Amphawa Floating Market is one of the largest and oldest floating markets in Thailand. As the floating market is not far from Bangkok, it makes this place a popular weekend destination for both locals and tourists. If you are staying around Bangkok during the weekend, try to get out from the city and spend one evening at this market. Wondering how to get to Amphawa Floating Market from Bangkok? Discover all transport options and choose the best way to travel to this Bangkok floating market.
Amphawa Floating Market is located in Samut Songkhram province, just 70 kilometers southwest of Bangkok, and it takes approximately 1.5 hours to get there from the Thai capital. Getting there by public transport is complicated and time-consuming, so joining the tour on a half-day trip is the most convenient option. You won’t need to worry about transportation, and even a boat ride in the floating market is often included.
Pay attention that Amphawa Floating Market is open only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and unlike most of the other floating markets in Thailand, it mainly operates in the evening.
Amphawa Floating Market Tour
Going on a tour is the easiest way to get to Amphawa Floating Market. There are many tour agencies offering half-day tours that include a visit to the Maeklong Railway Market, which is located not far from the floating market.
If you want to make things easy, discover Amphawa Floating Market together with Maeklong Railway Market on this tour to the markets from Bangkok that also takes you to enjoy a firefly boat cruise and to visit Wat Bang Kung, a hidden temple wrapped in tree roots, just outside Bangkok.
Van or Bus to Amphawa Floating Market
If you want to visit the floating market independently, you can take a bus or van to Amphawa from Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal. It normally costs less than 100 baht per person, and the duration of the trip is about 1 hour and 30 minutes.
There are also vans running from Mochit Van Terminal and Eastern Bus Terminal to Samut Songkhram town, which is the capital city of the same-named province. From there you can easily reach the floating market by taking a local transport (songthaew) to Amphawa.
Train to Amphawa Floating Market
From Bangkok, Samut Songkhram town can also be reached by a local commuter train. If you choose this transport option, the trip to Amphawa Floating Market by train will consist of 4 main steps:
- Taking the train from Wongwien Yai Railway Station to Maha Chai Railway Station (1 hour).
- Boarding the ferry crossing between Maha Chai Pier and Tha Chalom Pier (a few minutes).
- Taking the train from Ban Laem Railway Station to Maeklong Railway Station (1 hour).
- Taking a local songthaew from Maeklong to Amphawa (15 minutes).
Detailed information about independent train travel to Amphawa can be found below.
Taxi to Amphawa Floating Market
If you don't want to bother waiting for a bus or train, you can use the Bangkok taxi for the trip to be more comfortable. You can expect to pay around 1,000-1,500 THB for the trip to Amphawa Floating Market from Bangkok. Considering that the market is an hour and a half drive from the center of Bangkok and the taxi can fit 3-4 people, it's not bad.
As getting a taxi for a trip back to Bangkok might be complicated, arranging return transportation is recommended. To do that, choose a private car hire to Amphawa Floating Market that includes the return journey to the floating market and waiting time at the place.
Visiting Amphawa by Train Independently
We were visiting Amphawa Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market from Bangkok and exclusively using local transportation along the way. It wasn’t the easiest and fastest but definitely the cheapest and most enjoyable way to visit these two famous markets in Thailand.
7:00 Wongwian Yai BTS Station
We arrived at Wongwian Yai BTS Station (S8). We were taking the BTS Green Line from Victory Monument Station (N3), and it took us 20 minutes to get here. It was the most expensive part of the trip.
Then we walked towards the Taksin Intersection and continued our way on Somdet Phrachao Taksin Road to Wongwian Yai Railway Station. The total distance between the stations is about 1 km, so you can easily cover it on foot, and it won’t take long.
7:16 Wongwian Yai Railway Station
We arrived at Wongwian Yai Railway Station. At the railway station we bought train tickets from Wongwian Yai Railway Station to Maha Chai Railway Station.
7:40 Train Wongwian Yai - Maha Chai
The train departed from Wongwian Yai Railway Station. It took us about 1 hour to reach Maha Chai Railway Station.
8:44 Maha Chai Railway Station
We arrived at Maha Chai Railway Station. The train was surprisingly on time – arrived only 5 minutes later than the scheduled time. However, don’t expect it to be like this every time, and give yourself enough time for possible train delays when planning.
After exploring Maha Chai Market, we continued our trip towards the Tha Chin River.
9:05 Maha Chai Pier
We crossed the Tha Chin River by the ferry running from Maha Chai Pier to Tha Chalom Pier.
9:10 Tha Chalom Pier
We arrived at Tha Chalom Pier and walked to Ban Laem Railway Station, which is only 450 meters away from the pier. It’s possible to speed up your trip by taking a Sam Lor (tricycle) from the pier to the railway station, but we had plenty of time and kindly refused the offer.
9:30 Ban Laem Railway Station
We arrived at Ban Laem Railway Station. At the station we bought our tickets to Maeklong Railway Station, which is located just behind the famous Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub).
10:10 Train Ban Laem - Maeklong
The train departed from Ban Laem Railway Station to Maeklong Railway Station. The train journey on this route also takes about one hour.
11:04 Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub)
We were on the train passing through Talad Rom Hub Market. It was a really great experience to see the market from a completely different perspective than we saw in photos taken at Maeklong Railway Market.
11:11 Maeklong Railway Station
We dropped off at Maeklong Railway Station and walked back to the market to explore and prepare for taking photos of the departing train.
The train departed from Maeklong Railway Station. We’ve stayed in the middle of Maeklong Railway Market, as it’s one of the best places to capture photos of the train passing the market and vendors pushing their stuff off the track and closing their big umbrellas for the train to pass.
12:12 Songthaew to Amphawa
We walked around the area for some time and went to 7/11, where the blue songthaews going to Amphawa Floating Market are parked. The journey by songthaew from Maeklong to Amphawa Floating Market takes about 15 minutes.
12:30 Amphawa Floating Market
We arrived at Amphawa Floating Market, where you can easily spend a few hours shopping and trying various snacks.
Tips
If you are not on a tight schedule, you can choose to overnight in Amphawa and fully experience the atmosphere of the traditional local life by the waterfront. The best places to stay in Amphawa are listed here: Best places to stay in Amphawa.
If you have more time, take the opportunity to combine a visit to Amphawa Floating Market with the nearby markets, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market.
