Where to Stay in Bangkok

For a floating market tour, stay in central Bangkok, as close as you can to your tour’s meeting point. The tours leave the city around dawn: the Damnoen Saduak Market and Maeklong Railway Market tour by Bigcountry collects from hotels from 5:50 a.m. on its pickup option, or meets at 6:30 a.m. at the main entrance of River City shopping mall on the Chao Phraya. Other shared tours gather on Khao San Road, at MBK or outside Samyan Mitrtown, and private tours collect you from a central hotel. The markets themselves sit 1.5–2 hours’ drive away, so sleeping out there only pays off for one thing: a weekend night in Amphawa.

Several shared tours sell a hotel-pickup option alongside the meeting point, so check the options on your tour before you book a room. Where there is no pickup, a short walk at dawn beats a taxi through morning traffic.

Riverside & Chinatown

This is the base for the Bigcountry tour, which meets at River City. It suits travelers who want the river views, the hotel pools and Chinatown’s street food a short ride away. The advantage depends on the option you book: with the River City meeting point the riverside saves you a dawn taxi, while with hotel pickup any central area works as well.

• Royal Orchid Sheraton Riverside Hotel Bangkok is on the Chao Phraya at Charoen Krung Soi 30 (Captain Bush Lane) in Bang Rak, with two swimming pools.
• Shanghai Mansion Bangkok is on Yaowarat Road in the heart of Chinatown and has family rooms.
• Ibis Bangkok Riverside is on the Khlong San (west) bank, across the river from River City, with two pools and family rooms. Allow for the crossing before a 6:30 a.m. start.

See all stays on the Bangkok riverside.

Old Town & Khao San

Monkey Travel’s Maeklong Railway Market & Floating Market Boat Tour runs its shared tour from a Khao San meeting point (Swensen’s Banglamphu). Staying here turns a dawn start into a walk. It suits budget travelers and anyone combining the markets with the Grand Palace and the old city. Expect late-night noise on the main strip, so a room a few streets back makes the early alarm easier.

• Riva Surya Bangkok is on Phra Arthit Road by the river, a few streets from Khao San, with an outdoor pool.
• Chillax Resort Khaosan is on Samsen Soi 2, just north of Khao San Road, with an outdoor pool.

See all stays around Khao San Road.

Siam & Pathumwan

TripGuru’s Ayutthaya, Railway & Floating Markets Full-Day Tour and its Maeklong Railway & Amphawa Floating Market Day Trip meet at the ground-floor entrance of MBK, and TRIPZA’s Floating Market and Train Market Experience meets outside Samyan Mitrtown on Phaya Thai Road. Siam sits on the BTS Skytrain, which makes the rest of your Bangkok days easy, and it suits families and first-time visitors who want malls and transport on the doorstep.

• Lub d Bangkok Siam is on Rama 1 Road across from MBK, with Skytrain access and a 24-hour front desk.
• Novotel Bangkok on Siam Square is on Siam Square Soi 6 off Rama I Road, with an outdoor pool and family rooms.
• Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok is on Rama I Road beside the Siam shopping malls, with an outdoor pool and family rooms.

See all stays around Siam.

Map

Hotels and rentals across central Bangkok, from the riverside to Siam:

The three areas side by side

Private tours fit any of the three. Quality Thai Guide’s Private Excursion to Maeklong Railway and Floating Markets collects from hotels in Bangkok, except those near the airport or outside the city area, and NocNoc’s Private Tour to Railway Market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market collects from hotels in the city center. Our private floating market tours page compares them.

A night in Amphawa

Amphawa is the one market that rewards sleeping out of town. It trades Friday to Sunday, from mid-afternoon into the evening, so the Amphawa day tours drive back to Bangkok after dark, and the morning tours miss the market entirely. Stay the night and you can eat along the canal at your own pace, take a firefly boat (best in the rainy months, never guaranteed) and wake up for the morning alms round, when monks collect offerings by boat. Book a Friday or Saturday night so the market is open when you arrive.

Baan Tai Had Resort is in Mae Klong, Samut Songkhram, the province of both Amphawa and the train market, with an outdoor pool and free parking. Amphawa is about 15 minutes from Mae Klong town by songthaew, and the railway market is in town, so you can watch a morning train the next day. Damnoen Saduak is a 20–30 minute drive from the railway market if you want the boat market too. See all stays in Amphawa.

Amphawa and Mae Klong were among the districts hit by floods in October 2026, so check current conditions with the property before booking a riverside stay there. Minivans from the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) take about 90 minutes; our guide to getting to Amphawa covers the routes, and the Amphawa floating market guide covers what you find there.

If you arrive late or fly out early

Do not book a floating market tour for the day you land. A delayed flight costs you the morning, and some operators refuse latecomers outright: Monkey Travel and TRIPZA both say a missed tour cannot be refunded or rescheduled. Arrive the day before and sleep near your meeting point.

Flying out on tour day is tight too. Monkey Travel advises against booking its tour if you have a departing flight the same day. The early departures return around 1:30 p.m. (TRIPZA’s 6:30 a.m. tour around 1:45–2:30 p.m.), and the drive back into Bangkok depends on traffic. Book the tour for a full day in the city, and keep the night after it in Bangkok too.

Booking tips

Book the tour first, then the room. The GetYourGuide tours here allow free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, and Bigcountry charges a 50% fee for rescheduling less than 24 hours before departure. Once the tour is fixed, pick the option (meeting point or hotel pickup) and book a hotel that suits it. Private tours only collect from central hotels, so check the listing if you are staying near the airport.

On a hotel-pickup option, expect a pickup window, not a set time. TRIPZA collects from 5:30 a.m. for its 6:30 a.m. tour and sends the exact time the evening before. Ask your hotel about an early breakfast box, and bring cash, since many stalls at the markets are cash-only.

Still choosing a tour? Compare them on the homepage comparison or on our Damnoen Saduak tours page, and read our review of the Bigcountry tour. It is the one featured here, from $24 per person, rated 4.6 by 29,487 guests.

Check dates and availability.