By Harry Nara · Last updated
- Wan Sangkhan Long, main water dayTuesday 13 April 2027
- Wan NaoWednesday 14 April 2027
- Wan Thaloeng Sok, Thai New YearThursday 15 April 2027
- Where
- Silom, Khao San and citywide
- Tickets
- Free
- Runs
- April
- Held
- Annual
Songkran is fixed to the same three dates every year and does not move with the lunar calendar. The wider Bangkok corridor of events runs from a few days before to a few days after, and the water zones typically open a day ahead of the official start.
Songkran is not one event, it is four or five running at once in different parts of the city, and they suit completely different people. Silom is an organised international water battle behind barriers. Khao San is chaos. The riverside festival park is family-friendly and cultural. The temples in the early morning are the ceremonial version most visitors never see at all. Pick before you go, because moving between them soaking wet in April heat is not a plan.
What Songkran actually is
Thai New Year, and the largest festival in the country. The water has a purpose that gets lost in the photographs: pouring it over Buddha images and over the hands of elders is an act of cleansing and respect, and the street version grew out of that. The three days run from the last day of the old year through to the first of the new. Government offices and many businesses close, a large part of Bangkok travels home to the provinces, and what is left of the city gets very wet.
Where to watch Songkran
- Silom Road, for the organised version. The stretch between Sala Daeng and Chong Nonsi closes and becomes a controlled water battle from early afternoon until late, for three consecutive days. Barriers, a police presence, vendors selling water by the bucket, and a mixed Thai and international crowd. This is the most accessible zone for a visitor and the easiest to leave.
- Khao San Road, for the loud version. Denser, younger, more international and considerably more chaotic, running at full intensity for several days. Very little ceremony and no barriers. Good fun if that is what you came for, and genuinely overwhelming if it is not.
- The riverside festival park, for the family version. A multi-day free festival with cultural programming from every region of the country, performance stages, a drone display and a Buddha bathing ceremony, with the water play kept separate from the cultural zones. The only option here that works for young children or anyone who wants to stay dry.
- Siam Square, for the middle ground. Free concerts and an all-ages street programme across the retail district. Wetter than the festival park, calmer than Khao San, and easy to reach because Siam is the interchange station.
- The temples, between seven and nine in the morning, and almost nobody tells you this. Before any of the street zones open, people go to pour scented water over Buddha images and over the hands of their elders. Wat Pho, the Marble Temple and Wat Traimit all hold it. It is quiet, it is free, it is the thing the festival is actually about, and you can do it and still be at Silom by lunchtime.
Tickets and what it costs
Nothing is ticketed. Every zone described here is free to walk into, including the riverside festival with its stages and drone display. What you will spend money on is water: guns run from a few dozen baht for a pistol to several hundred for something with a tank, refills are sold by the bucket along every zone, and a waterproof pouch for your phone and passport is the single most worthwhile purchase of the trip. Accommodation is the real cost. Rates in Silom and around Khao San rise sharply across the corridor and the best-placed rooms go months ahead.
Official information and booking: www.tatnews.org/2026/04/maha-songkran-world-water-festival-2026-opens-in-bangkok
Getting there
Use the BTS and the MRT and nothing else. Roads through every water zone are effectively impassable, taxis will refuse the trip or sit stationary in it, and tuk-tuks become mobile water-gun platforms, which is entertaining but slow. Sala Daeng is the closest station to the Silom zone. Expect every train carriage to have standing water in it and every escalator to be wet. Leave a zone before the late-afternoon crush if you want a comfortable journey back.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Other Bangkok events
Frequently asked questions
Which part of Bangkok is best for Songkran?
Silom for an organised, accessible water battle with barriers and a mixed crowd. Khao San for the loudest and most chaotic version. The riverside festival park for families or anyone who wants culture rather than a soaking. The temples early in the morning for the ceremonial version the street zones grew out of.
Do the Songkran dates change each year?
No. Unlike Chinese New Year or the Buddhist holy days, Songkran is fixed to the same three dates annually and does not move with the lunar calendar. The surrounding programme of events can shift by a day or two at either end, but the three official days do not.
Can you avoid getting wet?
Only by staying out of the zones. Inside them there is no opt-out, and being visibly a tourist makes you a preferred target rather than an exempt one. The riverside festival keeps its cultural areas separate from the water play, and malls, museums and the Skytrain itself are all dry.
Is Songkran suitable for children?
The riverside festival park, yes, and children love the water play there. Silom and Khao San, no. The crowd density, the pressure of the water and the volume make both genuinely difficult with small children, and leaving a zone once you are deep inside it takes a while.
What should you bring?
A sealed waterproof pouch, closed shoes with grip, sunglasses against the chalk paste, cheap quick-drying clothes and more drinking water than seems necessary. Leave your passport in the hotel safe and carry a photocopy and a small amount of cash instead.
Is the whole city shut?
Government offices and banks close and a great many Bangkok residents leave for their home provinces, which makes parts of the city noticeably emptier than usual. Malls, convenience stores, hotels and transport all run. The disruption is on the roads through the water zones rather than across the city.
Sources
- Tourism Authority of Thailand, Maha Songkran World Water Festival
- Office Holidays, Songkran in Thailand
Dates on this page are checked against the organiser’s own listing and confirmed through 2027. Written and maintained by Harry Nara.