Cyansiam

I seem to be reading a lot about how bad the weather is in Phuket during the low season which is May to October.

We have just had a glorious week of sunshine and no rain, today it rained for around 30 minutes but it was raining last night in Koh Phangan in the gulf....my son is there for the Full Moon Party!

For anyone who is interested Phuket weather is not that bad in low season, we do get heavy rain and thunder storms but the majority are at night or they clear up fairly quickly. We do sometimes have a few days or up to a week of cloudy weather but this can happen anytime and we can get heavy rain in November and December.

The last two years we have had no rain from approx Jan to April which means we will have water shortages April and May and everything goes brown!

It is always hot, usually between 28 and 32, sometimes dropping to 23 which we class as cold now!

If anyone wants any other info on Phuket just ask, I have lived here for 8 years!

SCTravelAdventures

I was lucky enough to spend some time in Phuket and absolutely loved it!

I assume over the 8 years, you've found time and opportunities to see other parts of Vietnam. What other places would you suggest for a beginner traveller without a lot of experience abroad?

Kathie

A (Thai) friend of mine just got back from Phuket. Yes, they had lovely sunny weather - but all of the beaches were red-flagged.

People traveling to Thailand for vacation aren't just interested in whether it rains, they are also interested in whether they will be able to participate in water activities. As you know, August isn't the best time for that, even if it isn't raining.

SCTravel, note that Phuket is not in VietNam - it is in Thailand. Such errors do not inspire confidence in a travel agent.

Cyansiam

Appreciate regarding water sports but a lot of people just ask about the weather as they imagine it is raining continually so will not come to the island in low season which is from May to October, not just July and August.

Plus some beaches are worse for swimming than others even in high season and it is a bad idea to go out on the jet skis at any time!

Boat trips are rarely stopped especially around the Phang Nga area.

The majority of tourists do not come just for the water activities, they come for the weather, beaches, tours, nightlife and food.

PhiMeow

>If anyone wants any other info on Phuket just ask

OK - pls advise latest on the beach chair saga. Are beach lounge chairs allowed on the main beaches (patong/surin/ etc) or not?

Cyansiam

The saga of the beach chairs - first this changes almost every week, I would say that Patong is a definite no as it is the main tourist beach, we have been told that you could hire sun beds/mats and umbrellas from licenced vendors but then they have confiscated them. Same with Surin beach. Nai Harn has been more relaxed but then again they have come in and removed them. Have not heard anything recently about Kata and Karon.

The only places I know that there are definitely sun beds is in Lagana, these will not be removed guaranteed. There are also sun beds and umbrellas on Layan and Nai Thon beaches. It appears that the big chain hotels are paying enough to the authorities to keep their guests happy!

The smaller beaches are fine and we also understand that they have not done this in any other part of Thailand.

I would suspect that when high season hits it will be back to normal and it is all about who can pay the tea money and Thai logic!

PhiMeow

Thanks Cyansiam.
Pity about the inconsistencies. I will be there in Jan 16 and was hoping it is all sorted by now.