Festivals

Two festivals shape the Thai year for visitors. Songkran, the Thai New Year, runs from 13 to 15 April as a national public holiday. Expect street water fights in Bangkok, Chiang Mai and the beach towns, closed offices and full trains out of the capital as people head home. Bag your phone, wear clothes you don't mind soaking, and don't throw water at monks, the elderly or anyone holding a baby.

Loy Krathong falls on the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month, usually in November. People float small rafts of banana leaf and flowers on rivers and ponds; in Chiang Mai it coincides with Yi Peng, the lantern festival. Choose a krathong made of bread or banana trunk rather than foam, and check local rules before you release a sky lantern, because many areas restrict them near airports.

Smaller dates are worth planning around too. Ok Phansa, the end of Buddhist Lent, brings illuminated boat processions in the Northeast, and on the major Buddhist holy days alcohol sales are banned nationwide.

Hotels and transport sell out around both, and prices jump. Book early, and leave a day either side for travel.