Photo by Zeugma fr (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Amphawa floating market
Afternoon & evening market
Amphawa floating market makes for a fun day trip from Bangkok. Take a boat ride on the canals, watch the fireflies and enjoy a wide variety of Thai food and sweets.
Authentic
The market is smaller, but more authentic than nearby Damnoen Saduak floating market. Along the canal are wooden restaurants, some vendors cook and sell food from their boats.
Wooden shops and restaurants
Along the canal are restaurants and wooden shops. Vendors sell souvenirs, clothing and all kinds of knick knacks.
Afternoon and evening market
Amphawa floating market is a weekend market that starts around noon. Both during the day and after dark the atmosphere is lively.
Photo by Marida 1996 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
System of canals
Around the market is a system of canals, called khlongs in Thai. Local people use boats to bring vegetables and fruits from their farms to the floating market.
Boardwalk along the khlong
Along the Amphawa canal where the floating market is on, is a boardwalk. It’s a short walk along the floating market to the nearby Mae Klong river.
Life along the canals
Getting around the market you can imagine how people used to live along the khlongs in gone by times. The old wooden houses were built when transport was done by boat. People sold mainly food, fruits and vegetables from their boats on the canal.
Boat ride on the canals
A fun activity is to take a longtail boat trip along the canals and the Mae Klong river. See the floating market, local temples, old wooden houses on stilts and coconut farms. You might come across large monitor lizards swimming in the water.
Book a boat trip at one of the counters near the bridge. The trip lasts about one hour and costs 50 Baht per person. The boats usually wait until they are full.
Photo by Igor Ovsyannykov (CC0 1.0)
Watch the fireflies
In the evening you can take a boat trip to watch the fireflies. It’s a beautiful sight to see a large number of fireflies light up the darkness.
Firefly watching is done during the rainy season between May and October. Price is 60 to 80 Baht per person on a shared boat. Buy tickets from one of the tour operators on the market. If you prefer a private trip, charter a boat at 700 to 1,000 Baht.
Firefly watching trips last about one hour and start in the early evening between 6:30 pm and 7 pm.
Lots of food
The smell of food is all over Amphawa floating market. There is a wide choice of street food, seafood, sweets and desserts as well as fresh fruit. Order from a boat or in one of the restaurants along the canal.
Thai street food
Restaurants serve Thai street food as Pad Thai, noodles, chicken skewers, spring rolls, noodle soup with chicken or pork, som tam papaya salad, grilled chicken as well as lots of seafood, sweets and desserts.
Seafood
Because Amphawa floating market is close to the sea, there is lots of seafood like fresh cooked shrimp rolls, fried crab rolls, scallops, cockles, mussel, river shrimp, squid, crab, snapper, sea bass, tilapia and other fish.
Sweets and desserts
Also try some of the colorful sweets and desserts like coconut ice cream, sticky rice in bamboo, rice cookies, egg tart, steamed dumpling (shaomai), crispy crepes (khanom bueang), dumplings in coconut cream and Thai caramel.
You’ll also find exotic fruits as rose apple, mango, papaya, pineapples, oranges, banana and dragon fruit.
Opening hours
Amphawa floating market opens every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 12 noon until 9 pm. It can get busy with Thai visitors.
Location
The market is located in Samut Songkhram province, about 85 kilometers from downtown Bangkok.
Getting there
The easiest and quickest way to get there is to book a tour or take a metered taxi. The trip from downtown Bangkok takes about 1½ to 2 hours depending on traffic.
If you prefer public transport, go to the Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on Borommaratchachonnani Road on the Thonburi side of the Chao Phraya river. Get on bus 996 to Damnoen Saduak or on a minivan at about 100 Baht one way.
Admission
Admission is free
Also visit nearby
Close to Amphawa floating market are:
Other floating markets
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