Phuket in November
Updated
November is Phuket's change of season: about half October's rain, the rough-surf months usually behind it, and the high season under way.
- Weather: Highs around 32°C and lows around 25°C, with 178 mm of rain over the month on about 16 days.
- Sea: The rough surf of May to October has usually eased by November, and the water is around 28–29°C. Swim where the flags allow.
- Sunset: Between 18:04 and 18:06 all month.
- What's on: Loy Krathong falls on Tuesday 24 November, the full moon of the twelfth lunar month.
- Booking: It's high season, so book rooms and shoots ahead.
The weather in November
An average November in Phuket reaches 32°C by day and drops to 25°C at night, with humidity around 79%. The rains are easing: 178 mm falls in an average November, against 336 mm in October and 82 mm in December.
Rain falls on about 16 days of the month, counting any day with even a light shower, and there are thunderstorms on about 5. Years differ: in three years out of five, November's total has been between 114 mm and 245 mm.
These are the Thai Meteorological Department's averages for its Phuket station, 1991 to 2020.
The sea in November
From May to October, the south-west monsoon brings strong surf and rip currents to Phuket's beaches. It gives way to the north-east monsoon between mid-October and early November, a change that shifts from year to year, and through November the wind mostly blows from the north-east.
The sea doesn't keep to a calendar, though, so look for the flags: red means no swimming, yellow means take care, and green means calm. Each municipality hires its own lifeguards, so cover varies from beach to beach; a red-and-yellow flag marks a lifeguarded area, so swim there.
The water is warm, around 28–29°C. The Similan and Surin islands, both national parks, are open to visitors from 15 October to 15 May, so a November trip falls inside their season.
Sunset and golden hour
The sun sets between 18:04 and 18:06 through November, the earliest sunsets of the year. The warm, low light comes in the hour before.
A golden-hour session in November is timed to finish at 18:30, about 26 minutes after sunset, as the afterglow fades. Pick a beach facing west and the sun goes down into the sea behind you.
Loy Krathong
After dark on Tuesday 24 November, the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, people float krathong on water.
In 2023 and 2024, Phuket City's was at the pond in Suan Luang park. In 2024, Rawai's was at Nai Harn Lake, and Patong's at a pond on the beach at Bangla Square. Check this year's places nearer the day.
The high season
The Tourism Authority of Thailand recommends November to April for Phuket. In mid-November 2025, the hotel association for southern Thailand reported 77% of Phuket's rooms booked for November and December, at rates about 50% above October's.
Book your shoot when you book your room, so the evening you want is still free.
What to pack
- Light, loose clothes that dry fast.
- A light rain jacket or a small umbrella for the showers.
- Sun cream and a hat.
- Something that covers your shoulders and knees, for temples.
- Sandals you don't mind getting wet.
A photoshoot in November
November can still bring a shower. The weather guarantee (฿350) lets you move your shoot to another date or time once, free, if rain is on the way, up to 2 hours before we meet you.
Every session, its price and what it includes are on one page. What a photoshoot in Phuket costs in 2026
Backlit by the low sun, hair lifted by the wind off the sea. 
At the rail of a boat, a green island across the water. 
Sunset from the deck of a boat, phones held up to the sky.
Ready when the light is.
Pick your session, choose a date and pay online — it takes about two minutes, and you’re booked the moment you’ve paid.
Book your session