Festivals & Events
Next dates and venues
Festivals in Bangladesh
Bangladesh festivals on the site in date order, from Nabanna and the Rash Mela to Pohela Boishakh.
Religious Festivals, Folk Fairs, Parades and Music
Find your kind of celebration: 24 event types, each with the festivals listed.
Cultural Events261 events
Parade87 events
Religious Festivals87 events
Musical Events69 events
Folk Festival67 events
Live Events64 events
Arts Festivals60 events
Carnivals43 events
Social Festivals39 events
Community Events38 events
Leisure Events37 events
Sporting Events37 events
National Day32 events
Fair28 events
Party Events28 events
Exhibition22 events
Food Festivals20 events
Film Festivals13 events
Winter Festivals13 events
Wine and Beer Festivals4 events
Conferences2 events
Convention1 event
Trade Shows1 event
Workshops1 event
Festivals Worth Travelling For
Songkran, Loy Krathong, the Venice Carnival, Hajj and more, each with its next date and practical notes.
Where to celebrate
Festival Destinations
City guides with the events held there, places to stay and ways to get in.
Dates, Entry and Where to Stay
Planning a Trip Around a Festival
The festivals and events section lists 403 celebrations around the world, Bangladesh's own festival year among them. When one edition ends, a page moves on to the next date automatically, worked out from a fixed date, a weekday pattern, Easter or an announced lunar date. bookingMentor does not sell festival tickets, so the planning work is mostly the stay and the journey.
Which countries have the most events
Thailand has the most, several of them in the cards above, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan, so you can check what is on during a trip you have already planned, or plan a trip around a festival you want to see.
How the dates are kept current
Almost every event here comes round once a year, and each page follows one of four date rules:
- Same calendar date: Christmas Day, for example.
- Weekday pattern: for example the fourth Friday of July or the last Sunday of November.
- Tied to Easter: the pre-Lent carnivals among them.
- Lunar calendar: Chinese New Year, the Islamic festivals and many Buddhist and Hindu celebrations shift from year to year.
Lunar dates are entered once they are announced, and a page shows "Next date to be announced" until then. The few remaining listings are one-off or past events.
The Bangladeshi festival year
The Bangladesh calendar on the site runs from October to April, and the cards at the top of this page show the festivals in date order with their venues. The busiest stretch runs from January to February, when Dhaka hosts several of them within a few weeks, and the season closes in mid-April with the Bengali New Year.
Tickets and entry
bookingMentor does not sell festival tickets. Most of the celebrations listed are public events, free to watch, and some run in temples, streets or on riverbanks with no gate at all. Where an event does charge, such as a trade fair or a music festival abroad, buy from the organiser. Each event page names the venue and its address, and many include common questions about getting there and what to expect.
Booking around a festival
Big festivals fill hotels and push up prices, so sort your stay before anything else. Bangkok and Chiang Mai during their April and November festivals book out early, as do Makkah and Madinah in the pilgrimage season and the last ten nights of Ramadan.
Once the date is fixed, compare places to stay, check fares on Flights, and use Car Hire for festivals outside the cities, such as those in the hill districts.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
Thailand has the most, followed by the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan. Bangladesh's main festivals are all covered. Browse them all on the event search.
Each page shows the next edition. When an edition ends, the page moves to the following one by the festival's own rule: a fixed calendar date, a weekday pattern, a date tied to Easter, or a lunar date entered once it is announced. Dates worked out from a pattern are marked as estimated until the organisers confirm them.
Those follow a lunar calendar, and the date for the coming year has not been announced yet. Many events work this way, including Chinese New Year and the Islamic festivals. The page is updated once the date is known.
The ones shown in date order in the cards at the top of this page. They run from October to April and range from folk and harvest festivals to a book fair, a trade fair and the Bengali New Year. Each event page has the next date, the venue and practical notes.
Yes. On the event search, enter your city or country and the dates you are free, and the results show what is on. The Bangladesh festivals are also listed in date order at the top of this page.
Write to support@bookingmentor.com with the event name and the correct date and source, or call +880 1723 808 286.
Booking
No. The event pages are guides to dates, venues and what to expect. Most of the festivals listed are free public celebrations. When an event charges for entry, buy from the organiser or at the gate.
As soon as the date is confirmed. Rooms near the big festivals, such as the April water festival in Bangkok or the pilgrimage season in Makkah, fill months ahead and prices rise as the date gets closer. Compare options on Places to Stay.
Timing & weather
On 14 April every year in Bangladesh. The day starts at dawn with music under the banyan tree at Ramna Park in Dhaka, followed by the colourful procession that sets out from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Dhaka University.
The official holiday runs from 13 to 15 April, and water fights take over the streets of Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. Pattaya and Bang Saen carry on a few days longer with Wan Lai.
Yes, but Dubla Char is an island in the Sundarbans, so you need forest department permission and a boat. Most visitors travel with a licensed tour operator from Khulna or Mongla. At other times of year, boat packages from Khulna cover the forest itself.
Many are, as public celebrations in the street. Inside temples, mosques and shrines, follow the local dress code and the instructions of the organisers, and ask before photographing people at prayer. Hajj is the exception: Makkah is open only to Muslims.
Plan the rest of the trip
Popular Destination
Destinations with the most listings on bookingMentor, with the number of hotels, attractions and restaurants in each.