Bangkok Taxi Co. · Your Bangkok hotel
A private car or van from your Bangkok hotel to Mae Klong and back in about six hours, with two hours at the market and no floating market. Pick it if you only came for the train and want to choose which one you see.
This is a driver, not a guide. The listing is blunt about it: the product is not a tour, as there is no guide involved. You get a private car for one to three people (from $83 per group) or a private van for up to nine, an English-speaking driver, and fuel and tolls. The driver collects you from your hotel in central Bangkok at the time you agree, drives about 1.5 hours to Mae Klong, waits, and brings you back.
The upside is control over the train. You watch it pass rather than ride it, and you have about two hours at the market, so build the visit around one arrival and one departure from the State Railway of Thailand timetable. The best pair is the 11:10 arrival and the 11:30 departure: twenty minutes apart, so you see the awnings fold twice and the whole thing fits into two hours. For that, leave Bangkok about 08:30. An early start works too: the 08:30 arrival and the 09:00 departure, with a pickup around 06:30. In the afternoon, the 14:30 arrival and the 15:30 departure are an hour apart.
There is no floating market, no boat and no lunch in the price. Some drivers know the area well and stop for coffee or point out the salt fields; others speak little English, which guests say did not matter for a drive. If you want explanations of what you are looking at, this is the wrong product. The SRT asks travelers to check times at the station (hotline 1690), so be on the track twenty minutes before the pass; the warning bell rings only a few minutes ahead.
Agree the time with the operator: work back about 1.5 hours from the train you want to see. For the 11:10, leave at about 08:30.
Southwest out of Bangkok, past the salt fields one guest's driver pointed out. Ask for a coffee or toilet stop on the way; the market has few of either.
Find a spot on the track early. The bell rings, the awnings fold up and the train creeps through a few inches from the stalls.
Twenty minutes to buy fruit, grilled squid and dried shrimp before the train turns round.
Watch from a different spot this time, ideally a little way down the track where the stalls are tight.
Meet the driver at the agreed point and head back. Guests on this timing were in Bangkok by about 13:00.
★★★★★We just wanted train market without the floating market so chose this option as a private tour , party of 4 . Driver on time , very professional but friendly . [...] Took one and half hours to get there , 2 hrs at railway market with the 11.10 am train there to see it arrive and then leave at 11.30 am before we got back in the mini van again We were back in Bangkok for 1pm
★★★★★Our driver Tato was so lovely. He suggested to drop us off at Bang Si Khot station (10 stops from the market). It was such an experience [...] to ride the train past local villages and see the salt farms and then into Maeklong Station. It arrived at 8:30am, then we walked through the markets for 30mins and then found a spot along the tracks to watch the train leave.
★★★★★Our driver, Sakka, was extremely helpful, friendly and knowlegeable of all things Thai. He pointed out many items of interest throughout our journey and answered our questions with understanding and detail. It was a very pleasant outing and recommended.
Read next:
No. The listing says it is not a tour, as there is no guide: you get a private car or van, an English-speaking driver, fuel and tolls.
The 11:10 arrival and the 11:30 departure on the State Railway of Thailand timetable: you see two passes in twenty minutes and fit them into the two hours at the market. Leave Bangkok at about 08:30.
The car takes one to three people, from $83 per group. A private van option takes up to nine.
No. It is Mae Klong only: about 1.5 hours each way and about two hours at the railway market, six hours in all.
Ready to book
A driver for up to three: choose your train, stay two hours. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
Private Train and Floating Market DaySame train-and-longtail route, private: your own licensed guide and van from central Bangkok, and nobody to wait for.★ 4.9 · 8.5 hours · from $114
Floating Market and Train Market ExperienceBoard a local train in the countryside and ride it through the market, then a 45-minute longtail to Damnoen Saduak.★ 4.9 · 8.5 hours · from $23
Maeklong and Floating Market Small GroupThe most-booked version: watch the train pass with a guide who knows where to stand, then a paddle boat at Damnoen Saduak.★ 4.6 · 7.5 hours · from $24