Amphawa Floating Market TRAVEL GUIDE (Samut Songkram)

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Take a day trip to Amphawa Floating Market in Samut Songkhram

a vendor in the market, early morning

Amphawa is a village near Samut Songkhram, southwest of Bangkok. It was the birthplace of King Rama III, and today boasts a very popular and trendy floating market with tons of food, sightseeing tours, and shopping along the canals.

Getting to Amphawa

Sure, you could take a bus from Bangkok’s Southern Bus Terminal and be at Samut Songkhram just over an hour later, but where’s the adventure in that!?

It’s much more atmospheric and exciting to make a day of it and go by train, though it can be difficult and a bit confusing, so not many foreigners travel by rail to Amphawa.

Depart from Bangkok’s Wongwian Yai Train Station at Wongwian Yai BTS (10 baht, 1.5 hours) to Samut Sakhon, where you will cross the river by ferry and board the next train all the way to Mae Khlong Station in Samut Songkhram (10 baht).

tracks at the Umbrella Market

From the market, take any of the blue songtaew (8 baht) which are clearly market as going to Amphawa. Ten or so minutes later, you will arrive at the floating market!

Hop aboard any of the 50-baht canal tours on a long canal boat! Most 2-hour tours will take you along the canal to five or seven famous temples, giving you a glimpse at a traditional way of life as you pass homes and shops along the riverside.

At night, board a romantic hour-long tour out into the dark parts of the canals to watch for fireflies twinkling in the dark trees!

If you arrive at the right time, you can even see how the palm sugar is made from the harvested palm syrup!

If you’ve got a day to spend, and want to take a relaxing visit to a beautiful place where you can explore a bit of a traditional way of life, Ampahwa Floating Market is highly recommended!