Songkran 2027 in Bangkok: Thai New Year, 13 to 15 April

For three days every April, Thailand pours water. In the morning it is poured gently, scented and full of petals, over the hands of grandparents and the shoulders of Buddha images; by noon it comes by the bucket, the hose and the water gun, and nobody on the street stays dry. Songkran 2027 runs from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April, three public holidays in the hottest month of the year.

This guide is about Songkran in Bangkok first, with the rest of Thailand after: what the days mean, where to play and where to watch the traditions, the rules of the water, the ticketed festivals, and how to travel and stay safe in the busiest week on the roads. The dates are fixed. The city’s 2027 programmes, the venues, the road closures and the hours, had not been announced on 3 November 2026, so where we give them we give the 2026 pattern and say so.

What Songkran Means

Songkran comes from the Sanskrit for the passage of the sun, and marks its entry into Aries in mid-April, the start of the year in the old Thai calendar, after the rice harvest. It is a family festival first: people travel home, clean the house, visit the temple, honour their elders and their ancestors, and pour water as a blessing and a cleansing for the year ahead. UNESCO inscribed Songkran in Thailand on its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in December 2023, the country’s fourth inscription after Khon, Thai massage and Nora.

The water fight grew out of that blessing, and in Bangkok it is now the bigger part of the day. Both are real, and the best Songkran has both: a morning at a temple, an afternoon in the water.

The Three Days

Tue 13 Apr

Wan Maha Songkran, the first day, and National Elderly Day. Houses are cleaned, offerings prepared and Buddha images bathed with scented water.

Wed 14 Apr

Wan Nao, the day between the years, and Family Day. Harsh words are avoided, food is cooked for the next day's merit-making, and sand is carried to the temple to build sand chedis.

Thu 15 Apr

Wan Thaloeng Sok, when the new year begins. Alms at dawn, merit-making and sermons, and rot nam dam hua, water poured over the elders' hands in return for their blessing.

Around them

The water play runs every afternoon of the three days, and in many places for days before and after: Pattaya's Wan Lai was on 19 April in 2026.

The Big Festival and the Ticketed Ones

The government’s flagship, the Maha Songkran World Water Festival, has run in Bangkok from 11 to 15 April for the last three years: around Sanam Luang and Ratchadamnoen Avenue in 2024 and 2025, and at Benjakitti Park in 2026, free to enter, with a parade, the year’s Nang Songkran, music stages, regional food and crafts, water zones, sand chedis and Buddha bathing, and a drone show of more than 1,200 drones. More than 100,000 people came in its first three days in 2026. Its 2027 venue and dates had not been announced.

The ticketed festivals are something else: dance music, big stages, water and a crowd that has come for exactly that. SIAM Songkran has announced its 2027 edition for 10 to 13 April at Bravo BKK, by RCA, themed Luminara, with tickets on sale and the line-up still to come. S2O, the other big one, ran at S2O Land Ratchada in 2026 and had not announced 2027.

SIAM Songkran GA

฿2,100 a day, ฿4,600 for three days, ฿5,900 for four

SIAM Songkran VIP

฿3,700 a day, ฿8,200 for three days, ฿11,500 for four

SIAM Songkran PVIP

฿7,200 a day, ฿15,900 for three days

S2O

2027 dates not announced

The Rules of the Water

The official zones screen at the entrances and keep a short list of bans: no talcum powder put on people without their consent, no high-pressure water guns, no revealing clothes, no going shirtless. The government’s rules for 2026 carried fines, ฿5,000 for powder without consent and up to ฿4,000 for a high-pressure gun, with far heavier penalties for harassment of any kind.

TAT’s own etiquette is older and simpler. Never splash monks, pregnant women or anyone riding a motorbike, and leave alone anyone who is plainly trying to stay dry or going to work. Ask before you touch anyone’s face with powder. Use clean water, and never ice. At the temples the water is poured, not thrown: over the body of a Buddha image, never its head, and over the hands of the elders, who will bless you in return.

Beyond Bangkok

Every province has its Songkran, and some are worth the trip. Chiang Mai’s is the most famous: the moat around the old city becomes the water supply, and on 13 April a procession carries the revered Phra Buddha Sihing image along Tha Phae Road and into the old city, splashed with blessings all the way. Pattaya keeps its Wan Lai, the water day, until after the national holiday, on 19 April in 2024 and 2026, with Beach Road closed from noon. Phra Pradaeng in Samut Prakan, south of Bangkok, celebrates the Mon Songkran later in April with a goddess parade and the release of fish and birds. Hat Yai holds a Midnight Songkran, Khon Kaen turns Si Chan Road into Khao Niao Road, the sticky rice road, and in Ayutthaya elephants join the water fight. All their 2027 dates were still to be announced on 3 November.

Getting Around and Staying Safe

April is Bangkok’s hottest month, with afternoons in the mid-thirties and some days near forty. Drink water constantly, get out of the sun between zones, and use a sunblock that survives a bucket. Dress to get soaked: bright, quick-drying clothes, nothing thin and white, shoes that grip on a wet road, a waterproof pouch for your phone worn at the front, and as little else as possible.

The city is easy: the BTS and MRT run normally and are the way between the zones. The roads out of it are not. The seven days around Songkran are the deadliest of the year on Thai roads, and in 2026 the national campaign counted 242 deaths and more than 1,200 crashes, most of them on motorbikes. Do not ride one that week. Trains sell out weeks ahead, in 2026 by the end of March, and the special Songkran trains open for booking in March on the D-Ticket app; the long-distance buses leave from Mo Chit 2. If you are flying, book now.

Where to Stay, and the Rooftops

Book early: Songkran fills Bangkok’s hotels in an ordinary year. Choose by the Songkran you want. Silom and Sathorn put the biggest street party at your door; the old town and the river put you at the temples in the morning and near Khao San in the afternoon; Siam and Sukhumvit sit on the BTS for everything. After a day in the water, a rooftop is the driest seat in the city for the sunset, and the hotels below each have one upstairs.

The Rest of the Season

Songkran closes Bangkok’s festival season. Before it come Chinese New Year in Yaowarat on 6 February and, earlier still, the December festivals and New Year’s Eve on the rooftops and the river. The season calendar has every date, and the cycle starts again in November with Loy Krathong.