In shortThe Ban Laem to Mae Klong branch carries four services a day, timetabled into Mae Klong at about 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40. Those arrivals are when vendors fold the awnings and lift the baskets off the rails, and the train pulls out again shortly afterwards. The market itself trades daily from 07:00 to 16:00, so be beside the track well before a listed time.
4trains a day on the branch
08:30, 11:10, 14:30, 17:40arrivals at Mae Klong
07:00 to 16:00market hours, every day
from THB 792tour with train ticket
The maeklong railway market train schedule
The timetable for this stretch of line has four entries, and nothing in between: Mae Klong, at the end of the Ban Laem section, sees trains in at roughly 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40. Those four arrivals are the times the track clears: the awnings come in, the produce trays slide back, the train passes through the stall lane, and a few minutes later everything is pushed out over the rails again. Each train also leaves Mae Klong after a short turnaround, which means a second pass through the market not long after the arrival you came for.
These times come from third-party listings rather than a railway page that could be opened, so treat them as a plan and confirm locally on the day. The market has no ticket office or information counter of its own, so the practical check is to ask a stallholder on the lane which arrival is next.
Delays are normal here. It is a single-track branch, so a train that is running late cannot be overtaken or rerouted, and the whole sequence shifts. Vendors read the delay long before any visitor does, which is why the lane sometimes stays packed for twenty minutes past a listed time and then empties in under a minute.
| Arrival at Mae Klong | What this one suits |
|---|
| Roughly 08:30 | Only workable if you are already in Samut Songkhram, or on a private departure that starts at your hotel door |
|---|
| Roughly 11:10 | The arrival a Damnoen Saduak morning can realistically reach, and the one that fits before Amphawa opens |
|---|
| Roughly 14:30 | The natural choice for a Friday to Sunday day built around Amphawa's afternoon |
|---|
| Roughly 17:40 | After the market's posted 16:00 close, with stalls thinning out and no onward daylight |
|---|
How many trains a day at Maeklong market
Four, and that number is the whole reason timing matters more here than at any floating market. The Maeklong Railway Market, the umbrella pulldown market, is open every day from 07:00 to 16:00, so you can walk the lane at almost any hour and see the stalls standing on the sleepers. The one thing you cannot choose is when a train comes.
Miss an arrival and the next one is two to three hours away. The gap between 11:10 and 14:30 is the longest in the day, and it is the gap most visitors fall into by turning up mid-morning without checking the times first. The last listed arrival, around 17:40, lands after the market's own closing hour, so plan around one of the first three.
Where to stand, and how early to get there
Be in position at least half an hour before a listed arrival. That buys you a spot on the stall lane rather than behind three rows of phones, and it gives the timetable room to slip. On a market day the walk from the road into the covered stretch of track takes longer than it looks.
Pick the stretch where the stalls sit tightest against the rails and the awnings overlap above the track. Skip the open end near the station building. The fold runs in sequence down the lane: canopies swing up, trays retract, the gap opens. Stand behind the line the vendors themselves keep, keep your feet off the rails and hold your bags rather than setting them down on the ground.
Stay for the departure as well. The train sits for a short while and then runs back the same way, so the sequence repeats without you moving, and the crowd thins between the two passes.
Private day, your own start time
A private 6 to 7 hour excursion from THB 4100, rated 5.0 ★ (877 reviews), that starts at your Bangkok hotel, which is the only realistic way to be standing beside the track for an early arrival.
★ 5.0/5 · 877 reviews
Fitting a train pass into a Damnoen Saduak day
The 11:10 arrival is the one a morning at Damnoen Saduak can actually catch. That canal is 80 to 100 km southwest of Bangkok in Ratchaburi, usually 1.5 to 2 hours by road, and the useful part of its morning runs roughly 07:00 to 09:30, with trading concentrated in the first two hours. A workable shape gives the canal about two hours from 07:30, then about 1.5 hours at Maeklong from 10:00, which puts you on the lane with time in hand before the train and back in Bangkok by early afternoon.
Maeklong is 20 to 30 minutes from Damnoen Saduak by road, which is what makes the pairing possible at all. The 08:30 arrival is out of reach: at that hour you are still in a boat on the Damnoen Saduak canal, two provinces of driving away from the track.
Anyone arranging the morning independently near Damnoen Saduak should know the pattern that costs people their train. Cheap private trips offered by drivers are a documented scam, with the car stopping at a private pier about 1 km short of the market where a boat is presented as compulsory, and the argument that follows eats the hour you needed for the drive to Mae Klong.
Pairing the train with an Amphawa afternoon
The 14:30 arrival is the one built for an Amphawa day. Amphawa trades Friday to Sunday from 2 pm to 9 pm according to its own site and is listed as closed Monday to Thursday, with a widely reproduced secondary listing shifting the same three days to 15:00 to 22:00, so confirm when you arrive. Once the train has gone you are about 7.2 km short of Amphawa, which is 7 minutes in a taxi, or 15 to 17 minutes in a songthaew, with departures every 30 minutes.
The 11:10 arrival works for the fuller version of that day. Anchor the schedule on it, Friday to Sunday, and the rest of the hours fall out as about 1.5 hours on the track lane, an hour at Wat Bang Kung, two hours at Amphawa and about 1.5 hours on a firefly boat. Wat Bang Kung is about 6.6 km from Amphawa, roughly 8 minutes by taxi, and receives visitors daily from 08:00 to 16:30; fireflies are a rainy-season chance, usually May to October, never a guarantee.
There is no evening train home from Mae Klong, so the return to Bangkok is by road whatever time the market releases you. Build that into the plan before you commit to the 14:30 arrival on a day that also includes dinner at Amphawa.
- Monday to Thursday: Maeklong and Damnoen Saduak are the pairing, since Amphawa is closed
- Friday to Sunday: aim for 11:10 with a temple stop, or 14:30 straight into Amphawa
- Any day: the 11:10 arrival sits neatly after a Damnoen Saduak morning
- Dress for a temple stop if the day includes one: shoulders and knees covered, slip-on shoes
Tours on this site built around the train
Two options on this site put the track pass at the centre of the day rather than treating it as a photo stop on the way home.
Bangkok: Floating Market and Train Market Experience covers 8.5 hours and starts from THB 792, rated 4.9 ★ (3750 reviews), and the train ticket is part of the inclusions alongside a boat ride, air-conditioned transport, accident insurance and a licensed English-speaking guide. The audio guide streams in your selected language to your own phone, so carry headphones. Lunch is not part of it. Travellers assemble in front of SAMYAN MITRTOWN on Phaya Thai Road, outside KFC, with the guide dressed in black, at least 15 minutes ahead of departure and with extra time for the morning rush.
Private Excursion to Maeklong Railway and Floating Markets fits the same railway stop into 6 to 7 hours, from THB 4100, rated 5.0 ★ (877 reviews). It begins with pickup at a Bangkok hotel, excluding hotels near the airport or outside the city area, and the vehicle and the long-tail canal tour of about 20 to 30 minutes are yours alone, with a licensed English-speaking Thai guide, local fruits, desserts and a drink, and accident insurance for which passport names are required at booking. Having your own car is what lets you hold a start time precise enough to target the earliest arrival.
Questions people ask
What are the Maeklong railway market train times today?
The four listed arrivals at Mae Klong are roughly 08:30, 11:10, 14:30 and 17:40, every day. These figures come from third-party listings rather than a railway page that could be verified, so check on the day, and ask a stallholder on the lane which arrival is next. Delays on the single-track branch shift all of them.
What happens if the train is late?
The lane simply stays open longer. A late train on a single-track branch cannot be overtaken, so the pass happens when it happens and the vendors keep selling until the signal comes down the line. Stay where you are rather than walking off to eat, because the clearance itself takes under a minute.
Is the Maeklong Railway Market worth visiting between trains?
It is open every day from 07:00 to 16:00 and the stalls stand on the sleepers the whole time, so the lane is there to walk whenever you turn up. The fold of the awnings is the part people travel for, though, and that only happens four times a day. Time your visit around an arrival if you can.
Can I ride the train through the market rather than watch it?
Services do run the Ban Laem to Mae Klong section four times a day in each direction. On this site, Bangkok: Floating Market and Train Market Experience lists a train ticket among its inclusions, so the ride is covered on that 8.5 hour day from THB 792. You cannot ride and watch on the same pass, so decide which one you want before the day.
Which arrival should I avoid planning around?
The 17:40 one. It falls after the market's posted 16:00 close, so the lane is already thinning, and there is no evening train back towards Bangkok afterwards, which leaves you arranging road transport in the dark. The 11:10 and 14:30 arrivals are the two that fit a day trip.
Read also
