Thailand is most famous for its beauty and its incredible markets that offer an exquisite experience. Amongst a variety of market Damnoen Saduak Floating Market stands out the most.
Locals most commonly know this Thailand Floating Market for offering high-quality fruits, flowers and delicious food. For visitors, this place is considered a tourist trap, and for all the right reasons, the canal filled with boats of flowers and fruits with people in mo hom attire and straw hats makes it an irresistible sighting. In fact, many movies have featured this place like The Man with the Golden Gun for this very reason, other than beauty; the food is always a gravitating tool that this Thailand Floating Market does best.
This Thailand Floating market is considered the oldest floating market in the country dated back to 1866. This market is operated on the Damnoen Saduak Canal, and the name was given by King Rama V, which translated to “going very convenient”. The intent of constructing this canal was to connect the Mae Klong and Tha Chin Rivers to create an intersection between three provinces so foster a good transport system. During that time, the means of transportation was heavily dependent on ships within the country.
With the passage of time, the canal became very popular for its trading and was established as a Floating Market, a place to trade and sell goods between the three provinces. When the popularity grew even more, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) in 1971 officially marked the floating market as a tourist attraction point with many boat vendors and various shops along the canal bank. Hence, it became the coolest, most toured and featured place in Thailand.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
From the apparent fact of it being constructed on a river, this floating market has so much to offer. At first sighting, the floating market is filled with fruit and flower vendors; this combination makes the canal look so exotic that it because hard to look away. This place offers such a stunning backdrop for people who like to shoot or take an aesthetic picture.
Other than taking pictures, Damnoen Saduak offers an incredible shopping experience. With vendors all around the canal and at the bay, offers products from every category that makes the market feel complete. The curated selection from herbs, spices to souvenirs, local artworks and cloths along with accessories makes it an excellent place to shop without getting broke. Most of the items are exclusive to the market and cannot be purchase anywhere else.
With shopping, hunger always tag along, and this Thailand floating market provides extensive food options that make the whole sighting and shopping experience feel ten times better. The food is served on the docks as well as several canoes across the canal. From Pad Thai to Mini Coconut pancakes, meaty broth and fresh drinks, the food here is exceptional and entice your palette and appetite to indulge more. And don’t forget to check the candy makers; they are exceptionally skilled and offer a great variety to satisfy every inch of anyone’s sweet tooth.
Food served on Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
This Thailand floating market indeed looks like exotic heaven, but reaching this heaven is a challenge too. Since it’s a floating market, the traditional means of transportation cannot assist. Moreover, the area and the market itself is very crowded, which makes it hard to navigate, especially if you are a foreigner or not familiar with the trajectory of the area.
It is advised, especially if you are touring the market for the first time is not to go alone. Instead, hire professional help who can walk you through the relishing rich history of the place, the monuments and the importance in detail while simultaneously allowing you to experience the true essence of the market and its operation to its full extent.
The easiest way to get the full experience is to join a tour group; once you are in, the tour usually takes place in the morning, the perfect time to experience the nuance and beauty of the market as the crowd is very minimal.
The tour usually takes places early in the morning, around 6:30, the tour company arranges a bus that takes you through the city to your final destination, “The Damnoen Saduak Floating Market” but before that give a quick tour and brief history of Thailand and the interesting sites along the way.
The trip begins with Orchid Farm, where hives and bees seem to naturally arrange themselves in a manner to look incredibly beautiful and offer rich raw, delicious honey that sets you for the other stop.
Orchid Farm Thailand
The next stop is a coconut farm where coconuts are seen from right to left, a very tropical refreshing feel to the tour. That also offers various coconut produced byproducts from palm sugar to oil to literal lampshades, ladders, and more.
After these stops, you are taken to your almost final destination. This place is the bridging area from road to sea shift. From here, it only takes 10 minutes to drive to the pier from where you get Long tail boats that escort you to the market.
The boats may seem slower than usual, but it is intentional so that you can appreciate the beauty Thailand has to offer; from the narrow canals, you see small wooden houses, laws, beautiful banks and more.
The journey is roughly 20 minutes long but is very peaceful and relaxing, and we recommend you to cherish all of it because the market is a very crowded, chaotic and loud place.
Boat ride along the floating market
Once you are in the market region, you are toured through every inch of the market on the canoe and are taken to several shops on the dock as well. The food is ideally advised to have on the canoe straight out of the shop/boat, but those who have a hard time eating on the water can have their share on the docks.
So most of the day is spent exploring and enjoying the market as it’s a big area and after you head back. It is requested by everyone to wear comfortable, breezy clothes and shoes while touring this Thailand floating market since it’s a tedious and long journey to reach such a beautiful exotic place. Also, most importantly, have an empty stomach because the food here will salivate your palette and would call you to consume it. And it goes without saying; bring the uplifting spirit and a thriving sense of adventure because this experience, this tour of Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, is no less than an adventure.
Our creative itinerary ideas will give you some travel inspirations. We will definitely tailor make unique trip for you and there are many more options available.