Thai woman calls out after paying 9,500 baht for boat trip at floating market
Elephant rides and temple visits cited as excuse for expensive tour charge
A Thai woman accused a boat operator at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market in the central province of Ratchaburi of overcharging her and her foreign friends after they paid 9,500 baht for a short boat trip.
The woman, Yamolpon Kaeosakun, posted her story today, 20 June, in the popular Facebook group We Are Consumers (พวกเราคือผู้บริโภค). She shared a photograph of the long-tail boat used, along with a caption that read:
“I visited Damnoen Saduak Floating Market today and paid 9,500 baht for a boat trip for myself and two foreign friends. The boat driver told us that Thais and foreigners pay the same rate. We were on the boat from 10am until about 1pm.”
Group members agreed with Yamolpon that the fare was excessively high for a two-hour canal tour. Many criticised the boat driver and left humorous comments under the post…
“Yacht trip?”
“That’s practically the price of a plane ticket.”
“I paid only 600 baht.”
“At that price, the boat should come home with you.”
A Thai woman, believed to be a boat tour operator, commented that the 9,500-baht price included visits to temples, an elephant sanctuary, and a Karen village, as well as elephant rides for all three passengers.
Yamolpon responded that, in her opinion, the cost was still too high. She added that a local community leader had contacted her to apologise, confirming that the price was around 1,000 to 1,500 baht higher than usual.
Some netizens argued that tourists who accept such prices without protest enable dishonest operators to continue overcharging visitors.
Others shared their own recent experiences at the floating market, stating they paid significantly less. One woman said she paid just 1,000 baht for herself and three foreign friends.
This is not the first controversy to surface at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. In January, a foreign tourist questioned the market’s hygiene standards after witnessing restaurant staff washing dishes in the canal.
Around the same time, Thai netizens demanded an explanation from a snake photo booth operator after a South Korean influencer was charged 2,500 baht to pose with the reptiles. The operator claimed to have later lowered the fee to 500 baht, but the influencer declined and left.
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