This one-day itinerary is exactly the same like we completed when visiting Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub) and Amphawa Floating Market from Bangkok and using exclusively local transportation along the way. It wasn’t the easiest and fastest but definitely the cheapest and most enjoyable way to visit these two famous markets. The journey itself is a wonderful adventure you won’t experience when joining the tour or going to Maeklong Railway Market and Amphawa Floating Market by a private car.
7:00 Wongwian Yai BTS Station
We arrived at Wongwian Yai BTS Station (S8). We were taking BTS SkyTrain from Victory Monument Station (N3) and it took us 20 minutes to get here. The fare was 44 baht, the most expensive part of our trip.
Then we walked towards the Taksin Intersection and continued our way on Somdet Phrachao Taksin Road to Wongwian Yai Railway Station. The total distance between the stations is about 1 km so you can easily cover it on foot and it won’t take long.
7:16 Wongwian Yai Railway Station
We arrived at Wongwian Yai Railway Station. At the railway station we bought a train ticket from Wongwian Yai Railway Station to Maha Chai Railway Station. The ticket cost 10 baht per person.
We had our breakfast at the railway station and got some food from the market scattered around the station for our trip.
7:40 Train Wongwian Yai - Maha Chai
The train departed from Wongwian Yai Railway Station. It took us about 1 hour to reach Maha Chai Railway Station.
8:44 Maha Chai Railway Station
We arrived at Maha Chai Railway Station. The train was surprisingly on time – arrived only 5 minutes later than the scheduled time. However, don’t expect it to be every time and give yourself enough of time for possible train delays when planning.
As we still had more than 1 hour before departure of our next train, we took our time to walk around and explore Maha Chai Market. Here we grabbed some freshly cooked seafood to eat and continued our trip towards the Tha Chin River.
9:05 Maha Chai Pier
We crossed the Tha Chin River by the ferry running from Maha Chai Pier to Tha Chalom Pier. The fare was 3 baht per person.
9:10 Tha Chalom Pier
We arrived at Tha Chalom Pier and walked to Ban Laem Railway Station which is only 450 m away from the pier. It’s possible to speed up your trip by taking Sam Lor (tricycle) from the pier to the railway station but we had plenty of time and kindly refused the offer.
On the way to Ban Laem Railway Station we’ve visited the local temple and big Buddha statue that was seen sitting on the bank of the river from the distance.
9:30 Ban Laem Railway Station
We arrived at Ban Laem Railway Station. At the station we bought our tickets to Maeklong Railway Station which is located just behind the famous Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub). The fare was 10 baht per person.
At Ban Laem Railway Station we had some time to relax and eat our seafood brought from the market on another side of the river. For a dessert we enjoyed a surprisingly cheap coconut ice-cream. What can be better on a hot summer day than eating perfect ice-cream for as little as 10 baht?
10:10 Train Ban Laem - Maeklong
The train departed from Ban Laem Railway Station to Maeklong Railway Station. The train journey on this route also takes about one hour.
11:04 Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub)
We were on the train passing through Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub). It was a really great experience to see the market from a completely different perspective than we saw in photos taken at Maeklong Railway Market.
11.11 Maeklong Railway Station
We dropped off at Maeklong Railway Station and walked back to the market to explore and prepare for taking photos of the departing train.
11.30 Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub)
The train left the Maeklong Railway Station. We’ve stayed in the middle of Maeklong Railway Market as it’s one of the best places to capture photos of the train passing the market and vendors pushing their stuff off the track and closing their big umbrellas for the train to pass.
12.12 Songtaew to Amphawa
We walked around the area for some time and went to 7/11 where the blue songtaews going to Amphawa Floating Market are parked. The songtaew from Maeklong to Amphawa Floating Market cost 8 baht per person.
12.30 Amphawa Floating Market
We arrived at Amphawa Floating Market and enjoyed our lunch by the canal. Amphawa Floating Market is large and you can easily spend few hours here shopping and trying various snacks.
You can also take a boat tour along the canal for 50 baht but you need to arrive earlier if you want to take the last train from Maeklong which leaves at 15.30.
Note! If you are not on a tight schedule, you can choose to overnight in Amphawa and fully experience the atmosphere of the traditional local life by waterfront. The best places to stay in Amphawa are listed here: Where to Stay in Amphawa - 12 Best Hotels in Amphawa.
15.00 Songtaew to Maeklong
We left Amphawa Floating Market and went back to Maeklong Railway Station on the same blue songtaew for the same price from the point they dropped us before. The trip back took us a bit longer as the traffic conditions were worse. However, we still made it to the last train.
15.30 Train Maeklong - Ban Laem
The train departed from Maeklong Railway Station to Ban Laem Railway Station. This time we bought a ticket on board as there was no time for getting one from ticket counters at the station. The ticket cost 10 baht per person.
We were surprised to see the train being packed full of people but most of them turned out to be Chinese tourists taking a one stop ride through Maeklong Railway Market as part of their group tour. At the next station the train emptied and we got our seats.
The trip back was full of surprises as at one point the train slowed down and local people started throwing bananas through the windows to the monkeys who appeared from the forest. It looked like they were waiting for this train!
16.29 Ban Laem Railway Station
The train arrived at Ban Laem Railway Station. Again, it arrived pretty much on scheduled time even if monkey feast slowed it down a bit.
We walked to Tha Chalom Pier to take a ferry. The fare was the same - 3 baht per person.
16.54 Maha Chai
We arrived at Maha Chai Pier and grabbed some food at Maha Chai Market before reaching Maha Chai Railway Station. We got our train tickets here and again paid 10 baht per person.
17.35 Train Maha Chai - Wongwian Yai
The train departed from Maha Chai Railway Station to Wongwian Yai Railway Station in Bangkok.
18.45 Wongwian Yai Railway Station
The train arrived at Wongwian Yai Railway Station and we walked back to take BTS SkyTrain.
More detailed information about traveling from Bangkok to Maeklong Railway Market by train can be found here: How to Get to Maeklong Railway Market (Talad Rom Hub) by Train.
If you’re on a tight budget but still want to see the famous Maeklong Railway Market and Amphawa Floating Market, go on this one day trip from Bangkok and you will have a wonderful day full of excitement and unique experience!
