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All you need to know to visit Amphawa
Central Thailand
78 km from Bangkok
Province of Samut Songkhram
- Budget
- 4/5
- Recommended stay
- At least 2 days
- Sightseeing
- 5/5
Travel guide to visit Amphawa
The Amphawa Floating Market operates from Friday to Sunday, with Saturday being the most vibrant and interesting day. On Fridays, there are fewer stalls and shops open, and many close by 8 PM. On Saturdays, there are more visitors, predominantly Thai, with more stalls and shops open. You’ll also find more boats cooking meals that you can enjoy at the dockside tables, and the market stays lively until around 9 PM when the first stalls begin to close. On Sundays, many things start to close as early as 3 or 4 PM because both customers and shop owners head back to Bangkok where they live. The Amphawa Floating Market truly comes to life in the late afternoon and reaches its peak charm in the evening when the wooden shops along the canal light up. Therefore, it’s best to visit on a Saturday, or even a Friday!
However, don't expect a floating market with vendors selling fruits and vegetables from their boats. The canal is beautiful with its wooden houses, shops, restaurants, and small traditional wooden hotels. While there are some boats selling food, they are primarily small floating kitchens offering Pad Thai, grilled shrimp, fried rice, and other dishes, mainly at the very beginning of the canal. The main market is actually on land along the street perpendicular to the main canal. In the shops on either side, you can shop for souvenirs, clothes, paintings, etc., or relax in a bar or restaurant. Despite this, Amphawa is a charming place with a unique atmosphere!
You can explore the Amphawa market by walking, as there's no need for a boat ride to shop from the vendors. Most of the commerce happens in the land market or shops. If you want to take a boat ride, wait until nightfall to see the fireflies. The firefly tour lasts an hour and costs 60 THB for a shared tour or 600 THB for a private tour. It's a must-do experience!
For all the options for getting around Amphawa, see our section on getting around in Amphawa.
Accommodations in Amphawa
I highly recommend you to sleep in Amphawa at least one night on the weekend, ideally on the floating market canal. There are several very nice homestays like my favorite Baan Rak at the end of the canal. But I have spotted others accommodations that you will find in the section ''Find room''. In Amphawa but also Bang Kongthi next door. Prefer to stay on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, on other days of the week, Amphawa floating market does not take place. Besides the homestays, you will of course also find hotels and guestouses more or less distant from the canal.Find accommodation in Amphawa
My recommendations
People often ask me which accommodation I recommend in Thailand. Here are my recommendations in Amphawa.
Practical information about Amphawa
Personally, I highly recommend spending the night in Amphawa rather than just visiting the market during the day from Bangkok. However, you will need to be an early riser because the magic happens at dawn with the monks collecting alms in their boats, and the canal is calm and peaceful.
Near the end of the main canal, there are numerous homestay or guesthouse options, with prices generally ranging from 1200 to 2500 THB per night on market days (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). During the week, it's much cheaper because there is no market, but Amphawa remains interesting. Less crowded, but still interesting, especially if you enjoy calm and authentic places. I highly recommend Baan Rak Amphawa for its location, its terrace directly on the canal, and its incredible Thai breakfast buffet.
How to go to Amphawa ?
To get to Amphawa, you can take one of the minivans departing from Sai Tai Mai, the southern bus terminal of Bangkok (lines 78 and 996, price 100 THB). However, these are much less frequent than before COVID. The simplest and most regular way to get there now is to take a passenger minivan or bus to Samut Songkhram from the Chatuchak Van Terminal opposite Mo Chit, Bangkok's northern bus terminal, with departures approximately every hour. Once you arrive in Samut Songkhram (or Mae Klong, it's the same city), known for its railway market and located 7 km from Amphawa, there are blue songthaews number 333 that depart from the 7 Eleven next to the market (HERE) and take you to the Amphawa floating market. The journey takes about twenty minutes.
Another option to get to the Mae Klong Railway Market from Bangkok is to take a bus or minivan to Samut Songkhram from the Southern Bus Terminal of Bangkok (Sai Tai Mai). There are departures approximately every hour. The Samut Songkhram bus station is a five-minute walk from the railway tracks where the famous market is held.
You can also come by train from Wongwian Yai station in Bangkok. From there, take the train to Mahachai (1 hour - 10 THB), then walk five minutes to the pier to cross the river (3 THB), then walk ten minutes to Ban Laem station to take the train to Mae Klong (1 hour - 10 THB). You will then be on the train that passes through the middle of the market. Be sure to plan your times well because there are only four trains per day to Mae Klong station. You can find all the details of this route HERE.
The train arrival times at Mae Klong are 8:30 AM, 11:10 AM, 2:30 PM, and 5:40 PM. There are departures from Mae Klong at 6:20 AM, 9:00 AM, 11:30 AM, and 3:30 PM. Note that train punctuality is not always reliable in Thailand, so if you plan to see its arrival in the market, allow for some margin.
From the Damnoen Saduak floating market, return to the main road 325, where you can catch the blue songthaew number 467, which will drop you at the intersection leading to the Amphawa floating market (20 minutes, 15 THB). From there, it’s about a kilometer walk (or take the blue songthaew or bus number 333 for the last kilometer).
Otherwise, there is of course the solution of the car with driver that you can book here.How to get around in Amphawa ?
Must-visits in
Amphawa Floating Market
ตลาดน้ำอัมพวาMy opinion : 5/5
It is the main reason why visitors here come from Bangkok. It takes place from Friday to Sunday at noon and is particularly interesting to see at night. At night is also the famous fireflies visit.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
ตลาดน้ำดำเนินสะดวกMy opinion : 5/5
Probably the most famous and visited floating markets, it is still nice to see ,early in the morning especially
Mae Klong Railway Market
ตลาดรถไฟMy opinion : 5/5
Mae Klong is also named Samut Songkhram. The vendors fold the stalls back at each pass of the train.
Amphawa community live museum
ห้องนิทรรศการชัยพัฒนานุรักษ์My opinion : 4/5
This small museum in the middle of Amphawa floating market is interesting because it hosts each weekend two amazing women who make bamboo hats or coconut palms hats and other objects in front of you. You can try too if you want.
Amphawa Chaipattananurak Foundation
โครงการอัมพวา ชัยพัฒนานุรักษ์My opinion : 4/5
More than the foundation itself, whose work to revive and preserve the know-how and traditions of Amphawa local life is admirable, it is the land that it owns with a coconut grove that is an example to local farmers for ecoresponsible production and its small production unit of artisanal coconut sugar that worths to come.Other places to see in Amphawa
Wat Bang Kung
Tha Kha Floating Market
Bang Noi floating market
Wat Chulamanee
Ban Bang Phlap Community
My practical videos about Amphawa
Weather & climate in
Amphawa has a tropical savanna climate. There are three seasons: the warm season, the rainy season and the cold season, although the temperatures remain quite high. The rainy season begins with the arrival of the south-west monsoon in mid-May. September is the most raining month of the year. The rainy season lasts until October, when the dry, cool northeast monsoon takes over until February.The best moment to go to Amphawa is in November, December, January and February. The least favorable months, due to the monsoon, are from June to September until mid-October. September is the month when it rains the most, there can be some flash floods in some parts of the city.
How to ask the way in Thai to Amphawa ?
I want to go to Amphawa / Yak pai thi Amphawa.Where is Amphawa? / Amphawa yu thi nai?
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