Sampeng Market - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)
Sampeng Market
Sampeng Market
4

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4.0
4.0 of 5 bubbles214 reviews
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84
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94
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Dave C
Singapore, Singapore44 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022 • Couples
It is our second time to this market. Nothing much to buy as compared to earlier trip before Covid.
We walked from on lok yuen (breakfast) to here in less than 10mins.

We didn't spend much time here as we are getting bored with the items selling here. All stalls sell almost v similar things.

We wander around n then happend to walk to Nai ek roll noodles shop. Laoteng dim sum restaurant happened to be just next door!
Written August 9, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Aloolaf
Singapore, Singapore290 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jan 2018 • Couples
This is one of my favorite markets in Bangkok. You may also hear it referred to as “Yaowarat”. I’ve been living in Bangkok for quite awhile now and this market always leaves me wanting more. It’s such a fun experience. Here’s some info and tips that I hope you find useful...

One of the ways to get to the market is by using the BTS (Bangkok sky train public transportation system) take the BTS Silom line and get off at BTS stop S6 called Saphan Taksin. Then on foot follow the sign to the ferry/boat terminal. It’s close. Use the Chao Phraya Express Boat (what the locals use), the Sampeng Market is stop #5. Be ready and move quick to get off, the boat won’t stop for more than a minute if that. A trip on this boat will run you about 15 baht each way. The experience is priceless. Buy a ticket before you board from the lady sitting at the little desk on the side. I usually use the orange boat (demoted by flag on boat). Check out my photos here, I took a picture of the express boat routes and schedules that are posted at the boat terminal. If you want the scenic touristy route to see more/go further than the stop for the market, then there are lots of other more expensive options at the terminal including hop on hop off and long tail charters (you can’t miss these options because there are touts who will be trying to sell to you).

Once you get off at stop #5, the market is easy to find. If in doubt follow the crowd and the direction of the lined up street vendors that start pretty much as soon as you are out of the boat terminal. The market is located right in Bangkok’s Chinatown on Soi Wanit 1. This is a long lane running about 400 meters up. But Sampeng Market itself is wide spread and encompasses northeast of Yaowarat Road which is Chinatown’s main avenue.

It’s a big place, so make sure you plan a decent amount of time to get lost, enjoy and explore the alleys loaded with goods and food stalls (there are also a lot of 7-11s).

This is a great wholesale market to see and experience locals in action. It is a really fun place to go for great deals on toys and stuffed toys, stickers, hair accessories, hair extensions, glasses, paper items, necklaces, fabric, household items, bags, shoes and a whole bunch of other stuff. There isn’t a lot of clothing at this market, a little, but certainly not a lot compared to other markets. A great shopping destination if you are planning to make some extra cash reselling goods later or if you need bulk gifts for friends and family back home.

Fear not, most vendors sell by the piece as well. Typically there are two prices, the wholesale price if you buy bulk (5 or 6, or a pack) and an individual price where you can usually buy single items. I’ve never felt the need to negotiate prices here because this is a local wholesale market, the vendors typically aren’t inflating prices for tourists plus the price is typically the price. Period. Personally I find this refreshing to be in a market that isn’t targeting tourists. Stuff is really inexpensive!!!!

Don’t worry about a language barrier, typically the vendors will have a calculator handy to type in the price (in Thai baht). Smiles go a long way here, so do it often especially when asking about goods or making purchases.

You will experience many many very narrow alleys loaded with vendors and slow moving with crowds of people, scooters and locals hauling in huge boxes of stock. There is also great food stalls peppered throughout all this activity. You will sweat as you find things to buy and people watch. Be sure to stay hydrated and wear sunscreen.

My last tip is simply, be extra vigilant around the boat terminal for pickpockets, however as a tourist you probably already are keen on this measure anyway.

If someone was coming to visit me from abroad, I’d definitely take them to Sampeng Market. Enjoy!
Written January 21, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Nungning
Bangkok, Thailand407 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2015 • Solo
If you want to have amazed experience in Bangkok, I would like to suggest to visit Sampeng Market. You can combine in one day with China Town (Yaowarat) coz it is the same area & also close to Pahurat (little India)

If you visit there in the weekend or the day before big even like New Year, Chinese New Year, Valentines Day or Song Kran you will meet a lot people because many of them will buy stuff to sell.

Sampeng is the biggest wholesales market of Thailand. If you visit there you see a lot of small shop you may wonder how can they sell a lot of things because but they have warehouse outside the market.

The road inside the Market is very narrow & have motorbike pass to delivery stuff all the time.

One more thing I would like to suggest, please beware a pickpocket !!!

You can walk from Yaowarat (China Town) to Sampeng then Pahurat & walk back to Yaowarat to have dinner.

Beside take taxi, you can tale air condition bus no.204 from Siam Square or MBK & on the way back you can take the same bus (stop near the pier) to MBK, Siam Square, Siam Paragon, Central World Plaza.

Other choice you can take an express boat to BTS Taksin station. On the boat you will see a view along Choa Phraya River.

I hope my map is helpful for you, enjoy you trip ^_^
Written March 31, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

limcarine
Singapore, Singapore6 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2018 • Family
This is a must go market for me and my family when we are in BKK. Very busy in the ealry morning. Can get alot of dry herb , good and cheap. If with mother who cook this place is a wonderland for them.
Written June 6, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Dromomaniac
Greater Sydney, Australia605 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2014 • Family
Whether you're a shopper or not, the Sampeng Lane Market is an amazing place to experience. And I do mean experience, as going there to just 'see' it is not an option. It is so narrow and crowded that you get moved along with the crowd at their pace. The only respite from the flow is if you step into one of the many stalls, shops or little side lanes.

There's an amazing array if goods, from haberdashery to jewellery and shoes. We did find that the shoes were mostly wholesale & sold in lots of 6 of the same shoes (we couldn't buy the same size in different colours). We found that English was a bit more widely spoken in this Chinese-influenced part of bangkok.

If you're going there to shop for something in particular in the way of haberdashery items then it's certainly worth printing out a copy of the Sampeng Lane map on bkkquilt.com as it shows the locations of numerous trusted stores which are also described on their website. We got ribbons, ric rac, cotton fabric, and some fabric flowers for a fraction of the price we'd pay in Australia.

We also bought some dress jewellery, which was sold in wholesale lots (minimum 6 pieces, but didn't have to be the same). We picked up some bracelets and necklaces for about $1.50/piece.

It is also worth noting that it can be hard to get a metered taxi at busier times. We saw quite a few (though not as many as elsewhere in Bangkok) but none of them were interested in taking us to the BTS, MRT or back to Pratunam using the meter. We eventually got one, but it took us about 45 minutes, so it's definitely worth heading back to the river for transport when you leave. We wandered away from Sampeng Lane looking for a taxi and then we're somewhat lost & had no idea which direction the river was, so it wasn't an option for us.
Written August 26, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

MikeyIdea
Bangkok, Thailand75 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2016 • Family
I have been to Sampeng in China Town many times. The map on this page shows totally the wrong market, it's Pratunam market that's marked there. Trip Advisor, please correct! There is another market called Sampeng Lane, the map is correct on that one - the name on this market is more correct actually, there is no "Lane" in the original Thai name

What the Thai's call Sampeng is not only one soi or street at all. Thai's call the whole market area Sampeng and it stretches through several streets and alleys. It will take the best part of a full day to go through it all but, I cannot for my life understand why anyone would want that :)

Beware of pick pocketers, the warning signs are there for a very good reason, hold on to your wallet.

It is easy to get dehydrated so drink plenty of water , a litre is not much, closer to 2 litres is more what you need

Stuff to buy? Yes, lots of it, the most impressive thing with this market is how much they have. Much of it is cheap but not all of course. This market is mainly Chinese and it's a good place to see a traditional market, only a percent 1% of the people in the Total Sampeng market are foreigners, the rest are Thai's. The number goes up in the most famous part of the market. This is different from Pratunam market where there are so many Indians and other nationalities and tourists that it doesn't feel Thai

Easy to get to - Take the underground to Hualampong railway station and go out exit one or four, take a Tuktuk, most Thai's pay fixed price 100 baht for the 2 kilometres so don't expect less as a tourist

I go to Sampeng when my daughter wants to buy something special that is difficult to find, yesterday it was rare squishies :) Do bring you children and let them buy some toys, do also keep them close, it's a crowded place so keep concentration up

I am always tired after going to Sampeng, but it really is an interesting place so I can highly recommend a trip here
Written March 6, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Wonder A
Singapore436 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jun 2019 • Couples
We were at China Town and was told there was a wholesale market nearby. To our amazement, we found that the place offered a lot of good stuff at very cheap prices. The same items could be available at Platinum Mall but the price would be very much more. However, we have to purchase at least three similar items to get the retail price. Best day to visit is from Monday to Friday because the place would get very crowded on weekends. Its actually a long narrow lane which ran across three roads, with shops are both sides of the lane. There is an amazing array of goods, from clothing to jewellery to shoes.
Written July 6, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ayaz B
Karachi, Pakistan10 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2018
good for shop purses, hand bags & small luggage , open at 2 am... been here in day time also. good for buy mobile accessories and many other stuff.not suitable for clothes & brands... better to visit in day time before 5 pm
Written July 27, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Danielle K
Longmont, CO97 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2018 • Couples
I came to Sampeng to look for fabric. I found some really beautiful cotton/linen here. Not every fabric shop has amazing fabric though. I imagine it would be quite hard to walk around and find, but I really liked Mon Thai Fabrics in one of the alleys. I wasn't able to negotiate at any of the fabric stores, but the prices were still very good. I wouldn't come here if you aren't looking for fabric though. It's crowded and the other shops didn't have anything I would buy.
Written March 11, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

0_Gyrfalcon_0
Singapore, Singapore9,834 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2015 • Solo
How to get here : Take subway to Hau Lampong station then take taxi meter only 40-50 baht or Tuk Tuk for 50-60 THB.

This place selling everything..clothes, hair accessories, costume jewelry, toys, stuffed toy, stationary, shoes, Mobile phone accessories and etc.

If you walk far enough and right direction it will bring you to a fabric market called Phahurat which selling all kind of fabric in cheap price.
Written December 15, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Sampeng Market - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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