Where To Celebrate Loy Krathong And Yee Peng, Thailand’s Most Beautiful Festivals

Come November time in Thailand, you will be treated with a picturesque and romantic view of waterways and skies across the country all lit up with floating krathongs and lanterns. We all have the Loy Krathong and Yee Peng festivals to thank for that!

While they are two different festivals, they’re usually celebrated at the same time. For the most part, Yee Peng is only celebrated in North Thailand while Loy Krathong is celebrated throughout the country. For Loy Krathong, decorated mini rafts are set afloat on the water while for Yee Peng, paper lanterns are released into the sky.

Also known as Thailand’s light festival, Loy Krathong (or Loi Krathong) is a three-day festival that takes place on the evening of the full moon in the 12th month of the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In Chiang Mai, it’s also celebrated concurrently with Yi Peng or Yee Peng Festival.

During Loy Krathong, locals will gather around lakes, rivers and canals to release beautiful lotus-shaped rafts that are decorated with candles, incense and flowers. The word krathong refers to the decorated raft while the word loy means to float.

While there are different tales about the origins of Loy Krathong, many celebrate this ritual now to pay their respects to the Goddess of Water and to ask for forgiveness for causing pollution.

Krathongs were traditionally made with organic materials like banana leaves, banana tree bark, spider lily plants and bread but you can find different variations now using styrofoam, glossy paper, and plastic. Avoid adding on to the pollution by getting the ones made using natural materials!

In North Thailand, the Loy Krathong festival coincides with Yee Peng or Yi Peng festival and they’re often celebrated together. During Yee Peng, locals will release paper lanterns into the sky to welcome a brighter future. Many will recognise it as the Tangled-like lantern festival!

The sky lanterns, also known as khom loi, are made using thin rice paper, bamboo and fuel cells. Many make a wish before releasing their lanterns and it’s been said that if it stays lit until it’s out of sight, your wishes will come true!

While you can find Loy Krathong celebrated throughout all of Thailand wherever there’s water, there are a few cities which do it on a larger scale namely Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and Sukhothai. Yee Peng, on the other hand, is celebrated in North Thailand primarily in Chiang Mai.

If you can’t decide where in Thailand to celebrate this festival, here are the highlights of the 3 recommended places to celebrate Loy Krathong or Yi Peng.

Easily a top choice amongst travellers, the celebration in Chiang Mai is extra special because Loy Krathong and Yi Peng are typically celebrated concurrently. Aside from the floating rafts and candles in the river, you can find the night sky being decorated with countless brightly lit paper lanterns.

Over the few days of the celebration, you can find several festivities and activities like parades, fireworks display, traditional performances and more. Celebrated in many places throughout Chiang Mai, some locations require entrance fee while some are open to the public.

Save the hassle of looking for transport during the busy festival and battling with the crowd to purchase food, krathong and lanterns by joining a tour. Book a Loy Krathong and Yee Peng tour from Klook with roundtrip transfer, dinner, and other items included for the most convenient experience of the festival!

One of the top locations include the famous Maejo University. Besides that, you can also celebrate them at the Horizon Village & Resort, Pingnakorn Riverside Hotel, Cowboy Army Riding Club and more.

In the vibrant capital of Thailand, Loy Krathong is a celebration not to be missed. You can find locals gathering at the Asiatique riverside market setting their decorated floats to sail and partaking in various festivities like making their own krathong! You can also find floating processions and firework displays during the festival.

Another famous location in Bangkok to celebrate Loy Krathong is by the Chao Phraya River. For a unique experience, you can also Klook a Loy Krathong dinner cruise onboard the Chao Phraya Princess Cruise and more. Not only do you get the view of the city’s famous temples and palaces as a backdrop, you can also watch the river filled with countless krathong.

Said to be the place of origin of Loy Krathong, festivities in Sukhothai go on for five days instead of the usual three days elsewhere in Thailand. Here, the festival is more than just floating lights, it’s a full-on celebration!

Locals and visitors alike will be thoroughly entertained with plenty of activities like beauty contests, parades, folk music performances, light shows and more. Simply head over to the Sukhothai Historical Park (old city) to immerse in a five-day cultural exploration.

Typically celebrated in November, the festival takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. While it falls on a different date each year, here’s a forecast of when you can expect to celebrate this festival for the next few years:

2019: 11 November

2020: 1 November

2021: 20 November

Make sure to mark those dates down!

Now that you’ve got your agenda all settled, make sure to complete your trip with essentials like a SIM Card and WiFi Device, airport and city transfers and more! With plenty more to see and do, make sure you check out all the fun Thailand activities and adventures on Klook.