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Photo by Subhrajyoti07, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Best time to visit Phuket
Thailand · Southeast Asia
All twelve months scored on daily temperature, rainfall, humidity and holiday crowding.
The year in Phuket
Tap a month for its page
- JanJPhuket in January: sweet spot, busy
- FebFPhuket in February: sweet spot, busy
- MarMPhuket in March: sweet spot
- AprAPhuket in April: ok
- MayMPhuket in May: avoid
- JunJPhuket in June: avoid
- JulJPhuket in July: avoid
- AugAPhuket in August: avoid
- SepSPhuket in September: avoid
- OctOPhuket in October: avoid
- NovNPhuket in November: avoid
- DecDPhuket in December: ok, busy
- Sweet spot
- Good
- OK
- Avoid
- Busy
Dry season: Jan–Mar, 6 or fewer rainy days a month.
- Prices thereVery cheap, about 31% of the US
- MoneyBaht
- PlugsType A and B and C and F, 220 V
- DrivingOn the left
Book your trip to Phuket
Best in February 31°C · 2 rainy days busy February in Phuket ›
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Luxury
Things to do
Driving is on the left here.
Car hire
Travel insurance
Check whether your bank card or home insurance already covers this trip.
If the trip needs a visa, the travel agent or visa centre usually sells the cover it asks for.
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Things to do in Phuket
- Phi Phi Islands Archipelago in the Andaman Sea
- Patong Beach on Phuket island, Thailand
- Karon Beach Beach on Phuket/Thailand
- Hat Kata Beach on Phuket island, Thailand
- Ko Racha Two islands (Yai and Noi), popular with scuba divers and a relaxing snorkelling destination
Tours and tickets in Phuket
Each site opens on its own search: choose your dates there. A few open on their home page, where you type the place too. Links marked Ad pay us a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you; most pay nothing, and what a site pays never decides whether it is listed or where. How we rank
Sights and their lines from Wikivoyage (Phuket), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, and Wikidata; in order of how often each one's Wikipedia article was read on phones in the last 12 months.
Phuket in pictures
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Luxure, CC BY 3.0 au, via Wikimedia Commons
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Wolfgang Holzem, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Month by month
| Month | Max °C | Rain days | Humidity | Sun h/day | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30° | 4d | 79% | 10.3h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Feb | 31° | 2d | 75% | 10.9h | sweet spot busy | busier than usual |
| Mar | 32° | 6d | 77% | 11.0h | sweet spot | 32C max, 6 rainy days |
| Apr | 31° | 13d | 82% | 10.5h | ok | 31C max, 13 rainy days |
| May | 30° | 22d | 85% | 9.2h | avoid | monsoon: 22 rainy days, 349mm |
| Jun | 30° | 16d | 84% | 9.0h | avoid | monsoon: 16 rainy days, 282mm |
| Jul | 29° | 15d* | 83% | 9.1h | avoid | monsoon: 15 rainy days, 223mm |
| Aug | 29° | 17d* | 83% | 9.1h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 248mm |
| Sep | 29° | 18d | 86% | 8.2h | avoid | monsoon: 18 rainy days, 328mm |
| Oct | 29° | 23d | 88% | 8.4h | avoid | monsoon: 23 rainy days, 354mm |
| Nov | 29° | 17d | 88% | 8.4h | avoid | monsoon: 17 rainy days, 276mm |
| Dec | 29° | 8d | 83% | 9.7h | okbusy | busier than usual |
Rain days are the days with at least 1 mm of rain, as a weather station counts them.
Weather read at Patong Beach, 24 km from the airport (HKT): ten years of ERA5 and ERA5-Land reanalysis, through Open-Meteo's open data.* Rainy days in July and August are as the weather station at Phuket airport (24 km away) counts them, where it and the model disagree on a wet month (WMO 48565, 2017–2026).
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
Then and now
Phuket's March days now average 32.1°C, 2.8°C warmer than in 1981–1990. 12 of 12 months are clearly warmer.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981–90 | 28.4° | 28.7° | 29.3° | 29.3° | 28.8° | 28.7° | 28.2° | 28.2° | 27.8° | 27.6° | 27.8° | 28.1° |
| 2017–26 | 30.1° | 31.5° | 32.1° | 31.3° | 30.1° | 29.6° | 29.5° | 29.3° | 28.9° | 28.8° | 29.0° | 29.4° |
| Change | +1.7° | +2.7° | +2.8° | +2.0° | +1.3° | +0.8° | +1.2° | +1.1° | +1.2° | +1.2° | +1.1° | +1.3° |
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.
Busy and quiet times in Phuket
Phuket experiences a tropical monsoon climate, and while the dry season from November to April is ideal for visiting, the wet season can bring heavy rainfall. Refer to climate normals for specific expectations during any particular month.
| Busiest |
mid Dec to late Jan — This period sees pleasant weather, drawing many tourists and leading to higher prices.
|
|---|---|
| Quieter, still good |
early Nov to mid Dec — This time offers a balance of good weather and less crowded tourist spots.
early Feb to late Apr — Weather remains warm and less humid, attracting visitors before the heavy rains.
|
| Wet or stormy |
early May to late Oct — monsoon, moderate
|
| Watch out for | heavy rainfall; high humidity |
Written by a language model from the climate figures above. The month-by-month table is measured — ten years of ERA5 readings and published holiday calendars — and where the two disagree, the table is the one to believe.
What Phuket is like
Phuket (ภูเก็ต), pronounced (roughly) "puh-KET", is Thailand's largest island. It is 48 km in length, 21 km at its widest, and is in Southern Thailand, on the west-facing Andaman Sea coastline, suspended from the southern tip of Phang Nga province by a pair of short but substantial road bridges. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth seeing
- Phuket is known the world over for its beaches. There is a wide variety of beaches, some calm, some totally ruined by millions of visitors each year. More on Wikivoyage
- Worth doing
- Swimming, snorkeling, diving, yachting, sailing, jet-skiing and parasailing are among the more popular activities on the island. More on Wikivoyage
- Getting in
- Phuket International Airport (HKT IATA) (is in the northwest of the island). This compact airport is Thailand's second largest hub, second only to Bangkok. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying safe
- Particularly in the summer monsoon season, there are strong currents on many of the beaches and drownings are a depressingly common occurrence. More on Wikivoyage
- Staying healthy
- Tap water should be regarded as non-potable. Liquids from sealed bottles nearly always are, and should be used wherever possible, for example, when brushing your teeth. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Phuket, written by travellers and licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the full article has far more. The numbers above are measured; this is experience.
Getting there
How far Phuket is depends on where you set off from — the months above do not.
- from Kuala Lumpur
- from Bangkok
- from Singapore
- from Ho Chi Minh City
- from Hanoi
- from Jakarta
- from Kolkata
- from Colombo
Open in Rome2rio for every way from to Phuket, flying or not.
Like a local in Phuket
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 Phuket
On the Phuket Smart Bus, tap a contactless Visa, Mastercard or JCB card, or Apple Pay or Google Pay, on board; cash and Thai QR also work.
- Apps — Rides: Bolt, Grab. Maps: Google Maps, Apple Maps. Messages: LINE, WhatsApp.
Phuket is a large island and you need some form of transport to get around. Luckily, there are a variety of transport options for various budgets. More on Wikivoyage
From the Wikivoyage article on Phuket, 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.
Your embassy — : how to reach your embassy or consulate abroad. A guess from your city, : a city is not a passport.
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)
- gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/thailand/getting-help
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Thailand
- en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Bangkok
- grab.com/th/en
- bolt.eu/en/cities/bangkok
- metro.bemplc.co.th/EMV-Contactless?lang=en
- nationthailand.com/news/policy/40063062
- huahin.localplus.city/2026/04/07/bts-skytrain-prepares-for-emv-contactless-ticketing-on-green-and-gold-lines
- phuketsmartbus.com/payment
- tagthai.com/explore/p/payment-for-foreign-tourist-in-thailand
- developers.google.com/maps/coverage
- apple.com/ios/feature-availability
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2286608
- nipl.com/uploads/NPCI_International_Press_Release_LIQUID_GROUP_TO_POWER_UPI_QR_ACCEPTANCE_IN_10_ASIAN_MARKETS_bcb05ffeee.pdf
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. Global Affairs Canada: Exercise a high degree of caution (with regional advisories). US State Department: Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions. Entry rules for British travellers. Entry rules (Global Affairs Canada). Entry rules (US State Department). Everything for Thailand: cost of living, languages, emergency numbers and health.
A guide, not advice: entry rules change and depend on your passport and your trip, so check the official page before you book.
Around Phuket
Nearest in Thailand
- Phi Phi Islands best Jan, Feb, Mar
- Krabi best Jan, Feb, Jun
- Khao Lak best Jan, Feb, Mar
- Ko Lanta best Jan, Feb, Mar
- Ko Lipe best Jan, Feb, Mar
- Ko Samui best Mar, Apr, Jun
- Ko Pha-ngan best Mar, Jun, Aug
- Ko Tao best Mar, Apr, Dec
- Hua Hin best Mar, Nov, Dec
- Pattaya best Mar, Nov, Dec
- Kanchanaburi best Jan, Nov, Dec
- Bangkok best Jan, Nov, Dec
Nearby
- Langkawi Malaysia · 238 km
- Penang Malaysia · 356 km
- Ipoh Malaysia · 478 km
- Cameron Highlands Malaysia · 512 km
Routes through here
Kind of place
Phuket is in Thailand, Southeast Asia. Distances are great-circle, so a short one can still be a long way round.
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