India and Thailand in May
 

Hello! My husband and I want to travel to India and Thailand in May. The idea is to have a more adventurous experience in India, and finish the trip off with relaxing in Thailand. We realize May isn't the absolute best time for these regions, but its when we are able to travel. Any advice regarding travel planning and flights, specific locations to visit considering seasonal weather, anything at all! Many thanks!

Thailand in May is likely to be wet and humid. I would head for the gulf coast or islands for drier sunnier weather - Koh Samui , Koh Phang Nan. Hua Hin or Cha am on the coast . You should be able to find some nice hotels in all of these places. Another less visited place is Khao Sam RoI Yot National Park - loosely translated as the mountain with three hundred peaks. A beautiful area, caves , beaches, mountains, jungle etc we stayed in many years ago but not sure about the hotel situation if yoking for a luxury type place

India and the month of May will be scorching. Much of what you want to see in the golden triangle of Delhi and Agra and Jaipur will have temperatures as high as 115°. Also, New Delhi has very poor air quality.

I would think of going somewhere else if I was you.

Jacketwatch has very rightly pointed out how hot it would be in the Golden Triangle. May is also a month of hot winds and dust storms. You will have to restrict your sightseeing to mornings or late evenings. There are several other spectacular destinations in north India one can visit. It could be any place closer to the Himalayas, Leh & Ladakh, Tea estates near Darjeeling, Sikkim etc. Kashmir has settled down and would make for a great destination.
Happy travels!

thank you for your input. I wasn’t sure where else one could go in India at that time to avoid the scorching heat of the golden triangle. Good to see you posting and I hope all is well.
Larry

Many thanks Larry! Fit as a fiddle and looking fwd to some fine movement on the Fodors!!

[QUOTE=vp_singh;17545375]Many thanks Larry! Fit as a fiddle and looking fwd to some fine movement on the Fodors!![/QUOTE
I am glad to hear you are well.

I still remember how excellent your services were when we were there.

Best wishes for health and continued success!

May is probably my least favorite time in India. The one time I went in May, I had been to India several times...in all the months from August to April, and my daughter had been going to school all over India from August to April. She had a paper to present in Chennai in May, and we felt we had survived August, so how much hotter could it be in May?
Turned out to be a LOT hotter, especially in the south and in Delhi, since you are waiting for the monsoon to arrive. We spent many hours in an internet cafe (Remember those?) before we could schedule a flight to Delhi and then flight and hotels in Shimla and McCloud Ganj (everybody who can, heads for the mountains at that time of year). It was still very, very hot, and the farms in the valleys below the mountains were producing a lot of smoke, but it was much more bearable. I suppose it was better than going during the monsoon (June and July, mostly), since roads, trails and air routes can be very messed up at that time.
I've been in Thailand many times in May. It is hot, but not nearly as hot as Central India. The rains come there as well, but tend to come in the late afternoons, so you can plan for it, and the skies and temps are nice after they rain stops!

I would go with VPS's suggestion to go North out of the steamy belt. However, I have done quite some time there (years). For Ladakh be sure to understand that it is a serious altitude and research the implication! Take it easy and try to avoid sleeping prone. Check out if you can get a Diamox prescription and aren't allergic to it. The monasteries and the sheer ability to see for miles without a blade of grass are stunning. May is usually good in Kashmir. I don't know about Ladakh. I went in August. The road is a hard and long drive but spectacular. Don't look down out the window and you won't know fear. Conditions are much better now for a midway stop. Make sure you convince the driver if you go by car (recommended) to stop at sights along the way, paying extra along the way is an incentive. The bus is for twenty-year-olds and skips the sites along the way. Flight-in skips some of the acclimation. On the way out it may be a blessing. It is a heck of an adventure. Don't hesitate to change your itinerary according to weather. Enjoy, India is always an adventure.