Phuket in August
Updated
At a glance
August is wetter than June or July in Phuket, with showers on most days, a rough sea on the west coast, and Maya Bay and other island spots closed until October.
- Weather: About 309 mm of rain on some 19 or 20 days, with days near 32°C and nights near 26°C.
- Sea: Strong rip currents off the western beaches: swim only near the red-and-yellow flag of lifeguards on duty. Water around 29–30°C.
- Sunset: Between 18:36 and 18:47 all month.
- What's on: Thursday 12 August is the birthday of the late Queen Mother, Queen Sirikit, and Thailand's Mother's Day: a holiday, when banks close.
- Islands: Maya Bay and the Similan and Surin islands are closed all month.
The weather in August
Days in an average August reach 32°C, nights fall to 26°C, and the humidity sits around 79%. It's wetter than June or July: 309 mm falls in an average August, against 240 mm in July, and September is wetter still, at 350 mm. The rainy season runs from mid-May to mid-October.
Count any day with even a light shower and it rains on about 19 or 20 days, about three days in five; thunder, though, comes on only 2 or 3. No August is dry: in three years out of five the month's total lands between 225 mm and 392 mm, and even the driest August of the period had 138 mm.
The figures are the Thai Meteorological Department's 1991 to 2020 averages for its station near Phuket Town. Its airport station, up in the north-west, records more: 378 mm.
How the rain falls
Even in August, rain rarely settles in for the day. In the airport station's reports for every June, July and August from 2016 to 2025, a rainy day usually brought a few hours of rain, on and off and mostly light, most often around midday and least late at night; only about one day in 25 had rain for half the day or more.
The sea in August
The south-west monsoon runs from May to October, and in August it brings strong surf and rip currents onto the west-coast beaches, with the wind mostly from the west.
Before going in, find the flag. Red: stay out. Yellow: go carefully. Green: calm water. A double red flag: the sea is closed to everyone. Lifeguards on duty fly a red-and-yellow flag, so swim near it, in daylight, and never after a drink. They're hired town by town, so cover varies from beach to beach.
In early August 2026, the weather office warned of waves of 2 to 4 metres in the upper Andaman Sea, Phuket's waters included, and told small boats to stay in port from 6 to 9 August. The sea itself stays warm, around 29–30°C.
Boats and islands
From 1 August to 30 September, by the parks department's 2026 notice, Phi Phi's Maya Bay, Loh Samah Bay and Lo Ko Bay are closed, along with three sites in Phang Nga Bay and the Ko Ha, Hin Muang and Hin Daeng dive sites. Ko Rok is shut from 1 June to 30 September, and the Similan and Surin islands from 16 May to 14 October.
Elsewhere, boats keep sailing into Phang Nga Bay and across to Phi Phi. Weather can still cancel or hold up a trip, and that's for the captain to judge, so give yourself a spare day.
Sunset and golden hour
The sun sets between 18:36 and 18:47 through August. The warm, low light comes in the last half hour or so before it, when the clouds part; cloud covers about seven tenths of the sky on an average day.
When it rains
- Phuket Town's old streets: browse the shophouses, stop in a café, and in Por Tor's weeks see the offerings at the shrines.
- Cape Panwa's aquarium, which belongs to the government's marine research institute.
- Thalang's national museum, for the story of the island and its peoples.
- A massage in the Thai tradition, which UNESCO lists as living heritage; look for the health department's mark, a gold hand and a purple orchid.
- Jungceylon or Central Phuket, the big malls; both list a prayer room.
What's on in August
Thursday 12 August is the birthday of the late Queen Mother, Queen Sirikit, and Thailand's Mother's Day: a holiday, when banks close.
In 2027, the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar, when Por Tor is kept, runs from 2 to 31 August.
Phuket Town keeps Por Tor at its shrines and markets for more than two weeks, in the second half of the lunar month. Families make offerings to their ancestors' spirits, with red turtle-shaped cakes from palm-sized to several metres long. There are lion dances and processions too.
Mangosteen is in season: in 2026, the agriculture department expected southern Thailand's harvest to peak in August.
Busy or quiet?
These are the green season's months, as Thailand's government calls them. Over many years, a hotel data firm found, room prices have dropped by about half from May to September while occupancy falls by only about a third, and the dip in July and August isn't severe.
What to pack
- Quick-drying clothes, and a change for the day out.
- A rain jacket or an umbrella.
- Shoes or sandals that can get soaked.
- Insect repellent: officials urge it against dengue.
- A waterproof pouch for your phone and passport.
- Clothes that cover shoulders and knees, for temples.
Laughing in the long grass above a deep blue sea. 
Walking past buckets of chrysanthemums and carnations at an Old Town flower stall. 
Perched on a yellow railing at an Old Town street corner.
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Coming in August? We photograph you at your villa or hotel, in Old Town or on a quiet beach, in the low evening light.
