Indochina’s Climatic Complexity

Although it’s only a small region, Indochina’s weather is complicated, to say the least. The pages in this section provide country overviews and specific descriptions of the prevailing weather patterns in each area you might visit. There’s also a page about the extreme forms of weather that can occur, and how they are likely to affect you.

Don't trust the weather charts!
Indochina’s convoluted climatic conditions means that average temperature and rainfall tables often bear little relation to the actual weather, and travellers can find their holiday ruined by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. On the other hand, it means that the weather is seldom universally bad. With careful planning and our local knowledge, we can generally arrange an itinerary that offers a good chance of reasonable weather at more or less any time of the year.

Don't rely too much on the weather forecasts, either!
Weather forecasts are only of value for a week or so in advance and even then, they are not very reliable. Weather averages are better indicators of what to expect in a particular month. In each of the pages describing the weather patterns in specific locations, there is a table of average temperatures, rainfall, and so on.

Rain comes in many forms in Indochina!
Wet weather is never very far away in Indochina, but the degree to which it affects you depends on what you intend to do. In Vietnam, for example, if you want to go diving at Nha Trang, October, November and most of December are useless because the rain turns the sea into a murky soup at that time. However, if you want to visit the Cham monuments, it’s only a matter of dodging the showers.

Furthermore, the type of rain matters. Hue is wet for much of the year but it’s usually little more than an inconvenient drizzle, even during the rainy season. In the South, the summer monsoon brings torrential rain that floods the streets and fields almost immediately, but clears up as quickly as it appears.

We do our best, but please don’t blame us if we get it wrong
Prophesying what the weather will do in a specific location is a risky job anywhere – in Indochina, it’s near impossible. If you want an update on the actual weather situation in Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia, just send us an e-mail.

If you travel with Haivenu, you’ll receive a current weather forecast when you arrive, and updates during your tour if you wish.

We also keep a close eye on short-range weather forecasts and warnings of possible storms. If there’s a possibility of severe weather conditions, and after consulting you, we’ll rearrange the itinerary or make special arrangements if we think there could be a safety risk. Fortunately, such situations are rare!