Damnoen Saduak

Famous floating market

Damnoen Saduak is the best known floating market of Thailand. It is only a short drive away from the capital Bangkok and provides a fun experience for the whole family.

The easiest way to get there is to book a tour including a boat trip on the market canals.

Small boats loaded with fresh fruits & vegetables

Watch the bustling activity on the crowded canals of boats loaded with fresh local fruits, try some Thai noodle soup and make a boat trip around the market and the surrounding canals, providing many photo opportunities.

Known from several movies

The floating market of Damnoen Saduak is known all over the world from movies it featured in such as a classic James Bond movie and more recently “Bangkok dangerous” with Nicolas Cage. This trip will give you a good idea of a traditional market setting and a view of a Thai market as it used to be a long time ago.

A train traveling through the Maeklong railway market

Vendors selling fresh fruits and vegetables from their boats at Damnoen Saduak

Beyond Bangkok Private Market Adventure - Railway and Floating Markets

Transfer to Maeklong Railway Market
Watch vendors clear tracks and arrival of the train
Explore the market where vendors sell traditional Thai food, snacks and fruits
Transfer to a palm sugar plantation
Meet a local villager who makes palm sugar in the traditional way
Board a small boat and take a ride through the canals to Damnoen Saduak floating market
Explore the market on foot
English speaking guide & boat ride
Duration about 7 hours

Buy from Viator

1½ Hours from Bangkok

This market is located in Ratchaburi province at around 100 kilometers from Bangkok and can be reached by car in around one and a half hours.

History of Damnoen Saduak

Around 150 years ago, during the reign of King Rama IV, a canal was dug out at Damnoen Saduak. In those days, the waterways were the center of economic activity and much of the transport was done by boat. Since then countless of smaller canals have been dug out to provide the surrounding land with water for irrigation.

Much of the land is very fertile and vegetables and fruits like papayas, grapes, coconuts, bananas and oranges are grown.

Today local people still use the waterways to bring their produce to the market. Damnoen Saduak floating market can be visited every day from around 6:30 am. As it can get busy and hot, best time to visit is early morning.

Boat on the floating market canals

Take a boat trip on the canals

This market is a place bustling with activity, crowded with small boats loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables from surrounding orchards, piloted by old ladies wearing straw hats.

Visitors can watch the market activity from a passage along the canal. A number of restaurants and shops are located here as well. A fun experience is to make a boat trip and observe the buying and selling, providing countless photo opportunities. Also a boat trip can be made on the surrounding canals where traces of more traditional life can still be observed as well as a number of temples and orchards.

Whether you walk on the passage along the canal or are in a boat, try some of the fruits or order a freshly cooked noodle soup.

Although Damnoen Saduak has become quite commercialized, the floating market is a very photo genetic place providing a memorable experience, easily visited on a short trip from Bangkok.

Also visit nearby Amphawa floating market

Vibrant afternoon and evening floating market
Explore the local area on a boat trip

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Nearby floating markets

Other floating markets in the area that are less commercialized are Amphawa and Tha Kha, that can also be visited.

Opening hours

The floating market opens daily from 7 am until about 12 noon.
Best time to go is early in the morning.

Location

Damnoen Saduak floating market is located in Ratchaburi province, about 100 kilometers South West of downtown Bangkok.

Getting there

The quickest and most comfortable way to get there is to book a tour or take a taxi. It will take about 1½ hours by car in normal traffic.

A cheaper but slower alternative is to take a bus from Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) on Borommaratchachonnani Road on the Thonburi side of the river.