now, set a price alert and book once the fare reaches the lower part of the usual range. Aviasales offers, according to its home page, an app that notifies you when the price drops. The day of departure matters too: from London Kayak finds Monday the cheapest day to fly out and Friday the dearest; from Frankfurt it is Tuesday at €800 against Sunday at €893.
Tết 2027: February has its own logic
The Vietnamese Lunar New Year, Tết, falls on 6 February 2027 (Wikipedia). Public-sector staff get seven days off, from 4 to 10 February 2027 (VietNamNet, 2 October 2026), and many people travel home to their families. Domestic flights feel it.
Last year’s pattern: Vietnam Airlines opened sales for Tết 2026 on 3 September 2025, about five months before the peak travel period (VietnamPlus). According to Vietcetera (17 September 2025) some base fares ran up to 40% above the off-season; Ho Chi Minh City–Hanoi then cost 5.5 to 7.4 million VND return, while Kayak usually shows €81 to €133 (two currencies, so no ratio). For a trip around 6 February 2027, book the domestic flights as early as the long-haul one; going by last year’s pattern, sales should already be open. On the long-haul routes, February is among Kayak’s two most expensive months on none of the nine.
What a flight to Vietnam costs
The table shows what Kayak displayed on 6 October 2026 for nine routes. An average is not your price.
| Route | Cheapest month (average return) | Most expensive months (average return) | Cheapest nonstop seen · average flight time |
|---|---|---|---|
| London → Hanoi | November £495 | July £804 · December £765 | £614 (Vietnam Airlines) · 11 h 20 min |
| Paris → Hanoi | November €755 | July €1,122 · August €1,099 | €906 (Vietnam Airlines) · 11 h 16 min |
| Paris → Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) | March €849 | July €1,224 · August €1,079 | €840 (Vietnam Airlines) · 12 h 11 min |
| Frankfurt → Hanoi | May €723 | December €986 · July €930 | €860 (Vietnam Airlines) · 10 h 43 min |
| Frankfurt → Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) | November €794 | July €1,047 · December €1,026 | €874 (Vietnam Airlines) · 11 h 35 min |
| Vienna → Hanoi | May €642 | December €912 · July €884 | no nonstop |
| Milan → Hanoi | January €545 | August €946 · December €921 | €710 (Vietnam Airlines) · 10 h 43 min |
| Rome → Hanoi | November €628 | August €978 · July €909 | no nonstop |
| Madrid → Hanoi | May €669 | August €919 · July €893 | no nonstop |
The pages disagree on the cheapest month: November for Paris–Hanoi, Rome, London and Frankfurt–Saigon, May for Frankfurt–Hanoi, Vienna and Madrid, March for Paris–Saigon, January for Milan. They agree on one point: July, August and December are among the two dearest months almost everywhere. The cheap months often fall in the rainy season: in the south it runs from May to November according to Wikipedia, and in the centre it peaks in October and November. The lowest fare is therefore not automatically the best month to travel; more on the climates in the north-to-south itinerary.
Tickets with a stop are cheaper still: the lowest returns Kayak found recently cost €511 from Vienna (China Eastern), €533 from Frankfurt (China Eastern) and €561 from Paris (Air China). Those are one-day floors, and the journey is longer: the example itineraries on the Rome–Hanoi page reach up to 39 h 05. If you change planes in China, check the entry rules first: visa-free entry for up to 30 days applies, among others, to French, German, Austrian, Italian and Spanish citizens until 31 December 2026 (VisasNews); no extension for 2027 was readable on 6 October 2026.
Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City: where to land?
Both cities have nonstops from Europe, and neither wins on price: from Paris the cheapest nonstop seen costs €906 to Hanoi and €840 to Saigon; from Frankfurt it is the other way round, €860 against €874. From London, Vietnam Airlines flies nonstop to both cities (Wikipedia). The difference is flight time: to Hanoi a nonstop averages 11 h 16 from Paris and 10 h 43 from Frankfurt; to Saigon 12 h 11 and 11 h 35 – about 55 and 52 minutes more. The simple rule: land where your trip begins.
| Criterion | Hanoi – Nội Bài (HAN) | Ho Chi Minh City – Tân Sơn Nhất (SGN) |
|---|---|---|
| Distance to the centre | about 35 km north-east | about 6 km to District 1 |
| Getting to the centre | bus 86 to the Old Quarter: 45,000 VND | bus 109 or 152: 10,000 to 20,000 VND · taxi: 150,000 to 200,000 VND (15 to 30 min) |
| Nonstops from Europe (selection) | Vietnam Airlines: Amsterdam (since 16 June 2026), Frankfurt, London, Milan, Munich, Paris · LOT: Warsaw (from late March 2027) | Vietnam Airlines: Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris · Air France: Paris |
For Saigon, also look at the new Long Thành airport, about 40 km east of the city. It is due to open on 1 December 2026; from 28 March to 29 October 2027 all long-haul flights, including those from Europe, are due to move there (Dân Trí, 29 September 2026). From there it is 60 to 90 minutes by road to the centre (vietone.travel, 2 September 2026). An earlier plan aimed at June 2026 (Travelmole, 1 October 2025): for any ticket to Saigon after 28 March 2027, check which airport is in the offer.
Full guide: Hanoi & Saigon Airport to City Centre: Bus, Grab, Taxi
Open-jaw: land in Hanoi, fly home from Saigon
An open-jaw ticket lands in one city and returns from another; according to the Rough Guides, airlines that serve both cities normally sell one. On a north-to-south trip it saves the return leg: between Hanoi and Saigon there are 1,726 km of rail (the fastest train takes 32 h 45), and the flight takes 2 h 12 on average for the usual €46 to €76. Without an open-jaw you spend that amount a second time: €92 to €152 for two.
The price of the open-jaw ticket itself appears on none of the pages we read: compare it with a return to Hanoi plus a domestic flight. A multi-city search does that: Aviasales lists a “Create multi-city route” function on its home page. To fill the stages between the two cities, see the two-week Vietnam itinerary. On a low-cost domestic flight, read the baggage line of the fare (VietJet’s page was unreachable).
Visa and entry: settle it before you buy
The UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain get a 45-day exemption (Resolution 44/NQ-CP, 15 March 2025 to 14 March 2028); the passport must stay valid for six months from entry (vietnamtourism.com, page updated on 19 September 2026). A supplementary list, valid to 14 August 2028, names Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland among others. Austria is on none of the lists we read.
Everyone else applies for the e-visa: $25 for one entry, $50 for several, up to 90 days, processed in three working days (immigration portal). The fee is non-refundable; use evisa.gov.vn rather than a reseller and leave a week’s margin (Emerhub). This affects your flight choice: the port of entry is picked on the application and cannot be changed once the visa is issued (Vietnam Briefing, 9 December 2025). So decide between Hanoi and Saigon first, buy the ticket, then apply. The 45 days are a ceiling: stay longer and you need the e-visa. Is proof of onward travel required? No official page confirmed it, guides say it is possible: before a one-way ticket, ask the airline.
How to search, and what to watch
Aviasales is a metasearch engine. Its home page says, in essence: we don’t sell tickets, we only help find the cheapest ones; the service is free. You compare offers, then book on the airline’s or an agency’s website (read on 6 October 2026). We did not read the booking page, so we do not describe it.
The seller. On Trustpilot, Aviasales stood on 6 October 2026 at 2.4 out of 5 from only 10 reviews, 80% of them one star; the latest is from 2 October and the company has not claimed the profile. The complaints: late refunds, support that is hard to reach, agencies that sell the ticket; the praise: a clear layout and fast search. Whoever sells the ticket is your contract partner: check them before you pay.
Baggage. The lowest price is often a basic fare. Vietnam Airlines gives 1 piece of 23 kg in economy to and from Europe, but says the free allowance may vary with the itinerary and the fare.
Separate tickets. EU passenger rights apply to flights leaving the EU on any airline: €600 beyond 3,500 km if you arrive four hours late or more (€300 from three hours), unless the cause is extraordinary. On a connection that holds only if all the flights are on a single booking. Two separate tickets are not protected: a missed connection stays your risk. These are EU rules; the UK’s own rules were not checked.
Before you pay: the checks
- Are the airport (HAN or SGN) and the dates right, and does the return fall within 45 days if you enter visa-free?
- Is checked baggage included, and for how many kilos?
- Who is the seller? At the same price, the airline is the simpler choice.
- Are all the legs on one booking (one reference)?
- Does the name match the passport, valid for six months from entry?
- Do you need the e-visa, and have you settled the port of entry?
- What are the change and cancellation conditions?
With those seven points checked, the rest is routine: once you know your dates, airport and seller, you can repeat the comparison on Aviasales in a few minutes whenever the price is right. More about the country is in the Vietnam blog.
