Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market Tour
Description
Explore Damnoen Saduak, the most popular floating market in Thailand, great for photo opportunities, food, and for giving an insight into a bygone way of life. Although the market evolved more into a tourist attraction nowadays, it’s still worth the visit for its unique atmosphere and the experience it offers. Furthermore, we'll visit Talad Rom Hoop, also known as 'Train Umbrella Market', for a unique market experience. The market literally sits on the railway track and every day customers and shopkeepers make way for the Bangkok-Maeklong train to pass. With the ringing of a warning bell followed by an announcement in Thai over the loudspeaker, the vendors pull back their awnings within seconds. Amazing!
Tour Options
Itinerary
We'll visit Thailand’s most famous floating market: Damnoen Saduak. Upon arrival, you'll board a traditional long-tail boat for a ride through the canals, offering a glimpse into life along the waterways. The Damnoen Saduak canal was commissioned in 1866 by King Rama IV to connect the Mae Klong and Tha Chin rivers and improve water transport between the Ratchaburi and Samut Sakhon provinces. Photographs of this colorful and bustling market are among the most widely featured in travel brochures about Thailand. While the market today caters largely to tourists, it still offers an unforgettable experience with its lively atmosphere, boats, and canal scenes. Please note that the total time spent on this excursion includes the drive from Bangkok, which takes approx. 1,5 hours each way, depending on traffic. Note: Damnoen Saduak is undeniably touristy these days, and while it may not feel fully authentic anymore, it remains one of the best places to experience a floating market.
Our next stop will be the amazing Mae Klong Railway Market, locally known as Talat Rom Hoop ('Market Umbrella Close'). Imagine a train going straight through a public market! The Mae Klong Railway Market has been around since 1905. Fishing was (and still is) one of the main livelihoods of the people who lived here, and the market was another way in which to sell their goods. Officials decided to build a railway in order to better deliver these goods to other provinces. The market remained, however, despite the new tracks that cut through it. We’ll stroll over the market and see the train arrive or depart before going back to Bangkok. Total time to spend here is including traveling time between Damnoen Saduak and Maeklong Railway Market and from Maeklong Railway Market back to Bangkok (approx. 1,5 hrs - depending on traffic situation).
Wat Bang Kung is famous for its small chapel that is completely enclosed within the roots of a banyan tree called Bot Prok Po. It is almost like the tree itself is the pillars of the temple and that without the roots the chapel would fall down. You can also go inside to pay respect to the Buddha image. The temple grounds once doubled as a naval fort, the site of a fierce 18th century battle between Siam and invaders from Burma. Today, the temple grounds is also a memorial to warrior heroism.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- We visit an ancient temple during the tour. Remember that temples are sacred places and you must dress appropriately. Shoulders and knees need to be covered.
- Bangkok’s traffic can be heavily congested. As our tours run on a group basis, we can wait a maximum of 10 minutes after the scheduled meeting time. After this grace period, the guide will begin the tour. If you cannot make it on time, please let us know before the tour starts. If possible, we’ll do our best to reschedule you for the next available time slot or day, though a rescheduling fee will apply. No refund will be provided in case of late arrival.
- Damnoen Saduak is undeniably touristy these days, and while it may not feel fully authentic anymore, it remains one of the best places to experience a floating market.
- Cancellations made at least 24 hours before the tour start time are eligible for a full refund. For cancellations made less than 24 hours in advance or in case of no-show, no refund will be issued.
- Our tours operate rain or shine, as tropical rain showers in Thailand usually don’t last long. If it rains heavily, we try to seek shelter and will continue as soon as the weather improves. During the rainy season, it’s a good idea to bring a raincoat or poncho. Please note cancellations due to weather are not eligible for a refund.
- The exact departure time from the meeting point will be sent to you via private message on the booking platform one day before the tour. Please check your email (including your junk/spam folder) carefully the day before your tour to avoid any delays or missed departures.
- For tours starting at 7:00 hrs, departure from the meeting point will be between 6:30 and 7:00 hrs, depending on the number of participants.
- For tours starting at 10:15 hrs, departure from the meeting point will be between 9:30 and 10:15 hrs, depending on the number of participants.
Reviews(1,693)
Lovely guide, gave me a really good experience and I would 10/10 recommend!
Thank you so much for the 10/10 recommendation! We're thrilled to hear that your guide made your experience so special. We truly appreciate your kind words and look forward to welcoming you back for another wonderful tour soon!
This is the second time for our little family and frankly we never get tired of it, very beautiful railway market and always impressed at the arrival of the train that passes close to the goods, incredible The floating market is good but too touristy for my taste
Thank you so much for choosing us for a second time! We are absolutely thrilled that your family enjoyed returning to the iconic railway market and still felt that amazing excitement when the train passes right by the stalls. We also truly appreciate your honest feedback about the floating market being a bit too touristy for your taste—we will definitely keep that in mind as we look for ways to offer more authentic experiences. It was a pleasure having your family back with us, and we look forward to welcoming you for a third adventure whenever you're back!
Guide’s conduct was unprofessional, itinerary was not followed, time at the attractions was cut short while unnecessary stops were added,. I did not receive the tour experience that was advertised and purchased.
Dear Customer, Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We are truly sorry to hear that your experience fell far short of your expectations and did not match the tour we advertised. We take matters regarding professional conduct and itinerary adherence very seriously. This is certainly not the standard of service we aim to provide, and we are currently investigating this incident with our guide and operations team to ensure it does not happen again. We would love the opportunity to make things right and discuss this further with you. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at [อีเมลหรือเบอร์ติดต่อบริษัท]. We truly appreciate you bringing this to our attention so we can improve. Best regards, The WanderSiam Team
The guide kit and driver Vinai provided us with a unique experience. Kiti made sure we were well-informed by explaining the history of each stop. He took us to photo spots so we could take beautiful pictures, and at the end of the tour, he gave us gifts. Vinai made our trip enjoyable by providing us with cold drinks and towels throughout the tour; thank you.
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that Kit and Vinai provided you with such a unique and memorable experience. It's fantastic to know that Kit's historical insights, photo spot guidance, and thoughtful gifts made your tour special, and that Vinai kept you comfortable with refreshing cold drinks and towels throughout the journey. We truly appreciate your kind feedback and hope to welcome you back again soon!
Tour was fun... but we went on the 10:15am tour and missed most of the floating market. Apparently the sellers come really early in the morning and once the sell out, they leave. So not much to see or shopping to be had. The boat ride itself was fun and we had really yummy soup noodles and mango sticky rice on the boat. The train market was cool. Touristy but cool to see and great souvenir shopping with good prices. I would definitely recommend but have the right explanations.
Thank you so much for your great review! We are thrilled to hear that you had a fun time enjoying the boat ride, the delicious soup noodles and mango sticky rice on the boat, and the cool train market with its great souvenir shopping. At the same time, we truly appreciate your valuable feedback regarding the floating market timing. You are completely right that the floating market vendors are most active early in the morning, and we will make sure to provide clearer expectations and explanations about the timing for our future guests. We hope to welcome you back for another great tour soon!
I truly overall enjoyed this tour. Our tour guide Wan set the warm tone with her initial greeting and explained in detail what all we would see and not be able to see. Seeing the train in the market and then shopping afterwards was truly a once in lifetime experience. Wan will give you some time before departing to shop which we appreciated. While the 7am option was too early for me, I would say that to get the true floating market experience you need to go earlier. I would also recommend that he operator considers changing the second time option to 8:30/9am the latest vs 10:15am so that you are truly able to have a better experience at the floating market. We did not get to do much shopping as most of the shops were closed but we were able to find some mango sticky rice and rice noodles which were both delicious. Overall, 10/10 would recommend even with the few tweaks that I mentioned.
Thank you so much for your wonderful review! We are thrilled to hear that you truly enjoyed the tour and that Wan set such a warm, welcoming tone with her detailed explanations and great pacing. It's fantastic to know you loved experiencing the train market and enjoyed the delicious mango sticky rice and rice noodles. We also deeply appreciate your valuable suggestion regarding the tour timing for the floating market; your feedback is spot on, and we are actively looking into adjusting our schedule to ensure future guests can catch the market at its best. Thank you for the strong recommendation, and we hope to welcome you back again soon!
Miss Wan is very knowledgeable and friendly. She anticipated our needs and gave us a good tour
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that Miss Wan provided such a knowledgeable and friendly experience. It's fantastic to know that she anticipated your needs and made your tour so special. We truly appreciate your kind feedback and hope to welcome you back again soon!
Tgis tour was hands down the best tour I have been on. Everything we visited, the food we ate, the sights we saw were all amazing. Wan is an incredible guide, knowledgeable, kind, helpful...so sweet. She taught us so much, shared so many good tips with us, and fed us delicious local food. If I get the chance to come back and do the tour again I hope I will have the chance to have Wan as my guide again. I would and will recommend this tour to everyone as it is an incredible value for a memorable travel day.
Thank you so much for your incredible 5-star review! We are absolutely thrilled to hear that this was the best tour you have ever been on. It's so wonderful to know that Wan made your day unforgettable with her deep knowledge, kindness, helpful tips, and delicious local food recommendations. We truly appreciate your glowing feedback and your strong recommendation, and we would love to welcome you back for another tour with Wan whenever you return!
This is defiantly worth going on. You get to try local fresh food in the markets with a lovely boat trip at the end around the floating markets. We got the same tour guide (Wann) from the previous trip, again she was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. She has experienced how everything has changed over the years which is very interesting. Thank you Wann for making it a memorable trip !!
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you had such a fantastic time trying fresh local food and enjoying the lovely boat trip around the floating market. It is especially wonderful that you had Wann as your guide again for a second trip! Her deep local experience and willingness to share how things have changed over the years truly make her tours special. We truly appreciate your kind feedback and hope to welcome you back for another unforgettable trip with us soon!
A completely recommended excursion. Our guide, Wen, was a wonderful person. She explained everything great. We would do more tours with her again. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star review! We are thrilled to hear that you had such a great experience and that Wen made your tour so special with her wonderful personality and great explanations. We truly appreciate your kind words and would love to welcome you back for more tours with Wen whenever you return!
