When to go?
This is the question that bothers most people as who wants bad weather on a holiday? Thailand is hot and humid and never cold. Basically it is the dry season from November to May and the rainy season from June to October. The Koh Samui side has a slightly different rainfall pattern with November being their wettest month. March and April are the hottest months but then again it is hot the whole time. The heat is not unbearable and you quickly get used to it, you only really suffer when you over exert yourself. Bear in mind that it can rain in the dry season and you can go through a whole week in the wet season without seeing a drop of rain.
A typical day in the rainy season will be mostly sunshine with the occasional thunder shower in the late afternoon or early evening. Tip: If you are on the beach you can see the rain coming from far, the best thing to do is to move to a bar next to the beach, drink a beer, enjoy the tropical storm and move back to the beach after it has subsided.
We usually go in the rainy season as it is the off season and accommodation prices are very cheap. There are still a lot of tourists around and we actually prefer it to the maddening crowds in the peak season of December. Only once have been hit by very bad weather when it rained for a week non-stop in Phuket but that was the only week the whole year that it rained like that. Our bad luck, but the best is to keep your travelling options open and watch the weather forecasts. Tip: If you are sitting in Phuket and it seems that there is a bad spell of weather coming and the weather looks better in Koh Samui, then just jump on a plane and go there.
As said, the peak season of December is crazy in places like Phuket and even Samui to a lesser extent, the places are extremely crowded and on a night like New Years Eve the bump and grind of Bangla Road is the same as leaving a rugby stadium after a big match. If you want to get away from the crowds you can just visit one of the quieter beaches or come at a quieter time.
Patong beach on Phuket and Chaweng beach on Koh Samui is busy all year and even in low season you will never be alone and there will be a party somewhere every night of the week.
It's really never a bad time to visit Thailand and you will always find a way to compromise, adapt and improvise your current situation.
This is the question that bothers most people as who wants bad weather on a holiday? Thailand is hot and humid and never cold. Basically it is the dry season from November to May and the rainy season from June to October. The Koh Samui side has a slightly different rainfall pattern with November being their wettest month. March and April are the hottest months but then again it is hot the whole time. The heat is not unbearable and you quickly get used to it, you only really suffer when you over exert yourself. Bear in mind that it can rain in the dry season and you can go through a whole week in the wet season without seeing a drop of rain.
A typical day in the rainy season will be mostly sunshine with the occasional thunder shower in the late afternoon or early evening. Tip: If you are on the beach you can see the rain coming from far, the best thing to do is to move to a bar next to the beach, drink a beer, enjoy the tropical storm and move back to the beach after it has subsided.
We usually go in the rainy season as it is the off season and accommodation prices are very cheap. There are still a lot of tourists around and we actually prefer it to the maddening crowds in the peak season of December. Only once have been hit by very bad weather when it rained for a week non-stop in Phuket but that was the only week the whole year that it rained like that. Our bad luck, but the best is to keep your travelling options open and watch the weather forecasts. Tip: If you are sitting in Phuket and it seems that there is a bad spell of weather coming and the weather looks better in Koh Samui, then just jump on a plane and go there.
As said, the peak season of December is crazy in places like Phuket and even Samui to a lesser extent, the places are extremely crowded and on a night like New Years Eve the bump and grind of Bangla Road is the same as leaving a rugby stadium after a big match. If you want to get away from the crowds you can just visit one of the quieter beaches or come at a quieter time.
Patong beach on Phuket and Chaweng beach on Koh Samui is busy all year and even in low season you will never be alone and there will be a party somewhere every night of the week.
It's really never a bad time to visit Thailand and you will always find a way to compromise, adapt and improvise your current situation.
Bangla Road on New Years Eve. It's a great place to see in the New Year but if you don't like maddening crowds then you should stay away.
The pictures above and below were taken at Patong Beach in June. This illustrates that you can get all types of weather during this period but the weather will most likely be like the top picture.
