Floating markets are pretty fascinating; at the same time, they are a reflection of the culture of the country which hosts them. Here we have collated the world’s best floating markets that some of you may have visited. A few of them are pretty new. Hence, simply to keep you up to date, it has been arranged for you. Please read and learn as we keep our list going.
Amsterdam’s Floating Flower Market
 Since 1862, this Flower market has been in place and active. These are Flower shops by the bank of the river. It has a beautiful history behind this place of trade. In the olden day, flower growers travelled through the river Amstel and came to the city centre to sell their produce. Nowadays, they have a mini-greenhouse type of hut made of glass. It is pretty standard here and as they are in the countryside. Holland’s official name is ‘The Kingdom of Netherlands‘, or you may simply call it the Netherlands just like any other person.
From Amsterdam Airport Shiphol to the Floating flower market distance is 27 mins at present by Public transport & By car its 20 mins*. Your travel time could increase or decrease depending upon your mode of transportation, weather, events and traffic conditions. Remember that locals also call it Bloemenmarkt. You may find them all there, from seeds in the packets to bulbs and even small potted flowering plants.
Hong Kong floating seafood market
This one is a seafood market. Here the local boaters in Sai Kung village catch and sell their fresh seafood while on the boat. The following image shows how they sell and clean fish, squids, starfish, etc.
Amazed to see River floating market at Sai Kung, Hong Kong. #landscapephotography #nature #Travel #travelblogger pic.twitter.com/KNlOay4OfM
— Poh Huay Suen (@Cattan2011) September 9, 2015
Swarupakathi, Barisal Floating market in Bangladesh
Selling at Gaokhali floating market is also known as Boithakata floating market in pirojpur. It is located on the velua river. Here the farmers also come from nearby floating farming areas like Bhishalkandi, Uzipur, Omorer Paar and others. Boithakata market has been operating since 1962. One of the journalists in that area named Moniruzzaman Nasim Ali mentioned in one of his interviews with Shaykh Siraj, a well-known travel host of Bangladesh.
The People are pretty close to their calm and quiet life. They sell their produce for a living; it is like life on waters to many. People from one part of the country’s floating market are also aware of the other, especially farmers who trade their produce at floating markets on these rivers. It is pretty similar to the one in Vietnam’s floating market too, the difference is language, traditions, the food they produce and the method of selling and buying.
Paddington Central’s canal-side market in London
The UK doesn’t have the traditional floating markets like the other few countries mentioned here. However, 2018 saw great success in such a market. This made it even more exciting to see the floating market happening in 2019, which took place between 14 th of August until 18th. It happened at the canal-side area in Paddington Central. It’s not an all year round market like few others around the world, but this one has its own attractions.
It’s not limited to flowers or one particular type of item. Usually, you may find this and many other attractions by the riverside and canals, mainly in the summer season. If you are in London, note that you might need to carry a water bottle with you travelling through the underground tubes.
After a long wait, London now has free healthy drinking water tap fountains for anyone to refill their bottles. For more information on the dates of this floating market, you can visit: https://www.paddingtoncentral.com/event
Patuli Floating market in Calcutta in India
This market has opened in the Calcutta area of India. It has around 114 boats and 280 shops. A variety of items are bought and sold there. You may find food grains, fish, meat, vegetables and even shoe stalls on a vessel itself. This market has also started to operate in recent years and is inspired by Bangkok’s floating markets.
It is becoming popular slowly to attract more visitors too. You Tubers have also started to visit this place slowly, and because of the social channels, it has especially begun to gain a quick momentum. Whether it increases in popularity or goes down will depend upon its operators. We will keep giving updates as we go along.
Some breathtaking pictures of newly-inaugurated floating market in Patuli, #Kolkata >> https://t.co/mbVPVd0m8R pic.twitter.com/IXZbX3lJgJ
— Agnivo Niyogi (অগà§à¦¨à¦¿à¦ নিয়োগী) (@Aagan86) January 29, 2018
Dal Lake vegetable market in Jammu and Kashmir
Dal Lake vegetable market in Jammu and KashmirÂ
There is an old classical saying on Kashmir in the Indian subcontinent: “If there is a Heaven on earth, it is here, it is here”. With a lot of news headlines and conflict areas, it still has a beauty that captivates you. The lake is quite a prominent place in India.
“An early morning shikara ride on the Dal Lake took us to the floating market in Srinagar. A unique experience, I watched the buy and sell of vegetables by the vendors in the wee hours of the morning“. Read more at
https://t.co/nk09gc7NkW pic.twitter.com/3gLiKph5wo
— The General’s Daughter (@dibbi18) June 3, 2018
Borneo market in Indonesia
This market was quite difficult to find even though it’s one of the largest floating markets in the Country. This place is located in Banjarmasin in Kalimantan, Indonesia. The picture below is an image grab from the video by AOP. To watch the entire video, please visit her channel. You can see the lady with a traditional fishermen hat and fruits in the boat. If you wish to travel here, the best thing is to get in touch with people who know this place.
If you do not know any locals, you can even ask the Youtubers who have already visited the place. This could be one of the best things you could do. This way, they can share their experience to a certain extent, and you could also get an idea of how it could be as a tourist to this place.
Image Grab: You Tube/ AOP – AndreasOttProjects
Thailand is the king of Floating markets.
Although there are plenty of videos online, there isn’t much that states how many floating markets exactly are there in Thailand. There may be the case that one market may also be pretty much known by the other name. Nevertheless, 10 floating markets are what we found, out of which some may not have been even known by the people due to them being not very popular among the tourists.
- Pattaya market
- Damnoen saduak floating market
- Taling chan floating market
- Wat sai floating market
- Khlong lat mayom
- Bang Nam Phueng Floating Market or (ตลาดน้ำบางน้ำผึ้ง)
- Kwan-Riam Floating market
- Hatyai market
- Amphawa Floating Market
- Bang Flee Floating market
- Tha kha Floating market
- Bangkhla
- Bangnoi
- Bang Nok Kwaek
- Muang Boran
- Koh Kret Island Floating Market
- Kwam Riam Floating Market
- Lam Phaya
- Khlong Hae Floating market
- Hat Yai in Songkhla
- Don Manora
- Sam Phan Nam in Hua Hin District
- Red Lotus in Bang Len District
Bang khu wiang used to be in rang Bak, which is closed now. Kwan Riam Floating market has more than 2000 google reviews, and the most recent by a local guide throws light on how the market is. This indicated that the market is good with legitimate stalls and pricing. It is also on a Saen Saep river. Also, it is not much advertised hence it is less touristy.
The Muang Boran floating market is part of the Ancient city. Attractions like museums with statues and temple buildings around and food stalls take you to a different part of the world altogether. It could look to some like a movie set of an old film.
Sitangkai, tawi tawi in Phillipines
This island is beautiful in part of the Philippines with clean sea waters. It is also known as the Venice of the South. As you enter the area, you will see the hoarding on the entrance that says this. You could get to see the boats and the houses all around. This is not just a Floating market, but it is also a place where people live their lives; it has a municipality and other local authorities.
The fishermen sell items by the seashore. Their houses are stretched in the sea, and the water is all around. Boats are widely used although it has some fantastic views of the Green land. Palm trees and beautiful beach sand appear untouched by many tourists.
List of Floating markets around the world
Jeti Kelantam Floating market in Malaysia
This market is relatively new. The information on its opening hours may be a bit of an issue. This is due to it being open only on a specific day. At present, this is the information we have; however, contacting them could be a better option before making any plans to reach there. It remains open on Saturdays; however, you may not realise if the days are changed between them. Hence, try to figure out the opening days.
Pettah Floating Market of Sri Lanka
This market was opened in August of 2014. The information about how the place was initially and now the situation floating market of Pettah near Bastian street may be a bit different. It is clearly visible that this market is not widely marketed abroad. Hence, if you visit Colombo in sri Lanka, see this place. Also, send us an email about the current status of the market to keep our readers up to date.
Cambodia’s Tonle sap lake floating village market
Tonle Sap is the largest lake in Cambodia. The market here is not full-fledged, but there are necessary vegetable vendors who travel through the lake and sell. There are 3 floating villages, and in those villages, selling the items is done by boats. You as a tourist would have to buy the tickets to visit these villages. From there, they take you to the floating village. In these villages, you may even find kids getting together and going by boat all by themselves.
There are schools, religious places and homes. Similar to Vietnam, even here Mekong river passes through the country. Generally, most tourists only get to see what is typically shown to them. However, many other rivers pass through Cambodia and Vietnam.
The villagers and their life on floating villages in Cambodia
Floating villages hers have become tourist attractions, and that’s how even the locals sell snacks over the boats and earn their living along with their daily duties. You may find more women in this area of Kampong Phluk. On Lake Tonle Sap there is another area called Siem Reap, which is where also you may see a floating village just like the other two. There is also a floating restaurant in the middle of the Tonle Sap lake known as Queen Tara.
Do visit the Lotus farm where they will show you the uses of their lotuses. The fibre from the stem of the lotuses is used to make silk as per the farmer. If you plan to sleep there, make sure you are prepared by the locals as there are cases of snake bites. Hence some precautions are taken.
Not to scare you by this, but you could also get to see a crocodile farm where they source crocodiles locally and make food & leather items to sell. The majority of the houses here are built on tall wooden beams. This is due to the high tides the water level rises to a level where houses could sink if they are not on hardy, tall wooden beams.
Cain Rang floating fruit market in Vietnam
Cain Rang food market is on the Cần Thơ river. From Fruits like Jack fruit to the Mangoes and snacks to the soups, you could find them all here. This is the place where people eat. Close to the border of Cambodia and Vietnam is another Floating village which is one the river Bassac. This place is known as the Da Phuoc floating market.
Ho chi minh city’s floating market is Bangkok’s Floating market with local tour guides. Yes, it is not Thailand, but it is in Vietnam’s Ho chi minh city. If you are visiting there, then there are plenty of tour guides that can help, but it’s better if you have a Vietnamese friend. It’s always a plus point if you have a local as your friend.
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The conclusions
After researching floating markets, the result shows the highest number of floating markets in Thailand than anywhere else in the world.
