Thailand Markets Tour: Floating and Railway Highlights

Immerse yourself in the vibrant Thai markets experience. Discover the unique floating and railway markets, and visit a coconut farm. Learn about local life, shop for fresh produce, and enjoy a boat ride and walking tour.

Duration: 10 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Damnoen Saduak Floating Market - Transfer from your hotel in Bangkok downtown to the floating market takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. The Floating Market of Damnoen Saduak is among one of the most attractive floating markets in Thailand. Motor boat rides are already included in your tour! Many Thai and foreign tourists come here to absorb the atmosphere of Thailand water markets that have been like this for over a 100 years. At this floating market, you can try a number of delicious Thai fruits and foods such as sweet mango on sticky rice, freshly-made coconut icecream, and Thai-style boat noodle.
  • Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub) - The Railway Market is humorously called as the “life-risking” market! You will have fun riding a local train toward the Mae Klong station. While on this train, you will see the “Unseen-Thailand” experience. When the train signal rings up, the chaos will happen! Vendors will rush to detract their stall and clear away all goods that obstructs the running train at a great speed. Once the train passes, all shop owners will resume their stalls again.
  • Samut Sakhon - The whitish salt field, not a rice field, of course. A special bonus tour for our guests who join our floating and railway market tour in 2020. This sea salt is produced by Thai local wisdom. The salt farmer will rotate the sea water in different levels matching the strength of wind and sunlight. The rotation will continue until the salt becomes a “salt mountain” which are ready for cooking, skincare, and agriculture. On the Highway 35 in Samut Sakhorn province, our guide will lead you to rub the salt to your hand and take amazing photos!
  • Coconut Sugar Farm - You will observe how Thai farmers produce coconut nectar and palm sugar loaf. You will see a demonstration of coconut flower cutting, pouring the nectar into a bamboo container, putting preservation woods in the container, boiling up and pasteurizing the coconut nectar into the drinkable one. You will try squeezing coconut milk from coconut shell using a traditional Thai “rabbit-teeth” wooden machine.
  • Mangrove Forest Conservation Center - Experience the refreshing air and lush greenery at the Mangrove Forest Conservation Center, a sanctuary dedicated to the conservation of mangrove forests and water sources. This center offers both locals and tourists the unique opportunity to actively participate in preserving these vital natural habitats for wildlife, contributing to their restoration and abundance.

At the center, knowledgeable staff provide valuable insights and guidance on mangrove planting techniques. You will gain a firsthand understanding of how mangroves serve as natural filters, trapping pollutants and sediments, thereby playing a crucial role in maintaining environmental quality.

As you explore, you’ll discover the diverse species of flora and fauna that flourish within these ecosystems. This experience underscores the importance of preserving biodiversity to sustain ecosystem balance and resilience.

  • Ban Khlong Phon Mangrove Forest Planting Activity - Join us for an unforgettable journey through the Mangrove Forest Conservation Center, where you’ll immerse yourself in the vibrant culture of the local community. Experience a serene boat ride through the lush mangrove forest, a testament to the community’s dedicated restoration efforts. Witness traditional clam digging by local fishermen and enjoy the unique experience of feeding the playful monkeys that inhabit the area. Rest assured, your safety and that of your belongings is our priority, as the monkeys will remain in the water while you stay comfortably on the boat, maintaining a safe and enjoyable distance.
What's Included
  • Ride motorboat in the mangroves and feed monkey with jicama from safe distance
  • Motor boat ride in the floating market & train ride to the Railway market
  • Private air-conditioned vehicle (providing hotel transfer in Bangkok downtown)
  • Lunch, visit to the Mangrove Conservation Center and clam digging observation
  • Licensed English-speaking guide
  • Travel Accident Insurance (up to 1,000,000 THB per person)
What's Not Included
  • [Standard Route] No lunch and Mangrove Conservation Center visit
  • [Standard Route 9 AM] A coconut mini-workshop is unavailable
Additional Information

Embark on a captivating one-day tour exploring Thailand’s iconic floating and railway markets and local communities. Start at a salt farm, where our guide explains the salt-making process. At the railway market, witness the unique “Unseen-Thailand” scenes as vendors swiftly retract their umbrellas when the train passes. Enjoy a boat ride at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, navigating this famous marketplace. Conclude with a visit to a coconut farm to learn traditional methods of boiling coconut sugar and making sugar loaves. For those choosing the expanded tour, you will visit the Mangrove Forest Conservation Center. Glide through tranquil waters, admire lush mangrove forests, and observe local conservation efforts. If conditions permit, you might even plant a mangrove tree yourself. Witness traditional clam digging by locals and enjoy feeding monkeys from a safe distance using floating jicama from the boat. The monkeys won’t touch you in this picturesque environment.

  • Total duration of the tour is 10 hours (including the 5 hours of travel time on the road).
Location
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
Damnoun Saduak, Ratchaiburi
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(39 Ratings)
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Troy_b
Jun 9, 2024
Great day - Great tour, the coconut sugar was delicious, the railway and floating markets are amazing, if your after some great art check out the studio at the floating markets.
Review provided by Viator
L4990yfchrise
Apr 28, 2024
Magnificent day - Magnificent outing to visit the railway market and the floating market. Perfect organization and a very friendly and efficient guide and driver.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Jeffrey_g
Nov 24, 2023
Great way to see life outside the City - We had a great tour with Lin. She met us at the hotel and we rode about 70 KM outside Bangkok city to see the rural life of the Thai people. Lin told us about the salt farms and we had a delicious Thai coffee. We took a train ride to the Risky Market and Lin made sure we had the best seats to view the croud as we pulled into the station. Lin also took photos and videos of us on our journey. We then went to the floating market where vendors were selling their wares from boats and piers on the canal. It was interesting to see the local residents out doing their morning chores. Lin then suggested a great place for lunch on our own. The food was delicious and the restaurant was very nice. We then had a 2 hour ride back to our hotel. Our driver was also fantastic watching out for us along the way. This tour was a great way to see the life outside the city and to experience life amongst the locals.
Review provided by Viator
Karolinam868
Oct 4, 2023
Totally recommend! - Our trip was well organized, we had a chance to take the train and arrive to the railway market and were very impressed how this all works! We could buy some nice fruit too. Then we visited coconut farm which was great and then we went to the floating market where we tried delicious coconut ice-cream, pad Thai and Tom yum soup! Our guide - Luck was amazing! Totally recommend taking a tour with her!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lisa
Aug 9, 2023
It was outstanding! - Luck, my tour guide, was excellent. Would give ten stars if I could. Timing of tour was perfect. Tour guide spent a lot of time reviewing the history.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shylib
Jun 17, 2023
Friendly tour guide and good transportation - We did a private tour at 9:00. Our tour guide was Luck. The company suggested we do the earlier time the day before, but we chose to stick with our time due to recently arriving in Thailand. If you chose the 9:00 tour you are unable to go to the coconut farm because it is closed by time you get there. But the rail road tour and the floating market were great!! Luck ensured we knew what was going on and translated for us when needed. She shared a lot of information about the Thai culture and answered all our questions. She was friendly and helpful. The driver was very kind, I don't think he spoke much English but was very helpful and was a safe driver.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Travellinghillbilly5
Jun 7, 2023
Great day out - What a great tour this is. We had a fantastic day with NOK our guide and Mr Bot our driver. Both were a heap of fun, spoke very good English and were really knowledgeable. We learnt a lot from both of them. Would highly recommend this tour and would definitely book with these guys again!!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Tracy_e
Jun 5, 2023
HIGHLY recommend!! - We had a great day experiencing the railway market and floating market by train and longboat. We also went to a salt and coconut farm. All were amazing and fascinating to learn about. We loved our tour guide Lin!! We would highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Dream05950877990
Jun 3, 2023
Market tour - Luke is very good at what she do! , very pleasant half day tour. The tour was very interesting to visit the floating market and the one on the rail road
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nabakka
Apr 1, 2023
ICE ICE BABY!! - We woke up bright and early to go on this tour this morning and it really did not disappoint! Our guide Ice was on time to meet us at our hotel and whisked us off in a nice clean air conditioned 4x4 with the lovely Mr Samlaan as our driver. We opted for the private tour as we wanted to be comfortable and also add/remove things we did or didn’t want to do if the need arose. We went to see a salt farm before and a coconut farm inbetween seeing the two markets. Recommend both but loved the coconut farm - the owner was so charming and there were so many products available to buy right there. For the railway market, Mr Samlaan dropped us off and you ride the train into the railway market and are able to see how close the stalls are to the railway - you can actually high five the vendors through the window! When the train leaves you get to see the vendors tidying their stalls off the railway lines in preparation - some of the tables are on wheels to make it easier. It really is a fascinating experience. The floating market is no less amazing - food, clothes, accessories - you name it! Through it all ICE was just amazing! Really responsive to what his tourists want to do, very friendly and always happy to take a picture/answer a question/hold a bag! Really can’t recommend him highly enough. He also contacted us the day before to let us have his number and check we didn’t have any questions about what was happening the next day. That brings me on to organization which was flawless for us as well. We got our tickets online and everything was paid in advance (bar any shopping and food of course!). Ice contacted us the day before and was there waiting for us when we got into the lobby. It was a brilliant day - highly recommend this tour and Ice!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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up to 12 guests
1 Adult
September 2024
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