Southeast Asia forum

Weather in August: to go, or not to go? Honeymoon question!

ssubo

newbie
Posts: 1

First I wanted to say hi to everyone! We've recently discovered this forum and we love the information it has. We have a question and would like to hear what other travelers have to say about it...

We are getting married by the end of July (yes, I know, that's another issue I will deal with in another forum... ) and we are planning our Honeymoon for the first three weeks in August. We were extremely excited about South-East Asia, particularly Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, but read in some places that August is the rainy season. However, I couldn't find any comments as to wether the rainy season means we should not travel, or it is ok to move around if we don't mind getting wet from time to time. What we want to avoid is getting wet all the time and not being able to move around.

We are not the kind of couple that loves beaches, so we plan to move around and get into more exotic and cultural places. Our best trip so far has been Kenya and Uganda, where we took the regular buses from city to city to get a taste of the real Africa and not just the safaris.

If you could help us sharing your experiences traveling to South-East Asia in Auguts we would be grateful. Also, if you have any suggestions regarding the itinerary we should take that would be awesome too. We plan to be in the region for three weeks.

Thanks a lot for your help! :):):)

Ssubo

#1 Posted: 15/4/2006 - 01:53
somtam2000

admin
mahout
Posts: 5862
Located in:

Private message

Hi Ssubo,

Congratulations and welcome to Travelfish!

If you haven't seen it already, you may want to take a look at our weather map which lets you see the weather conditions in different parts of Thailand through the year. There's also more detailed climate advice here

Aside from that, it really depends on where in the region you're going as different areas see diferent weather conditions through the year.

As a gerneal rule, wet season will see a couple of heavy rainstorms a day. In between there may well be brilliant sunshine. It is rare (though not unheard of) to get rain non-stop for weeks on end.

If you're planning on diving that may be a concern as in wet season the water may not be as clear -- again it depends where you'll be. For example in August, Phuket (on the west coast of Thailand) get's twice the amount of rain as Ko Samui (on the east coast).

#2 Posted: 15/4/2006 - 07:57

------------------------------
iPhone Apps for Southeast Asia
exacto

mahout
Posts: 1771
Located in:
Private message

Congratulations!

August is definitely the rainy season, so you will likely have a few hours of down time every day during those monsoon rains. That shouldn't be so bad on a honeymoon I wouldn't think.

I guess visiting southeast Asia during the heart of the rainy season depends on how much you really want to visit the area, what chance you'd have in the future to visit it during a less rainy time of year, and what other options you have for those three weeks in August. You are the only one who can answer those questions.

The up side is that you should encounter far fewer tourists and more wallet-friendly prices that time of year.

As far as itinerary goes, the trip planner section on this website will give you plenty ideas of where you might like to visit. If, as you've said, you really aren't interested in the beaches too much, then I might recommend spending your first few days in Bangkok and surrounds (Ayutthaya, Kanchanaburi) to get used to the time zone and the pace of Thailand, then head up north to enjoy places like Chiang Mai and/or Mae Hong Son. Depending on your budget, from there I might fly to Luang Prabang for a few days, and then either work my way down through Laos and then over the border to Nong Khai. From there you could work your way down through Korat with a stopover in Phimai before returning to Bangkok. An alternative could be to fly from Luang Prabang directly to Siem Reap on Siem Reap Aiways (advertised as 3 flights per week), and then work your way back to Bangkok. In any case, on any trip like that, less is more, so don't try to schedule too much, particularly during the rainy season. Hope that helps.

#3 Posted: 15/4/2006 - 11:10
larryfrombe-
rkley

longtail driver
Posts: 8

Congrats! My wife and I where married in August of last year and spent 10 days in the gulf area... Koh Phangan, Koh Toh and just passed though Koh Samui... Yes it was the rainy season, but I cant remember much rain at all... For the most part the weather was great, but it was rather hot with very high humidity... We are planning a trip now to return in December...

Forget the weather and go!

LP

#4 Posted: 18/5/2009 - 20:49
backtoThail-
and

newbie
Posts: 2

hi, congratulations! we were also married June 21st and planning to go to Thailand and surroundings for honeymoon. I agree with larryfromberkley about Koh Phangan and Koh Samui, we were there in August three years ago and the weather was ok. BUT they're located in a different climate zone from the rest of Thailand- that includes Krabi and of course the north- so check out the climate individually in the various places you'd like to visit, otherwise you'll find surprises...

This is our very own problem..we will start from Koh Phangan, to relax, and then wanted to go to the north, Chiangmai and then Myanmar, but we're afraid of the rainfalls.. According to newsreports, there's some heavy rain at the moment...

#5 Posted: 8/7/2009 - 22:51
MADMAC

mahout
Posts: 3626

Ssubo
The weather issue is, in my opinion, overblown. I suppose if your vacation is all about nice beaches and sun (and I'm not denigrating that - some people are into that, and that's fine) then it might be a factor. But if that's not a driver, frankly, I like the rainy season in that everything is incredibly green. It does get humid though.

#6 Posted: 12/7/2009 - 18:37

------------------------------
Victory in Pattani