Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

ตลาดน้ำดำเนินสะดวก

Thailand's most famous floating market, where long-tail boats loaded with fruit and snacks ply the canals. It is usually combined with Mae Klong Railway Market as a day trip west of Bangkok.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market lies in Ratchaburi, about 100 km southwest of Bangkok. The canal was dug in the reign of King Rama IV, and for over a century farmers around it sold produce from their boats. In the 1960s and 1970s it became Thailand's most famous floating market, appearing on countless postcards and in the James Bond film The Man with the Golden Gun. Today the market is heavily geared toward tourists. Vendors in conical hats sell mangoes, coconuts, boat noodles, grilled bananas and coconut pancakes from the water. Visitors take a long-tail boat (about an hour, often included in group tours) or a rowboat (about 150 to 200 baht per person) along the canals, or browse the wooden shops on the banks. The market opens at 7 a.m. It is most crowded from 9 to 10 a.m., when tour groups arrive, and thins out after 11 a.m. It is usually combined into a day trip with Mae Klong Railway Market, where trains pass through the vegetable market several times a day (the best times to see them are around 8:30 and 11:10 a.m.), and with Amphawa Floating Market (open on weekend afternoons into the evening, famous for fireflies). Bangkok travel agencies offer private cars or shared tours for about 800 to 1,500 baht per person. To go independently, take a minibus from Bangkok's Sai Tai Mai Southern Bus Terminal for about 1.5 to 2 hours, or hire a Grab car. Boat vendors' prices are often high, so bargain. Boatmen will stop at souvenir shops, and you are under no obligation to buy. Go early to see the most authentic side of the market, and bring sunscreen and cash.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Opening hours

Nearby sights

Places to eat nearby