Hi
I am planning to be travelling through Asia during the months June, July, August. I am planning to travel through Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Can anyone please provide some accurate information on the feasibility of this considering it is monsoon season? From my research I think Thailand will be fine, Laos will OK, Cambodia and Vietnam may be extremly difficult. Is this correct? I know some people relish \\\\\\\"challanges\\\\\\\" but im not too keen in being stuck in rain and muck for a month or two solid!! Also will there be any other travellers there at this time of year? Dont want the place to be packed but dont want to be the only travellers there as well, hope to meet up with a few lunatics to have the craic with!!
Any help on the above would be greatly appreciated!
Reply to this Hello Gerrymac,
I've been in Vietnam in summer 2005 (July & August) and it was fine. Keep in mind that Vietnam is a long and narrow country and therefore, the climate changes quite a lot from one to the other area. In the North, you might be a little bit more wet but it is not a cold rain, then, it is really ok. In the Central region, it will be hot hot hot and hot.
In the south, it will be much nicer as there is more wind over there.
To give you an exemple: in 2 months I spent there, it only rained 2 times and we had a lot of heat.
In the meantime, a friend of mine was in Vietnam in July 2006 and she had more rain. So, I really think that you should not take to much in consideration the rain. There is always something to do. Don't worry.
Vietnam is my home country (even I don't live there anymore) and I can give you some advices if needed. It is a wonderful country, people are nice and food is really delicious.
I will be in Cambodia and Laos from June to mid July this year. So I really don't think that you are the only traveller at this time of year. Millons of Backpackers will be around ;o)
Have fun and I hope it was useful.
Reply to this I run www.selectiveasia.com and we get asked this a lot. Generally I advise guests to avoid northern Vietnam and Laos during this period as it can be very wet and the rain can last days. Central Vietnam (Hoi An, Nha Trang etc) has excellent weather during this period and Cambodia really only gets an hour or two of rain each day with the remainder being very pleasant. East coast Thailand also has good weather (hour or so of rain in the afternoon).
Hoep that helps - we have plenty of weather pages on the site if you would like to ready further -
Reply to this Hello there,
I will be travelling to the same places between July-September so can confirm you wont be the only traveller there!. I was a bit concerned about the weather but I am not going to let it put me off, and I think you can work around it.
Im up for the craic gerrymac!. Get in touch we can see if we'll be in the same places at the same time to meet for a beer and get out the rain!
Asha
Reply to this Cambodia is fine. I was just in Cambodia, and transportation wise, it seems the road from Phnom Phen to Siem Reap is okay during the monsoon season. However, there does seem to be a bit of a dengue fever problem that's related to the monsoons. It's unlikely that a tourist will catch it, but be sure to wear shoes and lots of DEET.
If you'd like to know what it's like, I cover the topic quite a bit in my Cambodia blogs:
Darkness at Noon
and
New, Old, and Ancient Reply to this September is a perfect month for travel in Vietnam or Thailan, Laos, Cambodia too.. But my friend said that the climate in Vietnam is find. Not so hot as Cambodia or Laos. But as s.o said about Vietnam country, it's long and narrow, so if you visit Ha Noi capital, the weather is nicer than Ho Chi Minh city.
BTw, if u want to visit HCM city in this september, dont hesitaste to contact me. I'm living in HCM right now and i can guide u some interesting places in my city :p
Reply to this Dear friend,
I'am living in Vietnam. Also i'am an experience tour operator here, Ofcause vietnam is nice country. the persons are very friendly & nice , the food is delicouse, everything is cheap, so you not pay expensive for everything. You can travel with other persons here. If you need more informaiton please feel free contact to me, I got a friend in Thailan, lao & cambodia. They are willing to help you.
or you could contact us.: inforvietnam@gmail.com
tel:004. 903138737
Reply to this The monsoon season is great, it is all in the attitude, go for it as it is one of my favourite times over there. I envy you!
Reply to this Hi,
Cambodia is warm and wet throughout the year. June - August is the hot and wet
Season, this is the beginning of the rainy season. You will see sunshine in most of the days but it gets wet unexpectedly on some days. If you're planning a trip to cover Vietnam the best time to visit is from September to December or from March to April.
Thanks,
John
www.travelplans.tv
Reply to this Old thread but relevant to my travel (One month June 2008)
Im not new to Thailand but this will be my first entry into Laos/Cambo. Any tips would be appreciated 😊
Reply to this Hi Guys, I actually started this thread and have travelled through all of the countries mentioned above so ill give my feedback. Generally speaking we had absoultely no problems whatsoever at this time of year. Only part where it rained a lot was in Mui Ne in southern vietnam. the rest of the countries, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and vietnam were fine. Anybody going at this time will have a ball, cant wait to get back!!
Reply to this Hi All
I know its done now, but i travel to Cambodia Last year in july and it was fine! the rain was quite welcoming at times due to the heat, and with Cambodia - The temples are great this time of year Moats are full, moss on the temples they look amazing. not that they dont every other time but i think it adds something. the only think i would have to say about Angkor in wet season is that we did the sunrise tour of Angkor Wat, it was extremely couldy and so there was no big deal doing it so that ruined it, but whos to say you wont get a clear morning
Reply to this When I got into Bangkok there were a couple of heavy showers and generally not very nice(but hey im not so fond of BKK) :p
Im in Phuket at the moment and its been bright and sunny this week. Sometimes threatening clouds loom the skies but nothing to worry about. Rains are usually around 2-3AM so wont bother most people.
Will report back when I pass through Cambo.
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