Weekly note
Nan
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Photo by Index Librorum Permissorum, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Best time to visit Nan

Thailand · Southeast Asia

All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.

The year in Nan

Tap a month for its page

  1. Nan in January: sweet spot, busy
  2. Nan in February: sweet spot, busy
  3. Nan in March: ok
  4. Nan in April: avoid
  5. Nan in May: avoid
  6. Nan in June: avoid
  7. Nan in July: avoid
  8. Nan in August: avoid
  9. Nan in September: avoid
  10. Nan in October: ok
  11. Nan in November: sweet spot, busy
  12. Nan in December: sweet spot, busy
  • Sweet spot
  • Good
  • OK
  • Avoid
  • Busy
Go in Nov–Feb — these months score within a whisker of each other; 31C max, 1 rainy day. Mar is the next best.

Dry season: Nov–Apr, 6 or fewer rainy days a month.

Month by month

MonthMax °CRain days HumiditySun h/day VerdictWhy
Jan 28° 2d 73% 10.3h sweet spot busy busier than usual
Feb 31° 1d 66% 10.6h sweet spot busy busier than usual
Mar 34° 2d 63% 10.5h ok 34C max, 2 rainy days
Apr 34° 5d 67% 10.5h avoid extreme heat: 15 days over 35C
May 33° 14d 78% 10.2h avoid 33C max, 14 rainy days
Jun 31° 17d 84% 9.1h avoid monsoon: 17 rainy days, 269mm
Jul 30° 22d 88% 7.8h avoid monsoon: 22 rainy days, 400mm
Aug 30° 22d 90% 7.2h avoid monsoon: 22 rainy days, 446mm
Sep 30° 18d 89% 9.0h avoid monsoon: 18 rainy days, 320mm
Oct 30° 11d 86% 10.0h ok 30C max, 11 rainy days
Nov 30° 4d 79% 10.0h sweet spot busy busier than usual
Dec 28° 1d 75% 10.0h sweet spot busy busier than usual

Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.

Weather read at Nan town: ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.

A busy month is a crowded one, not a bad one — usually it is crowded because the weather is good. It is flagged rather than scored down, and crowds alone never make a month “avoid”: that is reserved for weather worth skipping.

How busy it gets

Busiest from November to January; quietest from April to August.

Then and now

Nan's June days now average 31.3°C, 1.8°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 7 of 12 months are clearly warmer.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
1981–9027.8°31.2°34.0°34.9°31.9°29.5°28.9°28.7°28.8°28.4°28.0°26.6°
2017–2628.1°30.8°33.7°34.4°32.6°31.3°30.1°29.5°29.9°29.9°29.6°28.2°
Change+0.2°-0.5°-0.3°-0.6°+0.8°+1.8°+1.1°+0.8°+1.2°+1.5°+1.7°+1.5°

The average daily high, month by month, for the nearest ERA5 grid cell. Bold is a clear change; grey is within the ordinary spread between years. Every destination, ranked.

Getting there

How far Nan is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.

Before you go

Type A and B and C and F plugs at 220 V. Drives on the left. The currency is the Baht. UK Foreign Office: avoid all but essential travel to parts. Everything for Thailand: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.

Being there

On arrival

  • Paying — Cards work in malls, hotels and tourist restaurants; carry 20 and 100 baht notes for street food, markets and taxis. Many small sellers use PromptPay QR, which mostly needs a Thai bank app.
  • UPI, for visitors from India — Not accepted for paying here; bring a card that works abroad.
  • Tipping — Not expected; Thais round taxi fares to an easy number and sometimes leave small change in restaurants. Do not tip on top of a service charge.

Getting around Nan

  • Apps — Rides: Bolt, Grab. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: LINE, WhatsApp.

One of the most efficient ways to get around the city is by car. The roads in Nan are typically spacious, well-maintained, and kept clean, making for a comfortable and smooth driving experience. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Nan, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Help

  • Emergency — 191 (any emergency) · ambulance 1669 · fire 199 · tourist police 1155.
    TravelCharika is not an emergency service: we cannot call for help or send anyone. Numbers can change; if one fails, ask someone local or your hotel.

Put together by hand from the sources listed, checked 3 October 2026. Apps, cards and rules change, so check before you rely on one.

Sources (14)

Nan in pictures

What Nan is like

Nan (น่าน) is a town in the remote valley of the Nan River in the Northern River Valleys region of Northern Thailand, bordering Laos. The area is heavily forested with arable land used mainly for agriculture. More on Wikivoyage

Worth seeing
According to the Bangkok Post, the top two attractions are Doi Samer Dao and Wat Phumin, a temple with many local art masterpieces. Pha Chu, or Pha Cheot Chu (ผาชูหรือผาเชิดชู) (80 km south of Nan). More on Wikivoyage
Worth doing
NOT EXISTING IMAGE Boat Races. For centuries, long-boat racing have been held annually in provinces with a major waterway. More on Wikivoyage
Getting in
Nan is connected by plane and by bus to the rest of the country. Nan Airport (NNT) (at the north end of town, on the road to Pua-Thung Chang-Thai-Laos border (Rte 1080), about 1.5 km from downtown). More on Wikivoyage
Staying safe
Nan is a remarkably safe city, making it an ideal destination for travellers who prioritise safety and security. More on Wikivoyage

From the Wikivoyage article on Nan, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.

Around Nan

Also in Thailand

Nearby

Kind of place

Nan is in Thailand, Southeast Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.

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