Maeklong Railway Market and the Floating Market
How to see Maeklong Railway Market and Damnoen Saduak in one day: which order, the 20–30 minute drive, train times, watching vs riding, and the DIY train route.
Maeklong Railway Market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market sit 20 to 30 minutes apart by road, so one morning covers both: leave Bangkok early, see the boats while the canal is at its best, and time Maeklong around one of the trains that pass through the market about eight times a day. Most tours do exactly this and are back in Bangkok by early or mid-afternoon. The one choice that changes the day is whether you only watch the train or also ride it, and the floating market and railway market tours page sorts the tours by that.
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The day in brief
Leave Bangkok around dawn, spend the morning on the boats at Damnoen Saduak and at the train market in Maeklong, 20 to 30 minutes apart by road, and be back in Bangkok by early or mid-afternoon. The train times decide which market comes first.
Which order: boats first or train first?
Both orders work, and the train timetable decides. Damnoen Saduak is a morning market, busiest and best from about 7 to 9am and quieter by late morning. Maeklong Railway Market (Talat Rom Hup, the umbrella pull-down market) is open daily from about 06:00 to 18:00, but the moment you came for lasts only a few minutes per train.
Four trains arrive at Maeklong and four depart each day, roughly in the morning, late morning, mid-afternoon and early evening. Recent guides list arrivals around 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40 and departures around 06:20, 09:00, 11:30 and 15:30, but timetables change, so check the current State Railway of Thailand timetable before you go.
That gives two natural shapes for the morning:
| Order | Timing | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Maeklong first, then Damnoen | Catch the morning arrival or departure (around 08:30–09:00), reach the canal mid-morning | Tours that leave Bangkok before 7am |
| Damnoen first, then Maeklong | Boats from around 7:30–9:30, then the late-morning arrival or departure (around 11:10–11:30) | Private cars and people who want the canal at its quietest |
The shared tours split along these lines. The Damnoen Saduak Market and Maeklong Railway Market tour spends about 1.5 hours at Maeklong first, then about 1.5 hours at Damnoen, and its 5:50am hotel-pickup and 6:30am meeting-point departures are back around 1:30pm. The Maeklong Railway Market & Floating Market Boat Tour starts at Damnoen and may switch the order to fit the trains.
Watching the train or riding it
Watching means standing at a shopfront or café edge as the train creeps past, a few minutes per pass. Riding means boarding at a station before Maeklong, or leaving from Maeklong, and rolling through the stalls at walking pace while vendors fold their awnings inches from the carriage. Most tours only watch. These are the ones that list a ride:
| Tour | Train | Boat at Damnoen | From |
|---|---|---|---|
| Floating Market and Train Market Experience | Ride on every departure, plus a watch | 45-minute long-tail through side canals | $15 per person |
| Maeklong Railway Market & Floating Market Boat Tour | Ride, except on the 07:00 departure | Long-tail motorboat | $12 per person |
| Floating and Railway Market Private Tour | Ride included | Motorboat | $120 per person, private |
| Private Tour to Railway Market and Damnoen Saduak | Optional ride about 30 minutes before Maeklong | Private motorboat | $117 per person, private |
| Damnoen Saduak Market and Maeklong Railway Market | Watch (no ride in the inclusions) | Paddle boat | $24 per person |
| Private Excursion to Maeklong Railway and Floating Markets | Watch | Private long-tail, 20–30 minutes | $126 per person, private |
On the Floating Market and Train Market Experience, the 6:30 and 8:30am departures drive 45 to 90 minutes to a countryside station, ride the train about an hour into Maeklong and then watch it pass again; the 10:00am departure does Damnoen first and finishes by riding the train through the market. The 6:30am tour is back around 1:45 to 2:30pm. Read our review for the detail.
Riding has one drawback guests mention: on a busy morning the carriage is hot and packed and the windows are not always clean. If photos matter more than the ride, a watch from the track side with a good spot may suit you better.
Doing it yourself by train from Bangkok
You can reach Maeklong entirely by rail, and it is a slow, cheap half-day in itself. The line runs about 65 km from Wongwian Yai in Thonburi and is split by the Tha Chin River:
- Take the Mahachai Line from Wongwian Yai to Mahachai. It has 17 trains each way a day.
- Cross the Tha Chin by ferry to Tha Chalom, about 3 to 4 baht.
- Walk about 450 m to Ban Laem station.
- Take the Ban Laem Line to Maeklong, about 1 hour and about 10 baht. Only four trains run each way, and the connections are where a DIY day can go wrong.
The catch is the second market. Going on from Maeklong to Damnoen Saduak by public transport is not straightforward, so most independent travelers either hire a car for that leg or pair the train with Amphawa, which is about 7 km and 15 minutes by songthaew (about 7 to 8 baht) from Maeklong town. Riding the train into the market is also hard to time on your own; the guided tours solve that by putting you on the right train. The floating market without a tour guide sets out the full DIY day.
A middle ground is a car and driver for the day. The Floating & Maeklong Markets Tour by Private Charter is $138 per car for up to three on an 8-hour sedan, and you choose the order and the train.
The weekend alternative: Maeklong and Amphawa
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday you can swap the morning boats for an afternoon at Amphawa, a canal-side food market that runs from mid-afternoon into the evening. Tours catch the mid-afternoon train at Maeklong, stop at Wat Bang Kung, a temple wrapped in banyan roots, and finish with a firefly boat, best in the rainy months and never guaranteed. The Maeklong Railway & Amphawa Floating Market Day Trip and the Amphawa Boat Ride & Railway Market Private Tour, which boards the train at Ban Kalong station and rides into the market, both follow this shape. See the Amphawa floating market tours.
The Mae Klong basin markets were hit by floods in October 2026, so check current conditions with your operator before traveling.
Frequently asked questions
How far is Maeklong Railway Market from the floating market?
Damnoen Saduak is usually a 20 to 30 minute drive from Maeklong Railway Market. Amphawa is closer, about 7 km or 15 minutes by songthaew.
What time does the train come at Maeklong Railway Market?
Four trains arrive and four depart each day, roughly morning, late morning, mid-afternoon and early evening. Recent guides list arrivals around 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40. Check the current SRT timetable before you go.
How do I get to Maeklong Railway Market from Bangkok?
By tour, by car (about 1.5 hours), or by train from Wongwian Yai via Mahachai, a river ferry and Ban Laem. The train route is cheap but has only four onward trains a day.
Is there an entrance fee for Maeklong Railway Market?
No. The market is free to enter and open daily from about 06:00 to 18:00.
Do floating market tours include a train ride?
Only some. The Floating Market and Train Market Experience includes one on every departure, the $12 boat tour on all but its 07:00 departure, and two private tours include or offer one. Most others only watch the train pass.
Ready to book?
Compare the tours that combine both markets on the floating market and railway market tours page, or check live availability. For a second day out of Bangkok, the temples of Ayutthaya are an hour north by train; see our Ayutthaya day trip from Bangkok guide.
See the Floating Market Before the Crowds
An early start, a paddle boat through Damnoen Saduak and the Maeklong train market on the same morning.
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