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Your Sustainable Thailand DMC

As Southeast Asia’s most popular travel destination, perhaps Thailand doesn’t need a big introduction. Its famed capital Bangkok, idyllic islands and beach destinations – like Krabi, Koh Samui, and Phuket – are practically household names and provide thousands of visitors each year with happy, unforgettable memories of their stay in this wonderfully exotic and culturally diverse country at the heart of Southeast Asia. And yet despite its popularity, there remain many unspoiled regions and less traveled destinations with a wealth of spectacular attractions and friendly people – shaped by time and still with a story to tell. Whether it’s the glittering spires of the Grand Palace, the peace of rural Isaan, the remote islands of the Andaman, the markets and temples of Chantaburi, or the unexplored coastline of Trat, Khiri Travel Thailand DMC offers you a truly unforgettable and inspirational experience that will put your holiday in a whole new perspective.

Our predominantly local team hails from all corners of the Kingdom, bringing a diverse range of ideas and viewpoints to the table of Khiri Travel Thailand’s business direction and operations. We create new, organic routes, combining the popular and must-see destinations with hidden gems, the curious and the unknown. We venture off the beaten track, cross borders to link cultures and bring our clients to meet people in their homes, villages and communities, where they can become a part of another world. No matter the requirements, we are as comfortable arranging for low-budget as we are for the exclusive and high-end. From campfire simplicity to the ultimate in private luxury pampering, the possibilities with us are endlessly imaginative.

For more information, please contact sales.thailand@khiri.com.

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What Khiri Has Done In Thailand

Khiri Travel Thailand is dedicated to working closely with communities in all regions, both in the Kingdom’s popular destinations, as well as in the remotest of villages. We have offices in the greater Bangkok area, Chiang Mai and Phuket, which work closely with local communities, but at the same time, we have been actively involved in the government’s strategy of ‘Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration’, and have therefore also explored ways in which even smaller, remoter communities can benefit from tourism.

Thailand Office

226/9 Tiwanon Soi 24 Tiwanon Rd. Bangkasor,
Nonthaburi (Greater Bangkok) 11000 Thailand
+66 2968 6828
+66 89 810 0455 (Emergencies)
sales.thailand@khiri.com

“My guide, Mr. Ving, was outstanding, knowledgable, influenced and well-spoken.
Our trip with Khiri Travel was a great experience and pleasure. We will be back.”

– Gesine From Germany

When to Go and What to Do
in Thailand

JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
NOV
DEC

January

Chinese New year

A large number of the Thai population is of Chinese descent, therefore, the Chinese New Year festival is one of Thailand’s biggest and most exhilarating festivals. Especially in Bangkok and Phuket, where the entire area of Chinatown in Bangkok (Yaowarat) comes to life. Every street and alley is filled with worshippers, firecrackers, parades, dragon and lion dancers, and many street food vendors. The Chinese New Year festival is usually held around January or February, depending on the Chinese Lunar Calendar.

Within the festival, you will see a lot of red, because it is a lucky color in Chinese culture. Shop owners decorate their store with red paper lanterns, Chinese calligraphy banners, and posters. In addition, restaurants and shopping malls roll out special Chinese New Year deals and promotions. If you want to experience and observe traditional culture, head to the Chinese temples, especially Wat Mangkon Kamalawat (Leng Noei Yi Temple) on Charoen Krung Street, packed with locals praying to deities. Feel free to participate in the Siem See or Chinese fortune teller sticks, where you ask the gods for solutions or guidance before shaking the bamboo container filled with a stick of answers.

Even though this is not a public holiday, Chinese communities usually take a day or two off work to gather with the family to celebrate and spend time with the loved one. In the evening, families pray and respect ancestors before enjoying a traditional Chinese dinner on a big rounded table with the whole family. In a traditional culture, parents and elders will give out a red envelope called Ang Pao containing cash. This symbolizes and blessing and wishes them a Happy New Year.

February

Chiang Mai Flower Festival

Chiang Mai Flower Festival takes place every year in the first week of February in the north of Thailand, in Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is also known as “The Rose of the North,” and the city becomes even more vivid and vibrant during the Flower Festival.

During this festival, you will have an opportunity to experience parades of floral floats, street markets, street vendors, concerts, and horticulture contests. It has created and retained its own identity even though the festival is getting larger and larger. The main parade usually takes place on a Saturday morning, so head out early and enjoy the enormous remarkable floats, hundreds of traditional dancers, and music.

For a breathtaking view, heading toward the main event located in the public garden of Suan Buak Haad held in the southwest of the Old Town areas. This is where the floats are displayed after the parade is completed, and the whole place is surrounded by yellow and white chrysanthemums and Damask rose. The road outside the park is closed and turns it into Walking Street Market, where you can enjoy local Chiang Mai street food and traditional Northern Thailand food.

If you’re planning a visit to Thailand in February, don’t miss out on one of Thailand’s most colorful events, the Chiang Mai Flower Festival.

March

Full Moon Party Festival

In March, temperatures really start to heat up. It’s the best time to travel to Thailand for beaches. And what could be better to get tan during the day and party at night?

Full Moon Party Festival is one of the most famous and popular festivals in Thailand. The festival occurs every month on the full moon night on the Koh Phangan island since the late 1980s. At that time, a group of around 30 people gathered at the Paradise Bungalows and celebrated on the full moon day.

Nowadays, Full Moon Party Festival is Thailand’s largest beach party and is known worldwide. Depending on the season, the festival could attract more than 30,000 people from all over the globe to Haad Rin Beach for this festival.
Full Moon Party festival is a party with live DJs blasting various types of music: techno, house, trance, and electronic. Other activities include painting, dancing, drinking, fire shows, light creation, and fireworks. Seeing well-known international DJs at this festival is very common.

With a coastline full of nightclubs, bars, hotels, bungalows, Haad Rin Beach in Koh Phangan is the best place for you to experience this vibrant festival.

April

Songkran/Water Festival (Thai New Year)

Songkran is the biggest, most famous, and arguably the best festival in Thailand. It is a massive celebration for the Thai New Year, where the whole country is shut down. Locals and tourists gather together on the street to attack each other for a water fight with water guns, hoses, and water buckets. Songkran festival takes place for three days from 13th to 15th of April, which is the hottest month in Thailand, so it is the perfect time for a water fight and brings great relief from the soaring temperatures.

During Songkran, Bangkok experiences a mass exodus as at least half of its residents traveling back to their hometowns for family reunions. Therefore, most office buildings, banks, stores, and restaurants will shut down completely, while only big shopping malls usually remain open.

As the capital city of Thailand, Bangkok has more places to party than anywhere else in the country. Thousands of tourists fly into Bangkok to participate and enjoy this amazing festival. The best and most well-known places are Khao San Road (the backpacking heartland of Bangkok), Silom Road, and RCA, where the entire road is closed off to traffic, music is played, and people are dancing and enjoying drinks. Other popular destinations are in the beach resorts of Pattaya, Phuket, and up north in Chiang Mai.

You are welcome to take part in Songkran celebrations, and whether you’re Thai or a foreigner, you are guaranteed to get soaked. If you are plan to celebrate Songkran in Thailand, make sure you wear a bright, floral shirt, and glasses and don’t forget to keep your belongings in a plastic bag.

Songkran is also one of the most significant Buddhist events in Thailand. The festival began back in the 13th century and represented a major event in the Buddhist calendar. This symbolizes religious rituals such as pouring water on images of the Buddha to indicate washing away the previous year’s bad luck and starting anew. Although water fights and celebrations can get reckless, remember to be respectful, especially if visiting temples or religious sites around this time.

During Songkran, a large number of Buddhists start their day early in the morning by visiting temples to pray and make merit. Many temples also carry their procession of Buddha statues, monks, and floats passing through the streets, giving merit to locals and visitors.

May

Boon Bang Fai - Rocket Festival

The Rocket Festival, or what they call the Boon Bang Fai festival, celebrates the beginning of the rainy season by the majority of farming communities in the Isaan region (Northeast of Thailand). This is a significant event attended by entire villages as the rockets are meant to encourage and wake up the sky god Phaya Taen to unleash plentiful rains to help the precious rice crops grow.

Even though Boon Bang Fai is being held in various communities all over the Isaan region, each with slightly different dates and celebrations, the main rocket festival is on the second Saturday of May in Yasothon Province.

Villagers and farmers come together and celebrate with live folk music, traditional dancing, beauty shows, float parades, local rice wine, and a party atmosphere during the festival. On the last day, the rocket competition begins, and participants try to launch their homemade bamboo rockets. The score is judged by the height, distance, and beauty of the rocket itself. If any rocket fails to fire, the owner will be thrown it into a mud bath as a punishment.

June

Phi Ta Khon - Thai Ghost Festival

Phi Ta Khon, or Thailand Ghost Festival is a part of a larger Buddhist festival, Bun Luand, celebrated in various parts of northern Thailand. However, Phi Ta Khon takes place in Dan Sai, a farming village in Loei Province. The date of the festival changes every year since it falls on the weekend of the 6th full moon of the lunar calendar, which is in either June or July. This festival combines religious traditions and local handicrafts. It is a 3-day festival that re-enactments a Buddhist story and a celebration of animist reincarnation beliefs.

During the festival, thousands of local villagers are transformed by dressing in patchwork costumes and wearing colorful stretched faces decorated masks, and some even dressed up as a ghost. Then, they gather together on the streets for the iconic parade, dancing and waving swords as they move through the streets.

On the last day, people gather to listen to monks telling a story of Lord Buddha. When he was living his final incarnation before enlightenment as a prince who had been banished from his kingdom. After a long banishment, he returned to such a joyous homecoming that woke the dead, who joined the celebrations.

July

Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival

This is another exciting festival held in one of the largest cities in the northeast province of Isaan, the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival. This is a mixture of art, culture, and celebration where local and international artists craft a huge creation of wax sculptures by mixing traditional and modern art. The carved candles are then paraded around on floats, accompanied by dancers and traditional folk music to local temples. The parades take place over the days of Asanha Puja (a date that commemorates the Buddha’s first sermon) and Wan Kao Pansa (the date that marks the start of Vassa or a 3-month of Buddhist Lent). During this time, devotees and pilgrims visit the temple to offer items to monks for the Vassa period.

August

Por Tor (Hungry Ghost Festival)

Por Tor or Hungry Ghost Festival is an important event for Phuket’s local Hokkien Chinese community. It is a month-long celebration that showcases rich traditional ceremonies to honor and pay tribute to their ancestors, with various merit-making activities taking place at all of the Chinese shrines across Phuket. Por Tor takes place on the first day of the waxing moon of the 7th lunar month in the Chinese calendar, usually in August or September.

It is a common belief that the gates of hell are opened during the festival, releasing hungry ghosts to return home to enjoy delicious feasts prepared by their relatives. Also, it is a time to help those who have died suffering, suddenly, away from their family and have yet to have a proper funeral ceremony.
The living prepares a table set with various traditional dishes placed in the middle, with a bowl of rice on the side for each of the departed family members. To begin the ceremony, the incense sticks are lit and poked into the center of the rice bowls. Once the incense sticks burn out, it is believed that the hungry ghosts have finished eating. Then, family members are able to gather around the table and enjoy their meal.

A unique aspect of the Por Tor Hungry Ghost Festival in Phuket is the red ceremonial cakes. It is made from glutinous rice flour and sugar, then decorated in the shape of turtles. The cakes are presented as offerings at the Chinese shrines. Known as ‘Ang Ku ‘in the Hokkien dialect, the cakes represent good luck, longevity, and wisdom from a turtle’s red color and shape.

September

Phimai Festival & Long-Boat Race

Phimai Festival and Long-Boat Race is one of the oldest festivals in Thailand. This festival is held every second weekend of November at the Phimai Historical Park in Nakhon Ratchasima Province.

During this festival, homage is given to the more than thousand-year-old ancient city with a daily light and sound show at 7 o’clock at night at the ruins of Phimai Historical Park. The light and sound show allows you to experience the historical journey of King Jayavarman VII. In this celebration, there are several activities that you could participate in and or just observe, including visiting the year market and attending cultural performances. The absolute highlight, however, is the traditional long-boat race, which takes place on Sundays.

October

Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Vegetarian Festival, also known as Jay Festival or Thailand’s Nine Emperor Gods Festival, is one of the most unique festivals in Thailand. It is a 9-day celebration held during the 9th lunar month of the Chinese calendar. Within this period, participants must strictly follow a set of 10 rules, including a vegan diet without pungent ingredients and cessation from vices such as drugs, alcohol, and sex. This is a belief from a legend that a Chinese opera group fell sick with malaria when they arrived in Phuket, but after following a strict vegetarian diet and praying for nine Emperor gods, they were miraculously recovered.

The festival is celebrated by Chinese communities all over the country. However, Phuket has taken this one step further and has now become famous for mutilation rituals.

Thousands of travelers visit Phuket for the Vegetarian Festival every year. Many participants eat a vegetarian diet to cleanse the body and mind and take an offering to temples to pray. People may also seek to witness the more gruesome aspects of the festival such as body piercing, pushing knives through their cheeks, setting off firecrackers, walking through hot coals, impaling, cutting, and skinning bloodletting. These acts are practiced by mediums to invoke the gods and the procession takes place throughout the city.

Meanwhile, you could look for yellow flags at the restaurant and street vendors, which indicate that they are participating in the festival by selling only vegan food. You should give it a try as it is tastier than you think. If you are in Bangkok, you could head to Chinatown, where it will be quite busy at this time of the year, as street vendors sell mock-meat made out of vegetables but look and taste like real meat.

November

Loy Krathong,Thai Festival of Light
Loy Krathong, or Festival of Lights, is one of Thailand’s most important and most iconic festivals. Loy Krathong does not have a fixed date as it takes place on the night of a full moon during the 12th month of the lunar calendar, around November. On the evening of Loy Krathong, people all over the country gather around lakes, rivers, canals, or even the beachfront to pay respects to the goddess of water by releasing Krathong, small floating baskets filled with candles and flowers, onto the water. It is believed that the Krathong carries away misfortunes and gives good luck for a fresh start next year. Some people also put coins in Krathong to give thanks to the water goddess for providing rain during the rice harvest season. As the Krathong float away, people start clipping some of their hair or nails to symbolize letting go of bad luck and negative thoughts.

Throughout these amazing three days festivals, you will have an opportunity to witness parades, firework displays, traditional dance performances, and beauty contests, where people dress in traditional Thai costumes. One of the best places to experience this festival is in Bangkok. There is a huge opening ceremony on the Chao Phraya River, and the historic town of Sukhothai is also renowned for its festivities.

An important note: the Krathong is traditionally made from banana tree trunks or leaves. However, many new Krathongs is made with plastics and foam for simply easy, fast, and colorful, which causes serious pollution in rivers, canals, lakes, and oceans. So, if you are planning to participate in Loy Krathong festival, be mindful of your choice.

Loy Krathong is closely tied to Chiang Mai’s Yi Peng festival as it occurs on the same night and serves on the same Buddhist principles of releasing the past and making wishes for the future. You can experience both floating sky and water lanterns at once.

Yi Peng, Thai Lantern Festival
The Yi Peng Festival is unique to northern Thailand, which takes place every November. It was originally an individual festival to signalize the end of the rainy season. However, it is now held on the same day as Loy Krathong. Even though it is celebrated all across northern Thailand, one of the main events is held in Chiang Mai. During these three-day events, you will be able to witness religious ceremonies, cultural activities, street parades, fireworks, and thousands of Khom Loy (paper lanterns) released into the sky. Pay your visit to Peng River, where you will see this truly remarkable sight of a floating lantern with the backdrop of the full moon, an excellent opportunity to take some breathtaking photos. This festival symbolizes respect for Buddha, letting go of bad memories, and wishing for success in the future.

December

River Kwai Bridge Week

River Kwai Bridge Week is a Thai festival that commemorates the history of World War 2. The festival is held every year at the River Kwai Bridge in Kanchanaburi by either the end of November or the beginning of December. The festival is packed with several exhibitions where you could get a deeper understanding of what happened during Kanchanaburi’s recent history. In addition, the bridge itself and the whole city are lit up with colorful and vibrant light creations. Other than that, you could also enjoy the spectacular light and firework show. At the same time, there is a sizeable fair event right behind the festival where you can enjoy all the street and local traditional food along with the live music performances.