Getting to Maeklong

How do I get from Bangkok to Maeklong Railway Market?

By day tour, by minivan from the Southern Bus Terminal, by private car, or by two local trains with a river ferry between. Tours and cars take about 1.5 hours by road; the train takes most of a morning.

The right choice depends less on budget than on what else you want from the day. Tours bundle the market with Damnoen Saduak floating market and a boat. A private car gives you the market on your own clock. The van is the cheapest fast option. The trains are slow, cheap and the most fun, as long as you respect the timetable.

Can you go to Maeklong Railway Market without a tour?

Yes. The market is free to enter and open to anyone, and both the train and the vans run from Bangkok every day. What a tour adds is timing and the floating market.

Going alone is easy if Maeklong is the only stop. It gets harder when you also want Damnoen Saduak by longtail boat in the same morning, because that is a separate drive, a boat hire and a lot of bargaining. That pairing is why most visitors book a tour: the operator lines up the train, the boat and the drive back, and the flagship listing even carries an audio guide in 28 languages.

If you go on your own, plan around one train pass and decide in advance how you are getting back. The rest of this guide covers both directions.

How can I travel from Bangkok to Maeklong Railway Market by train?

Take the Mahachai line from Wongwian Yai to Mahachai, walk to the pier, ferry across the Tha Chin River, walk to Ban Laem station, then ride the Ban Laem line to Mae Klong. The last train runs straight through the market.

1. Wongwian Yai to Mahachai: 17 trains a day, about an hour (SRT). Wongwian Yai station is a short walk from BTS Wongwian Yai: thaiest.com routes you from exit 1 past the Taksin intersection, with about 500 m on the last stretch. The line also stops at Wutthakat halt, which Wikipedia lists as an interchange with the BTS Silom line.
2. Mahachai station to the pier: straight through Mahachai's fish market, about 5 to 10 minutes on foot (train36.com).
3. The ferry: a few minutes across the river to the Tha Chalom side, about THB 3 per person (train36.com, thaiest.com).
4. The pier to Ban Laem station: about 5 to 10 minutes on foot, or a tricycle if it is hot (train36.com, thaiest.com).
5. Ban Laem to Mae Klong: four trains a day at 07:30, 10:10, 13:30 and 16:40, each about an hour (SRT).

Fares are cash at the station window. Third-party guides give a fare scale of about THB 3 to 10 per leg and about THB 20 end to end, plus the ferry. thaiest.com notes all trains are third class with no air-conditioning.

How does the Mahachai ferry to Ban Laem work?

Walk out of Mahachai station through the market to the pier, pay the boatman a few baht, and cross. On the far side, the road to Ban Laem station is a short, flat walk.

train36.com allows about 15 to 20 minutes for the whole crossing, station to station. That is the number to plan with, and it is why the connection times in the next section leave more than that. The ferry runs back and forth all day; you do not book it.

The one real trap is the Ban Laem timetable. With only four trains a day, thaiest.com warns you can wait up to about three hours if you miss one. If you are early, Mahachai's seafood stalls by the pier are a better place to wait than the platform.

What is a good train timetable for a DIY day to Maeklong?

Leave Wongwian Yai on the 07:40, arrive at Mahachai at 08:39, cross the river and catch the 10:10 from Ban Laem into the market at 11:10. For the 08:30 arrival you need the 05:30 from Wongwian Yai.

Every time in the table is from the SRT timetable; the crossing is the third-party estimate of 15 to 20 minutes. The 08:35 from Wongwian Yai (9305, arrives 09:28) also reaches the 10:10, with about 40 minutes for the crossing. Use it as your backup, not your plan. The 06:25 (arrives 07:27) misses the 07:30 from Ban Laem, so for the early train it has to be the 05:30.

How do I get back to Bangkok from Maeklong Railway Market?

Ride the 11:30 or the 15:30 back to Ban Laem, cross to Mahachai and take the next train to Wongwian Yai, or take a minivan straight to Bangkok.

The SRT times connect like this. The 13:15 is the first Mahachai train after the 12:30 arrival at Ban Laem plus the crossing, and the 17:35 is the first after the 16:30. The 16:30 from Mahachai leaves at the same minute you arrive at Ban Laem, so do not count on it.

Skip the connections: a private car from your hotel, about two hours at the market with the train of your choice, fuel and tolls included. The price covers a group of up to three.

★ 4.9 · 6 hours · from $83

Explore the private car → Tour details

Is there a van from Bangkok to Mae Klong?

Yes. Minivans run from the Southern Bus Terminal (Sai Tai Mai) in Taling Chan, take about 1.5 hours, and cost about THB 60 to 100 according to third-party guides.

RailTravel Station says the vans that once left from Victory Monument moved to Sai Tai Mai, and that you pay on board rather than book online. train36.com gives about THB 60 from Sai Tai Mai and about THB 80 for the ride back, and also lists vans from Mo Chit. Tell the driver you want the railway market (talat rom hup) when you get in.

The van is the quickest way back too, and it frees you from the Ban Laem timetable. Good combination: train in for the ride through the market, van home for speed.

Which Maeklong tour is easiest to reach in Bangkok?

The one that starts nearest your hotel. Meeting points spread across the city, from Samyan Mitrtown to Khao San Road, and two options collect you from your hotel.

All of these come back to Bangkok the same day. Check where yours ends, because two of them can drop you at King Power Mahanakhon rather than where you started.

Frequently asked questions