Thailand in November 2026: weather, festivals and where to go

November is when most of Thailand dries out. Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya each get rain on three to five days in the whole month, afternoons sit around 32°C, and Chiang Mai's nights drop to about 20°C. The big exception is the Gulf islands: November is Koh Samui's wettest month of the year. In 2026 the month also holds Loy Krathong on Tuesday 24 November, Chiang Mai's Yi Peng from the 23rd to the 25th, and two nights of fireworks over Pattaya Bay on the 27th and 28th.

We checked every date and number below on 28 October 2026, mostly against the organisers' own announcements and the Thai Meteorological Department. A few 2026 programmes weren't out yet, like Bangkok's list of Loy Krathong piers. Where that's so, we say what happened in 2025.

What's the weather like in Thailand in November?

Dry in the north and the centre, still wet in the south. These are the Thai Meteorological Department's 30-year averages for November (1991 to 2020), region by region:

The wind explains it. In November cool, dry air from China starts pushing down over upper Thailand, and the rain there tails off. Down south the north-east monsoon does the opposite and drives rain onto the Gulf coast, which gets about eight times Bangkok's rain. Phuket sits in between. Its rainy season is winding down, but it still rains on about half the days.

This year should run warm. On 15 October the weather department said the cool season would start about a week late and last until mid-February, with nights in upper Thailand about 2°C warmer than normal as El Niño builds, the Thaiger reported. It also warned of heavy rain on the Gulf side of the south in November and December. By 22 October the cool season still hadn't officially begun and the rain was hanging on (Nation Thailand).

Plan around early sunsets. The sun goes down at about 5:50pm in Bangkok all month, 5:45pm in Chiang Mai by late November, and just after 6pm in Phuket.

What's on in Thailand in November 2026

None of these is a public holiday. The Bank of Thailand's 2026 list has nothing between Chulalongkorn Day on 23 October and the 5 December holiday, so offices, banks and trains keep normal hours all month, Loy Krathong night included. Surin's dates come from Thai event listings. The province hadn't posted its own programme by 28 October, so check with TAT's Surin office before you book.

Loy Krathong and Yi Peng, 23 to 25 November

Loy Krathong falls on Tuesday 24 November 2026, the full moon of the 12th Thai month (Thai PBS). Some sites say the 25th. That's Chiang Mai's second lantern night. After dark people float krathongs, small rafts of banana trunk and flowers with a candle and incense, on rivers, canals and park lakes. In Bangkok that means a Chao Phraya pier or a park lake. In 2025 the city kept 33 parks open until midnight for it; the 2026 list wasn't out by 28 October.

Chiang Mai makes three nights of it. The province has set Yi Peng for 23 to 25 November (Chiang Mai PR office), and the city's procession of giant krathongs is on Wednesday the 25th (Chiang Mai News). Sky lanterns are allowed only on the 24th and 25th, from 7pm to 1am, at approved spots, with a permit applied for through the Bampen app. The sky full of lanterns in the photos is a ticketed event outside town these days: Sky of Wishes in San Pa Tong starts at 3,900 baht. Everything in town is free, from the candles on the moat to the procession.

Thais spend the night with family and friends, so it can feel flat on your own. It helps to have someone who's done it every year. They'll pick a banana-trunk krathong at the stall and read the Thai signs that say where to float it. At 10pm, when your Grab can't find you, they're the one on the phone to the driver. A Thai friend in Bangkok or Chiang Mai can come along to your plan for the night. Our Loy Krathong 2026 post has where to float one and how to get home after.

Watch your flights, too. In 2025 Chiang Mai airport moved its last departure to 7pm on the lantern nights. It cancelled 65 flights and moved 96 (Khaosod English). Nothing had been announced for 2026 by 28 October. Don't book an evening flight in or out of Chiang Mai on the 24th or 25th.

Bangkok in November

In Bangkok the rain drops from about 290 mm in October to about 44 mm in November. The first half of the month can still throw an afternoon storm: the weather department expects thunderstorms over 20 to 30% of Bangkok and the centre until mid-November (Thairath). After that it's mostly dry, and the evenings are good for walking. Good timing for the city's night markets. Haze season starts in November too, so check the Air4Thai app on still mornings.

What's on:

• Bangkok Art Biennale, 29 October 2026 to 28 February 2027. 72 artists at 11 venues, from Wat Pho and Wat Arun to One Bangkok and CentralWorld (TAT). The art is free to see. The temples and the National Museum still charge their usual entry.
• The Golden Mount fair, 17 to 29 November at Wat Saket. Thirteen nights of food stalls, old-style Thai sweets, a Ferris wheel and the climb up the mount (Time Out Thailand). At 6am on the opening day a long red cloth is carried up and wrapped round the chedi (Thansettakij).
• Vijit Chao Phraya, planned for 13 November to 13 December: light shows on both banks of the river. Last year it ran from 6 to 10pm every night and was free (TAT).
• Stadium nights. BIGBANG play Rajamangala on 7 and 8 November, and the 7th sold out (Thairath English). IMPACT Arena has BABYMONSTER the same weekend, Big Ass from 13 to 17 November and GMMTV Starlympics on the 28th. Getting home from IMPACT takes a plan, so read our IMPACT Arena post first.

Chiang Mai in November

This is Chiang Mai at its best. Rain falls on about three days, afternoons reach about 31°C, and nights sit near 20°C, cool enough for a light layer at the night markets. Our Chiang Mai night markets post has which one is on which night.

Yi Peng week is the busy part. If you're coming for the lanterns, book the room and the lantern ticket as soon as you know your dates. Stay near Tha Phae Gate or the river if you can, so you can walk home: the procession fills Tha Phae Road and the traffic crawls. Come after the 25th and you get the same cool weather without the festival crowds.

Phuket in November

Phuket is on the turn. The rain roughly halves from October to November and halves again into December: the island's weather station averages 336 mm in October, 178 mm in November and 82 mm in December (Wikipedia, from WMO data). So the later in the month you come, the better your odds. We'd pick the last ten days.

The sea is calmer than in the monsoon months. For this season the weather department expects waves of 1 to 2 metres on the Andaman side, against 2 to 3 metres in the Gulf. Still read the flags on each beach: a red flag means no swimming, and lifeguards mark the safe zone with red-and-yellow ones.

Boat trips are back. The Similan Islands national park opened for the season on 15 October, with 1,409 visitors on the first day (Naewna), and stays open until mid-May. On Sunday 15 November the Laguna Phuket Triathlon runs its 32nd race at Laguna Phuket. For Loy Krathong, locals head to Saphan Hin park in Phuket Town, which puts on a fair.

Pattaya in November

Pattaya is about as dry as Bangkok, with rain on five days or so and highs around 32°C. It also has the month's big night on the sand. The Pattaya International Fireworks Festival runs on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 November 2026, from 5pm to midnight on Pattaya Beach, with the first fireworks at 8pm (Pattaya Mail). Watching from the beach is free. Beach Road closes to traffic from 3pm, so come on foot and come early. If you want a room on the beach that weekend, book now.

Loy Krathong is quieter here. In 2025 the city held it at Lan Pho Park in Naklua and kept krathongs, lanterns and fireworks off the beaches (Pattaya Mail). The 2026 plan wasn't out by 28 October.

Koh Samui and the Gulf islands

If the beach is the point, skip Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao in November. Samui's weather station averages 445 mm of rain in November, on about 16 days. That's its wettest month of the year, and February is its driest (Wikipedia, from WMO data). This year the weather department has warned of heavy rain and possible flash floods on the Gulf side of the south in November and December, with waves of 2 to 3 metres and the chance of a tropical storm crossing the Gulf. Check the ferries before you plan a hop between islands. For a November beach, go west to Phuket or Krabi, or stay close to Bangkok in Pattaya.

Crowds and prices

November starts the high season, but it isn't the peak. In 2025 Bangkok's hotels were 75.7% full on average and passed 80% only in December, January and February. Phuket's peaked at 92% in January (Knight Frank). Bangkok's rates were strongest in those peak months too, so a November room is usually easier to find and cheaper than the same room in December.

Two exceptions: Chiang Mai in Yi Peng week, and Pattaya's beachfront on the fireworks weekend. Book those early. With no public holiday in November there's no Thai long weekend to compete with, and fewer foreigners are coming this year. Arrivals from 1 January to 10 October 2026 were about 4% below the same stretch of 2025 (the Thaiger).

What to pack

• Light, loose clothes. It's over 30°C every afternoon, everywhere.
• A thin layer for Chiang Mai's nights, about 20°C, and for cold air-con.
• A rain jacket or a small umbrella for Phuket and the islands, and for Bangkok's early-November storms.
• Covered shoulders and knees for temples, the Golden Mount and the temple piers on Loy Krathong night. Our Thai etiquette post has the rest.
• Sunscreen, and a few N95 masks for hazy days in Bangkok.
• The free Thailand Digital Arrival Card, filled in within three days before you land.

Where to go, by mood

• For lanterns and candles: Chiang Mai, 23 to 25 November. Book the room and the lantern ticket now, and fly in by day.
• For a beach: Phuket and the Andaman coast, best in the last ten days of the month. Or Pattaya if you're short on time, with fireworks on the 27th and 28th.
• For cool mornings and long walks: Chiang Mai any time in the month, or Bangkok after mid-November.
• For art and big nights out: Bangkok, with the biennale, the Golden Mount fair and a stadium show or two.
• To leave for later: Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao. Go in February instead.

Staying on into December?

December is drier still, and busier. Bangkok has a long weekend from 5 to 7 December, and the royal cremation of Queen Sirikit runs from 15 to 19 December at Sanam Luang, beside the Grand Palace (Nation Thailand). The palace may close that week. Then come the countdowns. It's all in Bangkok in December.

Want company in Thailand this November?

Take any plan on this page, pick a friend in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket or Pattaya, send the day and the time, and meet them there. They come along to your plan, a park lake on Loy Krathong or a fireworks night on the beach, and they order in Thai and share the food. You book them by the hour, and it's always platonic: no sex, no kissing, no harassment. For drinks or a night out, your friend will be 20 or over. Their time is the booking; food, drinks and tickets are paid on the day. New accounts are checked first, usually within 15 minutes, so sign up before you fly. How booking works.

Questions people ask

Is November a good time to visit Thailand?

Yes, for most of the country. Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Pattaya are dry and a little cooler, and Loy Krathong falls on 24 November in 2026. It's the start of high season, though rooms are usually easier to find than in December. The one region to avoid is the Gulf islands, where November is the wettest month.

Does it rain in Thailand in November?

In the north and the centre, hardly: Bangkok averages about 44 mm on five days, and the north 27 mm on three. The Andaman coast, Phuket included, still gets rain on about half the days. The Gulf coast gets the most, about 361 mm, with Koh Samui's own station near 445 mm.

What's the weather like in Bangkok in November?

Warm and mostly dry. Average highs are about 33°C and lows about 24°C, with rain on around five days. Early November can still bring an afternoon storm; the second half of the month is drier.

Is Phuket good in November?

It's getting there. The rain halves from October to November and halves again by December, and the Similan Islands reopened on 15 October. Come in the last ten days of November if you can, and swim only where there's no red flag.

Is Koh Samui good in November?

Not for a beach holiday. November is Samui's wettest month, averaging about 445 mm of rain, and in 2026 the weather department has warned of heavy rain and high waves in the Gulf. Phuket, Krabi or Pattaya are drier choices.

When is Loy Krathong 2026?

Tuesday 24 November 2026. In Chiang Mai, Yi Peng runs from 23 to 25 November, with sky lanterns allowed on the 24th and 25th and the grand procession on the 25th.