Thai families travel most in two school breaks: the long "summer" holiday from roughly mid-March to mid-May, which takes in Songkran, and a shorter break in October between the two terms. On top of that come the long weekends, when a public holiday or a substitute day joins a Saturday and Sunday and much of Bangkok heads for the coast or the hills.
None of this makes Thailand impossible to visit, but it changes what is easy to book. This page sets out the school calendar as far as official sources show it, lists the long weekends from December 2026 to the end of 2027, and explains which dates are fixed and which the government may still add.
The Thai school year in brief (as of November 2026)
- Term 1
- Opens in mid-May (base date in the 2006 regulation: 16 May), ends in early to mid-October (base date: 11 October)
- October break
- Between the two terms, in October
- Term 2
- Opens in early November, ends in March
- Long holiday
- Roughly mid-March to mid-May, including Songkran (13–15 April)
- Universities
- Separate calendars; some open in June or July
- Exact dates
- Set by each school; no national 2026 calendar was published that we could read
How the Thai school year runs
State schools follow a Ministry of Education regulation on the academic year from 2006 (B.E. 2549). As OBEC, the Office of the Basic Education Commission, described it in January 2025, that rule opens the first term on 16 May and closes it on 11 October. The second term starts in November and runs into March. Schools then fix their own exact days around those base dates, so the calendar of one school can differ by a few days from the next.
For the current academic year, OBEC's own news pages carry reports from school districts dated 4 to 9 November 2026 about preparing the opening of term 2, so the second term began in early November 2026. One published school calendar gives a feel for the pattern: the Naresuan University demonstration secondary school in Phitsanulok opened term 1 on Monday 18 May 2026, broke up from Saturday 3 to Friday 30 October, opened term 2 on Monday 2 November and closes on Saturday 6 March 2027. That is one school, not a national rule.
The 1 May start that was only a proposal
You may read that Thai schools now start on 1 May. In January 2025 the education minister and the Basic Education Commission did propose moving term 1 to 1 May–30 September and term 2 to 1 November–1 April, to line the school year up with the government's fiscal year. It went out for consultation. We found no evidence that it was adopted, and Thai media in June 2026 still described a mid-May start for 2026.
Be careful with exact opening dates copied between years, too. Some Thai pages gave "Wednesday 14 May" as the 2026 opening day, but 14 May 2026 was a Thursday; the weekday came from 2025.
Universities keep their own calendars
Universities do not follow the school calendar, and they differ among themselves. As an example, Prince of Songkla University's Pattani campus opened its first semester on Monday 22 June 2026, closed it on Monday 26 October and opens the second semester on Monday 16 November 2026, with finals in March 2027. Student travel therefore spreads across more weeks than school travel, but it is the school breaks that move whole families.
Long weekends from December 2026 to the end of 2027
The table below is worked out from the Bank of Thailand's official holiday lists for 2026 and 2027, counting Saturday and Sunday as days off. Government offices follow the same days, with one exception: Royal Ploughing Day 2027, a holiday for government offices only, had no date yet in November 2026. Our guide to every Thai public holiday and what it marks has the full list; this table shows only the runs of three days or more.
| Days off | Length | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sat 5 – Mon 7 Dec 2026 | 3 days | Substitute for King Bhumibol's Birthday |
| Thu 31 Dec 2026 – Sun 3 Jan 2027 | 4 days | New Year's Eve and New Year's Day |
| Sat 20 – Mon 22 Feb 2027 | 3 days | Substitute for Makha Bucha |
| Tue 13 – Thu 15 Apr 2027 | 3 days | Songkran, midweek |
| Sat 1 – Tue 4 May 2027 | 4 days | Labour Day substitute and Coronation Day |
| Sat 17 – Mon 19 Jul 2027 | 3 days | Substitute for Asanha Bucha |
| Sat 23 – Mon 25 Oct 2027 | 3 days | Substitute for Chulalongkorn Day |
| Sat 4 – Mon 6 Dec 2027 | 3 days | Substitute for King Bhumibol's Birthday |
| Fri 10 – Sun 12 Dec 2027 | 3 days | Constitution Day |
| Fri 31 Dec 2027 – Sun 2 Jan 2028 | 3 days | New Year's Eve and New Year's Day |
The early-May run in 2027 falls inside the school holiday, so expect families on the road as well as workers with a four-day break. The long weekends in February, July and December fall in term time, when the pressure comes mainly from Bangkok weekenders.
Bridge days the Cabinet may still add
The Thai Cabinet can declare extra "special holidays" at short notice, often a single working day that joins a holiday to a weekend. It has done so before: in June 2020 it made Monday 27 July 2020 a holiday to replace the postponed Songkran, and in 2016 it approved 2 and 3 January 2017 as extra New Year days. No Cabinet calendar of 2027 government holidays had been published when we checked on 9 November 2026, and no special days for 2027 had been announced.
These are the working days that would create longer breaks if they were granted. They are not holidays unless an announcement says so:
- Friday 11 December 2026, between Constitution Day and the weekend.
- Monday 5 April 2027, which would give Saturday 3 to Tuesday 6 April with Chakri Day.
- Monday 12 and Friday 16 April 2027 around Songkran; with both, the break would run nine days, from 10 to 18 April.
- Friday 21 May, Friday 4 June and Friday 13 August 2027, each after a Thursday holiday.
No five-day Songkran on the 2027 lists. Songkran 2027 is Tuesday to Thursday, and the published holiday lists give only 13–15 April. Pages promising 12–16 April, or a four-day Asanha Bucha break from 17 to 20 July 2027, are not based on any official announcement we could find. Plan on the published days and treat anything extra as a bonus.
Songkran and New Year: the two biggest travel weeks
Songkran in mid-April is when millions travel home to their families, and our guide to where to join the Songkran water festival covers the cities and the dates. The Western New Year is the other peak; the page on Christmas and the New Year countdown in Thailand explains what closes and how the beach towns fill up.
What school breaks mean for buses, trains and beach hotels
We found no official figures on how much hotel prices or bus demand rise in school holidays, so we do not give any. What is plain from experience is that the beach and mountain resorts within reach of Bangkok fill with Thai families during the breaks and on long weekends, and Friday evening departures and Sunday or Monday returns are the first to sell out.
- Buses: book overnight and holiday departures ahead; our long-distance bus guide lists the ways to book Transport Co. (BKS) tickets.
- Trains: the State Railway sells tickets for its newest special express trains 90 days ahead and for other trains up to 30 days ahead, so holiday sleepers can be gone weeks before departure. See booking Thai train tickets online and our overnight sleeper train guide.
- Flights and boats: domestic flights and island ferries on popular routes are busiest on the same weekends; see flying within Thailand and ferries between the islands.
- National parks: campsites near Bangkok fill on long weekends; our national park camping guide explains how to reserve.
Timing a trip around Thai crowds
If you can choose, travel on ordinary weekdays in term time, away from the long weekends above; that is when resorts near Bangkok are calmest. Weather matters as much as crowds, though. October, the month of the short school break, is when the weather turns in much of the country, and it is also when Koh Samui starts its wet season, which runs to December; our month-by-month weather guide and our island-by-island season guide help you match the two.
Traveling with your own children in the Thai school holidays is no problem, but expect busier pools, beaches and theme parks. Our guide to Thailand with kids covers the practical side.
Frequently asked questions
When are the Thai school holidays?
The long holiday runs from roughly mid-March to mid-May, and there is a shorter break in October between the two terms. Exact days are set by each school around base dates in a 2006 Ministry of Education regulation, so check a specific school's calendar if you need precise dates.
Do Thai schools start on 1 May now?
Not as far as we could find. A start on 1 May was proposed in January 2025 and sent for consultation, but we found no sign that it was adopted, and reports in 2026 still described a mid-May opening for the 2026 school year.
Is Songkran 2027 a long weekend?
No. Songkran 2027 falls on Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April, so the Monday and Friday around it are normal working days on the published lists. The Cabinet could still add bridge days, but none had been announced in November 2026.
Which are the longest breaks in the year ahead?
On the published lists, the longest runs are four days: New Year from Thursday 31 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, and Saturday 1 to Tuesday 4 May 2027. Both are peak dates for domestic travel, so book transport and rooms early.
Sources
- Khaosod – OBEC Secretary-General on the academic year regulation and term dates (21 January 2025; checked November 2026)
- Thansettakij – Proposal to move the school year to 1 May (18 January 2025; checked November 2026)
- Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) – News on opening term 2/2569 (checked November 2026)
- Naresuan University Demonstration Secondary School – Academic calendar 2569 (checked November 2026)
- Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus – Academic calendar 2569 (checked November 2026)
- Bank of Thailand – Financial institutions' holidays 2026 and 2027 (checked November 2026)
- InfoQuest – Thai holidays 2027 (B.E. 2570) (checked November 2026)
- Post Today – Cabinet declares 27 July 2020 a special holiday (checked November 2026)