Where does it rain the least when you travel in Thailand?

Pick a destination with less rainfall during any month you choose to travel in Thailand from these informative monthly charts.

Thailand is a big country in area, and - not surprisingly - the weather is not the same all around the country. If you travel during January, February or March, you should remain quite dry just about anywhere. However, for the rest of the year it could be worthwhile to pick a less rainy destination within the country.

Bangkok has the most rain among the popular destination cities. Hua Hin has the least rain from May to September, and Chiang Mai could be a good choice for October.

If you want to enjoy the beaches or islands, you might want to avoid Phuket and Krabi from April to October and Ko Samui from October to November and possibly December. Hua Hin is the safest bet all year round.

The west coast (Andaman Sea) and the east coast (Gulf of Thailand) have somewhat different rainy seasons. Ko Samui, Ko Phangan and Ko Tao have less rain from April to September, and Phuket, Krabi, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lanta have less rain from November to February.

The rainfall in Phuket, Krabi, Ko Phi Phi and Ko Lanta is quite similar throughout the whole year. Krabi might have slightly less rain from May to September.

This data is for the most part based on the 30-year statistics by Thai Meteorological Department. The data for Ko Samet comes from a website called Holiday Weather which doesn't specify its source.

Photo: wdso / flickr

AirAsia vs. Nok Air on-time performance comparison

A delayed flight could cause you to miss a connecting flight, the last boat or other things and ruin your day. Which Thai domestic airline is more likely to arrive on time?

I compared the on-time arrival performance statistics of Thai AirAsia and Nok Air during the last six full months (May to October 2016) on the website of FlightStats, Inc.

I would have liked to include Lion Air and Thai Smile in this comparison, but unfortunately I couldn't find publicly available on-time performance data on them.

Flights were defined on-time when they did not arrive more than 15 minutes behind schedule. There was no data on average delays.

The winner of this comparison was Nok Air with an average on-time performance of 79.06% during these six months. However, the difference wasn't that big. Thai AirAsia had an average on-time performance of 77.56% during the same period.

So whichever airline you choose between there two, you can expect roughly four out of five flights to arrive on time.

Photo: Craig Sunter / Flickr

There's a new coffee shop in your town: 7-Eleven

7-Eleven is bringing decent espresso-based coffee drinks near you, and they are cheap like most other things at 7-Eleven stores in Thailand.

The new or not-so-new coffee corners at 7-Eleven stores are called ALL Cafe. The first ones started apprearing in 2014 and more and more stores have been converted to have coffee corners since then.

Photo: 7-Eleven Thailand

Place your order when you enter the store. The coffee corner is usually at the counter near the cashiers. Then you can pick up other items while waiting for your coffee. When it's ready, sometimes they call you and leave it at the coffee corner and other times they bring it to your cashier. Don't forget to pay. :)

Hot coffee drinks typically cost 25 baht and iced drinks 30 baht. Some stores may have slightly higher prices.

The staff have apparently been trained to memorize how regular customers like their coffee. At least many members of staff in the two stores I go to know that I like iced latte, not so sweet, and when I enter they ask me if I want one. I have to admit that's a very nice touch.

If you want to sit down and relax in a nice environment while enjoying your coffee, this is not the place for you. However, if you want to pick up a decent coffee to go, what are you waiting for?

Tip: "Hot" means rawn and "cold" means yen in Thai language.

If you liked this post, please consider hitting "Like" on the Facebook page: Thailand Under 1000 Baht

Budget chain hotels in Pattaya

There are three B2 Hotels and one Red Planet Hotel in Pattaya at the moment. All four of them have rooms starting from around 600-700 baht per night.

Here are the four hotels in geographical order from north to south:

Red Planet Pattaya

Located on "the second road" between Central and North Pattaya Roads near Central Plaza Pattaya. Songthaews (pickup trucks with two rows of seating) are available.

B2 South Pattaya Premier Hotel

Located near South Pattaya Road about 800 meters from Tuk Com and 1.4 km from Walking Street and Beach Road. Songthaews are available.

B2 Jomtien Pattaya

Located on Soi Na Jomtien 2 about 700 meters from the beach.

B2 Sea View Pattaya

Located a bit south of Jomtien Beach. Your own transportation may be necessary.

Hotel websites: B2 Hotel, Red Planet Hotels

(The photos are taken from the hotel websites.)

I created a Google map with all four hotels.



See also: Budget hotel chains

Hop Inn Hotel, Chiang Mai

Hop Inn is a bugdet hotel in Chiang Mai. It's located kind of halfway between the walled city and the popular Nimmanhaemin Road area. Both are within walking distance, as well as two big shopping malls, Central and Maya. It's also easy to get tuktuks if you want to go further. I have stayed in another hotel in the same area (when Hop Inn wasn't built yet) and found it a comfortable spot to explore the city.

I have stayed in another Hop Inn hotel in another town and this one in Chiang Mai looks almost identical in the photos. My photos in this article are from the other hotel. The rooms are new, simple and functional. The bed and the bathroom are very comfortable. You can get free espresso from an automatic coffee machine at the lobby in the morning.

With the good location, modern simple rooms and excellent reviews, you can't really beat the price.

Hotel website: Hop Inn

Price: 650 baht (checked from the hotel website 4 Nov 2016).

Red Planet Hotel, Patong Phuket

Red Planet Patong, Phuket is a budget hotel in the popular tourist area Patong beach in Phuket. It's located just a few hundred meters off the beach road and withing walking distance of entertainment and shopping areas.

I haven't stayed in this hotel myself, but it has good reviews and I know the standards of this hotel chain. You can expect a comfortable bed and shower and quite a small room. It's similar to Tune Hotels in Malaysia and UK. Room rates seem to vary depending on the season. The rate might be between 650 and 1250 baht or possibly higher during the peak season.

Hotel website: Red Planet Hotels
(The photos are taken from the hotel website.)

S Box Sukhumvit Hotel, Bangkok

S Box Sukhumvit Hotel is a recently opened budget hotel in Bangkok. The location is great for the price. The hotel is located between Asok and Phrom Phong BTS (skytrain) stations, so it's quite a short walk to either. There are also motorbike taxis near the entrance.

The rooms are modern and very small. They have comfortable beds and bathrooms and big windows - if you get a window. The cheapest under-1000-baht rooms are windowless, under the ground and even smaller. Personally I like to have a window and paid 1200 per night for a room above the ground and also slightly bigger. All the photos are from that room.

There's also a small breakfast selection: hot dog, boiled eggs, fruit, some vegetables, many kinds of pastries, espresso and juice.

I would definitely stay at this hotel again. Great value for the price.

Note: If you have big luggage of if you're traveling with another person, you should probably get the biggest room available. Otherwise it could be hard to find a place for your things. I only had a cabin-sized bag and had no problem keeping it on the floor.

Hotel website: S Box Sukhumvit Hotel

Price: Starting from 920 baht for a room for one person (checked on Agoda 3 Nov 2016).

Welcome

The first post! Welcome to my new blog/website for budget-conscious travelers: Thailand Under 1000 Baht.

For more information, please read the About page.

You can expect more content during the following days, weeks and months.