When to visit

Is it a good time to go to Thailand in April?

Updated 5 June 2026

Short answer

April is a mixed month. The Songkran water festival (13-15 April) is worth going for specifically. Outside of that, April is the hottest month of the year, Chiang Mai is in its worst burning season period in early April, and the Andaman coast starts seeing pre-monsoon squalls toward the end of the month. The Gulf coast (Samui, Tao) is actually in good shape. Prices are dropping from high season.

April has one reason to go to Thailand specifically and one reason to be cautious about it. The specific reason is Songkran. The caution is that April is genuinely the hottest month of the year.

Songkran (13-15 April)

Songkran is the Thai New Year water festival and it's one of the more distinctive experiences in Southeast Asian travel. The whole country becomes a water fight for three to five days, with cities turning streets into rivers of people soaking each other. Bangkok's Silom and Khao San Road, Chiang Mai's Old City moat, and Phuket's Patong are the main centres.

It's chaotic, loud, and wet by design. You will get soaked. Hotels around Bangkok and Chiang Mai fill up for Songkran at elevated rates. Domestic transport is at full capacity because Thai people travel home for the holiday. Book accommodation and trains or buses well in advance if your dates overlap with 12-16 April.

The heat

April is Thailand's hottest month. Bangkok regularly hits 37-39°C. Phuket is 35-37°C with increasing humidity as the monsoon approaches. Chiang Mai can reach 40°C in bad years. This is the kind of heat where doing anything outdoors in the middle of the day is counterproductive.

If you're heat-tolerant and used to tropical climates, April is manageable. If you're not, the Gulf coast (Samui, Tao) runs slightly cooler at 32-34°C and breezy, which is a better environment.

The Andaman coast

April is technically still Phuket's dry season, but the final two weeks often see pre-monsoon squalls. These are brief, intense, and not forecast-reliable. Most beach days in April are still fine, but you should expect some afternoon storms that wouldn't have appeared in January. By the last few days of April, the monsoon is effectively arriving.

Chiang Mai and the north

Early April is still burning season in the north. The air quality in Chiang Mai can still be poor in the first week of April. By mid-April and certainly by late April, the monsoon rains begin arriving in the north and the air clears rapidly. If you're going to Chiang Mai during Songkran specifically (which has its own famous water festival), the air is usually better by that point but not guaranteed.

The Gulf coast

Koh Samui, Koh Phangan, and Koh Tao are in their dry season in April. Sea conditions are good, visibility for diving on Koh Tao is approaching its peak, and rainfall is minimal. April is one of the better Gulf months.

For the full April breakdown, see our Thailand in April guide.