According to the books I have been looking at, you are planning to go right on the cusp of the seasons. The rains "officially" begin this month, and it seems that the further south you go, the shorter the dry season. From Chiang Mai north, the dry season may last six months, usually from mid-November to May.

On the island of Ko Samui, there are sometimes heavy winds from October onwards, but you might be lucky and there are fewer crowds there at that time. The place has become very busy over the past 20 years or so.

A boat trip to the Ang Thong national maritime park is well worth it but watch the weather.
William John

• I travel to Thailand up to five times a year. How much rain one gets in any week in the rainy season from April to October depends purely on luck. You may have only one or two short downpours in three weeks, or you may have many and some may be prolonged.

A money tip: the money changers at Bangkok Airport are highly competitive - when I came through at Easter, I was getting 59.6 baht for £1 and buying back £1 for 61.0 baht. At Heathrow they were selling for 55. So don't change money in the UK.
Martin Allinson

• Watch out in the area of Chang-Mai. The exquisite countryside is regularly set alight by developers and farmers. There are times when you can't see the sky for smoke, and the destruction is awful to behold. They won't tell you about it at the tourist offices.
Joan Freeman

This week's question

My partner, one child and I are flying to Italy next month - into Milan and out of Rome. In two weeks we plan to visit Bologna, Florence and Pisa. We are wanting to do this the cheapest way in terms of accommodation and transport (although we don't want to drive). Any tips? We don't want to come back broke. L Richardson

• If you have questions or advice, please send it to: Ask a fellow traveller, The Guardian, 119 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3ER. Or e-mail: ask.a.fellow. traveller@theguardian.com. We will publish the answers as soon as we can. We cannot answer questions we do not publish.