A handful of dates shape the island's calendar and are worth knowing before you book.
Songkran (mid-April)
Thailand's New Year, marked nationwide by the country's famous water fights — expect main streets in tourist areas to turn into full-scale water battles for several days.
Phuket Vegetarian Festival (September/October)
A nine-day Taoist festival rooted in Phuket's Chinese immigrant community, best known outside Thailand for its startling street processions featuring devotees in trance performing acts of self-mortification — alongside citywide vegetarian food stalls marked with yellow flags.
Loy Krathong (November)
A nationwide festival where small floating offerings (krathong) are released onto water after dark — a striking, low-key evening compared to Songkran's chaos.
Exact dates shift each year with the lunar calendar — always confirm current-year dates before planning travel around a festival.