Loy Krathong in Phuket

A quieter festival than most visitors expect

Loy Krathong falls in November, on the evening of the twelfth full moon in the traditional Thai lunar calendar, and it’s about as different from Songkran’s chaos as a Thai festival can be. Rather than water fights and street parties, Loy Krathong is a quiet, candlelit evening built around a single simple act: floating a small decorated basket, a krathong, on water as a gesture of thanks and release. If you’re used to Songkran’s reputation, Loy Krathong will likely surprise you with how contemplative and low-key it actually feels on the ground in Phuket.

What a krathong actually is

A krathong is a small floating raft, traditionally made from a cross-section of banana tree trunk, decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, incense sticks, and a candle. The tradition behind floating one is to pay respects to the water spirits, ask forgiveness for polluting the water over the past year, and symbolically let go of grudges, bad luck, or negative thoughts as the krathong drifts away. Many people also tuck a small coin, a strand of hair, or a fingernail clipping into the krathong before releasing it, a personal offering tied to the idea of leaving the old year behind.

Where to see it in Phuket

Phuket Old Town runs one of the more atmospheric versions of the evening, with its sino-Portuguese shophouses and Thalang Road lit up and a genuinely local, family character to the crowd rather than a tourist-facing production. Canals, ponds, and any accessible waterfront around the island fill with krathongs at dusk, and Chalong and Wat Chalong host their own temple-grounds version of the celebration alongside the wider merit-making the temple is known for. West-coast beaches also see krathongs floated into the sea in some areas, though this practice draws increasing pushback on environmental grounds, covered below.

Phuket Old Town half-day sightseeing with local guide

The environmental side, honestly

This is worth addressing directly rather than glossing over. Older-style krathongs made from styrofoam and synthetic decorations don’t biodegrade, and when thousands are floated at once across the country, the environmental cost is real — plastic and foam washing up on beaches and clogging waterways in the days after the festival.

The response in recent years has been a genuine shift toward banana-trunk and banana-leaf krathongs, which biodegrade naturally, along with some communities experimenting with edible krathongs made from bread that fish and other wildlife can eat. If you’re floating one yourself, choosing a natural-material krathong over a styrofoam one is a small but meaningful choice, and many stalls near festival sites now sell only the biodegradable versions.

Sky lanterns and airport restrictions

Loy Krathong in parts of northern Thailand, particularly Chiang Mai’s related Yi Peng festival, is strongly associated with releasing sky lanterns — but this is a northern Thai tradition, not a Phuket one, and it’s worth not confusing the two. Phuket’s Loy Krathong centres on floating krathongs on water, not releasing lanterns into the sky. Sky lanterns are also a genuine hazard near Phuket International Airport (HKT), where any airborne lantern release poses a real risk to aircraft, and restrictions around the airport corridor reflect that. If you see sky lanterns for sale around Loy Krathong, treat them as a northern Thailand tradition rather than something to release locally in Phuket.

A family-friendly evening

Loy Krathong tends to be one of the more family-friendly festival evenings on the island — children float krathongs alongside parents and grandparents, food stalls line the waterfront areas, and the overall mood is festive but calm rather than rowdy. It pairs naturally with an evening walk through Old Town or a stop at Wat Chalong, and makes a good addition to a trip that also has kids in tow, without the intensity of Patong nightlife.

Combining it with a workshop or cultural stop

For visitors who want a hands-on introduction to Thai craft traditions around the same trip, several Old Town operators run batik and craft workshops that pair naturally with an evening spent watching the festival — a way to spend the daylight hours productively before the krathongs come out at dusk.

Phuket batik workshop making and painting class

What to expect if you attend

Arrive at your chosen waterfront spot before dusk to find a decent vantage point, since the best-known locations fill in as the sun goes down. Food stalls, small performances, and craft vendors selling krathongs are common around the larger gathering points, so you don’t need to make your own krathong in advance — buying one on the spot is standard practice for visitors and locals alike. Expect a genuinely photogenic evening: candlelit water, lanterns strung along waterfronts, and a calm, reflective crowd rather than a rowdy one.

Temple etiquette still applies

If your Loy Krathong evening includes a stop at a temple like Wat Chalong, the usual temple etiquette applies regardless of the festive atmosphere — shoulders and knees covered, shoes off before entering main halls, and a respectful, quiet manner around anyone actively praying or making merit.

How the timing fits the wider calendar

Loy Krathong sits in November, right at the tail end of the wetter months and the start of Phuket’s high season, which usually means pleasant, cooling evening weather for the waterfront gathering — drier and less humid than the peak of the rainy months, but not yet into the busiest, most crowded stretch of December and January. For a fuller sense of how November weather compares with the rest of the year, see the month-by-month breakdown.

Frequently asked questions about Loy Krathong in Phuket

When is Loy Krathong celebrated in Phuket?

On the evening of the full moon in November, following the traditional Thai lunar calendar. The exact date shifts slightly each year with the lunar cycle.

What is a krathong made of?

Traditionally a base of banana tree trunk decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, incense, and a candle. Biodegradable versions are increasingly the norm and preferable to older styrofoam ones.

Where is the best place to see Loy Krathong in Phuket?

Phuket Old Town offers one of the more atmospheric evenings, along with Chalong and Wat Chalong, and various canals and waterfronts around the island.

Does Phuket release sky lanterns for Loy Krathong?

No — sky lanterns are a northern Thai tradition, most associated with Chiang Mai’s Yi Peng festival, not Phuket’s Loy Krathong. They’re also restricted near Phuket’s airport for aviation safety reasons.

Is Loy Krathong family-friendly?

Yes, generally more so than Songkran. It’s a calm, candlelit evening with food stalls and craft vendors, well suited to visitors with children.

Is it environmentally responsible to float a krathong?

It can be, if you choose a biodegradable krathong made from banana trunk and natural materials rather than styrofoam. Many vendors near festival sites now sell only natural-material versions.