Plan · Tue 27 Oct 2026
Thailand public holidays 2027: the traveller's calendar
Every official holiday from December 2026 to June 2027, with the substitution Mondays explained, what closes and what stays open, the long weekends that move prices, and the two dates in the window when alcohol sales are restricted.
The short answer: Thailand's public holidays close government offices and bank branches, and mostly leave shops, malls and attractions open. The traveller's problems are paperwork and queues, not closed sights: no visa business, no in person banking, heavy domestic travel around long weekends, and, on five Buddhist holy days a year, restrictions on alcohol sales. This page lists every official holiday in the window our calendar covers in full, from December 2026 to June 2027, taken from the Bank of Thailand list and the holiday records in our dataset, then notes the rest of 2027 at a glance. See the holiday listings for each date on its own page.
The list: December 2026 to June 2027
| Date | Holiday | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 5 December 2026 | National Day and Father's Day 2026 | Birthday anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej the Great. Substitution holiday on Monday 7 December, because the date falls on a Saturday. |
| Thursday 10 December 2026 | Constitution Day 2026 | Marks the first permanent constitution of 1932. A quiet holiday, and a natural long weekend. |
| Thursday 31 December 2026 | New Year's Eve 2026 | A public holiday in its own right. With New Year's Day it opens the four day New Year break. |
| Friday 1 January 2027 | New Year's Day 2027 | Morning alms giving at temples after the countdown night. Malls and attractions open as usual. |
| Sunday 21 February 2027 | Makha Bucha Day 2027 | Buddhist holy day. Substitution holiday on Monday 22 February. Alcohol sales restrictions apply, see below. |
| Tuesday 6 April 2027 | Chakri Memorial Day 2027 | Founding of the Chakri dynasty and of Bangkok in 1782. A quiet day a week before Songkran. |
| Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April 2027 | Songkran in Bangkok 2027 | The Thai new year. Three fixed holidays. The busiest domestic travel period of the year. |
| Saturday 1 May 2027 | National Labour Day | A bank holiday. Substitution holiday on Monday 3 May, because the date falls on a Saturday. |
| Tuesday 4 May 2027 | Coronation Day 2027 | Anniversary of the coronation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. With the Labour Day substitution it completes a four day break, 1 to 4 May. |
| Thursday 20 May 2027 | Visakha Bucha Day 2027 | The holiest day of the Buddhist year. Alcohol sales restrictions apply, see below. |
| Thursday 3 June 2027 | Queen Suthida's Birthday 2027 | Portraits and purple decorations on public buildings in Bangkok. Shops and attractions open as normal. |
One entry needs its own explanation. National Labour Day, Saturday 1 May 2027, has no separate record in our dataset: it appears inside the Coronation Day record, which notes the Monday substitution holiday for Labour Day and the resulting four day weekend. It is on the Bank of Thailand list for financial institutions, so banks close on the day and on the substitution Monday. Private employers vary more on Labour Day than on most holidays on this list, so anyone with an appointment that week should confirm it directly.
Substitution days: how the Mondays appear
When a fixed holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday becomes a substitution holiday, and offices and banks close on the Monday instead. The window has three clear examples. National Day falls on Saturday 5 December 2026, so Monday 7 December is the day off. Makha Bucha falls on Sunday 21 February 2027, so Monday 22 February is the day off. Labour Day falls on Saturday 1 May 2027, so Monday 3 May is the day off, running straight into Coronation Day on Tuesday 4 May. The practical effect is that the long weekend, not the date on the poster, is when Bangkok travels and when queues form at stations, airports and attractions.
What actually closes
Government offices close on every holiday in the table, including immigration and other counters visitors rely on, and bank branches close on the Bank of Thailand list, including substitution Mondays. Beyond that, Thailand stays open. The holiday records in our calendar say the same thing in entry after entry: malls, shops, restaurants and tourist attractions trade as normal, including on the quiet royal and constitutional days. Private companies set their own practice, schools follow their own calendars, and small family businesses may close for Songkran and New Year even though nothing requires it. Embassy and consulate counters follow their own holiday lists, which are not Thailand's, so a visa run needs both calendars checked.
The five Buddhist holy days and alcohol
Alcohol sales are restricted nationwide on five major Buddhist holy days each year: Makha Bucha Day, Visakha Bucha Day, Asalha Bucha Day, the first day of Buddhist Lent, called Khao Phansa, and the last day of Buddhist Lent, called Ok Phansa. Only two of the five fall inside this window: Makha Bucha on Sunday 21 February 2027 and Visakha Bucha on Thursday 20 May 2027. Asalha Bucha and Khao Phansa fall together in July 2027 and Ok Phansa in the autumn, outside the window.
What restricted means in practice has a detail that older guides miss. The general rule is that ordinary shops cannot sell alcohol on those days, and convenience stores and supermarkets lock or cover their alcohol shelves for the day. Since a 2025 change to the rules, there are named exceptions: sales remain possible inside international airport terminals, in hotels licensed under the Hotel Act, in licensed entertainment venues, in nightlife areas within designated tourist zones, and at approved national or international events, all subject to safety and screening conditions. So the honest planning rule is not that Thailand is dry for a day. It is that you cannot count on buying alcohol in a shop on those two dates, and whether a particular bar or hotel serves depends on its licence. Our holiday records note that many bars close on these days. If a dinner or a night out matters on 21 February or 20 May, ask the venue itself.
The holy days themselves are worth more than a drinks calculation. On both evenings, temples across Bangkok hold wien tien, a candlelit procession in which worshippers circle the ordination hall three times carrying candles, incense and lotus flowers, after morning alms giving and sermons through the day. Visakha Bucha, marking the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha, all on the same full moon day, is the holiest day of the year. Visitors are welcome to watch respectfully, dressed to temple standard, shoulders and knees covered.
Long weekends worth planning around
Four breaks shape travel in the window. New Year runs from Thursday 31 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027 on holidays and the weekend alone. The Makha Bucha weekend runs Saturday 20 to Monday 22 February 2027, in the middle of Bangkok Design Week 2027, which is worth knowing in both directions: more local visitors in the districts, and a temple evening on the Sunday that no design programme competes with. Songkran, Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April, becomes nine days for anyone who takes the Monday and Friday around it, and the whole country knows it. The longest bank closure of 2027 runs Saturday 1 to Tuesday 4 May, Labour Day, its substitution and Coronation Day together. Domestic flights, trains and island ferries price and fill accordingly.
The rest of 2027, at a glance
The Bank of Thailand announced 18 holidays for financial institutions for 2027 in total. After June they run: Monday 19 July, substitution for Asalha Bucha Day, which falls on Sunday 18 July; Wednesday 28 July, the King's Birthday; Thursday 12 August, the birth anniversary of Queen Sirikit the Queen Mother, also National Mother's Day; Wednesday 13 October, Navamindra Maharaj Day; Monday 25 October, substitution for Chulalongkorn Day, which falls on Saturday 23 October; Monday 6 December, substitution for the 5 December national observances; Friday 10 December, Constitution Day; and Friday 31 December, New Year's Eve. Those dates sit beyond the window this calendar covers in full, and each will get its own checked record as the calendar extends.
Sources: Bank of Thailand, financial institutions holiday lists for 2026 and 2027, for every date, weekday and substitution day in the table and the 18 holiday total for 2027; the holiday records in our calendar, sourced in turn from the Bank of Thailand and the Stock Exchange of Thailand lists, for closure practice; Thailand NOW, Makha Bucha Day page, and the 2025 Royal Gazette announcement reporting, for the five holy days and the current exceptions to the alcohol sales restriction. Checked 27 October 2026.
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