Thailand forum

Honeymoon Gulf of Thailand May or June/

skittles_22-
03

newbie
Posts: 2

Hi,
We are getting married May 15th 2010 and are looking to visit Thailand on our honeymoon (2-3 weeks). I saw the weather on the Gulf of Thailand is much drier than on the west coast at this time. Can we expect days of sun, enough to sunbathe, visit the national parks, waterfalls etc? Also is the water safe for swimming at this time of year? Would we get better weather in June than May, I see May as quite a bit more rainy?
Thanks!

#1 Posted: 30/12/2009 - 11:04
chriswotton

beach masseuse
Posts: 84
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Congratulations!

Where in the Gulf are you planning on going? Koh Samui, Koh Pha Ngan and Koh Tao on the east coast should certainly be drier than the west coast (Phuket, Phi Phi, Krabi etc), which you are probably best off avoiding if the weather is your only concern.

Further east, Koh Chang will be drenched the whole time you are there (902mm mean rainfall in June, with 26 rainy days out of 30!). Best bet as far as I am concerned would be to head to Koh Samet - nice and close to Bangkok so you'll cut down on travelling time, and it would make a nice honeymoon spot.

I was there in May last year and the weather was fine - okay, so you get the odd bit of rain, but nothing that's going to ruin your time there. Not been in June but according to Travelfish's interactive climate map, June is even drier (I am basing this on Pattaya, very close by).

Ironically, November is meant to be quite a dry month but I was there (Samet) last month and it poured down for a good couple of days - so you never really can tell! You'll have a lovely time whatever though.

#2 Posted: 30/12/2009 - 18:33

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skittles_22-
03

newbie
Posts: 2

Thank you for all the info. In particular we were thinking Ko Samui and visiting the Angthong National Park. Not planning on Phuket at all, I know that it's the rainy season there so were not taking a chance. An afternoon here and there is fine, were just worried about all day rain. Do you know if it rains in the evening mostly?

#3 Posted: 31/12/2009 - 00:47
chriswotton

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Posts: 84
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I've not yet been to Samui myself but according to the weather map, it has an average of about 15 rainy days a month in May and June - 144mm in May and 109mm in June. From experience elsewhere, I've known it to rain at various times, but I think it's unlikely to go on and on to the extent that it ruins your holiday. Let us know what you decide...

#4 Posted: 31/12/2009 - 16:57

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tezza

under-employed
Posts: 904

May is kinda tricky, because if you look at the stats in WEATHERFISH's interactive weather map, most places get a little blip of extra rain that is only surpassed late in the wet season.
But the stats also tell you the places with LEAST rain are the southern Gulf islands (Samui and neighbours) and Ko Samet.

Okay, Samui gets that blip - and Junes do tend to be statisically drier there. But if I was personally going and May was more convenient than June, I'd go for the earlier month.

#5 Posted: 31/12/2009 - 17:46

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tezza

under-employed
Posts: 904

Oh yeah, water quite swimmable every month.

#6 Posted: 31/12/2009 - 17:46

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