High season

[Olddaddy]

I guess there is no real high seasons as such like there was in the early 2000's.

I remember line ups of farangs waiting to get into bars & restaurants in Pattaya 

But ....high season technically is back again and I wonder why some of you guys travel in this period ?

Higher prices, less availability of moneyboys , bigger crowds to contend with, etc 

Some of you have no choice and maybe this is the only time you get a vacation from work,or you are by yourself and Xmas time and choose to travel to Thailand/Asia to have Xmas time there with company you meet 

Whatever the reason some of you are retired and could travel in low season ,the answer is why are you travelling at this time?

[macaroni21]

My understanding is that "high season" came out of the larger number of visitors from Europe and North America escaping their winters. Many were retired even then, and were able to spend three months, mostly in Pattaya. It's similar to how flights from Russia are resuming for the next 3 - 4 months. It really has nothing to do with choosing to go during the busier or costlier period. The arrow of causation is the other way around. Winter in Europe >> more visitors to Thailand >> higher prices and busier places.

Living in Australia, you may be able to count yourself lucky in that you do not have a long, damp or cold winter to escape from.

Those of us like me who still have to work cannot afford to spend three whole months on vacation. We pop into Thailand for relatively short visits of perhaps 2 weeks at various times of the year. I have never really "participated" in High Season - at least not in the sense of being part of a migratory community.

[gerefan]

I agree entirely with macaroni. It’s all about escaping the dreadful European winter.

In the past I also used to visit in low season and far preferred it for many  reasons. Less people, less queueing, cheaper flights, cheaper accommodation etc. etc.

However at the moment there is no real difference as there are so few tourists there anyway.

[BiggusDikkus]

4 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

high season technically is back again and I wonder why some of you guys travel in this period ?

I show up later this month, which is usually the beginning of high season. I chose "high season" because:

-I have not had a vacation in almost three years and am really eager for one.

-I can be relatively certain the monsoon rains will subside right before I arrive.

-I'm hoping to sneak in before another covid outbreak hits like one did sometime last December. Of course, I hope there are no more covid outbreaks but we all know there will be and they seem to come at certain times of the year.

-I like the crowds. Silom Soi 4 and Silom Soi 2 are so much more exciting when there are a lot of people enjoying themselves. This even holds true for the Patpong bars, which not only have more customers drinking and having fun but more go-go boys on stage than they do in the low season, at least in my experience.

But this is not my favorite time of year to visit Bangkok. I love the city when it's throwing big parties during Songkran and New Year's that gay men from all over Asia show up for. These weeks draw even more tourists than at any other time during "high season." But I love Bangkok when Thais, some of the world's greatest hedonists, really let loose. And judging from the crowds of imported hedonists, I'm not the only one with this preference. Maybe I'll come again in April for the SK and S2O parties.

I have been to Thailand during low season as well. I hate it. It feels desolate. I miss the parties. I miss the excitement. I get that hotels and flights are cheaper, but I have so few vacation days I'm not going to waste them being a tightwad and not enjoying myself.

[vaughn]

I work full time and need to time my holidays around quieter periods at work, so I time my trips to use as many public holidays and as few vacation days as possible.

That's all it is for me, I don't mind if its a quieter or busier time of year because I'm fairly certain I can make it a fun trip either way.

[Travellerdave]

I’ve only been in Thailand (Pattaya) once during the Xmas/New Year high season and that was 12 years ago. The downsides of this period were high flight/hotel prices, but I don’t recall any shortage of boys. I think more arrive to meet the demand from increased numbers of affluent gay tourists as opposed to money conscious residents.

[bucky13]

Without the Chinese tourist, can there really be a "high" season?   

Enjoy it while you can.  

[Boy69]

On my early trips between 1999 to 2006 it was truly impossible to find a room between mid December to mid January in Pattaya the whole City was crowded With mass of tourists all bars packed it was like Disneyland for adults!  The declined started I think with the new social order ridiculous campaign  the former prime Minister Taksin imposed on the country which harmed badly the int'l tourism .

[Olddaddy]

33 minutes ago, Boy69 said:

On my early trips between 1999 to 2006 it was truly impossible to find a room between mid December to mid January in Pattaya the whole City was crowded With mass of tourists all bars packed it was like Disneyland for adults!  The declined started I think with the new social order ridiculous campaign  the former prime Minister Taksin imposed on the country which harmed badly the int'l tourism .

Yes the 1am close !

[VancBCMan]

I am retired, but prefer to visit Thailand during the "high season".

It's because I find the weather to be pleasant from Dec to Feb - not too hot and muggy. Also like getting away from the cooler and wet weather where I live. 

If booked well in advance, you can get pretty good rates on hotels and flights, which I did, for my next trip in February.

[Olddaddy]

Is February still high season?

When is officially low season I wonder,I guess May to September?

[Moses]

1 hour ago, Olddaddy said:

Is February still high season?

When is officially low season I wonder,I guess May to September?

March - October is low season, excluding 2nd and 3rd weeks of April (Songkran).

[Gaybutton]

2 hours ago, Olddaddy said:

Is February still high season?

I don't think it is "officially", but more like "usually".  Early February usually is, but as February wears on the number of high season tourists wears off.  Just what kind of high season there will be this year remains to be seen, but for several years even before anyone ever heard of Covid, the tourist numbers dropped off to the point that I could no longer tell much difference between high season and low season.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed because I believe this upcoming high season is crucial to what will become of the Thailand gay scene, especially in Pattaya.  If it is a really good high season, I think we will see more go-go bars opening and reopening and more boys working in them.  If the high season is a bust, then I believe the best we can hope for any time soon will be status quo.

So gents, if you wish to help save Thailand's gay bar scene, during high season pack your bags and get thee to Thailand - and bring plenty of money . . .

[vinapu]

My 24 trips covered all month with exception of Jan to Apr period and July and

honestly I can,t say I have any preference of timing and that I see much difference between high and low seasons.

My decision when to go are based on money available  , cheap flight and work requirements and have noting to do with those "seasons"

For me high season is when I,m there and Low is when I m longing to be there.

 

 

 

 

[Olddaddy]

14 minutes ago, vinapu said:

My 24 trips covered all month with exception of Jan to Apr period and July and

honestly I can,t say I have any preference of timing and that I see much difference between high and low seasons.

My decision when to go are based on money available  , cheap flight and work requirements and have noting to do with those "seasons"

For me high season is when I,m there and Low is when I m longing to be there.

 

 

 

 

You still working? I thought you said you were in your 70's?😳

[vinapu]

12 minutes ago, Olddaddy said:

I thought you said you were in your 70's?😳

Not yet but certainly feeling like that old.

Yes I still work out of greed more than necessity but job is flexible

[hojacat]

Price-wise this year, it's a difficult to distinguish between high and low season. Now, it's true that hotels during July-August this year were incredibly cheap, but the cost of flights was the highest that has been in years. For December-January prices are higher then during summer, but they are still closer to what they were during pre-COVID low season. Flights on the other hand are cheaper now that they were during the summer.

2023 might be even more unusual. If China starts relaxing their entry requirements, as some are saying, at the end of the first quarter of 2023, be prepared to pay some of the highest hotel rates during so-called "low-season", as Thailand will definitely will be one of the countries they will head after a three year hiatus.