Songkran Festival 2024 (สงกรานต์ 2567), also known as the Thai New Year, will be celebrated from 12 – 16 April 2024 throughout the country. Marking the start of the most important festival in Thailand, locals will perform a series of activities from cleaning their homes, paying respect to elders by cleaning their feet with scented water, to praying at the temples over the 5 day public holiday. Other than observing these long-held religious and cultural traditions, Thais as well as foreigners in the country will roam the streets and splash water at one another as a symbol of celebration, purification and rejuvenation.
Note: Songkran officially starts on 13 April and ends on 15 April every year. As 14 April 2024 falls on a Sunday this year, 16 April has been made a public holiday. Additionally, on 13 February 2024, the Thai government gazetted 12 April as a national public holiday to make the Songkran festival a 5-day holiday this year in bid to boost tourism in the country. In addition to the five-day national holiday, celebrations in selected cities and shopping centres will continue through 21 April 2024.
Songkran celebratory activities in Bangkok are concentrated in a few areas in the capital. The following is a list of activities and places where most of the actions take place:
If you are in Chiangmai, head down to these places to bask in the festive atmosphere:
Other than participating in water fights and observing Songkran traditions in the day, it is also common for many to party in the evening at hotels, clubs and music festivals. Mega music events will also be held in various parts of Thailand.
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