High Season verses Low Season

[arsenal]

Both are great times to visit but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. High Season has more boys and the town has a rockin' vibe. Also it's always nice to enjoy a tropical holiday when it's sub-zero temperatures back home. But low season might just make the boy who doesn't do much more amenable to certain activities. Quieter restaurants too and perhaps a little cheaper overall but not by much.

[Blacktouch]

Both are great times to visit but there are advantages and disadvantages to both. High Season has more boys and the town has a rockin' vibe. Also it's always nice to enjoy a tropical holiday when it's sub-zero temperatures back home. But low season might just make the boy who doesn't do much more amenable to certain activities. Quieter restaurants too and perhaps a little cheaper overall but not by much.

What months are classed as High Season and Low Season?

[AsDaRa]

What we consider low season (summer months) the airlines consider high season. Airline tickets are more expensive to Thailand when you go in July or August.

[AsDaRa]

High Season has more boys

How many more? Are the stages in gogo bars twice as full? I go mostly March and October and don't see much difference. So if I go next time in December will it be a significant difference?

[Moses]

What months are classed as High Season and Low Season?

HS: November - February, LS: rest of the year with exclusions for week around Songkran (mid of April) which is part of the Peak Season (December 20 - January 10 + Songkran week)

[Oliver2]

Mixed feelings. Of my three annual visits, January certainly has the most lively Boyztown to commend it but I prefer an older, more restrained clientele. The weather is better of course, unless you travel north as P and I often do. Recent January trips to Luang Prabang (Laos) and Chiang Mai have included temperatures so cold that my Thailand-wardrobe couldn't cope; some outings were ruined.
June is often wet but the rain tends to be over within a couple of hours. I can recall exceptions to this- once I watched a couple of Thais catch a fish outside the then Funny Boys. But quieter bars and restaurants compensate. We hate queuing at our favourite places in Central.
September/October is probably the best time for us, though I (not P.) am sorry to miss Chelsea's early games of the Premiership. We've had one wasted stay in Krabi, when it rained continuously (we were aware that we were taking a risk) but usually it has been OK. And there is likely to be more "life" around as Loy Kratong approaches. And that's my favourite festival.

[sglad]

HS: November - February, LS: rest of the year with exclusions for week around Songkran (mid of April) which is part of the Peak Season (December 20 - January 10 + Songkran week)

You missed out Chinese New Year. About a week before CNY and for two weeks after (till Chap Goh Mei) there'll be a lot of people from neighbouring countries (especially China) travelling to Thailand.

There's also a surge in domestic travel during the Thai school holidays, particularly the March to mid-May summer break, as well as during local festivals such as Qingming, naga fireball festival in Nong Khai and the vegetarian festival in Phuket.

There's a similar thread here:

https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?19151-seasons-high-and-low&p=229272#post229272

[arsenal]

September can be a great month to visit. I've had bars all to myself which is like the keys to the sweet shop. No problems with the weather so far.

[gerefan2]

September can be a great month to visit. I've had bars all to myself which is like the keys to the sweet shop. No problems with the weather so far.

Well you've been very lucky with the weather then. September and October are both the wettest months.
https://weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-Rainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,pattaya,Thailand

Here are some examples of the heavy rains in September!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfLu3mr1oNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Ke_UijHmY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbK00fz5Ny8

Worth a look!

[gerefan2]

This subject has been bought up many times before, anyway here is my take on low season ...

More boys available...per tourist...
No queues for baht buses...
Cheaper air fares, if you avoid UK holidays, i.e. traveling out in July or August...
Plenty of room in restaurants and better service (at least quicker)...
Cheaper Condo/hotel rent...
No traffic jams..
No Russians...nice weather at home for them...
Shorter queues at Immigration...
Gogo bars not full of Chinese tourists...
Less tour buses..

I only go November-March because the weather in the UK is shit, but I much prefer my June/July visits.

[extronaut]

...

More boys available...per tourist...
No queues for baht buses...
Cheaper air fares, if you avoid UK holidays, i.e. traveling out in July or August...
Plenty of room in restaurants and better service (at least quicker)...
Cheaper Condo/hotel rent...
No traffic jams..
No Russians...nice weather at home for them...
Shorter queues at Immigration...
Gogo bars not full of Chinese tourists...
Less tour buses..


Admin, please delete this thread before the cat gets out of the bag.

[arsenal]

extronaut wrote.
"Admin, please delete this thread before the cat gets out of the bag."

Haha. Yes. Even an incorrigible poster such as I am keep quite a bit back. Don't want the hoi polloi sticking their noses in.

[extronaut]

Well I'm no Thailand vet, like some people in this forum. I've been there a total of three times, over period of about four and a half years.

I have wandered around South East Asia a fair bit though (Vietnam, Cambodia, Southern China, Bali). Try to spend about six weeks traveling it every 1-1.5 years.

I must say, I do prefer to travel the low season, for all the reasons listed above. Also, I think people in these places really do get fed up with tourists. I can sympathize . It's nice to go places where people aren't sick of the sight of you.

[Blacktouch]

What months are classed as High Season and Low Season?

Thank you all kindly for your comments regarding the above.

[goji]

We don't get very good weather in the UK, so I think it's great to escape for several weeks in the middle of the winter. As my employer is shut for about 10 days in December, it's easy to add time to that & make a proper holiday of it.

That way, I'm also guaranteed NOT to miss the 1 week of summer in the UK and don't find the lawn is about a foot long when returning home.

Once I finish work and have 365 days a year free, figuring out when to travel several times per year will require more thought. [Maybe eventual emigration]

[samebb]

We don't get very good weather in the UK, so I think it's great to escape for several weeks in the middle of the winter. As my employer is shut for about 10 days in December, it's easy to add time to that & make a proper holiday of it.

That way, I'm also guaranteed NOT to miss the 1 week of summer in the UK and don't find the lawn is about a foot long when returning home.

Once I finish work and have 365 days a year free, figuring out when to travel several times per year will require more thought. [Maybe eventual emigration]

And that's why I left EnglandiSTAN.

Your worries are about your lawn?
It's fucking grass? haha

[gerefan2]

Once I finish work and have 365 days a year free, figuring out when to travel several times per year will require more thought. [Maybe eventual emigration]

I usually do 90 days between 1 December and 1 March to avoid the winter. Don't travel after about mid December...too expensive. 90 days will not require a border run, just a 90 day visa obtained in the UK before travelling

Second visit between June/July for a shorter period. I usually only do 30 days...so no Visa required.

This spreads the visits more or less evenly through the year.

You'll need to employ a gardener!

[samebb]

Well I'm no Thailand vet, like some people in this forum. I've been there a total of three times, over period of about four and a half years.

I have wandered around South East Asia a fair bit though (Vietnam, Cambodia, Southern China, Bali). Try to spend about six weeks traveling it every 1-1.5 years.

I must say, I do prefer to travel the low season, for all the reasons listed above. Also, I think people in these places really do get fed up with tourists. I can sympathize . It's nice to go places where people aren't sick of the sight of you.

Trust me, those of us who live here ALL get sick to death of the tourist hordes.

The trick is, even if you are a tourist, is to stay in non-tourist areas.

More important. Don't act like one. Walking thought a boy area trying to grope every boy you see while drunk as a skunk (not saying you do) is distastful. You will be judged for it.

[goji]

I usually do 90 days between 1 December and 1 March to avoid the winter. Don't travel after about mid December...too expensive. 90 days will not require a border run, just a 90 day visa obtained in the UK before travelling

Second visit between June/July for a shorter period. I usually only do 30 days...so no Visa required.

This spreads the visits more or less evenly through the year.

You'll need to employ a gardener!


Good advice. I agree with your thoughts entirely on the 90 day winter trip. I've also noticed it's advantageous to travel in early December.

A gardner would be useful for summer trips.

[samebb]

If you mistreat a guy, chances are you'll get to meet a group of his friends in a dark alley.

Yup. Seen that before.

They are like packs of dogs.

[arsenal]

Oliver wrote.
"once I watched a couple of Thais catch a fish outside the then Funny Boys."

They were lucky. I recall a few years ago during the huge flood that the Pattaya Crocodile Farm 'lost' a few as the water got so high.

[a447]

"once I watched a couple of Thais catch a fish outside the then Funny Boys."

That's not the only thing you can catch if you wade through that water!

[Oliver2]

Very true. I paddled my way to Tuc Com that day, admiring the way in which the fruit-sellers and so on of Pattaya Tai were continuing to do business while the water lapped around their knees. The next day, my legs were covered with nasty little red bites.

[scottish-guy]

When these floods happen you're actually "wading through" sewage and "wading through" it with cuts, abrasions, or bites on your feet or legs really isn't very smart.

Just saying - not suggesting I know what the answer is other than stay home and get on Grindr! :p

Which of course you can equally do without travelling all the way to Thailand

[Nirish guy]

.......... stay home and get on Grindr! :p ..........Which of course you can equally do without travelling all the way to Thailand

But in the UK then at least it's not fish that you've a chance to catch but more likely crabs - or worse ! :(

[gerefan2]

When these floods happen you're actually "wading through" sewage and "wading through" it with cuts, abrasions, or bites on your feet or legs really isn't very smart.



Which is why you were born with skin. Some here with very very thick skin indeed.

[scottish-guy]

But in the UK then at least it's not fish that you've a chance to catch but more likely crabs - or worse ! :(

And of course nobody ever caught an STI in Thailand :D

[sglad]

And of course nobody ever caught an STI in Thailand :D

Not me! All that financial stuff goes over my head. :confused:

Sorry, scottish-guy, a bit of Singaporean humour there. STI = Straits Times Index

[goji]

Just saying - not suggesting I know what the answer is other than stay home and get on Grindr! :p
Which of course you can equally do without travelling all the way to Thailand
Finding a cute lad on Grindr in Thailand is a much faster process.

[scottish-guy]

Only once you're there dear, only once you're there