Loy Krathong in Thailand

What Loy Krathong is

Loy Krathong is Thailand's most photogenic festival — an evening when rivers, ponds and canals across the country fill with thousands of small floating lights. The word says it plainly: loy means 'to float,' and a krathong is the little decorated vessel you set adrift. Traditionally it's made from a slice of banana-tree trunk or folded banana leaves, decorated with flowers, folded leaf-work, a candle and three incense sticks, and often a coin. People light the candle, make a wish or a moment of reflection — letting go of the past year's misfortunes, giving thanks to the water — and gently push the krathong out onto the water to drift away.

It's a gentle, beautiful festival rather than a raucous one (that's Songkran's job), and it has a quiet spiritual core: it's tied to gratitude toward the rivers that sustain the country and to releasing the old year. You'll find krathong on sale everywhere in the run-up, from street stalls to hotel lobbies, and the riversides and temple ponds become softly glowing gathering places after dark. In many cities the festival is paired with parades, beauty pageants, fireworks and food markets, so there's plenty of atmosphere around the simple act of floating a light.

The festival falls on the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar, which usually lands in November — but the exact night shifts year to year, and we don't hard-code it anywhere on this site. Treat 'the November full moon' as the approximate window and verify the official date for your travel year before you book.

Thailand events and festivals

The festival calendar at a glance — where Loy Krathong sits in the year and the other festivals to plan around.

Thailand in November

What November is like nationwide — the cool season opening, the coasts, and Loy Krathong in context.

Where to go — how the festival differs by city

Loy Krathong is nationwide, so you can take part almost anywhere there's water — but a few places turn it into a destination in its own right. Sukhothai is the most celebrated: the festival is widely held to have its roots in this ancient Siamese capital, and floating a krathong among the illuminated ruins of the historical park, with light-and-sound shows over the temple ponds, is as atmospheric as the festival gets. If you want the definitive Loy Krathong, Sukhothai is the answer — though it draws crowds and its limited accommodation books out far ahead.

Chiang Mai is the other headline choice, because there Loy Krathong overlaps with Yi Peng, the northern sky-lantern festival, on the same November full moon — so you get floating krathong on the Ping River and glowing sky lanterns overhead at once. That overlap makes Chiang Mai spectacular but also its busiest, priciest week of the year, with the marquee mass-lantern releases ticketed and selling out early; we cover all of the Chiang Mai lantern planning on the dedicated Yi Peng page. Bangkok offers a big-city version on the Chao Phraya River and the city's canals and hotel waterfronts, easy to enjoy if you're passing through the capital, while Ayutthaya gives you the ruins-and-river combination closer to Bangkok.

Choose by what you want: Sukhothai for the most meaningful, heritage-rich setting; Chiang Mai for the lantern spectacle (read the Yi Peng guide); Bangkok for convenience; Ayutthaya for ruins within easy reach of the capital. Whichever you pick, the riversides are busiest right after dark on the full-moon night.

Yi Peng lantern festival

Chiang Mai's sky-lantern season — ticketed events, hotel timing and the legal, responsible way to launch a lantern.

Sukhothai travel guide

The ancient capital and historical park where Loy Krathong is at its most atmospheric.

Floating responsibly — the sustainability question

Loy Krathong has a real environmental footprint: on the festival night, waterways across Thailand fill with tens or hundreds of thousands of floating krathong, and city authorities scoop most of them back out of the water the next morning. What yours is made of matters. Choose a krathong built from natural, biodegradable materials — a banana-trunk base, folded banana leaves, flowers and a simple candle — rather than the polystyrene (styrofoam) versions, which break into persistent litter and are increasingly discouraged or banned. Bread-based krathong exist too and dissolve quickly, though they're debated for their effect on fish and water quality.

Beyond the materials, float thoughtfully: one krathong per group is plenty for the gesture, and avoid weighing it down with non-biodegradable decorations or foil. Many hotels and tour operators now offer eco-friendly krathong, and some cities run designated floating points to make clean-up easier — using them helps. The spirit of the festival is gratitude toward the water, so doing it in a way that doesn't pollute that water is very much in keeping with the tradition.

Responsible travel in Thailand

How to travel lightly — from festival choices to wildlife, plastic and supporting local communities.

Hotels, crowds and planning a November trip

Loy Krathong lands right as Thailand's cool, dry high season opens, which is part of its appeal — but it also means the festival night collides with rising demand. In the headline cities, especially Sukhothai and Chiang Mai, hotels around the full moon fill months ahead and prices jump; if the festival is the reason for your trip, book accommodation and any intercity transport as early as you can, and aim to arrive a night before the main evening.

Plan the festival as the highlight of a wider November trip rather than a standalone errand. November is a lovely time to be in Thailand — the rains are easing, the North is clear before the dry-season haze, and the Andaman coast is reopening into its best stretch — so pairing Loy Krathong with a few days of travelling either side makes the most of the timing. If you're flexible, knowing the festival date lets you decide whether to be in the thick of it in Sukhothai or Chiang Mai, or to enjoy a quieter version somewhere else and keep the crowds at arm's length.

Best time to visit Thailand

Why November is one of the best months — the cool season opening and the coasts, with Loy Krathong on top.

Where to stay in Thailand

Choose the right base for a November trip before drilling into festival-night hotels.

When exactly is Loy Krathong each year?

Loy Krathong falls on the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar, which usually places it in November — but because it follows the lunar calendar, the exact date moves every year and can occasionally slip into early November or late in the month. We don't hard-code the date anywhere on this site for that reason. Treat 'the November full moon' as the approximate window, and verify the official date for your specific travel year with the Tourism Authority of Thailand before you book flights or hotels — especially for Sukhothai and Chiang Mai, where beds sell out far ahead.

What's the difference between Loy Krathong and Yi Peng?

They're two distinct festivals that fall on the same November full moon, which is why they're so often confused. Loy Krathong is nationwide and is about floating decorated baskets (krathong) on water. Yi Peng is the northern, Lanna festival centred on Chiang Mai, and is about releasing glowing sky lanterns (khom loi) into the air. In Chiang Mai they happen together — krathong on the river, lanterns overhead — which makes the city spectacular on those nights. If you specifically want the sky-lantern experience and the ticketed mass-release events, read the dedicated Yi Peng guide; this page covers the nationwide floating-lights festival.

Where is the best place to see Loy Krathong?

Sukhothai is widely regarded as the most beautiful and meaningful place to experience Loy Krathong — floating a krathong among the illuminated ruins of the ancient capital, with the historical park's light-and-sound shows, is the festival at its most atmospheric. Chiang Mai is the spectacular alternative because it overlaps with Yi Peng's sky lanterns. Bangkok offers an easy big-city version on the Chao Phraya, and Ayutthaya gives you ruins-and-river closer to the capital. Pick Sukhothai for atmosphere, Chiang Mai for the lantern spectacle, Bangkok for convenience — and book early, because all of them get busy.