Phuket Weather by Month: When It Rains and When to Stay

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.

See a sample plan Get my plan, $19

What is the weather in Phuket, in one minute?

Warm all year, with a long wet season. Daytime highs sit between 29°C and 32°C in every month and nights between 24°C and 26°C, so temperature is never the question. Rain is. From May to October Phuket gets roughly 300 to 400 mm a month, peaking at 434 mm in September. The dry window is December to March, with February the driest at 23 mm.

Read the chart above in two passes. The temperature band is nearly flat, a little higher in March. The rain line is one wide hump from May to November and a short dry stretch either side of February.

How does each month look?

The table puts every month side by side: highs, lows, rain days and rainfall.

Rain days here are days with rain in our model, so read them next to the millimetres. Cloud cover adds a second story: about three fifths of the sky in February but close to nine tenths from May to November, so the wet months are also the grey ones.

When is the dry season in Phuket?

December to March. December has 80 mm, January 73 mm, February 23 mm and March 45 mm, with rain on only two to nine days a month. Highs climb from 29°C in December to 32°C in March. February is the best month of the year: the least rain, a 31°C high and cloud over about three fifths of the sky.

December is the first usable month but still grey (cloud over nearly three quarters of the sky), so if you need clear skies to work outside, February and March are the clearest months. March is the hottest month and the dry window's last good one.

When is the rainy season in Phuket?

May to October, and the peak is September to October. Rain is 369 mm in May, then 303, 295 and 401 mm in June, July and August, then 434 mm in September and 393 mm in October. Humidity sits at 83% to 86%, and rain falls on 13 to 19 days a month. The Andaman Sea gets rough, some beaches fly red flags, and low roads can flood.

May to July are slightly lighter than August to October, but not dry: 295 mm to 369 mm a month against 393 mm to 434 mm, so it is the same season, just less of it. If you want to compare with the Gulf side, Koh Samui weather by month shows the reverse pattern, wettest in November.

What about April and November?

They are the two edges, and both catch people out. April is 125 mm with rain on about 8 days, nearly three times March, so the dry season has already ended even though highs stay near 32°C. November is still 213 mm, with rain on about 17 days; it is the wet season's tail, not the start of the good weather. Our page on Phuket in November has the detail and the places that are dry then.

How does Phuket compare with Samui and Chiang Mai?

The two coasts of Thailand have opposite seasons. Chiang Mai, inland, is wet in the same months as Phuket but has a drier, cooler winter.

Koh Samui is far wetter in November and drier in the middle of the year. Chiang Mai is wet in September too (261 mm), but its dry season is drier than Phuket's (6 mm in February) and its nights are much cooler (17°C). For the full picture see the three coasts of Thailand.

What would we do?

Match the stay to the rain. Come to Phuket from January to March for a base with sun and warm water; February is the safest single month. In the wet season from May to October, expect a grey, humid month with showers most days. If you want Thailand then, the Gulf islands are lighter from June to August, and Where to go in November lists places that are drier when Phuket is not. This is a weather view only: it does not cover flights, ferries, cost of living or internet speed, so check those before you book.