Damnoen Saduak Floating Market Bike Ride from Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

This 10-hour Explore Asia tour follows the back roads and alleys around one of Thailand’s iconic floating markets at Danmern Saduak. After hotel pick up, you will be guided not only to see the sprawling market up close but head out by bike to go where normally hardly any tourist goes.

An early rise for an exciting day trip; you leave your hotel at around 7am and head in southwestern direction to the mouth of the Mae Klong River before reaching the Gulf of Thailand to the main starting point of our biking trip at the Danmern Saduak Floating Market.

The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market dates back to 1866 when King Rama IV ordered that a canal 20 mile (32 km) long be dug at Damnoen Saduak to connect the Mae Klong and Tacheen Rivers (his reason for doing so lies in the fact that the quality of the soil on the banks of the canal is excellent for growing many kinds of fruits and vegetables including Malacca grape, Chinese grapefruit, mangos, bananas, and coconuts). Visitors will also be able to see traditional Thai houses and the way locals use boats in their everyday lives.

Part of the tour will include a long tail boat trip, meandering through a maze of canals that cut through various plantations and local, canal-side villages; a mere glimpse of the authenticity that still runs through the veins of this part is shown here.

After disembarking the boat and taking photos, hop on the bikes for a gentle 18-22 mile (30-35 km) long ride along country back roads, nice flat canal paths and plantation trails. The tour avoid main roads as much as possible so quiet back roads and jeep trails will be the followed path for most of the afternoon – the Explore Asia concept cannot be better visualized! Stopping often at points of interest, the riding is at a leisurely pace and suitable for anyone. Lunch is included at a local riverside restaurant

Visits to temples is a must as they have been long favored by the Royal Family in this region, such as Wat Amphawan Chetiyaram (constructed by the princess mother of Somdet Phra Amarintharamat and birthplace of King Phra Phutta Lertla, Rama II) and the quirky See Wat Bang Kung temple, held up by a huge banyan tree. Famed for its carvings and a short bike ride away, Wat Bang Kae Noi has some stunning carved panels depicting the story of the enlightenment of Buddha.

Late afternoon, you are warmly welcomed again by a driver who will bring you back in comfort to your hotel in Bangkok. You should expect arrival back at your hotel around 5pm.