In short
- Festival dates: 10–18 October 2026, at shrines across Phuket.
- Go Teng poles carrying nine lanterns go up at about 5pm on Friday 9 October.
- Shrine cleaning runs from 27 September to 7 October; flags, lanterns and food stalls already appear.
What to do
- 1Plan your Phuket Town days around the ceremonies and processions from 9 October.
- 2Check the programme with the Tourism Authority of Thailand or Phuket City Municipality before you set out.
What happens, and when?
The festival runs from Saturday 10 October to Sunday 18 October 2026, the Bangkok Post reports. Shrines across the island are due to raise Go Teng poles carrying nine lanterns at about 5pm on Friday 9 October, opening the ritual period before the main festival days.
Cleaning began in late September: worshippers and mediums started work at 7am on 5 October at the Jui Tui shrine in Phuket Town's Soi Phuthon, scrubbing floors, statues and cooking equipment, the paper says. The city municipality's shrine-cleaning programme ran from 27 September to 7 October.
Who is affected?
Anyone in Phuket between 9 and 18 October, especially travellers staying in or passing through Phuket Town. The Bangkok Post reports that yellow flags and lanterns are already appearing along the streets used by the Iew Keng deity processions, and that shops near the Jui Tui shrine have started selling vegetarian food. Elsewhere on the island, see our Phuket day trips, things to do and when to go pages.
Travelling soon? Plan around it
Build a day-by-day Thailand route that keeps flexible days where the weather and transport are uncertain.
Sources
We cross-check each story against official pages and several media, and rewrite it in our own words for travellers.
