Guide · Seasons
Phuket weather by month, and the best time to go
Dry season, wet season, and what the sea does in each month
Checked · 4 min read · 4 places · 3 sources
The short answer: November to April, when the sea is calm and every boat runs. May to October is cheaper and quieter, but the west-coast sea is rough and island trips can be cancelled.
Phuket has two seasons and the difference between them is not really rain. It is the sea.
From roughly November to April the Andaman is flat, every boat runs, and the west-coast beaches are calm. From roughly May to October the swell arrives, red flags go up, and island trips get cancelled at short notice. Prices follow the water.
At a glance
- Best time
- November to April — calm sea, every boat runs
- Cheapest
- May to October — fewer people, rougher sea on the west coast
- Wettest month
- September, about 400 mm of rain
- Hottest
- March and April, around 34°C by day
- Maya Bay
- Closed 1 August – 30 September every year
4 places
Listed in the order we would work through them.
4 places
Patong Beach
Patong
The loud one. Every water sport, every shop, and never a quiet moment.
The island's tourist engine: parasailing, jet skis, a thousand shops and Bangla Road behind it. Go if you want everything within walking distance and do not mind the noise. In low season, May to October, the rip currents here are serious — if a red flag is flying, stay out of the water.
- Crowds
- Busiest beach on the island
- Swimming
- Red flag means out; rip currents May to Oct
- Facilities
- Sunbeds, food and shops everywhere
Family friendlyOpen in Maps — opens Google Maps in a new tabKata Beach
Kata
Calm water in high season, surf lessons in low, and a town behind it.
The all-rounder: calm water through most of the high season, a proper little town behind it, and Phuket's main surf break from roughly May to October when board hire and lessons appear along the sand. Busy but never Patong-busy.
- Crowds
- Busy, calmer than Patong
- Swimming
- Red flag means out; surf break May to Oct
- Facilities
- Sunbeds, food and surf hire
Family friendlyOpen in Maps — opens Google Maps in a new tabNai Harn Beach
Rawai
Locals' favourite. A lagoon behind it, hills around it, and deep water.
The beach Phuket residents actually use at weekends. A freshwater lagoon sits behind it, hills close in on both sides, and the bay is deep rather than a shore break. Parking fills early on Saturday and Sunday.
- Crowds
- Moderate, busier at weekends
- Swimming
- Red flag means out; deep, not a shore break
- Facilities
- Sunbeds and food available
Family friendlyOpen in Maps — opens Google Maps in a new tabMai Khao Beach
Mai Khao
Phuket's longest beach, right by the airport. Empty sand for kilometres.
Phuket's longest beach, eleven kilometres running north from the airport, backed by national park rather than development. Almost empty most of the year. Currents are strong in low season and lifeguard cover is thin — treat it as a walking beach, not a swimming one.
- Crowds
- Very quiet
- Swimming
- Red flag means out; strong currents, thin cover
- Facilities
- Resorts only, few public facilities
That is all of them.
November to April — the dry season
Calm sea, reliable sun, every boat and water sport operating. This is when Phuket looks like the photographs, and it is priced accordingly.
It is also the busiest window, so book boats and the better restaurant tables ahead rather than on the day.
May to October — the wet season
Lower prices, far fewer people, and a greener island. Rain tends to arrive in heavy bursts rather than all day, so a wet-season trip is not a write-off.
The real cost is the sea. Swell and rip currents build on the west coast, lifeguards fly red flags, and boat trips are cancelled when the water is bad. If a beach day is the whole point of your trip, this is the gamble.
Never swim past a red flag. People drown on this coast every year doing exactly that, and the currents do not look dangerous from the sand.
Phuket weather, month by month
Read across a row: heat by day and by night, the month's rain, and what the sea usually does.
- A “rain day” here is any day with at least 0.1 mm, so many of them are one short shower rather than a wet day. In the wet season rain tends to come in heavy bursts.
| Month | Day | Night | Rain | Rain days | The sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 32°C | 23°C | 66 mm | 7 | Calm |
| February | 33°C | 23°C | 32 mm | 4 | Calm — the driest month |
| March | 34°C | 24°C | 117 mm | 9 | Calm |
| April | 34°C | 24°C | 144 mm | 13 | Calm; more rain days |
| May | 32°C | 25°C | 278 mm | 20 | Monsoon arrives mid-May |
| June | 32°C | 25°C | 314 mm | 19 | Swell on the west coast |
| July | 32°C | 25°C | 260 mm | 19 | Swell on the west coast |
| August | 31°C | 25°C | 378 mm | 20 | Rough; Maya Bay closed |
| September | 31°C | 24°C | 399 mm | 22 | The wettest; Maya Bay closed |
| October | 31°C | 24°C | 371 mm | 23 | Monsoon ends mid-October |
| November | 31°C | 24°C | 219 mm | 18 | Settling as the month goes on |
| December | 31°C | 23°C | 86 mm | 11 | Calm |
Where the numbers come from
The months nobody warns you about
March and April are the hottest part of the year, before the rain breaks the heat (Thai Meteorological Department averages). Midday is genuinely punishing — plan the temples and viewpoints for early morning.
October and November are the transition: cooler, and often still quite wet. Cheap, but you are buying a lottery ticket on the weather.
Maya Bay closes every year from 1 August to 30 September, which catches out anyone who booked a Phi Phi trip specifically to stand on that beach.
Sources
3 sources behind this guide. The places were last checked on .
Photography is licensed stock, credited to Apisatjapong on Pexels. Some images show the named place; where no photograph of a venue exists, the picture shows Thailand rather than that venue. Pictures marked as AI illustrations are drawn, not photographed.
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