Bangkok floating markets are some of the most popular tourist spots in Thailand. While most of the floating markets open only on weekends, Damnoen Saduak Floating Market opens daily. Wondering how to get to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market from Bangkok? Discover all transport options and choose the best way to travel to this Bangkok floating market from the city.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, certainly the most famous floating market around the city of Bangkok, is located in Ratchaburi province. The floating market is located about 110 km from central Bangkok. 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 will be included.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market Tour
There are many tours from Bangkok that bring you to the most popular floating market in Thailand. Normally the tours vary by the size of the group (big group, small group, or private tour), duration (half-day or full-day), and other inclusions (some include boat rides, others do not, etc.). Make sure to compare several offers and choose the tour that suits your needs the best.
The most affordable tour to the floating market is this Damnoen Saduak Floating Market Guided Tour.
A visit to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market can be combined with another of Thailand’s iconic markets, Maeklong Railway Market, making it a perfect day trip from Bangkok. Combining these two popular markets into one trip is well worth it, as they are close to each other and quite far from Bangkok.
This combined Damnoen Saduak Market and Maeklong Railway Market tour is the most popular day trip from Bangkok.
As Damnoen Saduak is one of the most popular tourist destinations around Bangkok, it can also be visited as part of a wider tour visiting Ayutthaya ancient temples, Dragon Temple, or King Power Mahanakhon.
Visiting Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is one of the most popular day trips in Bangkok, as it is a suitable way for those of you who don't want the hassle of arranging schedules and budgets.
If you’ll decide go to the floating market with the tour, you need to check if the boat trip of the market is included in the total price of the tour or not. We advise you to first take a look online, to get an idea of prices and people's opinions about the tour to avoid being cheated. Basically, they all offer more or less the same, which includes shared transportation (in the form of a bus or van), boat rental, and a tour guide during the trip. However, you can save some money if you have the patience to compare a few.
Bus to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
If you choose the bus, expect to spend almost the whole day for visiting the floating market. The air-conditioned bus No. 78 departs from Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal to Damnoen Saduak. The bus departure is scheduled every 40 minutes, and at the earliest it departs at 06:00. From the drop-off point, you still have to walk or take a motorbike for approximately 1 km to get to the market.
In addition, you can travel with buses on other routes such as Bangkok-Ratchaburi, Bangkok-Phetchaburi and get off at Bang Phae intersection. After that, you can walk or take motorbike which runs between the Bang Phae intersection and Damnoen Saduak.
The journey by bus takes about 2 hours, not to mention the congestion in Bangkok. Therefore, it is highly recommended to leave early in the morning.
Van to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The van No. 996 also departs from Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal. The van passes Mae Klong Market and Amphawa Floating Market before reaching Damnoen Saduak. The van will park at the shady boat hiring place, so be preparing for that.
To take the van back, you can wait for it in front of Damnoen Saduak Hospital.
Taxi to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
If you don't want to bother waiting for a bus or minivan, 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 Damnoen Saduak 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.
You should expect that when you reach the Damnoen Saduak area, you will be offered several boat trips to the market. So, it's important to get a reliable and honest driver not to get cheated at the boat hiring place or be stopped by at the souvenir shop.
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 Damnoen Saduak Floating Market that includes return journey to the floating market and waiting time at the place.
Visiting Damnoen Saduak Independently
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is located more than 100 kilometers from central Bangkok, so getting there by yourself can be an adventure and you should prepare yourself beforehand. Our itinerary of getting to Damnoen Saduak from Bangkok independently might help you plan your trip there better.
7:00 Victory Monument in Bangkok
We’ve started the trip to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market from the Victory Monument as we were staying in the area. When planning a trip to the floating market, make sure to get up early, as it will give you time to visit the market and return to Bangkok in the afternoon.
Buses to Damnoen Saduak leave from Bangkok's Southern Bus Terminal, also known as Sai Tai Mai Bus Terminal, which is not connected with the city by Bangkok metro, so we took the Bangkok bus No. 515 that goes from Victory Monument to Sai Tai Mai Bus Terminal.
7:40 Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal
We arrived at Sai Tai Mai Bus Terminal and went to the ticket office in the terminal building to buy tickets for Damnoen Saduak bus but the office of that company was closed. The seller told us to buy van ticket instead so we got out from the terminal building to the van platform and bought our tickets for the van No. 996 that is going from Bangkok Southern Bus Terminal to Damnoen Saduak and passing some other popular spots on the way.
The van tickets for a trip from Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market cost us 80 THB per person.
The vans to Damnoen Saduak run between 6:00 and 22:00 and leave roughly every 40 minutes.
Our van was supposed to leave at 8:20. The van departed exactly on time and was full of local people. During the journey the driver stopped several times to drop someone and refuel.
10:30 Arrival at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
The journey from Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market took about two hours and the minivan dropped us at a square, where the departure station for the boats was set up.
A couple of insistent tour vendors immediately came forward and wanted to take us on the boat by proposing the tour at 2,000-7,000 THB per person. They even tried to dump us by saying that renting a boat is the only way for getting to the market. SCAM!! Avoid this!
We told them that we were not going to take a boat, so they let us go on our way. We have done some research before going to the floating market and the experiences seem to be no different. You can expect to face this.
In fact, you are dropped off just about 1 km from the floating market. You can take a motorbike taxi for 10-20 THB or just walk for about 10 minutes to arrive at the heart of the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market.
Along the way to the floating market, there are many boat hiring places but it is better to avoid them all and walk straight to the market. There you will find other boats that can be hired at a fair price.
Tips
If you have more time, take the opportunity to combine a visit to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market with the nearby traditional markets, Amphawa Floating Market and Maeklong Railway Market.
