Yi Peng & Loy Krathong 2026
Eating through Yi Peng: the lantern festival food guide
📅 Yi Peng 23–25 November 2026 · Loy Krathong Tuesday 24 November
When thousands of lanterns rise over the Ping River, every riverside table in Chiang Mai is spoken for. Here's how to eat brilliantly through the most beautiful nights of the Thai year.
What to eat
Khao soi early (the famous shops sell out by mid-afternoon on festival days), then krathong-side snacks along the river: sai ua sausage, grilled river fish, khao lam sticky rice in bamboo, and roti for the walk home.
The plan (this is where people fail)
Riverside restaurants take bookings weeks ahead for lantern nights and most add festival set menus — reserve the moment dates are confirmed. The Old City moat area stays walkable; Nawarat Bridge and the river banks are shoulder-to-shoulder after dark. Hotels inside the Old City sell out first.
Festival dates mean festival demand — the good tables and rooms go to whoever booked first.
Free download
The Yi Peng & Loy Krathong 2026 cheat sheet — one dense page
Dates, the must-eat list, booking deadlines and the areas that matter — printable, offline, free. Enter an email and the download is on the next page.
Download the cheat sheet (free)
Free download — no email needed.
When is Yi Peng 2026?
Loy Krathong falls on Tuesday 24 November 2026, the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month. Chiang Mai municipality's Yi Peng festival runs 23–25 November 2026, with the big krathong parade on 25 November (Chiang Mai News, 23 September 2026). Ticketed private lantern events in Mae Taeng and San Pa Tong are separate — check their own dates. Some sites still show 2025's dates (4–6 November); ignore them.
Where should I eat on lantern night?
Either book a riverside table weeks ahead, or do it like locals: khao soi late afternoon, then graze the night markets and eat standing by the river as the lanterns rise.
Is the mass lantern release the same as the free festival?
No — the huge synchronized releases are ticketed events outside town. The free city festival along the river is spectacular on its own, and the food is better.
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