Thailand party calendar

Month by month

Party season runs from Loy Krathong in November to Songkran in April, and December is the big one: three music festivals in three weeks, plus the Full Moon and New Year's Eve.

The Pattaya International Fireworks Festival lights up the bay on 27 and 28 November, Thailand.go.th lists.

The big events line up from November to April, when the rain has gone from most coasts.

Pick the one date your group cares about most, then build the villa, the boat and the evenings around it. Lunar dates can move, so check yours before you book flights.

What's gone, and what to book first

The festival passes went first, and the villas and boats around them are going now. Here is what's gone and what's left.

Sold out: every Tomorrowland Thailand pass.

Sold out: Wonderfruit's opening ticket sale.

Goes now: Pattaya pool villas for the Wonderfruit and Tomorrowland weekends, and Chiang Mai hotels for Yi Peng.

Goes next: villas and yachts for Christmas to New Year. Ask Tanner early.

Then: Songkran villas. Book by January.

Get your dates on hold this week.

The biggest one this season

Tomorrowland Thailand is the biggest of the season: 11 to 13 December at Wisdom Valley in Pattaya, the festival's first full edition in Asia.

Photo: Macieeejski, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, edited

There's no camping, so the group needs somewhere to stay. A pool villa in Pattaya is the easy answer: the festival in the afternoon, then back to your own pool.

For the whole country, the biggest party is still Songkran in April, when every street turns into a water fight.

Pattaya villas go fast for festival week. See the Tomorrowland Thailand guide and Pattaya pool villas.

The December festivals

The festivals worth the trip this season are all in December: Wonderfruit (3 to 7 December), Tomorrowland Thailand (11 to 13 December) and EDC Thailand (18 to 20 December).

EDC Thailand comes to Phuket in December, a week after Tomorrowland, EDC's official site confirms (checked November 2026).

Tomorrowland and EDC are one week apart, so a group can do Pattaya, then fly south to Phuket for the second weekend.

A party van for up to 10 runs from Bangkok to Pattaya for ฿3,500 each way. Book it with the villa, and the transfer is done.

Loy Krathong and the lanterns

Loy Krathong 2026 is on Tuesday 24 November, the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month, and celebrations carry on into the 25th.

Photo: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons, edited

It's the festival of lights: people float small candle boats, called krathongs, on rivers, lakes and the sea.

In Chiang Mai, the same full moon brings Yi Peng, the sky lantern festival, from 23 to 25 November, Chiang Mai Province told its press conference on 20 October 2026. Sky lanterns go up only on the 24th and 25th, from 7pm to 1am, at permitted sites outside the city, and the big releases are ticketed.

In Bangkok, the best seat is your own boat on the Chao Phraya. Loy Krathong isn't a public holiday or an alcohol ban day, so bars and clubs stay open.

Read the Loy Krathong guide, and ask Tanner to book a river boat in Bangkok.

When is the next Full Moon Party?

The Full Moon dates left in 2026 are Tuesday 24 November and Thursday 24 December, both on Haad Rin beach on Koh Phangan, with the New Year countdown on Thursday 31 December.

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Photo: AI-generated image

The 2027 dates are out, starting Friday 22 January.

When the full moon lands on a Buddhist holy day, the party moves to the next night: Monday 22 February, Friday 21 May, Tuesday 20 July and Saturday 16 October in 2027.

For a group, the better move is a villa on Koh Samui and your own boat across to Haad Rin. See the Full Moon Party guide and the Half Moon Party, then book your boat across.

Counting down to 2027

You count down to New Year in Thailand at the big city shows in Bangkok, on the beach in Phuket or Pattaya, or at the Full Moon countdown on Koh Phangan, on Thursday 31 December 2026.

Bangkok has fireworks over the river and the big shows in the city centre. Phuket and Pattaya count down on the beach, with beach clubs and villa parties going into the morning.

The full moon lands on Christmas Eve, so the Full Moon Party runs that evening too. It's the busiest week of the year, so book villas and boats for it now.

Read the New Year's Eve guide and the Christmas in Thailand guide, and ask Tanner where your group should be at midnight.

Songkran, the water fight

Songkran closes the season, from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April 2027, all three public holidays on the Bank of Thailand's 2027 holiday list.

The whole country turns into a water fight: pickup trucks with water tanks, water guns on every corner, music in the streets. It isn't an alcohol ban day, so the parties run all three days.

Some cities keep going after the 15th with their own local water days.

For a group, a villa with a pool is the best base: the street fight in the afternoon, then back to your own party. Book Songkran villas and boats by January.

See the Songkran guide, and put the villa on hold for April.

The quiet days, and what stays open

The quiet days fall on the Buddhist holy days: the next is Makha Bucha on Sunday 21 February 2027, then Visakha Bucha on Thursday 20 May 2027.

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Photo: AI-generated image

On Buddhist holidays shops stop selling alcohol, but licensed venues in tourist areas can still serve, under the Office of the Prime Minister's 2025 notice.

Never build the big party around one of these days: stock the villa bar the day before, and make it the yacht day. See Thailand public holidays.

The cultural ones

The cultural festivals worth planning around are Loy Krathong on 24 November, Yi Peng from 23 to 25 November, and Songkran in April.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival, with its street processions and firecrackers, has finished for this year; in 2027 it runs 30 September to 8 October, Phuket City Municipality says.

These are about the spectacle more than the party, so pair each one with a big evening out on the same trip.

Which month is best for a party trip?

December is the best month for festivals, with three big music festivals, the Full Moon and New Year's Eve; November is the best for great weather with fewer crowds.

Phuket and Pattaya are at their best from November to April. Koh Samui is wettest in November, so save it for later in the season.

Bangkok parties all year, and Chiang Mai is best in November, for Yi Peng and Loy Krathong.

Book the villa and the boat first, then the flights, then the VIP sections at the clubs. See Thailand in December and Thailand in November for the two best months.

Thailand festivals in short

• The Thailand festivals 2026 season peaks in December, with three music festivals in three weeks.

• Thailand festivals 2026, the music ones: Wonderfruit near Pattaya, Tomorrowland Thailand in Pattaya and EDC Thailand in Phuket.
• Loy Krathong and Yi Peng fall on the same full moon, Tuesday 24 November 2026.
• When a full moon lands on a Buddhist holy day, the Full Moon Party moves to the next night.
• On Buddhist holidays shops stop selling alcohol, but licensed venues in tourist areas can still serve.
• Every Tomorrowland Thailand pass has sold out; the villas around it are going now.

Checked November 2026.

The season at a glance

• Biggest festival: Tomorrowland Thailand, 11 to 13 December, Pattaya.

• Music festivals in December: Wonderfruit 3 to 7, Tomorrowland 11 to 13, EDC Thailand 18 to 20.
• Lights: Loy Krathong, Tuesday 24 November; Yi Peng in Chiang Mai, 23 to 25 November.
• Beach party: the Full Moon Party, 24 November, 24 December and the 31 December countdown.
• Water fight: Songkran, 13 to 15 April 2027.
• Alcohol ban days: 21 February and 20 May 2027.
• Party season: November to April.

Plan it with Tanner.