My partner and I are planning a honeymoon for next August and are strongly considering going to Thailand. We are thinking of going to Bankok, Hua Hin, and Koh Samui (and avoiding Phuket and the West Coast due to monsoon season as advised on some of the other Thailand threads). I have a few questions that I was hoping you all might be able to answer.

First, we must travel in August due to work schedules, so I wanted to find out exactly HOW hot is it then? We live in DC, so are somewhat familiar with hot and humid, but how does it compare? Also, is it more pleasant in the beach towns in August than the rest of Thailand or how big is the difference (e.g. the thermometer is the only way to tell, or you can feel the difference)? If anyone has gone to those areas during August, did you feel up to sightseeing or did you stick to your room or the beach during the day time?

Second, I have some questions about getting from one place to another. I see from the boards that you can drive or take the train from BKK to Hua Hin and fly from BKK to Koh Samui. Is there a way to get from Hua Hin directly to Koh Samui? I was hoping we could go from BKK to Hua Hin to Koh Samui (and then return to BKK for our flight home). Is that feasible/advisable or should we go back to BKK in between? Also, how far apart are they?

Thanks for any information you can provide.

http://thailandforvisitors.com/south...m-weather.html

http://thailandforvisitors.com/centr...l/weather.html

http://www.thailand-huahin.com/thail...er-climate.htm

Honestly not that much variation is temps. Hot, hotter, wet, wetter. This August has been relatively dry in Bangkok. A few torrential downpours, they last 2 hours at most, in the 3 PM - 7 PM range.

Bangkok to Hua Hin is ~ 3 hours by car/bus/min-van/train.

Hua Hin to Koh Samui is ~ 300 miles, you could probably travel overland, then take a ferry. It might be easier to return to Bangkok and fly to/from Koh Samui.

http://www.samui.org/airport/transfer.html#bus

Thanks -- that's very helpful! Thanks too for the links. The www.samui.org link has all kinds of useful information about Koh Samui. It sounds like we'll have plenty to do there. Are there any activities you would recommend in particular?

IMHO, drop Hua Hin. The beaches are much better on Samui. Go to Chiang Mai instead. It has the northern Thai cuisine, cheap prices, and beautiful scenery. The rainy season in Phuket mainly affects the diving. It consists of a rain shower or two per day lasting a hour or less.

I grew up in Georgia and the humidity in Thailand feels much worse. Dew points of 80+. Compare that to DC.

The weather in Thailand is not all that much worse than DC in summer, and often nicer. The really hot season in Thailand is typically March thru May- that's when Thai kids get their "summer" vacation. The only place where the heat really has gotten to me has been in Bangkok, where the air pollution+heat+humidity can get a bit much.

Socaflyer,

I was in Bangkok last August for a week and I found the weather to be very hot and humid, not too different from what Washington was like a few weeks back when it was hanging around the 95 degree mark in the day and 80-85 at night with high humidity. Washington now is a little cooler and definitely dryer than it was in Bangkok.

I'm headed to BKK tonight for several days. I'll report back on the weather!

you may also find this link quite useful
http://www.samuiguide.com/

I'm wrapping up my three week tour de Asia.

August 20-27 Tokyo - Hot, muggy but bearable.

August 27 - August 30 Bangkok - Hot. Mostly cloudy. No rain during the day. One night, very late, downpour.

August 30 - Cambodia - Hot, extremely humid, very sunny. I am sweating buckets. Far worse than DC in August.

And believe it or not, it's much much nicer here at this time of year than in, say, April....

- Michael