Loy Krathong and Yi Peng 2026: dates, lanterns and where to celebrate

When is Loy Krathong 2026?

A lunar date that moves every year.

Loy Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar calendar, which usually lands in November and occasionally at the end of October. Thai calendars give Tuesday 24 November for 2026. Big events such as Sukhothai or Chiang Mai run over several nights around that date.

What Loy Krathong means

Letting go, on the water.

Loy means to float and a krathong is a small raft, traditionally a slice of banana trunk wrapped in banana leaves and decorated with flowers, a candle and three incense sticks. People float it to thank and apologise to the goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha, and to let their bad luck drift away. Some add a coin, a lock of hair or a nail clipping.

Legend links the festival to Nang Noppamas, a lady of the Sukhothai court said to have made the first lotus-shaped krathong. That is why Sukhothai calls itself the birthplace of Loy Krathong and still crowns a Noppamas queen at its festival.

Yi Peng in Chiang Mai: lanterns and the rules

Two festivals on the same nights.

Yi Peng means the full moon (peng) of the second month (yi) of the old Lanna calendar, which matches the 12th Thai month. In Chiang Mai and the north, people hang paper lanterns in temples and streets, float krathongs on the Ping River and release khom loi, the sky lanterns you see in every photo.

In 2025 the province declared "red zones" where releasing anything that flies was banned: all of Mueang Chiang Mai (the city itself) and parts of Hang Dong, Saraphi, San Sai, Mae Rim and San Pa Tong, under the airport's flight paths. Outside those zones, sky lanterns were only allowed from 7pm to 1am on 5 and 6 November. Penalties go up to five years in prison and a 200,000 THB fine.

Ticket prices for the big release events vary a lot with the package. In 2025 they ranged from roughly 5,000 to more than 15,000 THB per person. The 2026 rules and times will be announced by the province shortly before the festival.

Sukhothai: the most beautiful Loy Krathong

Candles among 700-year-old ruins.

Sukhothai Historical Park hosts the "Loy Krathong and Candle Festival", organised with TAT. For about ten days around the full moon, the ruins are lit with candles and lanterns, with light and sound shows, a traditional procession and krathongs floated on the ponds around Wat Mahathat. In 2025 it ran from 27 October to 5 November.

• Stay in the old city (Muang Kao) rather than New Sukhothai, 12 km away
• Book your room well ahead for the main night
• Rent a bicycle to move around the park
• Check whether the light and sound show needs a paid seat

Sukhothai has few rooms near the historical park: check places to stay in Sukhothai well before the festival.

Where to float a krathong in Bangkok

Rivers, parks and one very big mall.

In 2025 the city opened 33 parks until midnight for the festival. Inside them, foam krathongs, sky lanterns, fireworks and alcohol sales were banned. Expect the same kind of rules in 2026.

Eco krathong: banana trunk, bread or nothing

The small choice that matters most.

Every year Bangkok collects hundreds of thousands of krathongs from its waterways the morning after. In 2025 the city collected 391,027: about 83% were made from natural materials, 10% from bread and still 7% from foam, even though foam is banned in the parks.

• Choose banana trunk and leaves: they break down naturally
• Bread krathongs are fine in rivers with fish, not in closed park ponds
• Skip pins and plastic decorations if you make your own
• Share one krathong per couple or family, as Bangkok encourages

• Styrofoam krathongs
• Plastic flowers and glitter
• Releasing a sky lantern outside a permitted area

Etiquette and scams

How to enjoy the night without trouble.

• Make a wish, light the candle and place your krathong gently on the water
• Dress modestly if you celebrate at a temple
• Hold a sky lantern until it is fully inflated, and only where it is allowed
• Keep an eye on your bag in the crowds at piers and bridges

Also be careful near the water: piers get crowded and slippery, and fireworks are sold everywhere. Kids float krathongs from the bank, not from a boat.

Mistakes to avoid

What I see every November.

• Using an old article's date: the festival moves every year
• Expecting to release a lantern anywhere in Chiang Mai
• Booking an evening flight from Chiang Mai on the main lantern night
• Buying a lantern ticket from an unknown reseller
• Waiting until October to book Chiang Mai or Sukhothai hotels