🇹🇭 Thailand
Sweet spot May–Jun, Sep–Oct. Peak Nov–Feb. Skip Apr.
When to go
Thailand, month by month
Updated August 2026 · How we decide →
Typical weather
What Bangkok is usually like
What a typical day looks like, hour by hour: 8am when you get up, 2pm in the afternoon, 8pm when you are out in the evening — on Thailand’s own clock, at Bangkok. Ten-year averages (2011–2020) measured at the capital, so this is Bangkok, not the whole of Thailand, and a mountain or a coast a few hours away can be nothing like it. Averages, not a forecast: a typical January rather than any particular one.
| ✓January, peak season | 22.8°C | 30.7°C | 27.8°C | 27 mm | 11h 24m |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓February, peak season | 24.4°C | 31.9°C | 29°C | 17 mm | 11h 42m |
| March, in-between | 26.6°C | 33.2°C | 29.9°C | 48 mm | 12h 03m |
| ✕April, avoid | 27.8°C | 34.7°C | 31°C | 66 mm | 12h 26m |
| ★May, cheap sweet spot | 28.5°C | 34.8°C | 31.1°C | 119 mm | 12h 46m |
| ★June, cheap sweet spot | 28°C | 33.4°C | 30.2°C | 133 mm | 12h 56m |
| July, in-between | 27.5°C | 32.8°C | 29.7°C | 143 mm | 12h 52m |
| August, in-between | 27.2°C | 32.8°C | 29.4°C | 148 mm | 12h 36m |
| ★September, cheap sweet spot | 26.7°C | 32.2°C | 29.1°C | 278 mm | 12h 13m |
| ★October, cheap sweet spot | 26°C | 32°C | 28.7°C | 214 mm | 11h 50m |
| ✓November, peak season | 25.3°C | 32.2°C | 28.9°C | 63 mm | 11h 30m |
| ✓December, peak season | 23°C | 30.8°C | 27.7°C | 16 mm | 11h 19m |
Twelve months in order. Tap any heading to sort by it — the driest month, the longest day, the afternoon closest to the one you like.
The colour is the month, not the weather: ★ cheap sweet spot · ✓ peak season · in-between · ✕ avoid.
Temperature and rainfall are ERA5. Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of this information. Daylight: MET Norway, measured on the 15th of each month — the sun does not change, so that figure is exact rather than an average. Rainfall is a monthly total; daylight is sunset minus sunrise.
Right now
Loading the forecast…
Cool season Nov–Feb is the dream; April is the hottest month.
A closer look
Thailand in a bit more detail
The one where everything works — transport, internet, hospitals, food.
What it costs — our estimate
These are estimates, not quotes. Researched by hand in pounds for two people travelling together, August 2026. A figure like this can never be exact — it moves with the season, the exchange rate and how you travel — so treat it as a starting point and put your own numbers into how long would your money last.
What it's like
Bangkok is one of Asia's main medical-tourism hubs, which is why so many long-stayers treat it as their base for check-ups even when they live elsewhere in the region. Chiang Mai is the cheaper northern alternative with the bigger remote-working crowd; the islands are the expensive bit.
Worth knowing
Northern Thailand has a burning season from roughly February to April, when the air around Chiang Mai becomes genuinely unhealthy. It is the single most under-mentioned thing about the country and the reason the month strip marks those months the way it does.
One of four countries we've researched in depth so far, because they're the ones we're going to first. Visas, entry rules and health are deliberately not covered here — they change constantly and getting them wrong matters, so we link to the official pages instead of restating them.
Getting in, and staying safe
Visas, entry rules and health — the official pages
Entry rules, visa requirements, vaccinations and safety advice for Thailand all live on the pages below. Each one goes straight to Thailand, not to a search box.
We link to official sources and stop there. We do not check, summarise, rank or verify them — always read the official page itself before you travel, and read the one for your own nationality. We are an independent site with no government connection.
At a glance
The practical bits
| Plug types | A, B, C, F |
|---|---|
| Voltage | 220V |
| Emergency numbers * | 191, 199, 1669 |
| Currency | Thai baht (THB ฿) |
| Language | Thai |
| Dialling code | +66 |
| Driving | On the left |
| Coastline | 3,219 km of coastline |
Loading either connects your browser to Google Maps.
* Emergency numbers can change, and can vary by region within a country. Always confirm with your accommodation or the nearest embassy before you travel.
One way to see it
AdOrganised tours and day trips in Thailand, on Viator — a way to see what is bookable and what other people rated. We earn a commission if you book through that link, and you pay exactly the same either way. We do not choose, rank or check what appears there, and nothing on this page changes because of it.
Worth knowing
The bits you learn in your first week
Getting around
- Grab works in every tourist city — use it as your fair-price benchmark even when you take a normal taxi.
- Bangkok taxis: insist on the meter ('meter, please') or walk away — and the BTS/MRT trains beat traffic every time.
- Scooters: Thailand accepts both IDP types, but ANY scooter needs the motorbike (A) category — a car-only IDP covers nothing on two wheels, and without it your insurance is void. Hospital bills from bike crashes are the classic way travellers lose £10,000+.
- Same rule as Vietnam: no motorbike category on your licence, no riding. Songthaews (shared pick-ups) and Grab fill the gap cheaply.
Money and ATMs
- The famous ATM fee got worse: now 250฿ on Visa and up to 350฿ on Mastercard (Krungsri, KBank and friends), whatever you withdraw.
- So withdraw BIG and rarely — most machines allow 20,000–30,000฿ per go. Ten small withdrawals = £70+ in pure fees.
- Some bank counters do over-the-counter withdrawals for ~200฿ with passport — sometimes. Don't rely on it.
- Always decline the machine's offer to charge you in pounds.
Staying online
- Airalo or similar for arrival, then a local AIS or TrueMove tourist SIM for longer stays — bring your passport.
- 7-Eleven sells top-ups everywhere; data in Thailand is cheap and excellent.
A few words of Thai
| English | Thai | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดี ครับ/ค่ะ | sa-wat-dee krap (P) / ka (H) |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณ | kop koon krap/ka |
| Yes / No | ใช่ / ไม่ | chai / mai |
| How much? | เท่าไหร่ | tao rai |
| Too expensive! | แพงไป | paeng pai |
| English | Thai | Say it like |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | สวัสดี ครับ/ค่ะ | sa-wat-dee krap (P) / ka (H) |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณ | kop koon krap/ka |
| Yes / No | ใช่ / ไม่ | chai / mai |
| How much? | เท่าไหร่ | tao rai |
| Too expensive! | แพงไป | paeng pai |
| Delicious! | อร่อย | a-roi |
| Not spicy | ไม่เผ็ด | mai pet |
| A little spicy | เผ็ดนิดหน่อย | pet nit noi |
| Where is the toilet? | ห้องน้ำอยู่ที่ไหน | hong nam yoo tee nai |
| Help! | ช่วยด้วย | chuay duay |
| Sorry | ขอโทษ | kor tote |
| The bill, please | เช็คบิล | check bin |
| Water | น้ำ | nam |
| No sugar | ไม่ใส่น้ำตาล | mai sai nam-tan |
| Chicken / Pork / Prawn | ไก่ / หมู / กุ้ง | gai / moo / goong |
| I don't understand | ไม่เข้าใจ | mai kao jai |
| Never mind / no worries | ไม่เป็นไร | mai pen rai |
| One / Two / Three | หนึ่ง / สอง / สาม | neung / song / sahm |
| Goodbye | ลาก่อน | la gorn |
| Very beautiful | สวยมาก | suay mak |
Researched by hand, last checked Aug 2026. Fees, licence rules and app coverage change often — treat this as a starting point and check anything that would cost you money or cover.