More than 15,000 stalls. Up to 200,000 visitors every weekend.

Chatuchak Weekend Market is one of the largest weekend markets in the world – and also one of those places where you can get lost, both literally and figuratively.

You can walk through it in half an hour. Or you can spend the whole day there and still not see everything.

What is Chatuchak and why is it called ‘JJ Market’?

It’s not your typical tourist market with just a few souvenirs.

Chatuchak is a city within a city. It has 26 sections, hundreds of narrow alleys, and a mix of clothes, art, antiques, plants, food and all sorts of bizarre items.

The map at the main entrances will help, but finding your way round is more a matter of instinct than a systematic process.

As Bangkok’s popularity grows, Chatuchak is also becoming a tourist destination, but it still retains its character and is frequented by plenty of locals.

Prices here are up to half as much again lower than, for example, at the markets in the seaside resorts of the well-known islands of Phuket or Koh Samui.

Among locals, the market has earned the nickname JJ Market – as its Thai name is sometimes transcribed into the Latin alphabet as “JatuJak”.

Chatuchak Market opening hours

The market is open to the public only:

• 🗓️ Saturdays and Sundays
• 🕗 8.30 am–6.00 pm

There is no admission charge to enter the market.

If you’re planning a weekend visit to the market, I’d recommend staying in the Siam area, from where there’s a direct metro journey to the market taking just 20 minutes.

The best hotels in Bangkok – Siam

It’s not really worth staying near the market – there’s nothing of interest to tourists there.

What to buy at Chatuchak Market?

You can buy almost anything at Chatuchak:

• clothes and shoes
• handmade goods
• ceramics and art
• spices and teas
• furniture
• flowers and plants
• food

Much of the merchandise is cheap, but not everything is good value for money. If you’re unsure about standard prices in Thailand, I recommend reading the section on Money and Prices in Thailand beforehand.

What did we personally buy here?

• two linen shirts
• a waterproof bag for our upcoming trips toKoh Samuiand Koh Phangan
• small souvenirs as gifts to take home
• spices
• ceramics, again as gifts to take home
• water on several occasions ( 10 thb per 0.5 litre)
• plenty of food and ice cream!

Bargaining at Chatuchak Market

As a general rule, if an item has a fixed price tag, it is not appropriate to haggle.

If you can’t see a price tag, you can haggle with a smile. You’ll usually manage to get the price down by 20 per cent.

You’ll almost always manage to haggle for a lower price if you’re buying several items.

Food at Chatuchak

At the main southern entrance, there is a large open-air dining area with dozens of stalls.

You’ll also find plenty of other small cafés, ice-cream stalls and stalls selling hot food scattered throughout the market.

If you’re interested in our other tips, take a look at the article‘Where to eat and drink in Bangkok: our tips’.

You’ll find:

• pad thai
• mango sticky rice
• various fried meats and fish
• coconut ice cream
• fresh juices
• and much more
• 👉 Where we ate and drank in Bangkok

You can also eat in the air-conditioned cafés between the sections.

Prices here aren’t particularly ‘touristy’ as yet, and locals come here to eat too.

Practical information

What didn’t we know before visiting Chatuchak that would have been useful to know?

• Take cash with you! Some stalls accept card payments, but most do not
  • You’ll find cash machines at underground stations, for example
• Although there are hardly any rubbish bins anywhere in Thailand, there are plenty of bins for sorted waste at Chatuchak
• there are clean public toilets in many places – you pay 5 thb in cash, and the staff will give you change for larger notes if necessary

How to get to Chatuchak (practically and without any hassle)

This is something almost everyone has to sort out.

Chatuchak is located north of the city centre, and the journey from the Silom and Sukhumvit areas takes around 20–35 minutes, depending on your starting point. From the historic centre, it’s more like 30–40 minutes.

🚇 The easiest option – the metro

• MRT (blue line) – Kamphaeng Phetstation
  • The exit is just a few dozen metres from the main southern entrance
  • A quick journey to the Sukhumvit and Silomareas or Wat Paknam temple in the west of the city
• BTS (light green line) – Mo Chitstation
  • At the northern entrance
  • A quick journey straight to the city centre – the Siam,Sukhumvit,Silom and King Power Mahanakhon areas

You can find a detailed explanation of transfers and fares in the section on Transport in Bangkok.

🚕 Taxi / Grab / Bolt

It works without any problems.

Just bear in mind that:

• between around 4 pm and 6 pm, the area tends to be extremely congested and prices are high (due to higher demand)
• the return journey to the city centre may take longer than the journey here and considerably longer than the journey by metro
• Taxis are a good option for travelling to the historic centre (the area around the Grand Palace), as the metro journey there takes a very long time

🛺 Tuk-tuk

You’ll always find plenty of tuk-tuks outside both entrances.

It’s quite an experience, but you’ll have to haggle, and you’ll probably end up paying more and travelling more slowly than you would in a taxi.

How much time to allow

• Quick visit: 1 hour
• A leisurely visit: 2–3 hours
• Shopping trip: feel free to spend the whole day

Personally, about 2 hours were enough for us. Staying any longer would have been rather exhausting.

How to fit Chatuchak into your itinerary

The ideal combination:

• Chatuchak in the morning (fewer people than in the afternoon)
• Siam in the afternoon (shopping centres)
• rooftop bar in the evening

However, we only had two full days in Bangkok, and our itinerary ended up looking like this:

• After breakfast at 10.00, we went to the King Power Mahanakhon observation deck, where we stayed until around 11.00
• then a quick coffee at the Arabica café in the skyscraper opposite, which offers a lovely view of King Power Mahanakhon; we were there until about 12:00
• a journey by metro (about 30 minutes in total) to the Chatuchak Weekend Market, where we stayed until about 3.00 pm
• After that, back by metro to the city centre for some shopping in the Siam area (until around 5.00 pm)
• We visited the Akara Sky Hanuman viewing platform
• In the evening, we still managed to pop into the BKK Social Club bar

If you’re planning a full-length stay, I’d recommend first deciding where to stay in Bangkok – the north of the city is logistically different from the river area or Silom.

👉 Where to stay in Bangkok

If you’d like a wider choice of hotels:

The 10 best hotels in Bangkok

Is Chatuchak worth a visit?

✅Yes, if:

• you enjoy a lively atmosphere
• you want an authentic weekend in Bangkok
• you enjoy shopping
• you like local food markets
• you’re spending more than just one day in Bangkok

❌No, if:

• you don’t like crowds
• you find the heat uncomfortable
• you prefer quiet local markets
• you’re short on time in Bangkok and would rather see the temples and the bustling city centre

Global comparison

If you enjoy the world’s major markets, you’ll find a similarly intense experience at places such as:

• the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul
• Camden Market in London
• Darajani Souk in Zanzibar

However, Chatuchak is both larger and better organised than most of them.

What to see around

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