Yi Peng is the reason a lot of people put Thailand on a list in the first place: thousands of paper lanterns lifting off at once, all of them going up slowly, all of them going the same direction. The photographs are real. What they leave out is that you cannot simply walk into Chiang Mai in late November, buy a lantern on the street and release it. That part takes planning, and most of the disappointment people report comes from not knowing it in advance.
Yi Peng follows the Lanna lunar calendar, so it moves every year. In 2026 the main window is Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November. Loi Krathong — the nationwide festival where decorated floats are set on the water — overlaps with it, which is why in Chiang Mai the two names get used as if they were one event.
Treat those two dates as the anchor and build around them. The city usually confirms parades, road closures and the free public programme much later, often only a few weeks ahead. Ticketed lantern releases publish their dates far earlier, which is why they are the more reliable thing to book a trip around.
| Yi Peng | Loi Krathong | |
|---|---|---|
| What flies | Sky lanterns (khom loi) | Floating baskets on water |
| Where | Northern Thailand only | All of Thailand |
| In Chiang Mai | Mostly ticketed venues | Free, along the Ping River |
This is the single fact that decides what your trip looks like. If the mass release is the reason you are going, you need a ticket to an organised event, and those sell out months ahead. If you are happy with the city at its most atmospheric — temples lit with clay candles, krathongs going out on the river, parades — you need no ticket at all, and the city itself is free.
Worth it if the mass lift-off is the image you are travelling for. The large organised events put thousands of people in one field, run a ceremony, and release together. It is the photograph, and there is no free equivalent.
Skip it if what you actually want is the feeling of the city during the festival. The ticketed venues are 30–60 minutes outside Chiang Mai, tickets run into the thousands of baht per person, and the evening is heavily scheduled. Plenty of people go once, are glad they did, and spend the second night in the Old City instead.
Lantern releases & Chiang Mai toursCompare organised events and day tripsArrive, get your bearings in the Old City, and walk the moat in the evening — decorations and clay-candle displays go up before the festival peaks. This buffer day is not optional in practice: traffic during the festival is unpredictable and a delayed flight can cost you the one night you came for.
If you have a ticket, most of the evening belongs to the event, including transfers. If not, head for the Ping River and the bridges around sunset for krathongs, then work back into the Old City for the temples.
Keep it soft. This is a good day for Doi Suthep, a cooking class, or the day trips that get overbooked during the festival itself. Then fly out the following morning rather than the same evening.
| Now (Aug–Sep) | Can wait |
|---|---|
| Accommodation in or near the Old City | Cooking classes, massages |
| Tickets for a mass release, if you want one | Day trips outside the festival window |
| Flights into Chiang Mai | Restaurant bookings |
Chiang Mai is a small city hosting a national-scale event. Rooms inside the Old City and along the river are the first to go and the prices roughly double for those nights. Booking three or four months out is normal here, not cautious.
Find hotels for the festival nightsChiang Mai, 23–26 November 2026 Compare flights to Chiang MaiDirect and via BangkokWorth sorting before you land, for one specific reason: during the festival you will be navigating on foot at night, in crowds, coordinating with people you came with, and calling rides that cannot find you. That is the moment to already have data, not to be hunting for a SIM counter at the airport.
An eSIM installs before you leave and connects on arrival. For a week in Thailand it costs less than a couple of coffees at home, and it removes the one failure that ruins a festival night.
Thailand eSIMInstall now, connects when you land24–25 November 2026 in Chiang Mai. The dates shift each year with the Lanna lunar calendar.
Not reliably inside the city. Authorised venues outside Chiang Mai are the dependable option, and they are ticketed.
Three, minimum. Arrive the day before the main night and leave the day after.
Yes. This is the busiest week of Chiang Mai's year. Plan for slow traffic and book everything that can be booked.