Weather... where and when?

[Artful Dodger]

Hi,

 

The timing's not ideal but I should get a chance to be in Thailand for 3 months, either April / May / June or July / August / September.

 

Weather-wise, which would you pick and where would you go? 

 

I wouldn't want to be totally out in the sticks, so let's leave very rural areas out of it.

 

TIA

[CharlieH]

Well the first three months are all but finished.

[Artful Dodger]

Sure, I am thinking about next year.

[tonray]

November/December/January. The other periods you mentioned are either blisteringly hot or drowning wet.

[Artful Dodger]

No can do unfortunately. It has to be one of those two periods. Is it really so bad that it's not worth going at all?

 

I was thinking it's a pretty big place and the climate is probably a bit different in different places.

[tonray]

22 minutes ago, Artful Dodger said:

No can do unfortunately. It has to be one of those two periods. Is it really so bad that it's not worth going at all?

 

I was thinking it's a pretty big place and the climate is probably a bit different in different places.

The July/August/September a far better choice of the two.

[Artful Dodger]

Thanks. Any real difference between north and south? It looks like Hua Hin is not so rainy at that time of year... but I trust people who know Thailand more than the climate charts on Wikipedia.

[KhunBENQ]

You want to stay at one location for a whole three months?

April, May, June is really damn hot (by statistics) and in April you have the Songkran festival.

Some love, many hate it.

Predicting weather from historical data becomes more and more vague.

Currently it is exceptionally wet, much rain and not that hot.

[tonray]

There are small differences but not really enough that you can plan by as it still is unpredictable. For example...hot season is hotter in Issan and winter is cooler  in Issan but Bangkok is hotter consistently all year round. So yes, differences but major seasonal shifts largely the same.

[Artful Dodger]

OK great I know what to do then. Thanks guys.

[KhunBENQ]

I would not plan such a long stay ahead anyway.

Book some nights in Bangkok for a start and then check the situation.

Both time spans are not high season and it should be possible to find a place on short notice.

[DavisH]

35 minutes ago, tonray said:

The July/August/September a far better choice of the two.

It just's gets wetter as the wet season progresses though. June may be the best of it....Not the full-on rainy season but has cooled down from the hot season. Dec-Jan is the best of course....warm to cool depending on where one goes.  

[CNXBKKMAN]

The easy answer is anytime in that period can be an enjoyable experience in Thailand so just book something that suits you. April is very hot and smokey in the north.. End of  Aug and September are wetter. Airfares are cheapest if you arrive before mid June if you are flying in from Europe , North America.

[PoorSucker]

In the south there is a big difference between the Andaman sea and the gulf of Siam.

 

 

Average rain fall Phuket

 

Average rainfall Koh Samui

 

[SOUTHERNSTAR]

HH rain is lower than most parts in the country, you should be okay for July to September. There will be rainy days but should be few and far apart.

[Laza 45]

19 hours ago, Artful Dodger said:

No can do unfortunately. It has to be one of those two periods. Is it really so bad that it's not worth going at all?

 

I was thinking it's a pretty big place and the climate is probably a bit different in different places.

It is indeed...  but a bit hard to predict how bad the wet season will be anywhere.. and with climate change happening it makes it even more difficult... mid Sept onward would be better..

[dotpoom]

A boat yard..(sorry, couldn't resist it).

[melvinmelvin]

21 hours ago, Artful Dodger said:

Thanks. Any real difference between north and south? It looks like Hua Hin is not so rainy at that time of year... but I trust people who know Thailand more than the climate charts on Wikipedia.

Hua Hin is probably a good choice for those autumn months

The "mountains" west of Hua Hin makes most of the rain fall down on Eastern slopes of the "mountains",

hence relatively little rain in Hua Hin

 

[Acharn]

I don't have any particular place in mind. Go for whatever interests you. If you don't have a wide circle of friends here, or local family, you might want to tour ancient ruins like Phnom Rung in Buri Ram province and Phi Mai in Nakhon Ratchasima. As for the time period go for July, August, September. Don't believe the claim that it rains all the time. Unlike in Ohio or Michigan (where I grew up) it very rarely rains all day long here. During the rainy season it doesn't even rain every day. On days when it does rain, there's most often a downpour around 4:30 in the afternoon for maybe 20 minutes. Here in Nakhon Sawan the other rain showers are most often during the night. You may encounter local flooding after heavy rains while the water runs off, but often that dries up in a couple of hours. Do not consider coming during April, May, June. That's the hottest time of the year here, and in recent years temperatures in the afternoon frequently go above 40° C (104° F). Very unpleasant. My least favorite time of the year.

[Laza 45]

1 hour ago, melvinmelvin said:

Hua Hin is probably a good choice for those autumn months

The "mountains" west of Hua Hin makes most of the rain fall down on Eastern slopes of the "mountains",

hence relatively little rain in Hua Hin

 

Good suggestion.. the monsoon moves south as the season progresses..  Hua Hin is probably your best bet..  Prachuap Kiri Khan a bit south of Hua Hin is also worth a visit .. not many ferang tourists and very beautiful beaches.. nice villages along the coast.. 

 

https://www.google.co.th/imgres?imgurl=http://theworldandhistuktuk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/IMG_5270-copy-1024x768.jpg&imgrefurl=https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/754763-help-info-re-prachuap-khiri-khan/&h=768&w=1024&tbnid=HU86leCfU_2VuM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=213&usg=__FJDpBKnunlC0wWOgt1RQ_omVbcI=&vet=10ahUKEwiqgfaoh_zTAhVLRI8KHTNyC_UQ_B0IlAEwCg..i&docid=7Mk5iapdXzghJM&itg=1&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiqgfaoh_zTAhVLRI8KHTNyC_UQ_B0IlAEwCg

Edited May 19, 2017 by Laza 45
spelling..

[RocketDog]

I stumbled into Cha-am in Nov. 2016 and stayed until May 01 2017. I saw rain four times during that period, one being a full 24 hr deluge.

The others only gentle and nice to cool things down and moisten the soil. Rarely did any rain last more than minutes to an hour and very light.

 

I have had several long-time residents tell me that there is essentially no rainy season in Cha-am due to its location along the coast, not too north and not too south. They say that October is rainy in the sense that is may rain in the afternoon briefly and lightly for a lot of that month.

 

Being practical and skeptical I personally toured Cha-am looking for water damage on building, signs of erosion in empty fields, etc. Cha-am is just a whisker above sea level. Nonetheless, I could find no signs of water damage from flooding even on ancient buildings dating from 200BC (just kidding) and virtually no signs of erosion from flash-floods.

 

I'm inclined to believe what I hear here (!). Here here! At least enough to rent a house with a one year lease.

 

Just personal observation and secondhand info from geezers. Don't blame me if it rains the day you arrive!

 

[Laza 45]

12 hours ago, Acharn said:

I don't have any particular place in mind. Go for whatever interests you. If you don't have a wide circle of friends here, or local family, you might want to tour ancient ruins like Phnom Rung in Buri Ram province and Phi Mai in Nakhon Ratchasima. As for the time period go for July, August, September. Don't believe the claim that it rains all the time. Unlike in Ohio or Michigan (where I grew up) it very rarely rains all day long here. During the rainy season it doesn't even rain every day. On days when it does rain, there's most often a downpour around 4:30 in the afternoon for maybe 20 minutes. Here in Nakhon Sawan the other rain showers are most often during the night. You may encounter local flooding after heavy rains while the water runs off, but often that dries up in a couple of hours. Do not consider coming during April, May, June. That's the hottest time of the year here, and in recent years temperatures in the afternoon frequently go above 40° C (104° F). Very unpleasant. My least favorite time of the year.

Good suggestions..  Sukhothai is a bit off the beaten track but well worth a visit as well..

 

[Beats56]

Koh Samet weather is pretty decent climate wise most of the time.

 

 

[Acharn]

On 5/20/2017 at 8:21 AM, Laza 45 said:

Good suggestions..  Sukhothai is a bit off the beaten track but well worth a visit as well..

 

You're right. My late wife and I went once, but due to poor timing we were only able to spend a couple of hours there. I would like to spend a couple of days, the ruins cover a large area, but I'm getting a little old for that. An off-the-beaten-track one is Kampaeng Phet, very nice historical park. Up until the fall of Ayutthaya it was a large commercial center and had some magnificent temples and palaces.

Edited May 24, 2017 by Acharn