Festivals are some of the easiest things to sell in Thailand — and some of the easiest to get wrong on timing. Many of the biggest events follow the lunar calendar, so the dates move every year, hotels sell out months ahead, and a single misquoted week can collapse a booking. As your Thailand DMC, Explera keeps a live event calendar so you always quote the right dates, the right destinations and the right lead times. Here is the month-by-month picture for 2026 into 2027.
Lunar-calendar dates (Loy Krathong, Vegetarian Festival, Visakha Bucha, Khao Phansa) shift each year — always confirm the exact date with Explera before contracting, as we hold it against the official calendar.
First quarter — cool season, peak demand
- Chinese New Year (late Jan / mid-Feb): Bangkok's Yaowarat (Chinatown) erupts in lion dances and street food; strong with East-Asian and overseas-Chinese markets.
- Bo Sang Umbrella Festival, Chiang Mai (January): a photogenic craft festival — a natural add-on to a northern circuit.
- Chiang Mai Flower Festival (early February): floral floats and Suthep Road in bloom.
- Maha Songkran / pre-season build-up: this is peak season, so contract early — January and February sell out first.
Second quarter — Songkran and the green-season pivot
- Songkran, the Thai New Year water festival (13–15 April, nationwide): the single biggest event of the year. Bangkok (Silom, Khao San), Chiang Mai (the old-city moat) and Pattaya run multi-day celebrations. Book accommodation two seasons out.
- Visakha Bucha (May, lunar): a serene temple day — candlelit processions, good for culture-led itineraries.
- Rocket Festival (Bun Bang Fai), Isan (May): home-made rockets fired for rain — a vivid, off-the-beaten-track sell.
Third quarter — green season events
- Candle Festival (Khao Phansa), Ubon Ratchathani (July, lunar): giant carved-wax candle floats; the standout Isan event.
- HM the Queen Mother's Birthday / Mother's Day (12 August): national day, family travel.
- Phuket / Trang Vegetarian Festival (Sept–Oct, ninth lunar month): the intense Nine Emperor Gods festival — processions and ritual; a strong special-interest sell for Phuket.
Fourth quarter — the showpiece season
- Loy Krathong & Yi Peng (November, lunar — typically mid-to-late Nov): floating krathong on the water nationwide, and the sky-lantern release in Chiang Mai. The most requested festival after Songkran; Chiang Mai lantern inventory is extremely limited — contract by mid-year.
- Surin Elephant Round-up (November): large-scale elephant event in Isan.
- River Kwai Bridge Festival, Kanchanaburi (late Nov / early Dec): light-and-sound history show.
- New Year countdown (31 December): Bangkok riverside, Pattaya and the islands; premium rates and minimum-stay rules apply.
Into 2027
The same anchors repeat — Songkran (13–15 April 2027), the Vegetarian Festival (Oct 2027), Loy Krathong & Yi Peng (Nov 2027) — but lunar dates shift, so re-confirm before you publish 2027 brochures. Explera locks event-period allocations up to a year ahead.
How Explera helps you sell events
- Confirmed dates for every festival, checked against the official calendar.
- Event-period allocations held in the right destinations, with realistic release dates.
- Curated experiences — krathong-making, lantern releases, Songkran in safe family zones, vegetarian-festival viewing with context.
- 24/7 ground support through the chaos of peak days.
Selling an event trip? Send the dates and group profile to the trade desk and we'll build it — accommodation, transfers, guides and the experience itself — on net rates.
Frequently asked questions
Which festivals can I date in a brochure, and which can't I?
Songkran is fixed at 13–15 April nationwide, and the New Year countdown is 31 December. The lunar events — Loy Krathong and Yi Peng, the Vegetarian Festival, Visakha Bucha and Khao Phansa — shift every year and must be confirmed with Explera against the official calendar before you contract or publish. A single misquoted week can collapse a booking.
When do I need to have the fourth-quarter showpiece season contracted?
Chiang Mai lantern inventory for Loy Krathong and Yi Peng is extremely limited and should be contracted by mid-year. The rest of the quarter — the Surin Elephant Round-up in November, the River Kwai Bridge Festival in late November or early December, and the New Year countdown, where premium rates and minimum-stay rules apply — also tightens fast.
Is there anything sellable in the green season, or is it all cool-season events?
The green season carries two of the most distinctive events on the calendar. The Rocket Festival, Bun Bang Fai, fires home-made rockets for rain across Isan in May, and the Candle Festival at Khao Phansa brings giant carved-wax candle floats to Ubon Ratchathani in July. Both are off-the-beaten-track sells, and both are lunar-dated, so confirm before contracting.
What can I safely put in a 2027 programme right now?
The anchors repeat — Songkran on 13–15 April 2027, the Vegetarian Festival in October and Loy Krathong with Yi Peng in November — so you can plan destinations and lead times around them now. Re-confirm the lunar dates before you publish 2027 brochures. Explera locks event-period allocations up to a year ahead, so send the dates early.
