Because of the Monsoon season in November, I mainly started looking at hotels in Phuket. I couldn't find a particular location since we're looking for a mix of nice beaches, not too much seclusion with a little night life.

So then I found Ko Samui. As I'm doing more reserach into it, it looks perfect for what I want. Problem now is we'll be there towards the end of November. How bad is the weather at that time of year?

What are your thoughts of Ko Samui? Would that be a better destination than Phuket?

When you say a little nightlife do you mean restaurants and a few bars or are you thinking about late clubs, lots of bars etc ?

The weather on Phuket would be better but choosing your beach area makes quite a difference, you would find more absolute beachfront choices on Samui but November isn't a good month weatherwise. There are other options but again it comes to what level of nightlife you are looking for.

Short answer: Yes, Samui is wetter than Phuket in November, if that's your primary measure.

That said, the rainy season in the tropics means that it will rain heavily for an hour or two a day, usually in the afternoon. Mornings can even be sunny, but at that time of year, expect it to be overcast most of the day.

Your best bet for November is actually Koh Chang, near the eastern border of Thailand. It's main drawback for you may be that there's very little night life.

Also, Koh Chang is a malarial risk area,

Nightlife-we were thinking more in terms of a few bars and restaurants. Since we'll be relaxing all day, we would like a little night time excitement but nothing crazy like you would see in Bangkok.

From what I've research, in Ko Samui, near Chewach (sp?) beach there's some nightlife, but nothing like Patong Beach (which looks a little too crazy). That's why I was drawn to Ko Samui.. hmmm.. I'm stumped.. I don't know which beach to pick.

Jenny, there are lots of different beaches on Phuket, ranging from secluded to Patong craziness. Your weather will be better in Phuket, and the airfares to Phuket are cheaper than to Samui.

Sounds like kamala or kata beach on Phuket woul suit you fine, Kamala easier to get places closer to beach at reasonable rates, kata very nice but the few places on the beach iteself are picey, but you can get rreasonable is you are a few hundred meters from the beach, as Kathie has mentioned the flights to Phuket are cheaper, more competative, 5 different airlines all after your business! To Samui it's Bangkok Airways only.

The Kamala Beach Resort is about USD 69-100 in November which is not bad at all for that time of year, about 20 mins north of Patong. There are restaurants and bars in Kamala and you can get into Patong if you wish, also you can go north from there around Surin which is a real nice part of the coastline.