Riding weather · Thailand
Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle motorcycle weather by month
On our rules, the best months to ride in the Chiang Rai and the Golden Triangle area are November to January.
The driest months are February, March and December; the wettest is August, with about 381 mm of rain over 28 rain days.
Days are warmest in April (average high 32 °C) and nights coldest in January (average low 13 °C).
Month by month
Chiang Rai, Mae Salong and the Mekong at the Golden Triangle.
- JanGood24°/13°39 mm
- FebMixed28°/14°12 mm
- MarMixed32°/18°22 mm
- AprMixed32°/20°102 mm
- MayMixed31°/22°204 mm
- JunPoor29°/22°247 mm
- JulPoor28°/22°328 mm
- AugPoor28°/22°381 mm
- SeptPoor28°/21°275 mm
- OctMixed27°/20°155 mm
- NovGood26°/17°46 mm
- DecGood24°/14°28 mm
Average high/low in °C and monthly rain. How we rate months
- Burning season: fires in the dry season fill the northern valleys with smoke haze, usually worst in March. Air quality can be poor for days at a time. Source
Show the numbers
| Month | Riding | High | Low | Rain | Rain days | PM2.5 | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | Good | 24 °C 75 °F | 13 °C 56 °F | 39 mm | 5 | 18 | |
| February | Mixed | 28 °C 82 °F | 14 °C 58 °F | 12 mm | 2 | 25 | see note |
| March | Mixed | 32 °C 89 °F | 18 °C 64 °F | 22 mm | 3 | 41 | hazy |
| April | Mixed | 32 °C 90 °F | 20 °C 69 °F | 102 mm | 10 | 39 | hazy |
| May | Mixed | 31 °C 87 °F | 22 °C 71 °F | 204 mm | 20 | 19 | wet |
| June | Poor | 29 °C 84 °F | 22 °C 72 °F | 247 mm | 25 | 11 | very wet |
| July | Poor | 28 °C 83 °F | 22 °C 71 °F | 328 mm | 27 | 9 | very wet |
| August | Poor | 28 °C 82 °F | 22 °C 71 °F | 381 mm | 28 | 9 | very wet |
| September | Poor | 28 °C 82 °F | 21 °C 70 °F | 275 mm | 25 | 8 | very wet |
| October | Mixed | 27 °C 80 °F | 20 °C 68 °F | 155 mm | 19 | 10 | wet |
| November | Good | 26 °C 78 °F | 17 °C 63 °F | 46 mm | 9 | 12 | |
| December | Good | 24 °C 75 °F | 14 °C 58 °F | 28 mm | 5 | 15 |
Rain days: days with at least 1 mm. Averages of daily values, 2015 to 2024, for Chiang Rai and Mae Salong, corrected to riding elevation. Reanalysis smooths mountains and local showers, so read these as a regional picture rather than a forecast. PM2.5 in µg/m³ from the CAMS global model, 2022 to 2025; it tends to read lower than ground monitors during smoke episodes.
Climate data: Open-Meteo / ERA5, 2015 to 2024 (CC BY 4.0).
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