| Season | Months | What it's like |
|---|---|---|
| Dry | November – February | 25–32°C, little rain. Busiest and priciest |
| Hot | March – May | 35–38°C, April the peak. Quieter |
| Green | June – October | Daily showers, half the visitors, cheaper rooms |
That is the whole answer for most people. The rest of this is the detail, and the caveats that the short version hides — written from the south coast, where the seasons behave slightly differently from Siem Reap and the north.
The dry season: November to February
The reliable months. Sun, little rain, and humidity that lets you walk around at midday without regretting it.
- November — the rain has usually stopped, the countryside is still green from it, and the crowds haven't fully arrived. Arguably the best single month
- December and January — the easiest weather of the year, and the busiest. Rooms cost more and need booking further ahead. January is the coolest; mornings on the coast can genuinely want a layer
- February — still excellent, starting to warm up, slightly thinner crowds than January
Temperatures through this stretch sit roughly 25–32°C.
The hot season: March to May
It gets seriously hot, with April usually the peak — commonly 35–38°C inland, and humid with it.
- March — warm rather than punishing, and still dry. A good compromise month
- April — the hottest, and also Khmer New Year, which is a wonderful thing to be present for and a difficult thing to travel during. Much of the country shuts and moves
- May — the first storms arrive, usually late afternoon and brief. Increasingly a decent month
On the coast the sea breeze takes the edge off, which is one argument for being in Kep or Kampot rather than inland in April.
The green season: June to October
Daily rain, usually in the afternoon and usually short, though September and October can be properly wet. Everything is green, the waterfalls run, there are half as many visitors, and rooms are cheaper.
- June to August — showers rather than washouts, and some of the nicest light of the year
- September — generally the wettest month. Roads get muddy and boat crossings get cancelled
- October — tails off through the month; by late October it often feels like the dry season has started
This is not a bad time to come. It is a bad time to come with a rigid plan.
What the season changes on the south coast
Things that genuinely differ here rather than in the abstract:
- Boats to Rabbit Island run on a later last departure in the dry season and an earlier one in the wet, and get cancelled when it's rough
- Bokor Mountain sits in cloud far more often in the wet months. The ruins in mist are atmospheric; the view is not
- The salt fields between Kep and Kampot are worked in the dry season and look like flooded nothing in the wet
- Pepper harvest runs roughly February to May, which is when a farm visit shows you picking rather than just vines
- The crab is there all year. The market doesn't have a season
So when should you come?
- Want the surest weather and don't mind the crowds — December or January
- Want the best balance — November, or March
- Want it cheap and quiet and don't mind rain — June to August
- Have no choice about April — stay on the coast, start early, rest at midday
Weather in the tropics does not read guides. Treat all of this as the pattern, not a promise.
If you're building a route, a week on the south coast sets out how we'd spend it.