Celebrating Loy Krathong in Sukhothai
Don’t miss the rest of our series on Sukhothai!
Getting to Sukhothai from Bangkok
The very first comment on our blog was a suggestion that we should go to Sukhothai for Loy Krathong. Two years later, we did! We had an incredible time, and want to encourage you to celebrate there if you have the opportunity. The entire mood of the festival was delightfully warm and joyous, and there were moments of truly magical beauty.
What to Expect from Loy Krathong in Sukhothai
In case you’re not familiar with it, Loy Krathong is a festival in which you can make wishes for the coming year while washing away the negativity and anger of the previous year. It overlaps with the photogenic Yi Peng or Yee Peng festival (the one you know from all the pictures of glowing lanterns floating through the dark night sky), but they’re not exactly the same thing.
This means that if you’re after those shots of hundreds of beautiful lanterns, Sukhothai isn’t the right place to go. If that’s what you’re looking for, Chiang Mai is a better bet!
While there are a few lanterns released at various moments during the celebrations in Sukhothai, the main emphasis is on floating krathongs instead. (Yes, that’s where the festival gets its name!) A krathong is a small, decorative floating raft made using banana trunks, flowers, incense, and candles.
During Loy Krathong, participants release these krathongs into the water, carrying with it the misfortunes of the past and wishes for the future.
A request: if you choose to send off a krathong of your own (and you should!), please use a biodegradable one. We didn’t see any styrofoam krathongs in Sukhothai, but they exist, and are harmful to the environment. Go for one of the prevalent and easy-to-find natural ones instead!
In addition to the beauty of all the floating krathongs, you’ll see fireworks, floating lanterns, parades, food vendors, fire dancers, performances and shows, and so much more. We felt like there was something new and brilliant everywhere we turned! Of course, all of this is also taking place in the incredible historic ruins.
When Is Loy Krathong?
Loy Krathong usually falls in November, but the exact date varies. It’s celebrated on the full moon of the 12th lunar month.
Important tip: If you’re planning ahead, you would be wiser to look up the full moon date and plan accordingly rather than trying to find the date of Loy Krathong itself. When we were planning, most sources said that Loy Krathong would be on November 14th… but it turned out to be on the 12th! Luckily we got to Sukhothai just in time, but if we had cut it any closer, we would have missed the festival completely.
Is Loy Krathong in Sukhothai Free?
In general, yes! The Historical Park is open for free all day and evening during the days leading up to Loy Krathong as well as on the festival date itself. You can take part in most of the activities for free, too.
If you want to buy and release a krathong, you can do so affordably; they range from 20 baht to 50 baht ($0.65 to $1.65 USD) for the basic floats.
You can also see the incredible fireworks displays and lantern releases for free from various spots within the park. You won’t have the absolute best view, but they’re still incredible.
The only event that actually costs money is the light and sound show. Tickets cost between 600 and 1200 baht ($20 and $40 USD) in 2019. We didn’t pay for the event, and don’t regret it at all; we were delighted with how much we were able to see even from outside the paid area. (By far, most of the other visitors didn’t go to the show either; it’s not like you’ll be one of the few people missing out.)
The Sukhothai light and sound show is gorgeous even if you don’t pay for a ticket!
How Far in Advance Should I Book?
As far as possible. We booked our hotel about a month before the festival, and were lucky enough to get the very last room available in the old city. We were lucky enough that we loved the hotel where we stayed, but things could easily have gone badly.