Klongdaen Floating Market

Klongdaen Floating Market runs one evening a week — Saturdays, noon to 8pm — along the canals of Khlong Daen sub-district in Ranot, at the northern edge of Songkhla province near the Nakhon Si Thammarat border. Vendors sell from longtail boats and from old wooden shophouses lining the water, and entry is free.

Southern Thai specialities dominate the stalls: thongmuan (a crisp, twisted fried sweet), spiced fried fish, khao yum (rice tossed with shredded herbs, dried shrimp and a sour-sweet dressing) and roasted tofu. Wooden bridges connect the shophouses across the canal, and boat rides let visitors drift past the vendors rather than just walk the bank. On busier Saturdays the market programs Manora dance and Nang Talung shadow-puppet performances — two southern Thai art forms that rarely show up at markets further north, and worth timing a visit around if you can find the schedule locally.

The market feels smaller and more local than Amphawa or Damnoen Saduak — a Thai-majority crowd rather than tour buses, and stallholders who’ll haggle without the hard sell. That intimacy comes with a real limitation: it exists for eight hours, one day a week. Show up on a Tuesday, or even Saturday morning, and there’s nothing here but a quiet canal and closed shophouses.

Public transport to Ranot is limited, so a self-drive or hired car works best — it’s roughly 100km from both Hat Yai and Nakhon Si Thammarat city, making it a reasonable stop if you’re already crossing between the two provinces. Arrive by early evening to catch the market building toward its Saturday-night peak, and bring cash in small denominations since most stalls are boat-to-hand transactions. Wooden bridges and canalside paths can be uneven and slick after rain, so shoes with grip beat sandals here.

Insider Tip: Go for the early evening rather than midday — the market only opens at noon, but it’s quieter in the first hour and fills up as Saturday night sets in, with the Manora and Nang Talung performances (when scheduled) usually starting after dark.

Watch out: This is a one-day-a-week market. Confirm you’re travelling on a Saturday before making the detour to Ranot — there’s no floating market to see here any other day.

Songkhla province’s better-known attractions sit closer to Songkhla city, a good 90 minutes’ drive south of Ranot — Songkhla Lake and Khao Tang Kuan among them — so most visitors treat Klongdaen as a standalone Saturday detour rather than part of a single-day loop.