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.

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When it is on

  • ·Jan
  • ·Feb
  • ·Mar
  • 41Apr
  • ·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

  1. Kalaw 🇲🇲 MyanmarThingyan water festival · 13–17 AprFour days when the buses stop, the trekking guides go home to their villages and the market shuts.77
  2. 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.72
  3. 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.70
  4. 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.69
  5. 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.68
  6. Kampot 🇰🇭 CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–16 AprThe riverfront fills with Cambodian families and most of the foreign-run places take the days off.66
  7. Ko Phi Phi 🇹🇭 ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThree days of water fights through the village lanes, which on an island this narrow means everyone.66
  8. 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.66
  9. 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.66
  10. 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.66
  11. 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.65
  12. 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.64
  13. Koh Rong 🇰🇭 CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–17 AprSihanoukville empties onto the islands for three days and the ferries run full both ways.64
  14. 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.63
  15. 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.63
  16. Ko Samui 🇹🇭 ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprChaweng's beach road becomes a three-day water fight and the ring road crawls.62
  17. Sihanoukville 🇰🇭 CambodiaKhmer New Year · 13–16 AprThe whole country comes to this coast for it.62
  18. Phuket 🇹🇭 ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprThree days of water thrown at everyone from pickup trucks and the roadside, in the hottest week of the year.61
  19. Pai 🇹🇭 ThailandSongkran · 13–15 AprWater along the walking street and the Thai crowd back for it despite the smoke.61
  20. 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.61
  21. 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.61
  22. 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.61
  23. 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.61
  24. 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.60
  25. 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.60

…and 16 more in April.

What's on around the world in April →