Wan Lai Festival, Bang Saen and Pattaya

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Wan Lai Festival, Bang Saen and Pattaya guide

Songkran's encore along the Chonburi coast.

In short

Wan Lai hops along the coast each April, starting in Bang Saen on 16 and 17 April and reaching Pattaya on the 19th, with stages confirmed only in the final week. Expect street water fights, family beach parties and, at some temples, sand merit-making. It suits travellers who missed Songkran; protect phones and plan for closures.

Most of Thailand has put its water guns away by the time the Chonburi coast gets going. Wan Lai is the region's own late encore to Songkran, a run of street water fights that hops from one seaside town to the next and ends with the biggest of them all on Pattaya's Beach Road.

Behind the soaking sits an older custom of making merit with sand, and some temples still keep it up. The result is a week that swings between family beach parties and full-scale concerts, depending on which town you are in that day.

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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Saturday, 17 April 2027
Where: Pattaya, Thailand
Venue: Beach Road
Held: Every year
Type of event: Party Events, Cultural Events, Social Festivals
Currency: Thai baht (฿ THB)
Time zone: UTC+7, no daylight saving
Language: Thai
Next edition starts in
157days 14hrs 48min

Find hotels in Pattaya

Map

Getting around

Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.

Where and how it is celebrated

The main cities where the festival is celebrated.

Pattaya
Bang Saen

What happens on the day

  1. 16 April

    Bang Saen opens the week

    Together with Don Hua Lo and Bo Thong.

  2. 17 April

    Bang Saen's biggest day

    The beach road is closed to cars.

  3. 18 April

    Naklua and Bang Phra

    Smaller fights; a good rest day.

  4. 19 April, 12:00

    Pattaya: Beach Road closes

    In 2026 it was shut to vehicles from noon until midnight.

  5. 19 April, afternoon

    Water fights and concerts

    The stages at Soi 13 and near Soi 5 start their concerts.

  6. 19 April, after dark

    Light and sound shows

  7. 20 April

    Bang Sare and Ban Bueng

    The last of the week.

Planning days in Bang Saen and Pattaya

Shape the week around two dates. Spend the Bang Saen day on the beach road there, rest on the 18th or join the smaller fights in Naklua, and keep the 19th clear for Pattaya, which runs from midday until late at night.

The sand pagoda custom behind Wan Lai

The name is a shortened form of an old New Year merit-making custom. Villagers gathered the sand that rivers and the sea had carried off, brought it back to the temple grounds and shaped it into small chedis as offerings. Bang Saen bills its festival as Ko Pra Sai Wan Lai, and building sand stupas is still part of it.

A few temples keep the tradition going, and it is worth looking for them. While the streets outside are a free-for-all, the temple grounds keep the older and quieter side of the holiday alive. Bang Saen also adds folk games to the programme, which gives its days a village-fair feel the Pattaya stages do not have.

The water play itself works exactly like Songkran. Pickup trucks roll along the beach roads with music blaring. Iced water goes by the bucket, and water pistols and smears of powder paste do the rest. Nobody stays dry, and nobody is supposed to mind.

Getting there

Flying in

Suvarnabhumi (BKK) is the airport to aim for, about 110 km from Pattaya, 80 to 90 minutes by road and longer on festival days. Check entry rules on our Thailand visa page.

Bus 389

Government bus 389 leaves Suvarnabhumi about hourly from 07:00 to 22:00 for 143 baht, stopping along Sukhumvit Road through Pattaya.

U-Tapao

U-Tapao (UTP), about 30 km south, has some domestic and regional flights; a door-to-door minibus costs about 150 baht.

From central Bangkok

Buses leave Ekkamai and Mo Chit 2 every 20 to 40 minutes, 2 to 2.5 hours to North Pattaya Road. For Bang Saen, get off at Nong Mon Market and take a 10-baht songthaew to the beach.

On the Pattaya day

Baht buses lose their Beach Road loop on the 19th. Ride them on Second Road and walk to the sea. Traffic seizes up from about midday on every main day.

Where to stay during the festival

Pattaya has far more rooms than Bang Saen and makes the natural base. Pattaya Bay puts you inside the baht bus loop and close to Beach Road; Naklua has quieter beaches; Jomtien is calmer and usually cheaper. Rooms go early in Songkran week, so book several weeks ahead for the seafront.

Bang Saen works as a day trip or as a stay of its own if you prefer a Thai crowd; prices run from fan rooms at about 150 baht to hotels near 3,000 baht.

Weather and what to pack

Mid-April is the hottest time of year on the eastern seaboard. Pattaya averages highs of about 33°C and lows around 26°C in April, with occasional thunderstorms. Being soaked all afternoon is a relief, but the sun still burns.

Worth packing

  • A waterproof phone pouch
  • Clothes you do not mind soaking
  • High-factor, water-resistant sunscreen
  • Sandals with grip
  • A small dry bag for cash and cards

Car hire in Pattaya

Airport transfer to Wan Lai Festival, Bang Saen and Pattaya

Met at arrivals at U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) and driven door to door to Beach Road.

  • U-Tapao Rayong-Pattaya International Airport (UTP) → Beach Road
  • 44 km · 60 min
Get a quote

Restaurants and food in Thailand

Places to eat in Thailand before or after the celebrations.

Vertigo

61st Floor, Banyan Tree Bangkok, 21/100 South Sathorn Road, Thung Maha Mek, Sathon, Bangkok 10120, Thailand

Cuisine:GrillInternational

  • Dine-in
  • Outdoor seating
  • Bar
View details Book Now
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General

Because each coastal community has its own Wan Lai day, inherited from the old sand-pagoda merit-making, and those days fall after the national holiday. The result is a rolling encore through the week.