The hardest line to defend in a festival itinerary is the one that says nothing is scheduled — and on a Songkran file it is the line that makes the trip work. Our Chiang Mai Songkran 2027 programme runs 12–16 April 2027 and leaves days two and three completely open, because those are the first two days of Songkran and Chiang Mai's old town becomes the itinerary. This guide from a Thailand DMC for travel agents explains why a festival week is designed backwards from the days you cannot control, and how to sell an empty day as the product rather than as a gap.
Explera is an IATA-accredited ground handler (96215733) trusted by 340+ agency partners, with in-house transport, licensed guides and 24/7 support. Reach the trade desk at b2b@explera.co.th.
What the week actually looks like
| Day | What is scheduled | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mon 12 Apr | Private arrival transfer, riverside check-in, a French set menu that evening | Arrival handled, and one fixed pleasant thing so the trip starts well |
| Tue 13 Apr | Nothing | First full day of Songkran — the streets are the event |
| Wed 14 Apr | Nothing | Songkran continues; guides and vehicles stay on call |
| Thu 15 Apr | Dawn balloon, then a full touring day north, then a tasting menu | The recovery day, and the sightseeing the client would otherwise miss |
| Fri 16 Apr | Breakfast, midday check-out, private departure transfer | No excursion on a departure day |
Two scheduled days out of five. That is not an underbuilt programme; it is a programme that has looked at what happens in Chiang Mai on 13 and 14 April and declined to pretend otherwise.
Why scheduled touring fails on those two days
Three things happen at once. Roads inside and around the moat close or slow to walking pace, so a vehicle that was going to collect a client at ten arrives at eleven or not at all. Attractions keep their own festival hours, and a guide standing outside a closed gate is worse than no guide. And everyone, including your client, is wet — which is fine when they chose it and a complaint when they were on their way to a temple in dry clothes.
An agency that schedules through Songkran is not buying more value for the client; it is buying a day of cancellations and a refund conversation. The rest of the trade knows this, which is why the itineraries that quietly schedule those days are the ones that get amended after departure.
How to sell an empty day so it reads as a feature
Name what the client is getting instead. They are not getting "free time"; they are getting the whole of the old town on the two biggest days of the Thai year, from a hotel they can walk back to when they have had enough. Put it in those words in the proposal and the empty line stops looking like something you forgot to fill.
The second half of the sell is what stands behind the empty day. Vehicles and guides remain on call through the 24/7 desk, so a client who decides at eleven that they want out of the water has somewhere to go and a way to get there. That is a different proposition from an unstaffed free day, and it is worth one sentence in the proposal.
The hotel decides whether a free day works
On a normal itinerary the hotel is where the client sleeps. On these two days it is the base of operations, and its position does most of the work: close enough to the moat to walk in, far enough to get dry and quiet without a taxi. The programme uses a four-star riverside property in Chiang Mai for exactly that reason, on a room-and-breakfast basis so the client is never obliged to be anywhere at a particular time.
Our accommodation desk holds space at that standard for this week specifically, and it is the element that goes first — Songkran is one of the tightest weeks in the Thai calendar and rooms of that grade in that position do not last.
What to put in the proposal, line by line
- Say the days are free and say why — "no touring is scheduled because the festival is the itinerary" answers the question before it is asked.
- Name the support — vehicles and guides on call through a 24/7 desk is the difference between an empty day and an abandoned one.
- Set the wet expectation — everyone outdoors gets soaked; a client who knows that packs for it and enjoys it.
- Flag the walkable base — the ability to retreat and dry off is a real feature on these two days.
- Offer optional additions, do not schedule them — anything can be added to the file before travel, which is a better sentence than a fixed plan.
- Book early and say why — this is one of the tightest weeks in Thailand, and the standard of room is what runs out first.
Who this shape suits, and who it does not
It suits clients who want the festival itself: couples, friends travelling together, repeat visitors who have done the sightseeing and want the event. It suits anyone who has seen Songkran on video and decided they want to be in it. Minimum two adults on twin or double share, so it is built for pairs upwards.
It suits less well a client who wants a full sightseeing week in April and is indifferent to the festival — they will spend two days wondering what they paid for. For them the honest answer is different dates rather than a different itinerary, and the Songkran selling guide covers how to have that conversation early.
What the ground partner carries through a festival week
The readiness that makes an unscheduled day safe to sell. Standing vehicles that are not committed elsewhere, guides who can be reached and redirected, and a desk that answers at any hour of a week when normal service patterns do not apply — none of it appears in an itinerary, and all of it is what a client is actually paying for on 13 and 14 April. That is the work behind Thailand DMC services for travel agents: transport on our own fleet rather than subcontracted into the busiest week of the year, licensed guides briefed on the client rather than a schedule, and tours and activities that can be added to a file rather than forced into it.
It is also where a Thailand DMC protects the file commercially. Space at this standard over Songkran is confirmed on written confirmation, not on enquiry, and knowing which properties are genuinely still open in the moat district in a given month is not something a listing will tell you. See Chiang Mai for the destination, and the full packages shelf for the rest of the programme.
Frequently asked questions
Why are days two and three left free?
Because Songkran is the product on those days. Chiang Mai's old town and moat become the event, roads close or slow to a crawl, and scheduled touring either gets cancelled or gets soaked. Leaving them open is the honest way to sell the week — and vehicles and guides stay on call through the 24/7 desk if a client wants something arranged on the day.
Will clients think they are paying for nothing?
Only if the proposal calls it free time. Describe what they are actually getting — the whole of the old town on the two biggest days of the Thai year, with a walkable base to retreat to and a team on call — and the line reads as design rather than as a gap.
Can we add touring on those days anyway?
Optional additions can go into the file at any point before travel, and the desk will arrange things on the day. What we will not do is schedule fixed touring across 13 and 14 April and present it as reliable, because in Chiang Mai during Songkran it is not.
How far ahead does this need booking?
Early, and earlier than clients expect. Songkran dates are fixed and Chiang Mai hotel space over that week is one of the tightest situations in the Thai calendar; rooms at this standard in this position go first. Rates and space are confirmed only on written confirmation with deposit.
Is it suitable for two people travelling alone?
Yes — two adults is the minimum, on twin or double share. Arrival and departure transfers are private for the pair, and the day-four touring joins a group departure, which is the arrangement that makes that day's inclusions work.
How do we get it quoted?
Send dates, pax and hotel standard to the trade desk at b2b@explera.co.th. The programme is quoted per brief, and the room grade and any additions are set against what your client actually wants rather than against a fixed sheet.
Selling Songkran 2027 to your clients? Talk to our trade desk and we will come back with the routing and a tailored quote.
