Yi Peng and Loy Krathong: dates, viewing spots and tickets

When is Loy Krathong, and when is the Yi Peng lantern festival in 2026?

In Chiang Mai, the festival traditionally runs over three days around the full moon; in 2025, the full moon fell on November 5 and the city festival ran November 4-6. November 24, 2026 is also a supermoon, full at 21:54 Thailand time.

Lantern-lit streets, a krathong or a mass lantern release?

Loy Krathong is when people float krathongs, small rafts of banana trunk and leaves topped with flowers and a candle, on the full moon of the 12th Thai lunar month. Yi Peng is the Lanna name for the same full moon (“yi” means two and “peng” full moon, as the 12th Thai month is the second Lanna month). In Chiang Mai the two merge, and there are three ways to take part:

• Lantern-lit streets and the parade (free): previous festivals have featured Lanna lantern displays around the old city and illuminated float parades; the 2026 parade date, time and route still need confirming. This suits visitors staying near the old city who want to explore on foot without relying on a shuttle schedule.
• Floating a krathong (free): on the Ping River, the Mae Kha Canal or a temple pond. Choose one made from materials allowed at the venue, and avoid styrofoam and plastic.
• A mass sky lantern release (ticketed): the images of thousands of lanterns rising at once usually come from private events in permitted areas outside the city, which finish late. Best if you want to release a lantern yourself and don’t mind a long ride.

Where to watch, and how to choose a ticketed event

Old city, temples and the Ping River: no ticket needed

In 2025, the city held the festival at Tha Phae Gate square, along Tha Phae Road, around the municipality offices, on the Mae Kha Canal and at Si Khong Pier, with a light and sound show along the Ping River; the lantern parade left Tha Phae Gate at 7 pm on November 6. In previous years, many public celebrations took place between Tha Phae Gate and the Ping River; 2026 venues and times still need confirming.

Arrive early if you want to reach the water’s edge. If you are going with others, agree on a meeting point away from the parade route.

Ticketed lantern releases: what to check before you buy

Some private organizers are already selling tickets for 2026. Their event dates and programs are separate from the citywide celebrations. Price, inclusions, transfers and refund terms differ by organizer, so compare current tickets in Thai baht on each event’s own booking page, checking the venue, seating, included lanterns, meals and return transfers. Also ask:

• Whether the event is authorized for the location and date on your ticket, and how refunds work if the province moves the release nights.
• Where pickup is and when the bus returns.
• Fake tickets have circulated in past years: buy only through the organizer’s own channel or a licensed travel agency, not from social media resellers.

Flights, airport hours and hotels around the lantern nights

In 2025, Chiang Mai airport halted flights from 7 pm on the two lantern nights, November 5 and 6. Airport hours on the 2026 lantern nights still need confirming.

• Arrive on November 23 or the morning of the 24th and leave from the 26th. If you fly on November 24 or 25, check the scheduled arrival time at Chiang Mai for inbound flights, or the departure time from Chiang Mai for outbound flights, and confirm the airport’s 2026 festival arrangements and your airline’s notices before booking.
• Book rooms early and choose refundable rates. Staying near the old city or the Ping River puts the parade and krathong spots within walking distance.

Getting there, visas and the arrival card

Most international visitors connect through Bangkok, where THAI is adding Bangkok-Chiang Mai frequencies this winter. Chiang Mai airport says its winter schedule brings back or adds routes including Incheon and Shanghai; airlines and frequencies need confirming. From Vietnam, direct Hanoi flights were reported in March 2026, and VietJet has filed to resume Ho Chi Minh City-Chiang Mai four times a week from October 25, 2026; confirm both with the airline before booking.

Since September 15, 2026, passport holders from 60 countries and territories, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can enter visa-free for tourism for up to 30 days, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand; bilateral agreements still apply (South Koreans 90 days, Vietnamese 30). Within three days before arrival, file the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) at tdac.immigration.go.th; lookalike sites that charge a fee are scams.

Thailand has proposed a 450-baht tourist fee for foreign visitors (targeted for air arrivals from the first quarter of 2027) and a 1,000-baht departure tax on air passengers (public comment until October 29, 2026). Both were still proposals, not in force, on October 21, 2026.

Sky lantern and drone rules in Chiang Mai

Releasing your own sky lantern in the city is illegal. The province’s 2024 notice banned lighting and releasing lanterns in 39 subdistricts of six districts inside the air safety zone or residential areas, including all of Mueang (the old city and the Ping River through town) and Hang Dong, plus parts of Saraphi, San Sai, Mae Rim and San Pa Tong.

Outside those zones, organizers need district permission 30 days ahead and may release lanterns only in the hours the province sets: 7 pm to 1 am on November 15-16 in 2024, and the same window on November 5-6 in 2025. Unpermitted releases carry up to five years in prison, a 200,000-baht fine or both; up to seven years and 140,000 baht if a fire results. The 2026 zones and hours need confirming; in the past two years, release windows were reported only a few days before the festival.

Drones: registration alone is not enough near the airport

According to the TAT guide updated June 29, 2026, registration alone does not permit a drone flight near Chiang Mai airport. Flights within 9 km require prior approval, and every flight must be in daylight and within line of sight; night flights or flights over crowds need separate approval. Tha Phae Gate is about 4 km from the airport as the crow flies, well inside that radius.

Not going to Chiang Mai? Sukhothai and Bangkok

The old capital of Sukhothai holds its Loy Krathong, Burning Candles and Playing with Fire Festival in the historical park from November 15 to 24, 2026. According to the Thai government portal, the light and sound show starts at 7 pm, with an extra 8:30 pm show on November 24, and tickets cost 500, 900 or 1,200 baht; check availability when you book.

Bangkok’s 2026 program needs confirming. In 2025, the city opened 33 parks such as Lumphini and Benjakitti for krathong floating until midnight, with foam krathongs, sky lanterns and fireworks banned inside, and a river festival ran at nine Chao Phraya piers from Wat Pho to ICONSIAM.

Loy Krathong falls on the same night everywhere, so you cannot see the main night in two places. To combine them, visit Sukhothai in the days before November 24, then head north to Chiang Mai.

Temple etiquette, safety and scams

• At temples, cover your shoulders and knees (no spaghetti straps), take your shoes off before entering a hall, and do not point your feet at a Buddha image. Women should not touch a monk or his robes.
• “Online krathong” sites that ask for ID numbers, card details or passwords are scams; Thai police warned about them in 2025.
• In an emergency, call the Tourist Police on 1155 (24/7) or use the free Thailand Tourist Police app, which has an SOS button and works without a Thai SIM.