Best time to visit
Thailand in November
The month people book wrong. Koh Samui records its wettest month of the year in November, at 313mm, almost exactly what Phuket takes in its own worst month. Chiang Mai is at 32mm. November is a northern month, not an island one.
Where it rains in November, and how much
Chiang Mai takes 32mm this month and Koh Samui takes 313mm, which is 10 times as much, and two of the six are under 150mm. Each strip on the right is that place's whole year with November outlined, so you can see whether 32mm is a good month for it or merely a dry one everywhere.
- Chiang Mai 32mm 6 rain days
- Bangkok 53mm 8 rain days
- Thailand's islands 217mm 24 rain days
- Phuket 231mm 23 rain days
- Krabi 263mm 24 rain days
- Koh Samui 313mm 23 rain days its wettest month
ERA5 reanalysis, 1995 to 2024, averaged per calendar month at each place's own coordinates. A rain day is a day with a millimetre or more.
This is the sharpest reversal in the Thai year and the least well known. For six months Koh Samui has been the dry choice; in November it is the wettest place on this site, wetter than Phuket at 231mm and wetter than Krabi at 263. Anyone who learned the rule in July and applied it in November has it exactly backwards.
The Andaman is coming out of its season rather than going into it. 231mm is still a wet month, but it is down from 315 in October and will be 103 by December. The second half of November is materially better than the first.
The north is the answer. Chiang Mai at 32mm and six rain days is in the best fortnight of its year: dry, clear, before the burning season, and cool enough at night to need a layer. Loy Krathong and Yi Peng usually fall here, which is the other reason to be in Chiang Mai in November.
Worth knowing. Koh Samui and the Gulf islands are at their annual wettest. This is the single most common seasonal mistake made about Thailand.
Where to go in November
The three driest places on this site this month, in order.
What is on in November
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Loy Krathong and Yi Peng
November, on the full moon · Nationwide; Chiang Mai for Yi Peng date moves each year
Floating lanterns on the water everywhere, and sky lanterns in Chiang Mai. The dates move each year and Chiang Mai sells out months ahead.