Patong Weather in November: The Rain Is Leaving
If you could watch one month turn into another in Patong, November would be the month to pick. The southwest monsoon that has been soaking Phuket since May finally runs out of breath, the Andaman Sea flattens out, and the town shakes the water off and gets ready for high season. Patong weather in November is a transition — and honestly, for a lot of people who stay here a long time, it is one of the best months of the whole year.
This guide is written from the ground in Patong, not from a weather app. We will walk through what Patong weather in November actually feels like week by week, what happens to the sea, how the temperature and humidity shift, what to pack, and why long-stayers quietly rate November above the peak months of December and January. If you are deciding when to book a month or more in Phuket, this is the month to understand properly.
Patong Weather in November, Week by Week
November is not one kind of weather — it is a handover. The month starts as the tail end of the rainy season and finishes as the beginning of the dry one, and where your trip falls inside that slide makes a real difference.
The first week: the monsoon's last word
Early November still belongs, partly, to the old season. Expect proper tropical downpours on some days — the kind that arrive fast, drum on the awnings for an hour, and flood the low corners of Rat-U-Thit Road before draining away just as quickly. Between the showers it is warm and bright, and the beach is perfectly usable, but the sea can still be unsettled and the red flags may still be flying on rougher days. Statistically, early November carries the leftovers of October, which is one of Phuket's wettest stretches, with rain on a good share of days.
The middle of the month: the turn
Somewhere around the middle of November, the wind swings around to the northeast and everything changes character. Showers become shorter and less frequent, mornings start coming up clear, and the famous flat, glassy sea of high season puts in its first appearances. This is the stretch when the boat tours that were cancelled all green season start running reliably again, and when the Similan Islands — closed through the wet months — are open for the season and looking their absolute best, washed clean and uncrowded.
The last week: dry season, basically
By the final week of November, Patong weather looks a lot like December's. Rainfall for the whole month averages somewhere in the region of 100–200 mm — compare that with September and October, which can each drop 300 mm or more — and most of November's total falls in the first half. Late November days are typically sunny, warm rather than sweltering, and dry, with evenings that finally feel pleasant instead of sticky. If someone blindfolded you and dropped you on Patong Beach in the last week of November, you would guess it was high season already.
What Patong Weather in November Feels Like Day to Day
Numbers only tell half the story, so here is the lived version. Daytime highs sit around 31–32°C (88–90°F) — hot, but not the punishing 34–35°C of April, and with a breeze coming off the sea that makes the shade perfectly liveable. Humidity stays high by northern standards, around 75–85%, but the air feels lighter as the month goes on, and by late November the sticky, can't-get-dry feeling of the wet season is mostly gone.
Nights cool down a touch too — lows around 24–25°C (75–77°F) — which in Patong terms means you can eat outside comfortably all month, and sleep with a fan rather than blasting air-con all night.
One local marker we trust more than any forecast: the street food vendors. When the beach-road stalls start setting up in the morning without glancing at the sky, and the sunset crowd at the beach starts growing again, the season has turned. In November you can watch both happen.
The Sea in November: Swimmable Again
For beach lovers, the sea is the real headline. Through the wet season the Andaman off Patong is rough, brown-ish near shore after heavy rain, and guarded by red flags and lifeguards who mean it — people drown on Phuket's west coast every green season, and the flags are not decoration. November is when that story reverses. As the northeast monsoon takes over, the swell drops, the water clears to the blue-green people fly here for, and the surf breaks that drew board riders in August give way to calm swimming water.
Practically, this means your options widen week by week. Early November: pick your swimming days, respect the flags, and keep boat trips flexible. Mid-November onward: island trips to Coral Island, Racha, Phi Phi and the Similans come back onto the table properly, snorkelling visibility improves fast, and sunset cruises stop being a gamble. The sea temperature never really changes — it is a bath-like 28–30°C (82–86°F) all year — so the only question November answers is the surface, and the answer improves daily.
What to Pack for November in Patong
Packing for Patong weather in November means packing for two seasons in one bag, weighted toward summer. Here is what actually earns its place:
- Light, breathable clothes — cotton and linen, nothing heavy. You will live in shorts and sandals.
- A light rain jacket or a cheap poncho — mostly for the first half of the month. The 7-Eleven poncho is a Patong institution and costs almost nothing.
- One light long-sleeve layer — not for the street, but for air-conditioned buses, malls and the plane. Patong air-con is set to a chill.
- Proper sun protection — the November sun, once the clouds thin, is strong. Reef-safe sunscreen is easier to bring than to buy here.
- Sandals you can get wet plus one pair of closed shoes — for temples, nicer restaurants and any day trips inland.
- A dry bag or waterproof phone pouch — cheap insurance for boat trips and the odd remaining downpour.
What you can leave behind: anything resembling a winter wardrobe, heavy jeans (they never fully dry in the humidity) and a big umbrella — a poncho is easier and the wind turns umbrellas inside out anyway.
Why Long-Stayers Love November
Ask people who rent by the month in Patong which month they would pick if they could only have one, and a surprising number say November — and not because it is cheapest, though it often is. November gives you the dry-season sea and the green-season quiet, at least for the first half of the month. The bars and restaurants are open again, the beaches are not yet at Christmas crowds, and you can actually get a table, a lounger and a long-stay discount in the same week.
There is also a rhythm to November that suits settling in. If you arrive at the start of the month, you get to watch Patong wake up — new beach clubs opening, boats returning to the water, the night market getting busier by the week — instead of arriving into a town already at full tilt. By the time December arrives, you know the shortcuts, the best breakfast spots, and which beach end you like, and it feels like your town rather than a holiday.
For the practical side of a longer stay — what a month costs, where people actually live, and how the visa side works — see our Patong Beach FAQ, where we answer the questions everyone asks before a first long stay, November weather included.
A Typical November Day in Patong
To make it concrete, here is what an ordinary mid-November day looks like on the ground. You wake early — the light comes up fast this close to the equator — and the sky is that clean, rinsed blue that the rainy months only manage in glimpses. Coffee on the balcony in air that is warm but no longer soup. The beach by nine is already inviting, the water visibly calmer than it was in October, and the first island boats are loading without anyone studying the sky. Late morning is prime swimming and market time. Around the middle of the afternoon there may be a build-up of cloud over the hills — in the first half of the month it still sometimes delivers a sharp shower, in the second half it usually just puts on a show and moves on. By five, the day has cooled a degree or two, the beach fills for the evening shift, and the sunset — unobstructed more evenings than not by mid-month — does the rest. Dinner outside, no fan required on your face, maybe a krathong floating past if your visit catches Loy Krathong, the festival of lights that falls in November most years and is one of the prettiest nights of the Thai calendar.
Multiply that day by thirty, with each week a little drier and a little calmer than the one before, and you have the shape of the month. It is not the flawless blue run of January — no honest person will sell it as that — but it is arguably more interesting: a town visibly relaxing into its best season, with room in it for you.
Checking the Forecast Before You Come
A word of warning about weather apps: generic forecasts handle Patong badly. They show a rain cloud icon for almost every day of the year here, because in the tropics there is nearly always a chance of a shower somewhere — which tells you almost nothing about whether your beach day is ruined. A "70% chance of rain" in Patong usually means a good chance of rain at some point, often for an hour, not a washed-out day. Look at rainfall amounts and wind instead of icons, and check a source that is actually focused on this town: we keep a live page for it at patongweather.com, with current conditions and the outlook for Patong specifically. In November especially, check the trend, not the day — if each day is drier than the last, you are arriving at exactly the right time.
The Short Version
Patong weather in November is the sound of a door opening. The first half of the month still carries the monsoon's leftovers — real rain, a lively sea, humid air — and the second half delivers the first true taste of high season: calm water, clear mornings and evenings you can sit outside in. Temperatures hold around 31–32°C by day and 24–25°C by night, humidity eases week by week, and the town wakes up around you while the crowds are still a month away. Come for the whole month if you can. It is the best seat in the house for watching Patong change seasons.
About Jay & Scott — Jay and Scott are travelers and writers living in Thailand. We enjoy traveling around Thailand — the food, the beaches, the small towns — and writing about it as we go. Back home in Phuket we run Patong Harbor View Condominium, our long-stay condo rentals in Patong. Have a look at the room photos, then come stay a while: www.phvcondo.com.
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