Things to Do in Songkhla in March
March weather, activities, events & insider tips
March Weather in Songkhla
Is March Right for You?
Advantages
- The tail end of dry season means the sea stays flat and translucent around Ko Yo and Samila Beach - perfect for kayaking and long-tail boat trips without the chop you'd get in April.
- March brings the last of the cool mornings: 24°C (75°F) at 6 AM makes walking the old town's Thalat Kao Road pleasant before the sun turns the brick pavements into a griddle.
- Songkran prep starts mid-March - locals repaint shutters in Khao Rup Chang's old quarter and string up coloured lanterns, so you catch the city in anticipatory buzz without the water-war chaos.
- Mangoes from Phatthalung hit the night markets right now - sweet and slightly floral, they turn up in sticky rice, smoothies and the shaved-ice sala bao stalls that disappear by May.
Considerations
- UV index hits 8 by 10 AM; unshaded stretches of Samila Beach turn into a no-man's-land after 11 AM unless you've got serious SPF and a hat.
- Afternoon build-up storms roll in fast - one minute you're photographing the bronze mermaid, next you're sprinting through sheets of warm rain that soak cotton in seconds.
- Weekend crowds from Hat Yai swell the night market; queues at Tae Raek for grilled squid stretch 20 deep and parking near the old town becomes a 30-minute hunt.
Best Activities in March
Samila Beach sunrise cycling
Rent a bike at the pier and hit the 5 km (3.1-mile) promenade just after 6 AM. The sand is cool, fishermen are hauling nets onto the concrete pier, and the bronze mermaid statue stands alone - no tour buses yet. March skies give you pastel gradients instead of the white glare that arrives by April.
Ko Yo island long-tail boat circuits
The sea stays mirror-calm in March mornings, ideal for the 45-minute ride around Ko Yo's stilted Muslim fishing villages. You'll smell diesel mixing with grilling squid from floating kitchens, see kids wave from bamboo platforms, and get dropped at a sandbar that only appears at low tide.
Old town temple-to-market walking loop
Start at Wat Matchimawat just after 7 AM when monks chant inside the 400-year-old teak hall, walk 500 m (1,640 ft) south along Nang Ngam Road to the Chinese shrine, then hit Thalat Kao morning market for khao yam rice salad before the sun becomes brutal. March humidity is still low enough that cotton doesn't stick to you like plastic wrap.
Khao Rup Chang viewpoint sunset hike
A 20-minute, 100 m (328 ft) climb up concrete stairs through rubber trees gets you to a breezy platform overlooking the spit of land that ties Songkhla to the mainland. March sunsets throw golden light across the tidal flats and you can smell lemongrass from the hilltop shrine's evening incense.
Night market food crawl
Tae Raek Night Market runs 5 PM to midnight with 200 stalls. March evenings sit at 28°C (82°F), so you can linger over charcoal-grilled prawns and mango sticky rice without melting. Look for the stall frying roti with condensed milk - it's been there since 1985 and the owner will ask where you're from while flipping dough.
March Events & Festivals
Chak Phra Festival
Buddha statues from Wat Matchimawat are paraded through town on elaborately decorated rafts. Locals line the canal banks to toss lotus flowers and coins; the scent of joss sticks mixes with diesel from long-tail engines powering the flotilla.