Phú quốc New Years Eve and ?Tet holiday

I have quite a few vietnamese friends and they generally go to their parents homes for Tet unless they have to work and I've never heard of any beach parties on Phu Quoc. It is very much a family time in Vietnam so a lot of restaurants etc will be closed, possibly for a week.

If you have vietnamese friends they may well invite you to celebrate with them otherwise be prepared for a quiet few days. If you decide to leave Vietnam for the holiday, be prepared for any transport costs to be increased considerably. I don't know whereabouts in Vietnam you are but there are very convenient flights from Hanoi to Chiang Mai, which is well worth a visit if you haven't been.

I will be in Vietnam from 1st January and I'm still not sure whether to stay for Tet or not, it's a tricky decision.

TET celebration outside of viet nam are countries that share a chinese culture such as taiwan, singapore, hongkong, mainland china. japan and korea might have observed lunar new year back in 17th-18th century, but they gradually obpt to go with western calendar new year, although i heard ppl in japan  remote countrysides region still celebrate lunar new year.

@Malcolmleitrim

malcom, it is true TET is a family gathering much like thanksgiving and christmas holiday in the states, commercial activities i.e some restaurants don't open back up until the 5th-6th day of the lunar new year. however, leading up to newyear eve, there are are sorts of public festivals, musical concert cultural events being held in most cities and villages in viet nam including the fireworks, such notable events i attended in da nang was the music concert held at the night market and the firework thereafter near the dragon bridge. in hoi an, the celebration in the old quarter and along the riverwalk is equally spectarcular. most of these public events had resumed after covid got under control. the after tet festivities continue on with public festival food, and game festivities in most cities and towns. ppl still celebrate tet for 14 days straight. mind you most of these traditional tet celebration, and aren't necessarily staged or catered to tourist. you might want to step out of the expat bubble and venture out into the community, you would be surprised to find anthony bourdain still cajoling among the crowds. bon voyage.

    I’ve seen many old posts and when travelling Vietnam in 2022, was told about Phụ Quoc hosting New Years Eve festivals/ beach parties?
I can’t find any info on it for 2023/24, maybe it’s kept more hush? Can anyone expand?

Secondly, does anyone have advice on where to go fr Tet holidays in Asia outside of Vietnam? Want to explore when off work.

Thanks
   

    -@Aisling Murphy

Sorry for replying so late, but I thought Aidan might have local input on this.

I'm pretty sure any "beach parties" on NYE fall into 2 general categories:

1. Any of the beach resorts will likely sponsor their own celebrations with some attempt to control access in exchange for a fee.

2. However, the craziest parties will likely be something put on by entrepreneurial digital nomads.

(we had a number of them here in Đà Nẵng/Hội An during the height of the summer).

I'd look at the Face.book groups for the island to get more info, as well as some of the newer social media websites popular among younger people.

One local spot there that's always serving up lively times not too far from the beach is The Cheeky Traveller English Pub (search for their business page on F.B.)

It would be my first choice for where to stop in and hear the best tips from the foreign clientele & even the friendly management.

Good luck!