Water-festival New Year, month by month around the world
Songkran, Thingyan, Pi Mai, Chaul Chnam: three days of water in the streets and a week of shut offices and full buses.
41 destinations on SeasonMap, ranked within each month by the comfort score — because the point is not only where the season is on, but whether the weather is worth the trip while it is.
When it is on
- Jan·
- Feb·
- Mar·
- Apr41
- May·
- Jun·
- Jul·
- Aug·
- Sep·
- Oct·
- Nov·
- Dec·
Number of destinations with water-festival new year on in that month. Windows move a little each year.
Water-festival New Year in April
- 🇲🇲 Kalaw, MyanmarThingyan water festival · 13–17 AprFour days when the buses stop, the trekking guides go home to their villages and the market shuts.77climate
- 🇲🇲 Inle Lake, MyanmarThingyan water festival · 13–17 AprFour days of water thrown from every roadside in Nyaungshwe, with boats, banks and most kitchens shut alongside it.72climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Tao, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprSairee's single beach road turns into a water fight for three days and the dive schools take the time off.70climate
- 🇲🇲 Ngapali, MyanmarThingyan water festival · 13–17 AprThe Burmese new year lands right at the end of the beach season, when domestic visitors from Yangon fill whatever is still open before it all shuts for the rains.69climate
- 🇨🇳 Jinghong, ChinaDai Water-Splashing Festival · 13–16 AprThe Dai new year, and the biggest thing that happens here: dragon boats on the Mekong, a market that runs all night, and three days in which nobody stays dry.68climate
- 🇰🇭 Kampot, CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–16 AprThe riverfront fills with Cambodian families and most of the foreign-run places take the days off.66climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Phi Phi, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThree days of water fights through the village lanes, which on an island this narrow means everyone.66climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Pha Ngan, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThong Sala turns into a water fight for three days and the ferries either side are the fullest of the season.66climate
- 🇰🇭 Kep, CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–17 AprPhnom Penh comes to the coast for it and Kep's picnic huts and crab market are taken from dawn.66climate
- 🇲🇲 Hsipaw, MyanmarThingyan water festival · 13–17 AprFour days of water thrown from the roadside and almost everything shut with it — trains, banks, the guesthouse kitchen.66climate
- 🇱🇦 Pakse, LaosPi Mai, Lao New Year · 13–17 AprWater in the streets at the hottest point of the year and a week when buses, banks and most kitchens stop.65climate
- 🇹🇭 Hua Hin, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprWater in the streets around the clock and one of the busiest weekends the town gets, because half of Bangkok drives down for it rather than going north.64climate
- 🇰🇭 Koh Rong, CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–17 AprSihanoukville empties onto the islands for three days and the ferries run full both ways.64climate
- 🇹🇭 Pattaya, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThree days of it on Beach Road and Second Road, which here means hoses and pickup trucks rather than a polite splash.63climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Lipe, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprA small-island version: buckets on Walking Street and the boat crews joining in, without the scale of the mainland.63climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Samui, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprChaweng's beach road becomes a three-day water fight and the ring road crawls.62climate
- 🇰🇭 Sihanoukville, CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–16 AprThe whole country comes to this coast for it.62climate
- 🇹🇭 Phuket, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThree days of water thrown at everyone from pickup trucks and the roadside, in the hottest week of the year.61climate
- 🇹🇭 Pai, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprWater along the walking street and the Thai crowd back for it despite the smoke.61climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Lanta, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprWater in the street through Old Town and Saladan, and the island's last busy weekend before the season turns.61climate
- 🇹🇭 Ko Chang, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThe last big weekend before the island winds down — Thai groups down from Bangkok, water on the beach road, and the ferries at capacity both ways.61climate
- 🇹🇭 Khao Lak, ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprWater fights on the main road and along the beach strip for three days, and a national shutdown around them.61climate
- 🇱🇦 Nong Khiaw, LaosPi Mai, Lao New Year · 13–17 AprThree days of water and beer along the one street, with the boats to Muang Ngoi and the minivans to Luang Prabang running to nobody's timetable.61climate
- 🇱🇦 Vang Vieng, LaosPi Mai, Lao New Year · 13–17 AprThree days of water thrown along the main road, and one of the few times the town is full of Lao visitors rather than foreign ones.60climate
- 🇱🇦 Luang Namtha, LaosPi Mai, Lao New Year · 13–17 AprThree days of water thrown at everyone on the main road, with offices, banks and the trekking agencies closed through it.60climate
…and 16 more in April.