Best time of the year to travel

The best months to travel through Thailand are December and January. Second best are November and February. These months constitute the 'cold' seasons. In Bangkok temperatures are still as high as during a good West-European summer though. At night, it cools off a bit, and especially in the north of the country, it can be quite chilly, temperatures dropping below 10 degrees Celsius. In Bangkok, temperatures will rarely drop below 20 degrees Celsius, even at night.

From roughly March till May, Thailand experiences the hot season, when temperatures can soar into the 40 degrees range. Not the best time of year to go walking about cities or countryside.

From roughly May till October, we have the rainy season. It is quite unpredictable when it is going to rain though, and there are sometimes episodes of up to two months during this period, when there is no rain fall. Other years, rain falls more consistently almost every week. Traditionally rain falls during the late afternoon. It seldom lasts more than a few hours. Flooding of areas of Bangkok and in the provinces occurs, more at the end of the rainy season in Bangkok (the drains are more clogged by then). Temperatures tend to be high, but cool off somewhat each time it has rained.