Floating Market and Ayutthaya Guided Day Tour
Highlights
- Watch stalls slide off the tracks at Maeklong Railway Market
- Reach Damnoen Saduak Floating Market by paddle boat
- Visit Wat Lokayasutha, Wat Phra Sri Sanphet and Wat Mahathat in Ayutthaya
- See locals make brown coconut sugar at a Thai house
Description
Want to fit three of Thailand's most famous sights into a single day from Bangkok? This tour takes you to the Maeklong Railway Market, the Damnoen Saduak Floating Market and the temple ruins of Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam. A local guide travels with you the whole way to fill in the history and the local detail. For more background and practical advice, see our Damnoen Saduak Floating Market guide.
Pricing
Adult
Age 10-99
THB 2,795per person
Child
Age 3-9
THB 2,195per person
Infant
Age 0-2
Free
per person
- 07:00
Meet in Bangkok
Gather at River City Bangkok or get picked up from your hotel. From here you set off for the day's first stop.
A fresh market where the stalls are set up right on a working train track. Each time a train approaches, the vendors pull back their awnings and produce, then put everything back once it has passed.
Stop at a local Thai house to watch how brown coconut sugar is made by hand. It is a short look at a traditional way of life before you reach the market.
Thailand's best known floating market, where vendors sell fruit, food and goods from wooden boats. You explore the canals by paddle boat.
Break for lunch during the day.
Tour the ruins of Ayutthaya, the former capital of Siam, visiting Wat Lokayasutha with its large reclining Buddha, the royal Wat Phra Sri Sanphet and Wat Mahathat.
Drive back to Bangkok at the end of the day.
Included
- English-speaking guide
- Boat ride at Damnoen Saduak
- Temple entrance fees in Ayutthaya
- Lunch
Not included
- Drinks
- Alcoholic drinks
- Personal expenses and souvenirs
- Tips for the guide (optional)
- Modest clothing covering shoulders and knees for the temples
- Comfortable walking shoes
- Hat and sunscreen
- Water
- Cash for the markets
- Camera
Prefer to make your own way there? You can skip the pickup and meet us directly at the start point.
River City Bangkok
River City Bangkok is the riverside complex in Si Phraya, just off Charoen Krung Road; any taxi or Grab driver knows it by name. Coming by river, get off at Si Phraya pier next to the Royal Orchid Sheraton and walk a couple of minutes, and from BTS Saphan Taksin you can pick up the Chao Phraya Express boat at Sathorn pier. Please arrive by 06:45, 15 minutes before the 07:00 departure.
This is the biggest day on the Bangkok programme: two markets and an ancient capital, held together by van legs of an hour or more, which is why it starts at 07:00. Check-in is at River City Bangkok by 06:45, or hotel pickup with the time confirmed after booking.
Maeklong Railway Market comes first, with the guide explaining how the stalls trade directly on the tracks. Whether a train passes during your visit depends on the day’s timetable, so treat the folding-stall spectacle as a bonus rather than a promise. A stop at a traditional house making coconut sugar breaks the drive to Damnoen Saduak, where a paddle boat takes you into the floating market itself. Bring cash: the best of both markets is bought, not just photographed.
Lunch is included before the Ayutthaya leg. The three temples there are walked with the guide, and temple rules apply: knees and shoulders covered, comfortable shoes for the uneven brick. You are back in Bangkok in the early evening.
FAQs
Yes. The market trades directly on the tracks, eight services a day pass through, and the stop is timed to coincide with one. You see the stalls and awnings fold back as the train edges past and reopen the moment it has gone. The State Railway of Thailand occasionally runs late, in which case the stop simply lasts a little longer.
Yes, from central Bangkok hotels, with your exact time confirmed after booking. Alternatively, check in at River City Bangkok by 06:45 for the 07:00 departure.
Yes, the paddle boat ride into Damnoen Saduak is included, and you get free time to wander the market afterwards. Bring cash if you want to buy from the boat vendors.
Clothing that covers shoulders and knees for the Ayutthaya temples, and comfortable walking shoes for the uneven brick around the ruins. A hat and sunscreen earn their place by early afternoon.
Yes, lunch is included between the markets and the Ayutthaya temple visits.
Yes. Cancelling or moving your booking to another date is free up to 24 hours before the tour starts, and anything you have paid is refunded in full. Cancellations made less than 24 hours before the start time are non-refundable, and no-shows are not refunded. If we have to cancel, for example for weather or safety, you can move to another date or take a full refund.
