April holiday travel surge pushes Vietnam's airfares, train tickets to peak levels

Travelers planning for the upcoming Reunification Day and International Labor Day break are facing a significant financial squeeze as transportation costs soar. With the four-day holiday period (April 30–May 3) approaching, airfares and train tickets have entered a period of extreme price volatility. Many popular domestic routes have already reached their government-mandated fare caps, while seats during peak travel windows are vanishing despite a coordinated effort by carriers to increase flight frequencies. For residents like Hanoi-based Trang Nhung, the reality of the market became clear on April 7, when she discovered that round-trip tickets to Central Vietnam had climbed to over VND4.5 million, with return flights on May 3 almost entirely exhausted.

The surge in demand is most visible on key corridors connecting Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to major tourism hubs. Flights to destinations such as Nha Trang, Phu Quoc, and Da Lat are seeing one-way prices fluctuate between VND2.5 million and VND4.5 million. On the highly trafficked Hanoi–Nha Trang route, round-trip tickets are currently hovering around VND7.4 million, with economy-class availability virtually non-existent for the most desirable dates. While off-peak flights remain a slightly more affordable alternative—offering potential savings of VND1–2 million per leg—the fastest-selling tickets continue to be those that align with the traditional holiday schedule.

In response to this unprecedented appetite for travel, the domestic aviation sector is drastically scaling up operations. The Vietnam Airlines Group has announced a plan to provide 1.12 million seats during the peak window, a 15.5% increase from the previous year, involving over 3,800 domestic flights. Similarly, Vietjet Air is injecting an additional 500 flights into the market, bringing its total capacity to 832,000 seats. These extra services are being funneled primarily into high-demand routes linking the major metros with coastal and highland retreats like Hue, Quy Nhon, and Phu Quoc.

The railway sector is experiencing its own set of challenges, with ticket prices rising by 10–15% since March due to escalating fuel costs. As of early April, Vietnam Railways had already sold more than 44,200 tickets for the holiday period, leaving only a scattered selection of sleeper berths on routes like Hanoi–Hue. To accommodate the overflow, the rail operator is deploying additional SE11/SE12 trains on the North-South spine and increasing services on regional lines to Dong Hoi, Vinh, and Hai Phong. This includes maintaining the popular heritage route between Hue and Da Nang, which remains a favorite for tourists.

Aviation and logistics experts point out that these price spikes are a predictable, cyclical response to short-term demand surges, further exacerbated this year by the high cost of jet fuel. While infrastructure expansion and better slot management are the long-term solutions to regional travel pressure, the immediate advice for the public remains unchanged: early booking is the only reliable defense against the holiday price ceiling. As seats continue to sell out weeks in advance, those who wait until the last minute may find themselves either priced out of the market or left without a way to reach their destination.