We are a group of ladies planning a trip to Bangkok and Phuket Thailand in mid September. We know its the rainy season but how bad is it really? Any help is appreciated. Thanks

On average, the Phuket area gets over 16 inches of rain in September, the most of any month. There are other areas of Thailand that are not as rainy as Phuket. Why not go to a different beach? Koh Samui gets only half as much rain in September, and Hua Hin gets even less.

Take a look here for historic weather data for Thailand: http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/c...p3?c=TH&refer=

Bangkok is also quite rainy in September.

any chance of going one month later??

Thanks Kathy,
I was viewing information on Koh Samui for that very same reason. I think we will probably skip Phuket and go to Koh Samui. We all love the water and would like to do some good snorkeling as well as sightseeing. From my research it seems the best beach area is Choeng Mon what is your thought? Also we are looking at the Imperial Boat House for accommodation, the reviews are pretty good. It seems to have the best beach, as we are looking for good beach rather than pools. Any help you give will be helpful.

Good choice to skip Phuket in September. Now, Bangkok will be wet, but just go with the flow and have a great time. Where are you staying in BKK?

If a pool is not important for you, I encourage you to take a look at Crystal Bay Resort, which sits on a (mostly) private beautiful beach on Samui, about 10 minutes (south, I think) from Chaweng, the busiest beach. There are limestone rocks just offshore, which makes it very scenic.

Crystal Bay is not on a busy beach at all, but there are always tsongtaus (truck taxis) and taxi cabs going by, which can take you pretty much anywhere you might want to go (or rent a vehicle... but be careful). Cliff Restaurant, which is a really terrific place, is right next door. No need for a ride.

Crystal Bay itself has a little restaurant. Their seafood salad makes a fantastic lunch. I don't know that I'd want to 'do' dinner there, it's a pretty basic restaurant. Nothing fancy. But lunch, which you can grab quickly, as it's right at the beach, is very convenient.

There's a web site, but I don't have it. Do a goodle search for Crystal Bay Resort Samui and I'm sure you will find it.

Enjoy your trip! I hope to be on Samui for a couple of days next month. BTW, I've been to Phuket in September for a couple of days and we had one rainy day where we vegged and went to the mall for some retail therapy. It didn't rain all day, but the red flags were up at the beach, which means no swimming.

Carol

Just want to point out that there is no snorkeling on Samui and you will have to take a boat ride to find any worthwhile snorkeling from there. Check out Koh Tao and Koh Nang Yuan for September if snorkeling is a priority.

http://www.nangyuan.com/

Dont worry, there is a draught. I doubt you will see much rain this year....