Eight floating markets within a day trip of Bangkok, from Khlong Lat Mayom and Taling Chan to Damnoen Saduak and Amphawa, with the days each one opens, the travel time and the boat ride.
Khlong Lat Mayom leads this list, a weekend food market about 30 minutes west of the center that Bangkok families actually use. Damnoen Saduak and Amphawa come next. They're the famous two, and each is about 90 minutes away by road. Taling Chan is the closest and the easiest to reach without a tour.
Check the day first. Only Damnoen Saduak opens every day, and it's a morning market that winds down by 13:00. Amphawa runs Friday to Sunday from 14:00 into the evening. The other six are weekend markets, and they're at their best before late morning.
Khlong Lat Mayom, Taling Chan and Wat Saphan sit close together in Taling Chan district, an easy half day on your own by taxi or the free weekend shuttle from MRT Bang Khun Non. Damnoen Saduak, Amphawa and Tha Kha are a full day southwest, and that's where a tour that adds the Maeklong Railway Market earns its price.
| If you want | Go to | When |
|---|---|---|
| The closest to the city | Taling Chan, Khlong Lat Mayom | Saturday and Sunday |
| Food over souvenirs | Khlong Lat Mayom, Taling Chan | Weekend mornings |
| A weekday visit | Damnoen Saduak | Daily, 07:00 to 13:00 |
| The postcard photo | Damnoen Saduak | Before 09:00 |
| An evening market | Amphawa | Friday to Sunday, 14:00 to 21:00 |
| A small local market | Tha Kha, Wat Saphan | Weekend mornings |
| Bicycles and orchards | Bang Nam Phueng | Saturday and Sunday, 08:00 to 16:00 |
| Air conditioning, any day | SookSiam at ICONSIAM | Daily, 10:00 to 22:00 |
| Market | Open | From central Bangkok |
|---|---|---|
| Khlong Lat Mayom | Saturday and Sunday, 08:00 to 17:00 | About 30 minutes west, in Taling Chan |
| Damnoen Saduak | Every day, 07:00 to 13:00 | About 100 km southwest, 90 minutes by road |
| Amphawa | Friday to Sunday, 14:00 to 21:00 | About 90 minutes southwest, in Samut Songkhram |
| Taling Chan | Saturday and Sunday, 08:00 to about 16:30 | The closest, in Thonburi |
| Bang Nam Phueng | Saturday and Sunday, 08:00 to 16:00 | Across the river from Khlong Toei, by ferry |
| Tha Kha | Saturday and Sunday from about 06:00 to early afternoon, plus lunar-calendar days | Well over an hour, in Amphawa district |
| Kwan-Riam | Saturday and Sunday, 07:00 to 17:00 | About 18 km east, in Min Buri |
| Wat Saphan | Saturday and Sunday, 08:00 to 15:00 | In Taling Chan, by boat from Khlong Lat Mayom |
| Market | On your own | Boat ride |
|---|---|---|
| Khlong Lat Mayom | A taxi from the center is about ฿120 to ฿200, or take the BTS to Bang Wa and a short taxi | ฿100 a seat on the shared boat around the canals |
| Damnoen Saduak | Minivans from the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) take about two hours for around ฿80 to ฿100 | Paddle boats run about ฿200 to ฿400 a person for an hour. Agree the price before you board |
| Amphawa | Minivans from Sai Tai Mai for about ฿90, or the Maeklong train route for about ฿23 and a songthaew | About ฿50 on a shared boat, with firefly trips after dark |
| Taling Chan | Bus 79 from Siam, or the MRT to Bang Khun Non and a 4 km taxi. A taxi from the center is about ฿150 to ฿200 | Shared boats ฿70 to ฿100 a seat, a private boat about ฿1,000 |
| Bang Nam Phueng | The cross-river ferry for a few baht, then a bicycle or motorbike taxi | None needed, you cross by ferry |
| Tha Kha | Most visitors pair it with Amphawa or come on a tour | Rowboats along the canal |
| Kwan-Riam | A taxi to Soi Ramkhamhaeng 185 in Min Buri | Boat rides along the canal |
| Wat Saphan | The ฿100 boat from Khlong Lat Mayom, or the free weekend shuttle from MRT Bang Khun Non | Part of the ฿100 Khlong Lat Mayom boat trip |
The canal market Bangkok families use, about 30 minutes west of the center in Taling Chan. Most of the trading is food stalls on land, and the ฿100 shared boat loops the canals behind it. Saturday and Sunday only, 08:00 to 17:00, and best before 11:00.
The floating market on the postcards, about 100 km southwest of Bangkok in Ratchaburi and ninety minutes each way by road. It's staged for visitors, so come for the paddle boats piled with fruit and noodles, and be there before 09:00. Open daily 07:00 to 13:00. Agree the boat price before you get in.
The afternoon and evening market, Friday to Sunday from 14:00 to 21:00, in Samut Songkhram about 90 minutes from Bangkok. Wooden shophouses line a narrow canal, seafood is grilled to order, and the ฿50 shared boat goes out after dark to see the fireflies. It pairs with the Maeklong Railway Market on a weekend day trip.
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The closest of the canal markets, in Thonburi, and the easiest to reach on your own. Bus 79 runs from Siam, and a taxi from the center is about ฿150 to ฿200. Pick a fish at the stalls and eat it grilled on the floating platforms. Saturday and Sunday from 08:00 to about 16:30, with shared boats at ฿70 to ฿100.
A weekend market in the orchards of Bang Krachao, the green loop across the river from Khlong Toei. Take the ferry over for a few baht, rent a bicycle and ride the raised paths to the stalls. Saturday and Sunday 08:00 to 16:00, best before the late-morning heat.
A small local canal market in Amphawa district where boats still sell fruit and home cooking, and it's over by early afternoon. Saturday and Sunday from about 06:00, with extra days set by the lunar calendar. It's well over an hour from Bangkok, so pair it with Amphawa or come on a tour.
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An east Bangkok canal market in Min Buri, between two temples joined by a boat-shaped bridge, with food from across Thailand on both banks. Saturday and Sunday 07:00 to 17:00, and the morning is when the stalls are open. It's about 18 km from the center, so it suits a stay on the east side.
A small temple market on a Taling Chan canal, with a mostly local crowd and Thai food at prices below the tourist markets. The ฿100 boat from Khlong Lat Mayom stops here, and so does the free weekend shuttle from MRT Bang Khun Non. Saturday and Sunday 08:00 to 15:00, and half an hour covers it.
Khlong Lat Mayom, for a weekend morning of eating with Bangkok families about 30 minutes west of the center. For the famous scene of boats piled with fruit, it's Damnoen Saduak, 90 minutes away and best before 09:00. For an evening out, I'd pick Amphawa, open Friday to Sunday.
Taling Chan, in Thonburi on the city's west side. Bus 79 runs there from Siam, and a taxi from the center is about ฿150 to ฿200. Khlong Lat Mayom and Wat Saphan are in the same district, and a free weekend shuttle runs to all three from MRT Bang Khun Non. Published timetables for it differ, so I wouldn't count on a late bus back.
Damnoen Saduak opens every day from 07:00 to 13:00. Don Wai's riverside market in Nakhon Pathom, about an hour away by car, is open daily too. Amphawa adds Friday to its weekend. Every other market on this list trades on Saturday and Sunday only. In the city, SookSiam at ICONSIAM is open daily.
They suit different parts of the day. Damnoen Saduak is a morning market, open daily and staged for visitors, and it's the photo of paddle boats selling fruit, at its best from 07:00 to 09:00. Amphawa opens Friday to Sunday from 14:00 to 21:00 and is about food and the canal at dusk, with boats out to see the fireflies after dark. On a weekend you can do both, with the Maeklong Railway Market in between.
Not for the ones in the city. Taling Chan, Khlong Lat Mayom and Wat Saphan are a taxi ride or the free weekend shuttle from MRT Bang Khun Non, and Bang Nam Phueng is a short ferry. For Damnoen Saduak a tour is the practical way to be there before 09:00, since minivans from the Southern Bus Terminal take about two hours. Amphawa works by minivan or the Maeklong train route.
Most close in the afternoon. Damnoen Saduak winds down by 13:00, Tha Kha by early afternoon and Wat Saphan at 15:00, and Taling Chan, Bang Nam Phueng, Kwan-Riam and Khlong Lat Mayom close between 16:00 and 17:00. Amphawa is the exception and runs until about 21:00.
ICONSIAM, on the Chao Phraya River. SookSiam, on its ground floor, is an indoor floating market of regional Thai food stalls, open daily from 10:00 to 22:00, with dishes at about ฿60 to ฿150. The shuttle boat from Sathorn Pier at BTS Saphan Taksin is the easy way there.
