Advice about weather-Thailand..in July?? (my first time)
Mar 10th, 2011, 03:12 AM
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Advice about weather-Thailand..in July?? (my first time)
Hi everyone,
with my husband we are planning to take a trip to Tahiland for 12 days. It has to be on July since I'm a teacher and I have my holiday at that time..Yet we are really eager to visit Thailand. we are planning to stay in Bangkok for 4 days then head for a beach (I really want to see Phuket-4 days) and finally we want to see Kuala Lumpur, Malesia (4 days). What do you think?
Everyone says its the rainy season..ok..but how bad can it be? We are really uneasy about the things we hear. we are about to buy our plane tickets. We need your opinions and your experience. thank you...
with my husband we are planning to take a trip to Tahiland for 12 days. It has to be on July since I'm a teacher and I have my holiday at that time..Yet we are really eager to visit Thailand. we are planning to stay in Bangkok for 4 days then head for a beach (I really want to see Phuket-4 days) and finally we want to see Kuala Lumpur, Malesia (4 days). What do you think?
Everyone says its the rainy season..ok..but how bad can it be? We are really uneasy about the things we hear. we are about to buy our plane tickets. We need your opinions and your experience. thank you...
Mar 10th, 2011, 04:32 PM
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Look at one of the weather websites that can give you historical weather patterns. I use www.weatherbase.com
Phuket is likely to have rainshowers, probably daily, but it is unlikely to rain all day. If you are the sort of person who feels their vacation is ruined by a rainy day at the beach then you shouldn't go. But if you can enjoy the beach wheter or nor it is raining, you'll get great rates at the hotels.
I think 4 days is nore than you need in KL. Three nights/two days is enough IMO. I'd add extra days to Bangkok.
Phuket is likely to have rainshowers, probably daily, but it is unlikely to rain all day. If you are the sort of person who feels their vacation is ruined by a rainy day at the beach then you shouldn't go. But if you can enjoy the beach wheter or nor it is raining, you'll get great rates at the hotels.
I think 4 days is nore than you need in KL. Three nights/two days is enough IMO. I'd add extra days to Bangkok.
Mar 10th, 2011, 05:44 PM
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If you just want to “see” Phuket, then go in July. If you want to be able to sit on the beach, snorkel and do other water sports, then go in another month. Otherwise, you run the risk of overcast days (which ruin snorkeling) as well as days where it won’t rain all day, just from Noon to 6 pm <i>every day</i> (this is exactly what happened to a friend of mine who spent a week there about 2 years ago, despite all of us telling him it was not a good idea. His girlfriend did not speak to him for most of the trip). Of course you may luck out and it will be sunny and gorgeous every day, but in July, the odds are against you. Up to you whether you want to take that risk.
The good news is that you don’t have to take that risk for a beach in Thailand in July. The entire east coast of Thailand and Malaysia are in fantastic weather in July. So just change sides. Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and those areas in Thailand will offer you beaches which are just as pretty and have good snorkeling and diving. There are marvelous islands and coastal areas of Malaysia that will do the same (Redang, Kuala Terengganu, Rawa and those areas), as well as most of East Malaysia (i.e. Kalmantan/Boreno, the huge island which is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei). You have many options on the east coast in July. In some of these areas (i.e. Malaysia), if you are lucky, you may have the opportunity to see the giant sea turtles which come to lay eggs in the sand. They are the size of a mini-Cooper.
I agree that four days in KL is a bit much. 2 days is plenty, I would use it as a hopping off point to get to the east coast of Malaysia if you don’t fly there directly from Thailand. Singapore would also work for many east coast Malaysia locations (some are drivable from S’pore), and IMO is a far more interesting city than KL. There are also many flight options to the US from S'pore (some non-stop), so it could be a good place for the end of your trip.
The good news is that you don’t have to take that risk for a beach in Thailand in July. The entire east coast of Thailand and Malaysia are in fantastic weather in July. So just change sides. Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and those areas in Thailand will offer you beaches which are just as pretty and have good snorkeling and diving. There are marvelous islands and coastal areas of Malaysia that will do the same (Redang, Kuala Terengganu, Rawa and those areas), as well as most of East Malaysia (i.e. Kalmantan/Boreno, the huge island which is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei). You have many options on the east coast in July. In some of these areas (i.e. Malaysia), if you are lucky, you may have the opportunity to see the giant sea turtles which come to lay eggs in the sand. They are the size of a mini-Cooper.
I agree that four days in KL is a bit much. 2 days is plenty, I would use it as a hopping off point to get to the east coast of Malaysia if you don’t fly there directly from Thailand. Singapore would also work for many east coast Malaysia locations (some are drivable from S’pore), and IMO is a far more interesting city than KL. There are also many flight options to the US from S'pore (some non-stop), so it could be a good place for the end of your trip.
Mar 12th, 2011, 10:40 AM
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Air Asia is the budget airline based in Malaysia. They do fly to Malaysian Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak). Kota Kinabalu is the place you would fly to to access the beach resorts there.
I don't think AA flies to the other places Cicerone recommends (Redang, Kuala Terengganu, Rawa). Those are a bit harder to get to.
I don't think AA flies to the other places Cicerone recommends (Redang, Kuala Terengganu, Rawa). Those are a bit harder to get to.
Mar 13th, 2011, 06:51 PM
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I addition to Air Asia, mentioned above, another discount airline to look at is Firefly see http://www.fireflyz.com.my/. They fly to Borneo as well as the east coast of Malayisa from KL. Look at their schedules and see if any work.
To get to Redang Island you have several options. The easiest if to fly non-stop to the island from KL on Berjaya Air see https://www.berjaya-air.com/. The cheapest fare I am seeing on that for July is about US$40 round trip. You can also fly on Berjaya Air to or from Singapore, so if you want to include S’pore on the itin you can do that. A third option to get to Redang is to fly from KL to Kuala Terengganu on the east coat mainland, and then take a ferry out to the Redang area. The fourth would be take a bus from KL to Kuala Terengganu and then a ferry to the Redang area. While the bus will take longer (7 hours), you would see some great countryside. (Also bear in mind that from downtown KL to the airport you are looking at close to an hour in transit. The bus would go from the centre of KL. Between travel to the airport, check-in, security etc and the hour long flight, you are probably looking at 4 hours to do the flight. So door to door, the bus may not be that bad compared to the flight. The bus appears to be US$13.) See the following for bus companies:
http://www.transnasional.com.my/.
http://www.kbes.com.my/
http://www.plusliner.com/
http://www.srimaju.com/
South of Kuala Terengganu itself there are some lovely beach areas as well, so you don’t necessarily have to ferry out to islands, however in my experience the off-the-beach snorkeling is better from islands than from the main Malaysian coastline.
To get to Redang Island you have several options. The easiest if to fly non-stop to the island from KL on Berjaya Air see https://www.berjaya-air.com/. The cheapest fare I am seeing on that for July is about US$40 round trip. You can also fly on Berjaya Air to or from Singapore, so if you want to include S’pore on the itin you can do that. A third option to get to Redang is to fly from KL to Kuala Terengganu on the east coat mainland, and then take a ferry out to the Redang area. The fourth would be take a bus from KL to Kuala Terengganu and then a ferry to the Redang area. While the bus will take longer (7 hours), you would see some great countryside. (Also bear in mind that from downtown KL to the airport you are looking at close to an hour in transit. The bus would go from the centre of KL. Between travel to the airport, check-in, security etc and the hour long flight, you are probably looking at 4 hours to do the flight. So door to door, the bus may not be that bad compared to the flight. The bus appears to be US$13.) See the following for bus companies:
http://www.transnasional.com.my/.
http://www.kbes.com.my/
http://www.plusliner.com/
http://www.srimaju.com/
South of Kuala Terengganu itself there are some lovely beach areas as well, so you don’t necessarily have to ferry out to islands, however in my experience the off-the-beach snorkeling is better from islands than from the main Malaysian coastline.
Mar 13th, 2011, 07:21 PM
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Sorry, I just noticed you might be interested in Koh Samui/Koh Phangnan and/or Rawa. For Koh Samui/Phangnan you can fly non-stop on several airlines from KL to Samui, including Firefly and Berjaya Air. (For Phangnan you then have to take a ferry from Samui.) You can also fly on Air Asia to Surat Thani, and then take a ferry to either island. If you decide to skip KL, from Bangkok you can also fly to non-stop to Koh Samui (try Bangkok Air for that see http://www.bangkokair.com/). A third option if you skip KL to take a train from Bangkok to Surat Thani and then a ferry to Koh Samui or Phangnan. This takes the better part of a whole day, but again should be quite scenic. See http://www.railway.co.th/ for Thai train schedules and fares. There may be a way to take a bus or train from KL to Surat Thani, I have not look into it, but try the train and bus websites. I have a feeling this would be a longish trip overland from KL.
You can also fly to Koh Samui from Singapore on Berjaya Air and probably other airlines, so again including Singapore is quite possible.
For Rawa, you also have several options. You can fly from KL to Singapore or Johor Bahru (just accords the causeway from S’pore) and take a bus or even rent a car and go to Mersing, on the mainland, from where you get the ferry to Rawa. (Malaysia is one of the few places in Asia where I would actually recco renting a car.) You can also take a bus from KL to Mersing and get the ferry. The bus takes 5 hours and costs about US$13, so this may be the best choice in terms of convenience and price. There is a 9 am bus which arrives Mersing at 12:30 which means you most likely could be on Rawa island by 2 pm in time for a late lunch, not bad at all.
You can also fly to Koh Samui from Singapore on Berjaya Air and probably other airlines, so again including Singapore is quite possible.
For Rawa, you also have several options. You can fly from KL to Singapore or Johor Bahru (just accords the causeway from S’pore) and take a bus or even rent a car and go to Mersing, on the mainland, from where you get the ferry to Rawa. (Malaysia is one of the few places in Asia where I would actually recco renting a car.) You can also take a bus from KL to Mersing and get the ferry. The bus takes 5 hours and costs about US$13, so this may be the best choice in terms of convenience and price. There is a 9 am bus which arrives Mersing at 12:30 which means you most likely could be on Rawa island by 2 pm in time for a late lunch, not bad at all.
