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Best time to visit Chiang Mai

Thailand · 18.79°N 98.98°E · monthly climate normals, judged against the Tropical preset (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon)

The best time to visit Chiang Mai is March to July and October, when mean temperatures run from 25 °C77 °F to 28 °C82 °F and rainfall runs 24–160 mm0.9–6.3 in a month.

The rainy season runs May to October, and August to September is a true monsoon — 184–208 mm7.2–8.2 in a month, peaking in August at 208 mm8.2 in. April is the hottest month at 28 °C82 °F and January the coldest at 20 °C68 °F.

Figures are 30-year monthly averages (WorldClim 2.1 monthly normals 1970–2000) for the 0.25° grid cell at 18.79, 98.98 — a climate guide, not a forecast.

Chiang Mai weather by month

Pick the weather you like and every month is judged against it — temperature above the month names, rain below.

Weather you like

mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoon

Good time to go for a Tropical holiday: March to July and October.

Open Chiang Mai on the interactive map ↗ the same verdict for every place on Earth, any month

▲ Temperature mean , coldest to warmest month
20°67°JAN0022°72°FEB80.325°77°MAR240.928°82°APR562.227°80°MAY1606.326°79°JUN1204.726°78°JUL1606.326°78°AUG2088.225°77°SEP1847.225°76°OCT1044.122°72°NOV401.620°67°DEC80.3
▼ Rainfall per month, driest to wettest

Reading the chart. Gold is good: the month fits what you picked. Any other colour names the reason it doesn't — the temperature bar can be too cold or too hot, the rain bar too dry, too rainy or monsoon. A faded gold bar is a half that fits while the other half fails; a gold month name means both fit.

What the verdicts mean. Temperature is the monthly mean, judged against the preset's band (mean 24–33 °C75–91 °F for Tropical). Rain is judged by each month's class within Chiang Mai's own year rather than raw millimetres: dry under 60 mm2.4 in, showers 60–100 mm2.4–3.9 in, rainy from 100 mm3.9 in and 35 % of the wettest month. Too rainy is a rainy-season month the preset doesn't allow. Monsoon is the heaviest kind of rainy season — 180 mm7.1 in or more (120 mm4.7 in near the yearly peak) in a climate whose wettest month is at least three times its driest — so every monsoon month is rainy season too; the label says which kind. Full rules on the method page.

MonthRain Mean SeasonTropical verdict
January002067drytoo cold
February80.32272drytoo cold
March240.92577drygood
April562.22882drygood
May1606.32780rainygood
June1204.72679rainygood
July1606.32678rainygood
August2088.22678monsoonmonsoon
September1847.22577monsoonmonsoon
October1044.12576rainygood
November401.62272drytoo cold
December80.32067drytoo cold

When to go to Chiang Mai, by holiday type

Looking forRuleMonths that fit
Warmmean 14–24 °C57–75 °F, dry or showersNovember to February
Tropicalmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, anything but the monsoonMarch to July and October
Beachmean 24–33 °C75–91 °F, dry or showersMarch to April
Coolmean 0–14 °C32–57 °F, anything but the monsoonno month
Snowmean below 0 °C32 °F, any rainno month

Is there a rainy season in Chiang Mai?

Yes. The rainy season runs May to October, and August to September is a true monsoon — 184–208 mm7.2–8.2 in a month, peaking in August at 208 mm8.2 in. Outside it, November to April is dry.

April is the hottest month at 28 °C82 °F and January the coldest at 20 °C68 °F. Annual rainfall totals about 1,072 mm42 in.

Where to go instead when Chiang Mai doesn't fit

The nearest destinations that do fit the Tropical preset in the months Chiang Mai doesn't:

Nearby destinations

distances in — tap a unit to switch.

The interactive map colours the whole world by how it fits your picks in any month, and shows this chart for any place you tap.