Local Floating Market Tours

A local floating market tour takes you to Bangkok’s own weekend canal markets, Khlong Lat Mayom (sometimes spelled Klong Lad Mayom) and Taling Chan, two neighborhood food markets about 4 km apart in the city’s Taling Chan district. They trade only at weekends and on public holidays, they are about eating more than shopping, and most of the stalls stand on land, with a smaller floating section. Our pick is the Khlong Lat Mayom & Taling Chan Local Floating Markets Tour by Sightseeingbangkok.com: 4 hours, pickup in central Bangkok, from $98 per person. It has only 14 reviews, averaging 4.3, so treat that rating as a small sample.

What “local” means at these markets

The difference from Damnoen Saduak is who you share the market with. Khlong Lat Mayom and Taling Chan are mostly busy with Thai weekend diners, they feel much less touristy, and they are inside Bangkok, so there is no 1.5 to 2 hour drive each way. The trade-off is that these are not boat markets in the postcard sense. Food is cooked and sold at stalls along the canal banks and on pontoons at the water’s edge, with a handful of vendors grilling seafood on boats. One guest on our pick put it simply: the market sits partly on a pontoon by the canal, and neither you nor the sellers are on boats.

If you love Thai food, that is the appeal. Expect grilled fish, noodles, som tam, Thai desserts and seasonal fruit, at local prices: Thai desserts at Taling Chan run about 20 baht a box, and a grilled snakehead fish set at Khlong Lat Mayom is around 200 baht. Many stalls are cash-only. Our guides to Khlong Lat Mayom and Taling Chan go stall by stall.

Khlong Lat Mayom or Taling Chan

You do not have to choose. The two markets are about 4 km apart and easy to combine in one morning, which is exactly what the tour on this page does.

The local market tours compared

The Sightseeingbangkok.com tour is the short, simple option. It includes a guide, an air-conditioned car, the round-trip transfer and admission; tips are extra. Pickup is free within about 3 km of the city center, or you can meet at the operator’s office at Central World. Guides are available in English, German, Spanish, French and Russian, with 48 hours’ notice for languages other than English. A boat ride is not listed in the inclusions, though one reviewer did take one. Another said there were no tastings, so plan to buy and try food yourself. With 14 reviews, the record is thin. Read our review.

The Local Weekend Markets: Khlong Lat Mayom & Chatuchak Tour by Bigcountry turns the morning into a full market day. Hotel pickup is at 8:00, you spend the morning at Khlong Lat Mayom with a boat ride included, move on to Or Tor Kor fresh market around 11:00, then shop at Chatuchak Weekend Market before a drop-off around 4:00 pm. It runs in a private air-conditioned vehicle, at weekends only, from $92 per person. Food and drinks are extra. It has 13 reviews, averaging 4.4. See our review.

The Full Day Longtail Boat Canal Tour to Bangkok Floating Market by Pandan Tour reaches the market by water. You meet by the yellow bridge under BTS Wutthakat (exit 5) and travel in a teak long-tail boat through the Thonburi canals to the weekend floating market at Khlong Lat Mayom, with stops at an orchid and pandan farm, Artist House and Wat Paknam. Groups are limited to 6, and lunch or snacks, soft drinks, life jackets and rain ponchos are included. It is child friendly and runs 6.5 hours, from $85 per person. Van pickup costs extra. It has 14 reviews, all five stars, again a small sample. See our review.

A near-identical Khlong Lat Mayom and Taling Chan trip, Authentic Bangkok Markets by Sunleisure World, is also listed on Viator at $138 per person, with only 6 reviews.

Tour or go yourself

These are the easiest floating markets to visit without a tour. A taxi or Grab is the simplest way there. For Khlong Lat Mayom, one route is the BTS to Bang Wa, then a taxi of about 100 baht; a metered taxi from Silom has been reported at 175 baht and about 25 minutes on a Sunday morning. Taling Chan is about 12 km from downtown. Bus 79 runs there from Central World, Pratunam and Democracy Monument, or take the BTS to Wongwian Yai and a taxi for about 140–180 baht.

Going alone costs a few hundred baht plus food. For two people, the guided tour costs $196 before tips. What the tour adds is a guide to explain the dishes, door-to-door transport and no navigation in Thai. If you are comfortable ordering by pointing, a taxi and a morning of grazing does the job. Our floating market without a tour guide covers every market this way.

When the local markets are the right choice

Pick Khlong Lat Mayom and Taling Chan if you are in Bangkok over a weekend, care more about food than photos, or want a half day without an early start and a long drive. They also suit families who want a shorter outing. If you have more time on a weekend, Bang Nam Phueng on the green Bang Kachao river bend is another weekend market.

Pick something else if you want vendors paddling boats laden with fruit. That is Damnoen Saduak, about 1.5 to 2 hours away, daily in the morning, busy and touristy. The Damnoen Saduak Market and Maeklong Railway Market tour by Bigcountry starts at $24 per person and is rated 4.6 from 29,487 reviews; Monkey Travel Asia’s Maeklong Railway Market & Floating Market Boat Tour starts at $12 per person from Khao San, though its 07:00 departure does not include the train ride. Compare them on our Damnoen Saduak tours page, see floating market boat rides for the boats, or go private with private floating market tours. On a weekday, these local markets are closed.

Ready to pick a weekend? Check availability for the Khlong Lat Mayom and Taling Chan tour.