End of the High Season?

The seasons in Phuket are quite predictable - you can find a summary here : Phuket Weather Overview - and sometime in the next few weeks the high season will draw to a close, the winds will shift to the southwest and we will officially be in "low season".

As far as hotels are concerned, most switch to low season prices on May 1st. Low season can be a real bargain, and if you are lucky with the weather, a great time to visit Phuket - see Low Season in Phuket.

You can't say exactly when the low season starts. Nobody throws a switch on May 7th at 3pm. The winds can start to shift late April, or it can be as late as mid May. In the latter case, a holiday in Phuket in early May can be great - cheap hotels and great weather! This year, if my bones tell me correctly, the high season seems to be just about done. We've had some rain every day since Songkran, but just brief thunderstorms. This morning, I am sure I felt a westerly wind blowing, though it's certainly easterly right now. The day is rather grey. Sea is still pretty calm, so no sustained west winds have set in, but WindGuru seems to be predicting a change of winds in the next week... just in time for my holidays.





(above) Fisherman statue at Karon beach, 24th April. See the clouded hills behind.

It could be a false start to the low season - check the Phuket weather reports from May 2007 - you'll see it started wet, but then the weather improved again. Hope things stay calm, as the dive season is not over yet and we have lots of customers booked for dive trips in the next week. Pray for sun!