A Trip to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

It was my second time in Bangkok. The last time I was there, my friends and I visited the popular temples including the Grand Palace. After having seen so much of the ancient city, Ronald and I decided to take a trip to the most famous floating market in Bangkok – the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market which is located 100 kilometres southwest of Bangkok.

The best time to visit the floating market is between 7:00 to 9:00 am, when the market has fewer tourists and not crowded with boats. To avoid the touristy crowd, we left the city early and arrived at the pier around 8:00 am. The boat rental cost 2000 Baht which I think was way too pricey. I haggled extremely hard for a bargain and got it for 800 Baht. And then the floating market journey began. It was a great delight to have witnessed the locals from around Damnoen Saduak paddle their boats full of goods such as food, vegetables, and souvenirs to the floating market. I was starving and I’ve heard that one thing that we shouldn’t miss when visiting Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is the food. Despite the noticeable difficulty to understand English, the old man who was maneuvering the motorised boat took us to a boat noodle vendor. (And the noodle soup with chicken tasted good.) While watching the hustle and bustle of the busy floating market, we continued cruising along the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market for almost an hour until we reached the end.

How to Get to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market by Bus

In my opinion, the best way to get to Damnoen Saduak Floating Market is by bus. From our hotel, we took a taxi going to Southern Bus Terminal. It took us 20 minutes to get there. From the terminal, take Bus Number 78. The bus leaves Southern Bus Terminal to Damnoen Saduak every 40 minutes from 6:00 am. It was a two-hour journey and the fare was 75 Baht. You have to take note that the bus will drop you off about 1 kilometre away from the main Damnoen Saduak Market. What we did was hire a motorised boat which took us to the main market. Travel tip: HAGGLE.

You may also opt to take a private tour from Bangkok to Damnoen Saduak. This is if you want to avoid the hassle of having to bargain and of course, to avoid getting lost. I didn’t prefer this because the tour normally starts at 7:30 am (from Bangkok) and you’ll likely to arrive at Damnoen Saduak at 9:30 am, when the crowd starts to roll and the boat traffic jam begins.

Happy travels!