Phuket: Average high and low temperature, °C
Phuket: Rainfall, mm
Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure
Where to be next: your month-by-month route, $19
A route for your months with a leave-by date for each stop, a backup, and the seasonal traps on your path. Drafted from 11 years of weather data, every number checked against it, in your inbox within 48 hours. Not included: visas, insurance or bookings.
Is Phuket in November the start of the good season?
Not in the numbers. November is the last month of Phuket's wet season. It has about half the rain of October (213 mm against 393 mm), but it rains nearly as often: on 17 of 30 days, with a 29° high and cloud over nearly all of the sky. That is a warm, grey month with regular heavy showers, not a dry one.
The confusion comes from the label. Travel guides call December to March the high season, and some, like the Rough Guides November page, call November good value with "frequent sunny days". Both can be true for a holiday of ten days. For someone who needs a working month with predictable weather, the label hides how gradual the change is.
How fast does Phuket dry out after November?
Gradually, over three months, and the month strip below shows it:
Rain per month, mm (2015-2025 averages)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phuket | |||||||||||
| January: 73 | February: 23 | March: 45 | April: 125 | May: 369 | June: 303 | July: 295 | August: 401 | September: 434 | October: 393 | November: 213 | December: 80 |
| Krabi | |||||||||||
| January: 79 | February: 38 | March: 59 | April: 131 | May: 261 | June: 257 | July: 280 | August: 318 | September: 356 | October: 289 | November: 235 | December: 98 |
| Koh Samui | |||||||||||
| January: 152 | February: 79 | March: 47 | April: 90 | May: 136 | June: 86 | July: 106 | August: 75 | September: 89 | October: 260 | November: 457 | December: 318 |
Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure
Phuket goes from 213 mm in November to 80 mm in December, but rain still falls on 9 of 31 days and the sky is about three quarters cloud. January has about the same total (73 mm) on far fewer days, 4 of 31, with cloud down to two thirds. February is the driest, 23 mm on 2 of 28 days, and March is still fairly dry at 45 mm. April turns back: 125 mm on 9 of 30 days.
So the picture is three steps, not one. November is wet, December is mixed, and January to March are the months to plan beach days and an outdoor schedule around. Moving a Phuket stay from November to January or February buys far more sun than moving it from November to December. If your dates are fixed, treat December as a coin-flip month and book somewhere you can cancel.
Is the whole Thai coast wet in November?
No, and this is the part that changes a plan:
November averages, side by side
| Place | High | Low | Rain | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phuket | 29° | 25° | 213 mm | 17 |
| Krabi | 30° | 23° | 235 mm | 19 |
| Ko Lanta | 29° | 25° | 200 mm | 17 |
| Koh Samui | 28° | 25° | 457 mm | 18 |
| Koh Phangan | 28° | 25° | 433 mm | 17 |
| Hua Hin | 30° | 24° | 133 mm | 7 |
| Bangkok | 31° | 24° | 77 mm | 6 |
| Chiang Mai | 29° | 20° | 61 mm | 4 |
Averages 2015-2025 · Source: Open-Meteo, CHIRPS · How we measure
The Andaman coast (Phuket, Krabi, Koh Lanta) is wet: 200 to 235 mm. The Gulf islands are no escape, and are twice as wet: Koh Samui gets 457 mm and Koh Phangan 433 mm, the peak of their year. They ease in December (318 mm on Samui) but stay wetter than Phuket into January, which is why "go in December" works for one coast and fails on the other.
The dry options in November are not beaches. Chiang Mai gets 61 mm and Bangkok 77 mm; Hua Hin is wetter at 133 mm. For the northern smoke that starts in the new year, see the Chiang Mai burning season guide, and for the whole country in December, Thailand in December.
What should a remote worker do about Phuket in November?
Our take, on weather alone:
- Flexible dates, a month of beach and work: go in February, or anywhere from January to March. Phuket has 73, 23 and 45 mm in those months, against 213 mm in November.
- Fixed to Phuket in November: choose a base where bad days do not wreck the week. A cafe with strong wifi and a place to sit out the afternoon shower matters more than a sea view. Expect rain on about 17 days, some of it heavy, and some days of constant cloud.
- Fixed to Thailand in November and want sun: base in Chiang Mai or Bangkok and treat the islands as a later stop. In December the Andaman and the Gulf split, so read where is warm in December before you book.
- Want a dry beach in November: nothing we track in Thailand has one. Goa gets 23 mm in November.
One honest limit: these are 11-year averages, so a particular November can be much wetter or drier, and we do not forecast a given year. Rough sea and flag days on Andaman beaches can close swimming even on a sunny day, and the data does not measure that.
How we got these numbers
Eleven-year averages for each destination's coordinates, grouped by calendar month: monthly rain totals from CHIRPS (satellite and rain-gauge data), rain days, temperatures and cloud from the Open-Meteo archive. A rain day is a day with at least four millimetres of rain in the tropics, which matches what rain gauges count, so drizzle is not counted; read it together with the millimetres. Weather only: no prices, crowds, sea state or events. See Data Sources.
Where to be in November instead
Chiang Mai
61 mm in Nov4 rain days in Nov29° high in Nov
Dry from November; the smoke starts after the new year.
Suits: a working month with dry weather, then the coast
Bangkok
77 mm in Nov6 rain days in Nov31° high in Nov
The rains are mostly over, and humidity is falling.
Suits: a city base with strong wifi until the Andaman dries
Goa
23 mm in Nov2 rain days in Nov32° high in Nov
The only dry beach we track in this part of Asia in November.
Suits: a beach month if you want sun now
Frequently asked questions
Is Phuket good in November?
It is warm but wet. Our 11-year data shows 213 mm of rain and rain on 17 of 30 days, with a 29°C average high. It is a fine month for working indoors and cheap stays, not for beach days you can plan.
When does the rain stop in Phuket?
Rain falls sharply from October (393 mm) to November (213 mm), and again to December (80 mm). January has a similar total (73 mm) but rain on far fewer days, and the driest month in our data is February, at 23 mm.
Is Phuket drier than Koh Samui in November?
Yes, clearly: 213 mm against 457 mm, which is Koh Samui's wettest month. Both ease in December, but Phuket much faster: 80 mm against 318 mm in Koh Samui.
Where is dry in Thailand in November?
Chiang Mai (61 mm) is the driest of the places we track in Thailand in November, then Bangkok (77 mm). Hua Hin is wetter at 133 mm.
Is Phuket cheaper in November?
Several travel guides say prices are lower before the December peak, but we hold no price data, so we do not give a number. Check current rates for your dates.
Not sure where yet? Pick your months and what to avoid, and get your 3 best places → Where should I go?
Weather data: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0), open-meteo.com; rain totals: CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Center, UC Santa Barbara). Processed by NomadWeather from stored copies of the data.