Tết Nguyên Đán, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, is the biggest holiday of the year in Vietnam, and in 2027 it falls on Saturday 6 February — the start of the Year of the Goat (Đinh Mùi). New Year’s Eve (Giao thừa) is the night of Friday 5 February. The official public holiday for government workers runs for seven days, from Thursday 4 to Wednesday 10 February 2027; private employers choose a similar seven-day window.
For Phu Quoc, that means one of the busiest weeks of the year: Vietnamese families flood in for the holiday, flights and hotels fill up, and the island puts on fireworks and shows.
What happens on Phu Quoc at Tết
- Fireworks on New Year’s Eve. For Tết 2026 the province held official fireworks at four sites, one of them on Phu Quoc, at 21:00 on New Year’s Eve (Tiền Phong). The exact site on the island varies, so ask locally.
- Sunset Town in the south is the centre of the celebrations. Over Tết 2026 it ran its nightly shows — the “Symphony of the Ocean” with fireworks, flyboard and jet skis in the early evening, and the Kiss of the Sea show later — plus Tết decorations, a spring market and lion and dragon dances on Hon Thom (Báo Văn hóa). On the Lunar New Year’s Eve of 2025 it fired three fireworks displays, including one at midnight. See theme parks and shows.
- Pagodas and temples are busy with families praying for luck in the new year, especially on the first days; Ho Quoc Pagoda and Dinh Cau are the most visited. See temples and pagodas.
- Island tours stay busy; in 2026 boat trips to the islands were full from the second day of Tết.
Crowds, flights and hotels
Tết 2026 broke records on Phu Quoc: the airport handled 80–86 flights a day, around 50 of them international; Sunset Town and the Kiss Bridge each drew about 15,000 visitors a day; and hotels were sold out over Tết and into March (Tiền Phong, Tuổi Trẻ News). The provincial tourism department warned businesses against price gouging, and one report found room rates had not spiked because many were sold on long-term contracts — but last-minute rooms were simply hard to find.
For Tết 2027:
- Book flights and rooms early — ideally by November. Flights from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City fill first; see getting to Phu Quoc.
- Ferries from the mainland run but are busy with Vietnamese travellers; book ahead and allow for weather. See ferries, and for the weather and crowds that month, Phu Quoc in February.
- Expect queues at the cable car, Sunset Town and VinWonders, and heavier traffic in Duong Dong in the evenings.
What stays open
Big resorts and the large attractions such as Sunset Town operate through Tết. As across Vietnam, many small family restaurants, shops and market stalls traditionally close for a few days around the first day of the new year (mùng 1), when families stay home and visit relatives; businesses that live from tourists are more likely to stay open. Have cash on hand and do not count on a particular local restaurant being open on the first two or three days.
Tết customs for visitors
- Lì xì: small amounts of money in red envelopes, given to children and to staff for luck. If your hotel staff are working over Tết, a lì xì envelope is a kind gesture.
- Bánh tét: the cylindrical sticky-rice cake eaten at Tết in the south; on Phu Quoc it is traditionally wrapped in the leaves of a local palm. See what to eat on Phu Quoc.
- Greetings: Chúc mừng năm mới — Happy New Year.
- Etiquette: Vietnamese people avoid arguments, sweeping the house and lending money on the first day, to keep bad luck away; be patient and good-humoured, and dress modestly at pagodas.
Sources: Báo Quốc tế — Tết 2027 holiday schedule (October 2026) · Tiền Phong — fireworks in An Giang, Tết 2026 · Tiền Phong — Phu Quoc hotels sold out, flights up 50% (February 2026) · Tuổi Trẻ News — island tours at Tết (February 2026) · Báo Văn hóa — Phu Quoc at Tết 2026 · SGGP — three fireworks displays at Sunset Town (January 2025)
