All you need to know to visit Amphawa
Central Thailand
78 km from Bangkok
Province of Samut Songkhram
Practical guide to go and 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!
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 recommandations
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. 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 ?
Once you are in Amphawa, you can visit the market by walking. On the canal, it will be easy to find a boat tour. During the day, boat operator generally offer the 5 temples tour for 50 baht and in the evening the fireflies tour for 60 baht. But you can also hire a boat just for you and define a personalized program. To see the other floating markets around like Damnoen Saduak or Tha Kha, you will have to hire a taxi (do not expect he uses the meter), a motorcycle taxi or a tuk-tuk. Ask your hotel or go to the Amphawa floating market parking lot to find one. There is a motorcycle taxi station, just in front of the parking lot entrance. It is also there that you can catch the blue songthaews or buses number 333 which go to Mae Klong and its famous railway market (or Samut Songkhram, it is the other name of the city) in a way (10 THB) and the nearby floating market of Bang Noi (10 THB) in the other direction. By going on the nearby main road number 325, by walking or with blue songthaew or bus 333, you can also catch the blue songthaew 467 which can drop you at the beginning of the road leading to Damnoen Saduak floating market (20 minutes - 10 THB) . Tell the driver or other passengers that you are going to 'Damnoen' to be sure it stop at the right place. There will then be a 1.5 km walk to the floating market. But the best way to discover the floating markets in the area is to rent a tuk-tuk driver for the morning and do everything with him. It will be much more convenient !My practical videos about Amphawa
Other places to see in Amphawa
Wat Bang Kung
Amazing temple whose walls are besieged in the roots of a tree. Its very simple building houses a golden Buddha image and a few mural paintings which are still visible on some parts of the wall. This is the most famous temple in Amphawa province.
Tha Kha Floating Market
This small floating market 5 km from the very famous Damnoen Saduak floating market is much smaller and less visited. It takes place ona few hundred meters long canal but is more traditional and quiet.
Bang Noi floating market
Another floating market, about 5 kilometers from Amphawa, it is quieter and in my opinion less interesting but maybe nice in the morning when Amphawa really comes alive in the evening. Even though in the morning, I would rather advice you to go to Tha Kha little floating market.
Wat Chulamanee
An interesting temple that can be part of the tours offered by the boat tours from Amphawa. The point that marked me the most was its hall nicely decorated with gilding. It is not the most interesting temple in Thailand but can be worth a quick detour.
Ban Bang Phlap Community
This small rural community, 4 kilometers from Amphawa, lives mainly from the land and water, which allows locals to cultivate without pesticides succulent pomelos and coconut trees from which they make a lot of things including coconut sugar. Cycling here is very pleasant !
Weather & climate in Amphawa
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 in Thai to go to Amphawa ?
I want to go to Amphawa / Yak paï ti Amphawa.Where is Amphawa ? / Amphawa you ti naï ?
All COVID-19 restrictions for coming to Thailand lifted from October 1 !
We have been waiting for it for months, hoping it will happen on July 1, but it will finally be October 1, 2022, when Thailand will lift the last COVID restrictions to enter the country. From this date, it will no longer be necessary to show...
