Hi all,

Folks are coming to Thailand this month and as part of their holiday are interested in going to Angkor by bus.

Anybody done this trip & would like to recomend a package tour group?

Cheers & thanx,

Soundman.

Hi all,

Folks are coming to Thailand this month and as part of their holiday are interested in going to Angkor by bus.

Anybody done this trip & would like to recomend a package tour group?

Cheers & thanx,

Soundman.

Someone I know is doing it this week. 7500B pp, 4 days. Thai people.

It's 1 day to get there, 1 day to get back, via Sa Kaew. It stops in some other places, looks like they will have only 1 day at Angkor Wat.

Anybody done this trip & would like to recomend a package tour group?

No, I would not recommend that to anyone. Roads there are just not safe.

I did it 5 years ago independently and it was fine.

If the roads are not safe then how many foreign tourists die or are injured each day then?

As for package tours - I do not think 1 day at angkor is enough - 3 days min i would say with a day each there and back.

The only guy I know booked a tour had this time - booked it in suk somewhere but sorry i can not be more help than that. He said he had a great time and it was organised well.

Flights are a rip off - Bangkok Air and their cosy monoploy!!

Anybody done this trip & would like to recomend a package tour group?

No, I would not recommend that to anyone. Roads there are just not safe.

Roads are actually VERY SAFE ! Nothing bad ever happened, except the 100 km stretch from Cambo border to SR is bastardised to death, by ADB sponsored NGO'ish 'road builders' or should i say Terminators.. What happends is apparently corruption in its worst ! What i've heard is that Bangkok Airways, which holds monopoly on BKK-Siam Riep route pays them off,

so they will never allow the road to be in a decent condition.. i've travelled many times, it's few hours of dirt & headache, on What Otherwise COULD BE a very comfy 6-7 hour bus ride all the way from BKK ..

Thanx for the replies so far.

I live fairly close to the border crossing at Arunyaprathet. Would an experienced traveller (not Asian experienced) be able to cross the border to Poi Pet and get a bus (if they exhist) to make their own way to Angkor?

Cheers,

Soundman.

There is no large scale bus operation as such. They do have mini buses and pickups, however they are crowded and often overloaded. The best way to get to Angkor after crossing the border is to hire a private taxi (they are just by the traffic circle after you clear Cambodian immigration). There are taxi touts around who will call out to you anyway so you can't miss them. Negotiate hard, but you should be able to get a taxi for 1200-1500 baht. I have done this trip more than 40 times and you strike the odd taxi who demands more. Just stand around and eventually they will come round. Sometimes there is a change of taxi half way. This is quite normal and depends on the driver. The number one rule is not to pay until you reach you destination in Angkor. The road is very bad, pot holes, etc, but certainly having the comfort of your own vehicle (not shared) is about the best you can do. The trip takes approximately 3 hours. Hope this helps.

Thanx for the replies so far.

I live fairly close to the border crossing at Arunyaprathet. Would an experienced traveller (not Asian experienced) be able to cross the border to Poi Pet and get a bus (if they exhist) to make their own way to Angkor?

Cheers,

Soundman.

There is a very comprehensive guide on the "Tales of Asia" website - google for that

There is no large scale bus operation as such. They do have mini buses and pickups, however they are crowded and often overloaded. The best way to get to Angkor after crossing the border is to hire a private taxi (they are just by the traffic circle after you clear Cambodian immigration). There are taxi touts around who will call out to you anyway so you can't miss them. Negotiate hard, but you should be able to get a taxi for 1200-1500 baht. I have done this trip more than 40 times and you strike the odd taxi who demands more. Just stand around and eventually they will come round. Sometimes there is a change of taxi half way. This is quite normal and depends on the driver. The number one rule is not to pay until you reach you destination in Angkor. The road is very bad, pot holes, etc, but certainly having the comfort of your own vehicle (not shared) is about the best you can do. The trip takes approximately 3 hours. Hope this helps.

Thanx for that - doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Are the taxi's OK - aircon etc?

There is a very comprehensive guide on the "Tales of Asia" website - google for that

Will do.

BTW - Hotes in SR (Angkor) - walk in OK or book in advance?

Cheers,

Soundman.

Thanx for that - doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Are the taxi's OK - aircon etc?

There is a very comprehensive guide on the "Tales of Asia" website - google for that

Will do.

BTW - Hotes in SR (Angkor) - walk in OK or book in advance?

Cheers,

Soundman.

Soundman

Also do a google for:

red piano guest house

and for

canby publications

I stayed at the Red Piano a couple years ago, downstairs roon, good place.  My sister & her family, total 8 folks, stayed there last December, said it was fine.  Probably a good idea to email ahead for rooms.  FYI, it's right downtown, on perhaps 50 m from a main road, and close to the old market and many eateries and drinkeries.

The Siem Reap Guide put out by Canby Publications is excellent, good maps, and best of all is the price, FREE.  Available at restaurants all over Siem Reap.

Mac

There is no large scale bus operation as such. They do have mini buses and pickups, however they are crowded and often overloaded. The best way to get to Angkor after crossing the border is to hire a private taxi (they are just by the traffic circle after you clear Cambodian immigration). There are taxi touts around who will call out to you anyway so you can't miss them. Negotiate hard, but you should be able to get a taxi for 1200-1500 baht. I have done this trip more than 40 times and you strike the odd taxi who demands more. Just stand around and eventually they will come round. Sometimes there is a change of taxi half way. This is quite normal and depends on the driver. The number one rule is not to pay until you reach you destination in Angkor. The road is very bad, pot holes, etc, but certainly having the comfort of your own vehicle (not shared) is about the best you can do. The trip takes approximately 3 hours. Hope this helps.

Thanx for that - doesn't sound like a bad idea at all. Are the taxi's OK - aircon etc?

There is a very comprehensive guide on the "Tales of Asia" website - google for that

Will do.

BTW - Hotes in SR (Angkor) - walk in OK or book in advance?

Cheers,

Soundman.

I booked but i bet there are plenty of walk in - I would book though

I stayed at Mom's Guesthouse in Wat Bo Street 5 years ago and it was very clean and the guide/Moto boy from there looked after us well.

They advertise on Tales of Asia too with links to their own site.

Some guesthouses will actually send a taxi from SR to the border to pick you up - saves the hassle with the taxi mafia at the border which by all accounts can be hellish - when i went it was a pick up which is not allowed now.

There is a grat guidebook to the temples by Dawn Rooney - I bought mine in London but the copies at Angkor were much cheaper and very good - dunno if still available though

I had a very nice meal at the Vietnamese place when I was there - "The Soup Dragon

PS: Due to this thread i am looking into going again - flight from Singapore to SR is 200SGD and then i would just go overland to BKK afterwards - hmm