Chiang Mai Yi Peng Lantern Festival

When I was researching how to celebrate Yi Peng festival in Chiang Mai for our trip to Thailand in 2023, I could not find much information on the difference between the public celebration and the private one(s) that you have to pay for. 

So even though this is a nutrition and health blog, I hope that I can help you if you’re as confused as I was!!

First of all, you have two celebrations going on at the same time - Loi Krathong which is the water lantern festival of and Yi Peng which is the air lantern festival. These are celebrated in and around Chiang Mai, Thailand. If you are in other areas, I think they just celebrate Loi Krathong, and not on nearly as big of a scale. Having two festivals happening at the same time can also make research confusing, but know that they happen concurrently!

The dates change also every year as they are celebrated along with the full moon in November. This means if you’ll be in Thailand for only one full moon in November, you won’t be able to also go to a full moon party as those are on the islands. 

November 14-16, 2024

November 4-6, 2025

As I mentioned, it was very hard to find actual reports of what the difference between the public, city wide celebrations look like vs the paid private events, so hopefully I can clear that up for you! The city wide, public event is bustling and chaotic and has a lot of character. But there’s something that was special about 4000 people all releasing their sky lanterns at the same time at the private event, and also getting those beautiful photos!  The celebrations last 3 nights, so you can actually participate in a private event AND the public one, which is what we did and I was very happy for that

Night 1 was all about Loi Krathong, the water lanterns. For days before, the city had been getting decorated, it was really fun to see all the art installations etc go up! Our hotel gave us a schedule of events either the day before or the morning of the festival. There was an opening ceremony, fireworks, a parade, pageants, and more! If you really want to see a particular show/presentation, especially one that might be more popular, be early for a good spot and expect to wait a while.

Loi Krathong are small boats generally made of the trunk of a banana tree decorated with leaves and flowers. Each has a candle and an incense stick that you’ll light before you release it into the water. Many Thais say releasing the lantern is a way to send their problems away. There will be many available for puchase, make sure to pick one that is biodegradable, they are all supposed to be but not everyone followed those rules. You’ll release the boat off the shore, and there were small temporary docks with someone to help you put it into the water so you don’t fall in.

We actually got one some teenagers made out of toast and it lasted way longer than the fancier looking one made out of banana leaves. Go figure. Our hotel had given us a Loi Krathong, but we ended up not bringing it with us because we didn’t want to carry it across town and they only cost ~100-150 Baht right at the dock. Elaborate ones will run you more of course!

Do bring a lighter if you have one! I think they had them for sale too so don’t worry. There was also a ton of food, and thousands upon thousands of people!!! Temples also were open to sit and enjoy, with candles to light. There were also night markets and a general air of a big festival. Find a place on the water to sit and watch the lights go by on the river and fireworks in the sky!

Night 2 was Yi Peng, the sky lantern release. These lanterns are made from thin rice paper and wrapped over a bamboo or wire frame, with a small fuel canister that you light. They are delicate, and are easy to tear so be careful. Once you light the fuel cell, they take time to fill with air before you can release them into the sky!

In 2023 when we were there, you were supposed to only release lanterns if you were local. We respected that, and did see some people getting in trouble for releasing lanterns if they weren’t Thai. You also need to keep an eye out for lanterns flying above you, as they are on fire and don’t always rise properly. The fire department was on hand but not needed (that we saw anyway)

We stood on the Nawarat bridge and just watched the lanterns go by. Just like night 1, there were fireworks, food, and general celebrations! It’s really fun to watch people light lanterns and see if they would sink or float. The Chansom bridge was another popular one to watch from. The Narawat bridge still allowed cars and mopeds on the bridge, even amongst hundreds of pedestrians! The Chansom is a pedestrian only bridge.

The 3rd night (2nd night of Yi Peng) we went to a private event hosted by CAD, so I don’t know what happened that night in the city and if it was different from night 2. There were other mass release private events, but it was very hard to find information about them that was post pandemic so we weren’t sure if they were still happening or not, which was very confusing. CAD has a nice website, so that’s why we went with that event.

CAD has buses that will take you to the event site, but I would recommend being very early as they pick everyone up from the same meeting point on buses and trucks!! So it can take a while. We purchased standard tickets to the event for around $130 each, VIP/Premium tickets would have been $180-190, and I honestly don’t know what the difference is between those two. They had a separate food area and toilets, and closer seats. They also had better transportation to and from the event. We didn’t find these things to be worth it personally, but it was more comfortable if that’s important to you. 

There are cultural displays while you wait for the main event. Some music/dance, some kids practicing Muy Thai etc. I do wish there’d been some explanations of the events to make them more significant. There were also snacks and stalls with items for sale, and of course many places to take photos. 

The food area had tons of options - the food was neither good nor bad, just fine. There was plenty of it though! It’s possible that the VIP food was better, but I suspect there were just shorter lines for the same food and slightly better seating. I don’t remember there being alcohol, which I was glad for considering the whole point is to light things on fire.

The bathrooms though, were a mess! It’s possible they will do better at this in future years. We waited 20-30 minutes for the porta potty just before the event was set to start. I think there were other ones outside the entrance, so I recommend checking there if there’s a line at the main toilets. A friend of ours was at the first night of the private event, and it sounds like it was far less organized than night 2, and that they also ran out of food. Something to consider, it seemed like night 1 had the kinks being worked out because everything other than the toilets was very streamlined. 

After 1-2 hours we took our seats for the show to start. There were some cultural exhibitions: monks chanting, music, dancing etc. We were in the back so it was quite hard to see, and people were talking the whole time all around us. It was obvious they were there for the lanterns, and not the show. So if you want to watch the show, I’d get the VIP/premium seating as it was impossible to appreciate from the back. The show lasted about 30 minutes. 

However, being in the back DID give us even better views of what we came to see - the lantern release. We each got 2 lanterns, and towards the end of the show ushers came around and lit flames every few seats. They are there to help you with unpacking the delicate lanterns and lighting/releasing them successfully

This is a mass release - as opposed to the public event with sporadic lantern releases - so this is where you want to take your photos. I brought a small tripod, and set my phone to record so we could enjoy the moment, and later on took most of our stills from that video. The ushers will also take photos of you if you ask. 

I recommend waiting to release your first lantern and just enjoying and taking in the magical moment. There was music and fireworks, and thousands of lanterns released into the sky. I was in awe.

The lantern release lasted around 30 minutes. Then we headed to the trucks to go back to Chiang Mai. It was pretty crowded, but once you’ve been in Thailand for a bit it won’t bother you. You’ll need to get a Grab from the drop off point back to your hotel. I’d recommend waiting to leave Chiang Mai for another day or two if your itinerary allows, as the airport was quite busy the day after the festival ended. 

Does this cause a lot of trash? I’m not sure - the event billed itself as better for the environment than releasing on your own. Most of the lanterns went to the same spot, so I hope that they went to that area over the next few days to clean up. But I don’t know that - the information isn’t clear on their website. They do claim to be environmentally friendly but I’m not sure if that’s just in reference to compostable plates or if there’s more to it than that.  

I hope this helps you as you make your decision on how to celebrate!! If you are on the fence about visiting Chiang Mai to celebrate Yi Peng and Loi Krathong, I highly recommend you go!