Tha Kha Floating Market: Weekend Hours and Getting There

Featured image: boskimano, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Tha Kha Floating Market at a Glance

Tha Kha is a short stretch of canal, probably under 200 m long, lined with coconut palms and old wooden houses. Vendors sell fruit, vegetables and meals cooked on boats. You will not find rows of souvenir stalls. Local hosts also run rowing-boat tours through the market canal and the smaller canals around it. Prices and hours below were checked in November 2026 against published guidebook and travel-site figures, so treat the costs as indicative.

• Location: Amphawa District, Samut Songkhram province
• Open: Saturday and Sunday, about 6:00 to 14:00
• Size: very small, a morning market
• Boat ride: about ฿50 per person for about 45 minutes
• Best for: travelers who want calm over spectacle

When to Go: Hours and Weekend-Only Timing

Tha Kha runs on Saturday and Sunday from about 6:00 to 14:00. Weekdays mean no market, so a Tuesday visit gets you an empty canal. Older accounts describe a lunar-calendar schedule with only a few openings a year, and that pattern has been replaced by weekly weekend trading. Arrive early. A market this small thins out well before the 14:00 close, and the heat builds fast by late morning. Ask your guesthouse in Amphawa to confirm the current weekend before you set off. Amphawa's own famous market follows a different rhythm, so do not assume the two open on matching days.

How to Get to Tha Kha from Bangkok

No competing route is simple. Tha Kha has no obvious public-transport link, and the last-mile ride decides your whole day. One travel site reports a tuk-tuk from Damnoen Saduak at about ฿200 for roughly 10 km. A car with a driver at about ฿500 covers the trip, the wait while you visit and the ride back. Songthaew pickups from Samut Songkhram once cost about ฿20 for around 45 minutes, running about once an hour. Reports suggest that service stopped after COVID, so do not plan around it. Arrange your return ride before you arrive, because a small rural market gives you few options once the stalls pack up. Rail timetables for any part of the trip are on the State Railway of Thailand site.

What to Do There: Boat Ride, Canal Life and Food

Start with the boat. You hire a local to row you along the market canal and its side channels. Expect coconut palms, wooden houses and a palm sugar workshop along the way. The ride has been reported at about ฿50 per person for about 45 minutes, so agree the price before you step in. Landings are uneven and boats are small, so wear shoes with grip. After the ride, walk the canal edge and eat from the boats. Stalls sell fruit, vegetables and cooked meals. Bring cash in small notes, water, a hat and sun protection, because facilities are limited.

Tha Kha vs Damnoen Saduak vs Amphawa vs Other Markets

Tha Kha is the smallest and least crowded of the Samut Songkhram markets. Damnoen Saduak offers far more boats and a bigger crowd. Amphawa's main market sits in the same district, but it is a separate, larger market with its own schedule. If you have no car, two closer options are easier. Try Taling Chan or Khlong Lat Mayom for a lower-effort day.

Is Tha Kha Floating Market Worth It? Who Should Skip It

Tha Kha is worth the detour if you want a calm canal, a short rowed boat ride and cooked food sold from boats. It rewards early starters and people happy to hire a driver. Pair it with another market on the same day only after checking each market's open days. For a hands-off alternative, an organized day tour removes the transport guesswork.

• Skip it if you want many boats and a lively crowd.
• Skip it if you can only travel on weekdays.
• Skip it if you have no private transport and no return ride lined up.
• Skip it with young children if you cannot get home easily.
• Mistake to avoid: arriving after midday, when the market is winding down.
• Mistake to avoid: relying on a songthaew that may no longer run.

Where to Stay: Amphawa Area vs Bangkok Day Trip

A Bangkok day trip works if you leave early and hire a driver who will wait. Staying overnight near Amphawa shortens the morning and makes the 6:00 start realistic. It also lets you ask your guesthouse to arrange the tuk-tuk or car for you. Choose Bangkok if you want to keep your hotel and add a second market on Sunday. Choose the Amphawa area if you plan both Saturday and Sunday mornings in the district.