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Thai public holidays — what actually closes

What this means

Thai public holidays are frequent — the official bank-holiday list for 2026 runs to nineteen days — and they behave differently from what many visitors expect: malls stay open and lively while government offices, banks and immigration close, and on Buddhist holy days alcohol sales stop even though everything else feels normal. If you have paperwork to do, a visa deadline, or travel plans, the holiday calendar is a planning input, not trivia.

Last reviewed · AraiWa editorial

Decision helper

Quick decision

Before booking anything that involves an office — immigration, banks, embassies, government paperwork — check the date against the holiday list. Everything consumer-facing will be open; everything official will not.

What changes your plan

Long weekends move the whole country: intercity transport and hotels in popular destinations fill up around bridge days, and the days after a holiday cluster carry the backlog at immigration and banks.

Common mistake

Assuming a holiday that falls on a weekend is 'used up' — Thailand substitutes it on the following Monday, so the office you planned to visit is closed then instead.

Local-style move

Buy your evening drinks the day before a Buddhist holy day. The sales ban surprises newcomers every single time, and the convenience-store beer fridge with a curtain over it is the classic photo of a lesson learned late.

The 2026 holidays (official bank-holiday list)

This is the Bank of Thailand's official 2026 holiday list for financial institutions — the closest thing to a canonical 'offices closed' calendar. Government offices largely follow the same days; individual agencies can differ, so treat this as the default, not a guarantee for one specific office.

  1. 1 January (Thu) — New Year's Day, and 2 January (Fri) — additional special holiday by Cabinet resolution: a four-day New Year weekend.
  2. 3 March (Tue) — Makha Bucha Day (Buddhist holy day).
  3. 6 April (Mon) — Chakri Memorial Day.
  4. 13–15 April (Mon–Wed) — Songkran, the Thai New Year block.
  5. 1 May (Fri) — National Labour Day; 4 May (Mon) — Coronation Day.
  6. 1 June (Mon) — substitution day for Visakha Bucha (which falls on Sunday 31 May); 3 June (Wed) — H.M. Queen Suthida's birthday.
  7. 28 July (Tue) — H.M. the King's birthday; 29 July (Wed) — Asarnha Bucha Day.
  8. 12 August (Wed) — the Queen Mother's birthday / Mother's Day.
  9. 13 October (Tue) — King Bhumibol Memorial Day; 23 October (Fri) — King Chulalongkorn Memorial Day.
  10. 7 December (Mon) — substitution for King Bhumibol's birthday / National Day / Father's Day (Sat 5 Dec); 10 December (Thu) — Constitution Day.
  11. 31 December (Thu) — New Year's Eve.

What closes — and what doesn't

  1. Closed: government offices, immigration, standalone bank branches, most embassies (which also close for their own national holidays — check the specific embassy).
  2. Open: malls, chain stores, restaurants, hospitals, tourist attractions — often busier than usual, because everyone else is off too.
  3. Bank counters inside malls often operate on holidays when standalone branches do not — useful for the errand that cannot wait.
  4. Public transport runs, but intercity trains, buses and flights around long weekends sell out earlier and cost more.

Buddhist holy days and the alcohol rule

On the major Buddhist holy days — Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asarnha Bucha and the start and end of Buddhist Lent — alcohol sales are banned nationwide for the day. Shops and convenience stores literally curtain off the shelves; bars in tourist areas may close or go dry, with limited licensed exceptions. The exact scope of exceptions has been adjusted in recent years, so treat 'no alcohol sold on holy days' as the planning default and anything more permissive as a bonus.

Substitution days and surprise holidays

Two mechanics catch people out. First, a holiday falling on a weekend generates a substitution day, usually the following Monday — the 1 June and 7 December entries above are exactly that. Second, the Cabinet sometimes declares extra one-off holidays during the year (and has also cancelled announced ones), typically to create long weekends. Both mean the live official calendar beats any list printed at the start of the year, including this one.

Related guides

The biggest holiday of the year gets its own page — the Songkran guide covers the week the whole country moves. If a holiday collides with your cash or banking errand, timing details are in the ATM and cards guide, and for travel days around long weekends, see intercity travel in Thailand.

Sources & further reading

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