Private Tour: Floating Markets of Damnoen Saduak Cruise Day Trip from Bangkok

Bangkok, Thailand

Take a private tour to get a glimpse of everyday life on the water in Thailand. Cruise along the Bangkok canals in a narrow, long-tailed motorized boat towards the Damnoen Saduak floating market, where you will see local vendors in their Thai style canoes, laden with colorful fruits, and vegetables, gently plying their way through the canals looking to sell their goods.

Bangkok, Thailand's vibrant capital is one of the world's most exotic and colorful cities, is a unique blend of the traditional and ultra-modern. As fun as the city is, it is always a great idea to head towards the country side to experience the rural Thai culture as life can be remarkably different, and interesting. A trip to the Damnoen Saduak floating markets is a must-do activity for those wanting to catch a glimpse of everyday life in Thailand.

On this privately guided day trip from Bangkok to the Damnoen Saduak floating markets, situated 64 miles (104 kilometers) southwest of Bangkok, you will take an exhilarating ride through the marshes and stilt houses of Bangkok on a narrow, long-tailed speedboat towards the markets. Once you reach the markets your local Thai guide will ensure all your questions are answered and even assist those who may wish to take a ride on a local boat (optional extra, payable direct) through the maze of Thai style canoes laden with colorful fruits, vegetables, sweets and meats.

This is a very popular day-trip for many tourists to Thailand and subsequently many of the products for sale by the local vendors at the Damnoen Saduak floating markets today may not seem so authentically Thai.

USD $42.00

Review by:   Rubie G,    July 2018
This tour started with a ride on what they call long tail boats. It takes you through canals/waterways where you can see the homes of Thai people. The river itself is murky and looks dirty though the tour guide claims it is not. Then you transfer to a paddle boat. If you want to ride on a shared boat, you have to wait in line. If you want your own private you will still wait in line and costs Bhat 600.00. It is not included in the price of this very expensive tour. There is nothing special about the Floating Market. The vendors are lined up to the side of the canals, and if you show interest, the paddler will stop. We went on a Sunday which I highly recommend you dont do, also not on a Saturday. It was so crowded we waited a long time for a boat and it is like bump car city. You can get hit by another boats front or end and you have to pay attention and either push or kick another boat if you are at risk of getting hit. NEVER put your hands on the boat edge. At the end our paddler, a woman was screaming and crying because the traffic on the canal was so bad and it took us almost 45 minutes just to get off. There are food vendors also on boats. I can imagine a long time ago where one might be comfortable buying food from the boat vendors and eating. That is the fun part of the floating market and thats basically it. However, if, like me, you have doubts about sanitation, follow your instinct. If you want to eat Thai street food that is unbelievably cheap, go to the 5th floor of Terminal 21 in Bangkok. I promise your head will spin with all the choices available and under much more sanitary conditions. If you must go and experience the market save money and join a group tour. The tour guide has a very heavy accent and I did not understand most of what she said. My recommendation is to skip this event. We asked to stop for an elephant ride. One, it is quite costly, BHAT 600.00 per person. The place where the elephant goes is full of elephant dung, it is not kept up. Two, do not forget that elephants can be mercurial creatures. We had an episode and the elephant almost crushed my husband against a tree and I was certain we would fall off. Luckily we did not. Be careful. It was at a place called Damnoen Saduak Elephant Park.

Review by:   Kimberly B,    June 2018
Incredible experience ask for Ni, she was amazing! The only problem was that we had to buy tickets to get onto a smaller boat at the floating market, which I thought was cover under the advertised entrance fee

Review by:   Hoi Sze Ada W,    April 2018
Worth to go. Tour Guide is informative and professional. Driver is very kind and good.

Review by:   Glen B,    April 2018
Floating market was quite touristy but nonetheless a very worthwhile visit to something quite unique and novel. Getting there speeding down a canal in a long tail boat was really exciting. We then had to pay a little extra to take a smaller row boat around the market itself. although we bartered on the price offer one-third asking price and settled for half we still found same items a quarter of the price in Chiang Mai walking street market a couple days later. But hey ho it was a really fun experience. Stopping at the orchid farm on the way on the way could have been missed - essentially a large and expensive souvenir shop although it was interesting to see all the things they make from coconuts. Our guide was fun and jolly but didn't really tell us much about the floating market, settling instead just to chaperone us around. Guide arrived promptly at 8am and we were back at hotel Lebua State Towers in central Bangkok for around 4pm. Journey time each way around 1 hour. Very interesting and novel day out which I'd recommend.

Review by:   Frank R,    April 2018
Was a pretty cool tour. Anyone going to Thailand should experience at least one floating market. Pricing on the items are a little high compared to the in town markets, but still relatively cheap. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars, the actual fee for the boat in the floating market was not included. Other than that it was overall a good experience.

Review by:   Judilyne C L,    March 2018
Our guide Peter and our driver were very accommodating as to take us to the elephant camp to let my sister from the States a 1st timer to Thailand to experience the elephant ride... Peter was quite fluent in English... We had fun haggling with the locals in the floating market of Damnoen...it was a different experience.

Review by:   chungahrhee,    February 2018
I highly recommend doing the private tour! Pearl, our guide, was funny and very knowledgeable about everything. Her accent was a bit thick but she will still make you laugh.

Review by:   jaht,    February 2018
This tour is a must try, the tour guide was so nice and she even accompany us to the Jewelry Factory per our request after the tour and waited for us to make sure that we get back in the hotel safe._br/_ The market is one of a kind, my husband enjoyed shopping because the prices were so reasonable. Highly recommended.

Review by:   Emanuel S,    January 2018
Interesting to see

Review by:   HAITHEM B,    January 2018
Our guide came 1 hour late... she told me on the phone the previous day that she might be 20mn late but will try her best to be on time, but after all she had a full hour delay on the tour day and after that she was rushing us during the floating market and did not allow us to visit the shops we wanted to because it seemed that our driver had another appointment he had to go to... so we start 1 hour late, but we need to finish earlier???_br/_ but then after getting in the car she kept on pushing to take us to an elephant ride?? so we did not have the time for the market but we had time for the elephant ride? and of course the elephant ride required additional fees... we just declined and went back to our hotel

Review by:   Victoria Tommy,    January 2018
Would have been much better to do a group tour for less money. Instead of providing us with an in-depth history and discussion about the floating markets and th surrounding areas, our personal tour guideopted to nap instead. No joke - he slept most of the way there and pretty much all of the way back, with my fiancée and I sitting in the backseat wondering where we were and what we were seeing. Even the driver nudged him awake a few times only for him to return to his state of slumber. Upon our arrival to the market, he essentially left us to go and eat at every opportunity, giving us virtually no insight as to what we were seeing. He was not so much a tour guide as he was a mediocre usher. We are giving it one star simply because we got to and from the floating market safely, got to ride on a boat through the market, and our guidewas at least friendly when he was awake - otherwise it would have been zero stars.

Review by:   Florian M,    December 2017
Long drive out to the markets, that are pretty much a tourist trap. Still we got some good pictures, understood more about the local culture and learned a lot about the history from our tour guide.

Review by:   Jenna K,    December 2017
I am very very happy i went to the floating markets -- it was a great experience and i definitely wouldnt miss it, and really the private tour was the perfect way for us to do it. BUT i give it 3 stars because you really dont need that much time there, and you really dont need a guide. The guide explains some things on the way there, which is interesting, but you are left on your own once you get to the market which we didnt mind at all, but you should know. Also, you really dont need a lot of time there -- we were give 2-2.5hours to roam around and after an hour we found our guide and headed back to Bangkok. Its amazing to see, but theres not much to do there other than take a boat ride and shop, but the markets/stands are all the same throughout. Paying for this private tour is worth it for the ride there and back and freedom to stay as long as you want vs. going w a big bus group.

Review by:   Andrew U,    November 2017
Great tour. Worth the extra for a private tour, especially the day I went because it was so busy. The guide and driver also went off script and added an additional stop at an elephant pavilion.

Review by:   christineshaw.313,    November 2017
Our guide Bee must be our worse guide ever. After giving her dull spiel on the days events and then telling us that because her seatbelt hurt she would not be able to turn around to answer any of our questions, we literally sat there in silence for an hour driving in the back of the van on our Private Tour watching her nod off to sleep. When we arrived at the Floating Markets the only thing floating are the tourists and far too many of them so that the boats get jammed together and unable to move. What made the day worse it that another guide after we had been told us that you don't go on the boats which gave our lazy guide another half hour off you should explore the town around the market for a much better experience. The worse tour ever and waste of money.

Review by:   christineshaw.313,    November 2017
Our Guide Bee was the worse guide ever. After giving her dull spiel on the days ëvents she then told us she couldnt turn around cause her seatbelt would hurt so we literally sat there in silence in the back of the van for an hour on our Private Tour watching her nod off to sleep. The only thing floating in the markets are the tourists and is so overcrowded that the boats get jammed and unable to move. What made the day even worse was that another guide later had told us that we should of not taken the boats which gave our lazy guide another half hour off but to get them to explore the town behind the markets for a much better experience

Review by:   Jaro S,    November 2017
I met my tour guide at City Park Hotel about 30 min from my hotel at 7am. I had to leave my place at 5:30am to avoid traffic. Then we drove about an hour outside of Bangkok, stop at Safari Park, where I was able to pet a tiger and say Hello to Burmese women with long necks stretched by metal rings. Then we headed to Floating Markets: what an experience it looks like a chaos, because so many boats are going around in a confined space/channels power boats more aggressive and big kayaks powered by paddles. It is a unique place, you won't see anywhere else. It was definitely worth it.

Review by:   carol m,    November 2017
Not a true floating market It was more like an amusement park ride. Go to other markets inside Bangkok instaed

Review by:   juicy_kitten_squirt,    November 2017
We had a wonderful time on this private tour. Jeerawat was an excellent guide with a good command of English. He was happy to show us what we wanted to see and we ended the tour feeling we got more than our money's worth. Pro tip: Definitely opt for a private paddle boat once at the market. It is worth the extra baht.

Review by:   Christopher C,    November 2017
We took the private floating market tour in October and while I was pleased with our driver and transportation to and from our hotel, the actual markets were disappointing. We had to pay an additional fee to take the boats around the market and the markets were stalls and not actual boats. My daughter went to the floating markets in September and did not take a tour and had a better experience.

Review by:   Melina P,    November 2017
Super crowded and over priced.

Review by:   Gregg T,    October 2017
Nothing more than glorified transport to the markets. We didn't receive any background or history on the markets themselves and the guide seemed occupied with other business for most of the trip. A waste of money - we could have got personal transport and had the same if not better experience.

Review by:   janet,    September 2017
It was great and eye-opening.

Review by:   Scott S,    August 2017
Wonderful deals and fun getting to the venue.

Review by:   wems21,    August 2017
Our guide spoke excellent English and as this was a private tour we saw the elephant camp as well as a stop at the coconut sugar factory (toilets were very basic!) We had a speedboat to the market pier and longboat on the canal (extra £), very busy but an amazing experience, be prepared to haggle!

Review by:   bernhard k,    August 2017
it is a bad bad tour only very very touristic. there was a boat trafic jam by the market. the own people of the market and the boats are not friendly. they only wants to make money money money. go to a good restaurant for spend your money and have fun.

Review by:   Ashley S,    August 2017
It was over priced. When we arrived to the floating market you still had to pay 600 baht ride on a boat through the market. Basically you over paid for a driver to the market. Driver and guide were friendly but I would not recommend this tour

Review by:   Gordon G,    August 2017
We were most excited about this particular tour, but were generally disappointed. The tour was well arranged, but the Damnoen floating market was more just booths sets up on the side of the little canals trying to sell you the same junk as in the marketplace where you arrive. I would say this is no more than a crowded tourist trap. _br/_ The stop at some coconut sales area was just a sales stop._br/_ If searching for a tour in Bangkok, I would highly recommend TASTE OF THAILAND BY TUK TUK. Thru Taste of Thailand we took that tour that started around 4 or 5 PM and it was the highlight tour of trip.

Review by:   rui.bolas,    July 2017
The guide Vanda was excellent and maximized indeed the experience and value of this tour

Review by:   jckoa,    July 2017
tour guide Kasem was well verse in English and very cool in the explanation on the destination.

Review by:   Charlene Z,    July 2017
This was so dissappointing. Definitely not worth our time and money. It was over a 2 1/2 hour drive each way to an overly crowded market with LOUD GASY longboards banging into each other with no space to even see the markets. They use truck motors on this small long boats and twin turbos also. You are sick from the fumes. After an hour of sitting in one spot as water so crowded we final got off to walk a bit and find some food. All the merchants hassle you to buy, so annoying. Only give 1hr and 1/2 and then another 2 1/2 hour drive back on crowded highway. Spend your day in Bangkok instead.

Review by:   Steve C,    May 2017
Prompt 7:00 pick up. Pleasant and informative guide. 2 hour journey to the floating market. The canals were spectacular and the market itself a must see. A rather uncomfortable mini van and an unnessary stop at a sugar cane demonstration detracted a little from what was otherwise a great trip.

Review by:   Rosalind T,    April 2017
This tour was excellent. Our guide Luck was really knowledgeable and her English was very good. We visited a coconut farm and were amazed at the range of goods that were made from coconuts._br/_ The trip around the floating markets was a real eyeopener._br/_ All in all the trip was well worth it.

Review by:   shamitha.w,    April 2017
You will be disappointed if you think you are going to see an actual market. Most vendors were selling gift items and tourist stuff ONLY. were a couple of fruit sellers and that was pretty much it.

Review by:   Nicola F,    April 2017
Tour guide was really nice. Fantastic English. Loved the markets. It was really busy when we got there so we did them by foot. The boat trip there was fun.

Review by:   crystal c,    April 2017
Very good for photographs but the engine fumes on an overcrowded waterway stopped me from hiring my own private boat

Review by:   Justo G,    April 2017
This was a fun trip. It's about 1.5 hours from Bangkok but it was really a lot of fun. Van to fun boat ride into the floating markets. They you walk this large market. Come prepared to negotiate. They expect it. The asking price is always high and you work it down. Enjoy that cultural experience. They sell everything. Don't buy from the first vendor. The second will probably sell you same thing cheaper. Our favorite number become 150 bhat. Our tour guide and driver were helpful. They would good and pointing us in the right direction and allowing us to explore. This is a once in a lifetime experience. Don't miss this experience.

Review by:   Herni,    March 2017
I highly recommend this tour. Our guide Olivia was at the hotels lobby on time with private car. During our trip to floating market she gave us information and data about Thailand and things we were watching thru window of the car, like salt fields, architecture... On the way to floating market we did two stops. One at place that concentrate some of the touristic offer that Thailand brings. Something like a park where you can ride an elephant, see long neck village people, aligators, etc. We rapidly skip this stop to the following which was really interesting. A local museum that is a family house who has a sugar cane fields and process them. Teh family open the hous to tourists and offer a free thai food to taste fish, soup, rice, vegetables, legumes.. It was very taste I recomend this stop. Besides the family has a gift shop with some artisans wood work that you can see in the market at a higher prices. After this visit we went to floating market taking a long tali speedboat at less crowdy port addressing to the Damnoen Saduak thru several waterways. The floating market is an interesting place where you can see food offering form boats in the waterways and on the both side of the waterways several shops offering clothes, souvenir, foods, etc.

Review by:   Petra F,    March 2017
Worth spending extra money on private tour as you by pass huge queues of other tourists on channel tour and actual floating market which is on extra expense 800 Baht for 30min. Anyhow amazing accumulation of traders selling all from fruits,snacks to wood carving ,clothes,spices,etc. Boat drivers for sure on floating market try to make you purchase maximum and not all prices are really appropriate, you need to bargain for sure as -40 at least are local price acceptable. Short trip from 7am to max 12:30 with stop over in very touristic place where they sell all type of products from silk, wood carving, coconut products to a very few orchids to be seen by far not botanical garden_br/_ Can be combined as I learned afterwards with a great tour I can recommend in same area to full day excursion where you can see wild monkeys in mangrove woods, eagerly searching for fruits donation by tourists and getting up to your boat- a real experience to see them in wild nature....might be worth to combine

Review by:   Shireen A,    March 2017
Great tour. The guide was great and explained a lot of things. We also had the option to visit an elephant farm and we had an elephant ride for a reasonable price 600 baht . There were two boat rides. One was to see the houses surrounding the floating market and one was to see the actual floating market. I did not give 5 stars because the description indicated that all entrance fees are included, however we had to pay 700 baht to rent a paddle boat that took us through the floating market. Still it was a great experience and I would recommend it.

Review by:   MONIQUE F,    March 2017
My private tour was very well organise_br/_ But for the price I should have a private tour in a flotting boat without motor in the market_br/_ To have it -- I had to pay 7000 bahts_br/_ It is a shame for the price not to offer it_br/_ In conclusion_br/_ Your package is TOO TOO EXPENSIVE

Review by:   Brian.leith,    March 2017
Very enjoyable trip, although quite some way out of Bangkok

Review by:   Peter I,    February 2017
Floating markets have now all but passed ...old world is gone...you need to see things before they disappear...I visited 20 years ago and it was full of vibrant trading boats ....now only a few are there for tourists the shops that line the river are the same selling much the same cheap tourist icons ...the one old woman on the canal in a boat I spoke to said her children have very good jobs and will not follow her in her small business on a canal boat ...after her there will be nothing ...

Review by:   Ryan G,    February 2017
On time, great guide, nice comfortable Car. Amazing value for money. recommended.

Review by:   Bob D,    January 2017
One of the best tours I have been on..I've traveled threw world, but this tour stood out!

Review by:   Victoria B,    January 2017
This trip was really great because of Shannon. Highly recommend him. The drive from Bangkok does seem a bit long but Shannon entertains you the whole way and gave us terrific suggestions regarding things to do in Thailand. There's a great boat ride into the floating markets which is a very interesting way to approach the market as opposed to by car. Shannon made sure we experienced the market visually by taking us on a very complete walk through both sides - getting us snacks and suggesting experiences we may have overlooked. Make sure you do the boat ride through the market itself - even if you have no intention in purchasing anything the boat ride is the highlight of the market itself. P.S. if you are a foodie and watch Anthony Bourdain the vendor who makes the noodles still is there. We didn't have the noodles because we had just finished huge coconut ice cream sundaes - but if you find a coffee/ice cream shop if your on the bridge overlooking the market facing the main parking lot its on your left the soup/noodle lady is behind the store. Look for cement stools - permanent tables and a lot of locals.

Review by:   jessica_shaw,    January 2017
Very nice trip. The boat ride to floating market was relaxing.

Review by:   Sung I,    January 2017
Good tour._br/_ Comfortable and safe._br/_ Cleaner waters probably will make the Floating Market more attractive.

Review by:   Gladys G,    January 2017
I had the private tour. So worth it. There was a side trip to the elephant park which was perfect because suddenly my grown up kids thought it would be fun to ride an elephant in bkk. Since this park is on the way to the floating market, we were able to make a stop and still keep to our schedule.

Review by:   Sharon G,    December 2016
On our drive to the floating markets, our tour guide, Krit, was very knowledgeable about the history of Thailand and made sure that before we purchased anything...bargain, bargain, bargain! Very enlightening experience at the markets!