Lantern Festival 2026 tickets get you into the ticketed sky lantern releases in Chiang Mai on 24 and 25 November 2026. However, prices start near 3,000 THB and run past 15,000 THB for the raised front seats, and nearly every ticket bundles the same four things: a shuttle both ways, a Lanna buffet, two lanterns and one krathong.
Now the bit that trips people up at the Chiang Mai lantern festival. So you cannot just wander into Chiang Mai, buy a lantern off a stall and light it wherever you fancy. Chiang Mai province pins releases to certain nights, certain hours and certain zones, and bans them outright near the airport. Those photos you have saved on your phone, the ones with a thousand lanterns lifting at once? They were shot at licensed venues well outside town. That rule is the reason tickets exist.
Below: the 2026 dates, what each venue charges, what you actually get for the money, which seat tier is worth it, and how to enjoy the week if you would rather not spend a paisa on a ticket.
Lantern Festival 2026 tickets at a glance
| Festival dates | 24 and 25 November 2026, with Yi Peng events running into the 26th |
| Where | Chiang Mai, northern Thailand |
| Ticket price range | Roughly 3,000 to 15,900 THB per person |
| Usually included | Return shuttle, Lanna buffet, 2 sky lanterns, 1 krathong |
| Free option | Temples, Tha Pae Gate and the Ping River, where a krathong costs 20 to 100 THB |
| Book by | Months ahead. The cheap tiers vanish first |
If you want the whole thing sorted in one booking, our Chiang Mai CAD Khom Loy Sky Lantern Festival tickets start at USD 173 and cover transfers, the buffet, two lanterns, a krathong and a hand-painted souvenir.
When is the Lantern Festival in 2026?
Mark 24 and 25 November 2026 for Yi Peng 2026 and Loy Krathong 2026. The full moon lands on the 25th, and Yi Peng events spill into the 26th. So three nights in the city covers everything without a rush.
Why the date moves each year: the festival follows the full moon of the second Lanna lunar month, not a fixed calendar slot. Which also explains why Chiang Mai hotels quietly double their rates for that one week, and why flights from Bangkok sell out weeks before anyone books their lantern.
Yi Peng or Loy Krathong? Not the same festival
Travel sites blur the Yi Peng festival and the Loy Krathong festival constantly. Still, they are separate traditions that happen to land in the same week.
- Yi Peng belongs to the old Lanna north. Paper lanterns go up into the sky as an offering, and therefore this is the ticketed half of the week. This is the one with a ticket price attached.
- Loy Krathong is celebrated across Thailand. You set a small decorated float on the water and let it drift. It costs about as much as a cup of chai.
In Chiang Mai they have grown into one long celebration, which is why the smart plan is to do both. One ticketed night for the lanterns, one slow evening by the river with a krathong.
Lantern Festival 2026 tickets: venues and prices
Those khom loy releases are priced per venue, so rates shift a little every season and the cheapest tier always goes first, so use this as a planning range, not a price list carved in stone.
What the tour packages actually include
Strip away the marketing and most lantern festival tour packages carry the same kit:
- Entry to the venue and the ceremony itself
- Two sky lanterns and one krathong
- A Thai Lanna buffet, soft drinks included
- A return shuttle from a pick-up point in the city
- Dance performances, monk chanting and the candle ritual before the release
Pay more and what changes is your seat, because everything else stays the same. Everyone releases at the same moment, so your view is the product.
My honest advice for anyone carrying a camera: buy height, not closeness. After all, lanterns rise. From a raised platform you frame the whole sky. From a front-row ground seat you mostly frame the back of someone’s head.
Getting to the venue
Also, these venues sit 45 minutes to an hour outside the city, out towards Mae On and Lamphun. Shuttles usually run from Maya Mall or the Convention Centre through the afternoon, somewhere between 1pm and 4pm, leaving every few minutes once the queue builds.
So take an early one. Traffic that week is genuinely bad, seats fill from the front, and getting there at 3pm leaves you time for the craft stalls, a plate of khao soi and a walk around before anything official begins.
Can you see the Lantern Festival without tickets?
Yes. Thousands of visitors do it every year and go home happy. Of course, you miss the mass release, but the old city during Yi Peng week is lovely on its own, and the whole evening costs you pocket change.
- Wat Phan Tao. Candles across the grounds, lanterns strung above the pond, monks chanting. Easily the prettiest free spot in Chiang Mai that week.
- Wat Chedi Luang. Candlelit ceremonies beside the ruined chedi.
- Tha Pae Gate. Parades, street food, music, noise. Come for the atmosphere rather than photos.
- The moat and the Ping River. Pick up a krathong for 20 to 100 THB and float it yourself.
Plenty of travellers split the difference: one free night wandering the old city, one paid night for the lanterns going up together.
The lantern rules nobody mentions until it is too late
Chiang Mai has a busy airport, and burning paper drifting through a flight path is exactly the problem it sounds like. So the province fixes which nights lanterns may go up, between which hours, and in which zones. Meanwhile, several districts allow none at all. Penalties are not a slap on the wrist either.
In plain terms: light a lantern you bought from a street vendor inside the old city and you are breaking the law. Release one at a licensed venue during the official window and nobody minds. That single distinction is what you are paying a few thousand baht for.
What to wear and carry
- Shoulders and knees covered. The ceremony is religious, and most venues hold you to it.
- A light jacket. November nights up north sit around 15 to 20°C, cooler than people expect from Thailand.
- Closed shoes. The ground is grass and dust, and by 9pm it is churned up.
- Cash. Venue stalls and krathong sellers mostly do not take cards.
- Hair tied back. You will be holding an open flame in a crowd. Enough said.
Booking without getting burned
Fake listings pop up every October, usually on Facebook, always priced suspiciously low. Instead, book through the venue or a seller you can actually trace, check exactly what the ticket covers, and read the cancellation line before you pay. Festival tickets are often non-refundable, ours included, because the venues do not refund either.
Finally, sort flights and a hotel in the same sitting. Chiang Mai fills up fast that week and prices only travel in one direction. For the buying process step by step, see our guide to Chiang Mai lantern festival tickets in 2026, and if you need to fill the daytime hours, the best things to do in Chiang Mai has the rest sorted.
Frequently asked questions
In short, it falls on 24 and 25 November 2026, with the full moon on the 25th. Yi Peng events carry on into the 26th, so three nights in the city covers the whole thing.
Usually you can expect 3,000 THB at the smaller venues and up to 15,900 THB for top-tier seating at CAD Khomloy. A shuttle, buffet dinner, two lanterns and a krathong come with almost every ticket.
Usually venue entry, two sky lanterns, one krathong, a Thai Lanna buffet with soft drinks and a return shuttle from the city. Spend more and you add raised seating plus a souvenir.
No. Because of the airport, the province limits releases to set nights, hours and zones, and bans them near the airport altogether. Legal mass releases only happen at licensed venues outside the city.
Actually, much of it is. Temple ceremonies at Wat Phan Tao and Wat Chedi Luang, the Tha Pae Gate parades and floating a krathong cost nothing or close to it. Only the sky lantern releases need a ticket.
More on Lantern Festival 2026 tickets and packages
In short, Yi Peng is the northern Lanna festival of sky lanterns. Loy Krathong is the nationwide festival of floating offerings on water. They share the same week in Chiang Mai, so most visitors do both.
So book months ahead if you can. Cheaper tiers sell out first, and hotel rates and flights into Chiang Mai climb steadily as the festival week gets closer.
Above all, go for height. Gold sits about 1.2m up, Platinum around 2.5m, Elite near 4m. Since the lanterns rise, a raised platform frames the release far better than a front-row seat on the grass.
Usually shuttles come with most tickets and leave from Maya Mall or the Convention Centre, generally between 1pm and 4pm. The venues are 45 minutes to an hour out of town, so pick an early departure.
First, cover shoulders and knees for the ceremony, add a light jacket for the 15 to 20°C evening, and wear closed shoes. The ground gets dusty once a few thousand people walk over it.
Useful links:Book CAD Khom Loy lantern festival tickets · Yee Peng Lantern Festival 2026 guide · Things to do in Chiang Mai · Tourism Authority of Thailand
