Loy Krathong 2026: Date, Best Places and What to Book

Loy Krathong falls on the full moon of the 12th Thai lunar month, which in 2026 is Tuesday 24 November, and for one evening the country’s rivers, canals and park ponds fill with candlelight. Thais release krathongs, small banana-leaf floats carrying a candle, incense and a wish, onto the water; in the north, sky lanterns rise over Chiang Mai on the same nights. This guide covers what actually happens, where the festival is strongest (Sukhothai, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya) and how to take part without fumbling the etiquette.

Quick answer: where to go and what to book. The main night is Tuesday 24 November 2026, nationwide and free. For the fullest celebration, go to Sukhothai, where the provincial festival runs 15–24 November in the historical park; the light-and-sound show there is the one thing to book ahead. In Bangkok, the bookable way to see the night is from the river: the Chao Phraya dinner cruise from Asiatique sails 8 to 10 PM (details below). Chiang Mai combines krathongs with the Yi Peng lantern festival on 24–25 November.

Book the room before you go. Sukhothai’s Old City around the historical park is small, the festival fills it, and the new town is 12 km away. These open on 23–25 November, the festival’s last two nights: Tharaburi Resort and Sriwilai Sukhothai are a walk from the park, and Vieng Tawan is the budget pick. In Bangkok, Chatrium Hotel Riverside is next to the Asiatique cruise pier (24–25 November). More picks in Where to stay.

What is Loy Krathong?

“Loy” means to float and a “krathong” is the float itself. The classic version is a cross-section of banana trunk wrapped in folded banana leaf, topped with flowers, a candle and incense sticks. Thais float them as an offering of thanks, and an apology, to Phra Mae Khongkha, the goddess of water, for using and polluting the rivers through the year.

Thai tradition traces the festival to the Sukhothai kingdom and the legend of Nang Noppamas, a court lady said to have made the first lotus-shaped krathong. That is why Sukhothai still stages the country’s best-known celebration in its old capital.

On the night, Thais head to riversides, canals and park ponds with a handmade krathong or one bought from the vendors who line the banks. After dark the candles and incense are lit and the floats set on the water, with fireworks over the larger waterways. Together with Songkran in April, it is one of the two most widely celebrated nights in the Thai calendar.

Loy Krathong 2026 dates

The festival follows the Thai lunar calendar, so the date moves every year. In 2026 the full moon of the 12th month falls on Tuesday 24 November: that is the main night everywhere in the country. It came early in 2025 (5 November) and falls late this year, so it overlaps with the start of the cool season rather than the tail of the rains.

Around that night, the bigger celebrations run longer:

• Sukhothai: ten nights, 15–24 November 2026, at the Sukhothai Historical Park, ending on Loy Krathong night itself
• Chiang Mai: Yi Peng, the Lanna lantern festival, on 24–25 November 2026, with krathongs on the Ping River and lanterns in the temples
• Bangkok and elsewhere: the night of 24 November; riverside malls and hotels often programme events across the surrounding days, so check the venue

Where to celebrate Loy Krathong

An edited image: sky lanterns are not released over Bangkok, where they are banned in public parks. On the night, the Chao Phraya fills with krathongs and boat lights instead.

Sukhothai: the ten-night festival

The Loy Krathong Phao Thian Len Fai festival (“floating krathongs, burning candles, playing with fire”) is Sukhothai’s provincial celebration, and the 2026 edition runs 15–24 November in the Sukhothai Historical Park, according to the Fine Arts Department, which manages the park. The ruins of the old capital, including the lotus-bud chedi of Wat Mahathat, are lit up at night, candles are set along the temple bases and the ponds fill with krathongs.

The ticketed centrepiece is the evening light-and-sound show, a staged retelling of the Sukhothai kingdom with an elephant war procession, set against the floodlit monuments and their reflections in the water. In 2026 it plays nightly at 19:00 from 15 to 24 November, with an extra 20:30 show on 24 November. Seats cost 500, 900 or 1,200 THB, and the organiser notes that seats are limited. Tickets are sold through the organiser’s LINE account (@ST2026) or by phone on 06-1242-8555, not through Klook or Viator. Walking the festival grounds, floating a krathong and watching the candles does not need a show ticket.

Sukhothai is small: book a room in the Old City (Mueang Kao), a short walk or bicycle ride from the park, rather than the new town 12 km away. The festival’s last night is also Loy Krathong itself, so 24 November is the busiest night; earlier nights are calmer.

Bangkok: from the river or a park

Bangkok’s Loy Krathong is free and spread across the city. In 2025 the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration opened 33 public parks for the night from 05:00 to midnight, including Lumphini Park and Benjakitti Park. Its rules: natural-material krathongs only (no foam), no bread or fish-food krathongs in the closed park ponds, one krathong per family, and no sky lanterns, fireworks, firecrackers or alcohol sales in the parks. Expect a similar list for 2026 once the city announces it.

The Chao Phraya is the other option. Riverside malls such as ICONSIAM and Asiatique The Riverfront usually stage their own events, and the piers fill with people floating krathongs.

To watch from the water instead of the bank, book a dinner cruise. The one we would pick is The Newest Luxury 5-Star Chao Phraya Dinner Cruise: a three-deck boat sailing 8 to 10 PM from Asiatique, past Wat Arun, the Grand Palace and ICONSIAM, rated 4.8 from more than 900 reviews (our review). If you would rather board at ICONSIAM, the Chao Phraya Princess is a long-running alternative. Both are regular nightly departures rather than special Loy Krathong products, so book your date early.

Chiang Mai: krathongs and lanterns

Chiang Mai celebrates two festivals at once. Krathongs go onto the Ping River (the Nawarat Bridge area is the main release spot) and the Old City moat, while the Lanna festival of Yi Peng fills the temples with hanging lanterns and candles on 24–25 November 2026.

Do not release a sky lantern on your own. Unlicensed releases are banned across the city during the festival, and the mass releases you see in photos happen only at licensed, ticketed venues outside town. Our Yi Peng guide covers which venues still have tickets for 2026.

Ayutthaya

The old capital usually stages its own festival in the Ayutthaya Historical Park. In 2025 it ran as “Maha Loi Krathong @ Ayutthaya” at Wat Phra Ram from 2 to 6 November, with candle-lighting ceremonies among the ruins. The 2026 dates had not been announced at the time of writing, so check before you plan a night there; it is an easy day trip from Bangkok either way.

What happens on Loy Krathong night

The ritual is simple: light the candle and incense on your krathong, make a wish (traditionally a thank-you and an apology to Phra Mae Khongkha) and set it on the water. Around the release points you’ll find music and food stalls; the smell of grilled skewers and incense smoke carries along the banks all evening.

The releases build through the evening rather than happening at once, so there is no need to be at the water the moment it gets dark. The symbolism runs one way: whatever floats away on the krathong (worries, grudges, the past year’s bad luck) stays gone.

How to take part

Visitors are welcome to join in. This is one Thai festival where floating your own krathong, rather than watching, is the point.

Buy or make your krathong

Vendors sell krathongs along the riverbanks and at park gates on the day; some hotels also run krathong-making sessions in the days before. If you make your own, keep it small and light so it floats upright, and build it from banana trunk, banana leaves and flowers.

Release it

Head to the water after dark. Light the candle and incense, make your wish, and set the krathong down gently, close to the surface. Many Thais add a coin, a few strands of hair or a nail clipping to send the year’s bad luck away with it. Stay after your own release: the water filling with hundreds of small flames is the image the festival is known for.

In the south, the release comes built into a boat trip: John Gray’s Hong by Starlight paddles into the Phang Nga Bay lagoons after the morning crowds leave and floats a krathong in the dark, a ceremony it runs year-round rather than only in November.

Insider Tip: Choose a krathong made from banana trunk and leaves. Bangkok’s parks ask for natural materials only and have told visitors not to use foam. They also ask people not to float bread krathongs in the closed park ponds, where uneaten bread fouls the water. The natural ones cost about the same.

Watch out: Riverbanks and piers get crowded and slippery after dark. Keep children close at the water’s edge, and in Bangkok use the BTS, MRT or river boats rather than a taxi; roads near the river jam on the night.

Getting to Sukhothai

Sukhothai is in lower northern Thailand. Direct buses from Bangkok take 6 to 7 hours and from Chiang Mai about 5 hours; Sukhothai Airport has limited domestic flights. Buses arrive in the new town, 12 km from the historical park, and songthaews and tuk-tuks run between the two. If you are combining the festival with Chiang Mai’s Yi Peng, note that Sukhothai’s last night (24 November) is also Yi Peng’s first, so pick one city for the 24th.

Where to stay for Loy Krathong

For Sukhothai, stay in the Old City so you can walk or cycle back from the park after the show; the new town is a 12 km ride. For Bangkok, a riverside hotel puts you within walking distance of the piers and the cruise departure points. Book as early as you can: Sukhothai’s Old City is small and the festival fills it.

Hotels We Like for Loy Krathong

Each name opens Booking.com on the festival dates: 23–25 November in Sukhothai, the night of 24 November in Bangkok. The review link goes to our page on the hotel.

• Tharaburi Resort Sukhothai: a 4-star resort on Muangkao-Napoh Road in the Old City, with the historical park’s temples within walking distance. Our review.
• Sriwilai Sukhothai: a 4-star boutique hotel in Mueang Kao, the Old City district around the park, rated 8.9 on Agoda. Our review.
• Vieng Tawan Sukhothai Hotel: a 2-star budget pick in the Old City, close enough to cycle to the festival grounds. Our review.
• Chatrium Hotel Riverside Bangkok: a 5-star tower on Charoen Krung Soi 70 by the Chao Phraya, close to Asiatique, where the dinner cruise above departs. Our review.
• Anantara Riverside Bangkok Resort: a 5-star riverside resort on the Thonburi bank, and the home pier of the Manohra dinner cruise. Our review.

Compare live prices: the hotel map below shows availability around Sukhothai’s Old City for the festival dates, or start from our Sukhothai guide or Bangkok guide to pick an area first.

Is Loy Krathong worth planning a trip around?

Yes. In 2026 it lands on 24 November, inside the cool dry season, which is already the best time to visit most of Thailand. Floating a krathong costs nothing and takes ten minutes, so it fits into any trip that touches a river on the night. To make the festival the centrepiece, spend two or three nights in Sukhothai during its 15–24 November run, or pair Loy Krathong with Yi Peng in Chiang Mai.