According to Lao Dong's records on December 30, many flights from the South to the North during the 2025 Lunar New Year holiday are fully booked.
At this time, it is difficult for passengers to buy economy class tickets on their own. Most of the remaining tickets fly at bad times or have sky-high prices.
Typically, the lowest airfare from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi on January 25 (December 26) is 3.65 million VND, flying Vietjet at bad hours of midnight or early morning. The highest direct airfare is up to 9.8 million VND, flying Vietnam Airlines.
For direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi from January 25 to February 2 (December 26 to the 5th day of Lunar New Year), the lowest round-trip fare is 7.2 million VND from Vietjet and Vietravel Airlines. Most flights with this fare have late departure times such as 11pm, 1am...
Vietnam Airlines tickets for the same route range from 7.4 to 13.5 million VND, including night flights. Bamboo Airways alone has the highest round-trip ticket price of up to nearly 17 million VND for this route.
Most of the flights with tickets left have very early departure times, around midnight to 4am. Flights with better times of the day are mostly only available at high prices of around 13.5 million VND.
On the same day, the lowest round-trip ticket price from Nha Trang to Hanoi was 5.9 million VND, with a direct flight of Vietjet. The highest ticket price of Vietnam Airlines at the best time of the day was 6.8 - 7.1 million VND. However, there were not many tickets left, making it difficult to book seats for families or large groups.
From Da Nang, the lowest round-trip ticket price to Hanoi is 3.6 million VND, the highest is 4.3 million VND. Meanwhile, tourists from Ho Chi Minh City flying directly to Da Nang must pay the lowest price of 4.8 million VND and the highest price of 7.6 million VND. Tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Nha Trang, Quang Ninh are "sold out".
Similarly, round-trip air tickets from Ho Chi Minh City to Da Nang, Hai Phong... have higher prices than usual and are scarce.
In the opposite direction, air tickets from Hanoi and the Northern provinces to the Central and Southern regions during this time are very cheap, only about 1-3 million VND/round trip ticket. However, the seat occupancy rate is still quite low because customers tend to go from the South to the North to celebrate Tet.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam, the booking rate from January 22 to January 26, 2025 (ie December 23 to 27) on routes from Ho Chi Minh City to cities such as Hue, Pleiku, Chu Lai, Tuy Hoa, Quy Nhon, Dong Hoi, Vinh, Thanh Hoa... all reached 100%. Meanwhile, the booking rate for flights back to Ho Chi Minh City during these days only reached 5-30%.
Tourist flights from Hanoi to the Central and Southern provinces such as Da Nang, Cam Ranh, Phu Quoc, Da Lat, Binh Dinh, etc. before and after Tet still have many seats with an occupancy rate of 20-50% depending on the day and flight route.
This difference is largely due to the increased demand for travel home for Tet in the northern provinces, causing one-way ticket prices from the South to the North to be higher than the opposite direction. After the holiday, when people start returning to work, ticket prices for flights from the northern and central provinces to Ho Chi Minh City will change.
With the situation of air tickets from the South to the North becoming increasingly expensive and scarce, people and tourists should carefully consider their schedules and book tickets as soon as possible to avoid running out of seats or prices being pushed up higher and higher.
If possible, book your flight a few days before or after your vacation to get a discount and lower ticket competition.
In addition, visitors can consider taking the train or other means of transport such as cars, buses... to save costs.
