When is the best time to visit Thailand

Thailand has no single season: in the north, the centre and on the two coasts of the south the rains arrive at different times. Below are the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) 1991-2020 normals for eight stations, hotel occupancy from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) and TMD’s fresh forecast for the 2026-2027 season. Checked on 19 October 2026.

Two monsoons and three seasons by TMD

TMD describes the seasons for the whole country like this:

TMD splits the south into two coasts. The west, the Andaman side, is wet in the southwest monsoon. The east, on the Gulf of Thailand, gets its heaviest rain in the northeast monsoon, and it is the only part of the south where rain falls almost all year, about 2,300 mm. Pattaya and Hua Hin lie further north, in the upper Gulf, and get noticeably less rain over the year: 1,106 and 936 mm by station normals.

Rainfall by month and region

TMD normals, mm per month. For Koh Chang we use the Trat station on the mainland, and for Phangan and Tao the nearest station on Samui: these islands have no normals of their own at TMD. The Krabi station has a shorter series, 1994-2020. In the text below a month is dry if it has less than 100 mm of rain: that threshold is ours, TMD has no such definition.

Which months are drier where

Temperature by day and night

Average daily maximum and average night minimum from TMD normals, degrees Celsius. It is hot everywhere all year, and the difference is mostly in the nights in the north.

In Bangkok, Pattaya, on Samui and in Phuket it never drops below 23 °C at night, while in Chiang Mai in December-January nights are around 16-17 °C. TMD’s normals have no sea water temperature, so we give no figure for the sea.

Where to go by month

• November-February. The north is cool and dry, and Bangkok, Pattaya and Hua Hin are dry. Phuket and Krabi are dry from December, and Phuket still gets 178 mm in November. Samui and Phangan are in their wettest period in these months: 444.6 mm in November and 263.1 mm in December
• March-April. Heat: in Chiang Mai 35.4-36.7 °C by day, in Bangkok 34.7-35.7 °C. By the sea on Samui it is cooler, 30.4-31.8 °C, and April is one of the island’s driest months at 82.9 mm
• May-September. Rain and waves on the Andaman Sea, while Samui, Phangan and Tao are drier at 102-134 mm a month. Koh Chang is very wet in these months, from 420 to 1,024 mm
• October. A transition month: Phuket gets 336 mm on 22.7 days, and on Samui the rains gather strength. In detail in Thailand in October

Month guides: Thailand in October, Thailand in November, Phuket by month, Pattaya in October, Pattaya in November.

When Thailand is busy

Hotel occupancy from MOTS for 2025: it covers the whole province, not a resort, and it is not prices. We do not publish accommodation prices until we collect our own dated measurements.

The north fills in the cool season: in Chiang Mai 94.8% in December and 58.2% in July. The coasts look different: Phuket and Krabi are full in the dry months, with Krabi peaking in April. Surat Thani with Samui, Phangan and Tao peaks in December at 83.5%, even though December is a wet month at the Samui station, 263.1 mm.

TMD forecast for the 2026-2027 cool season

The forecast was issued on 9 October 2026, and TMD will update it in the last week of October:

• In the north and centre the cool season will start around the third week of October, a week later than average, and last until mid-February 2027
• The average night minimum in the north and centre is expected at 22.0-23.0 °C, about 2 degrees above the norm (19.9 °C), with the coldest period from late December to early February
• In the south on the Gulf of Thailand there will be heavy rain from mid-October to early January and waves of 2-4 m, while the Andaman Sea has waves of 1-2 m
• In November and December TMD sees a high chance of tropical cyclones near the Gulf of Thailand and the south
• TMD expects El Niño to strengthen by the end of 2026, which may push temperatures above normal

This is a long-range statistical forecast and does not replace the forecast for the coming days.

How to choose a region and a month

• Only beach and sea. December-March on the Andaman coast, February-April on Samui, Phangan and Tao, November-April in Pattaya and Hua Hin. Beaches compared: Thailand beaches and Thailand islands
• Cities and temples. The north and Bangkok from November to February: drier and cooler
• Fewer people. May-September on the Andaman coast, but with rain and waves, and November-December on Samui with downpours
• Choosing between two resorts. Pattaya gets half the rain over a year, but Phuket is closer to the islands: Pattaya or Phuket

Who has the hardest time: those who want both the north and Samui on one trip. The north’s dry period (November-April) coincides with Samui’s wettest time (November-December), so their best windows differ.

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