Driving To Sihanoukville

[Guest madcow]

Has anyone driven a Thai registered vehicle to Sihanoukville ?

Any thing to be aware of / beware of ?

[ozzydom]

Has anyone driven a Thai registered vehicle to Sihanoukville ?

Any thing to be aware of / beware of ?

I always leave my car at the Had Lek carpark for 200 baht per day so I Questioned about the same thing, from what they told me at Immigration ,the permit is only for Koh Khong and you are not supposed to leave that province.

Plus they wanted 100 baht per day to take my car in so I graciously declined .

[Joseph87]

Thai registered car to kompoung saom/ sihanookville?

Hm...I never heard...the easier way is to get a taxi or bus that goes there.

[ozzydom]

Madcow, You dont achieve much by taking your car through,in fact it may cost you more than its worth. The bridges are still some way off being operational and the river crossing ramps are steep and rough, bumps and scratches are par for the course getting on and off the ferries.

The local polices eyes light up when they see a foreign registered vehicle,oh yes ,and you cannot drive in Cambo without a local license,they dont recognise International licenses either.

The ferry from Koh Kong is a pleasant trip for only $20, they also now have 30 seat buses on the run.

Trips to tourist areas around Snookyville are really cheap by taxi or motodop, $2 gets you from one side of the town to the other.

[abdulrahman]

Has anyone driven a Thai registered vehicle to Sihanoukville ?

Any thing to be aware of / beware of ?

Last month I drove to the border at HatLek wanted to try to dive over.

After questioning the Thai and Cambodian Immigration(no problem,it's possible,but they were vague about the price),I spoke with some Farangs coming from PP,through Snooky.They confirmed the possibility,but told me it would be expensive and VERY difficult!

I let the car in the Hotel in KhlongYai(no charge),songtheu to the border,motorbyke taxi to KohKong,Ferry to Sihanoukville,4 hours.

On the way back took the bus;the first river on our way we had to let the bus and go over on a raft,then on the bus again;the next for times we had to take our luggage,walk over and board another bus,they drive only between the,unfinished,bridges.Time consuming and very hot,no shadow.

Will try with the car in 2 or 3 years time,when the bridges will be,hopefully,finished.

For the moment IMHO,the Ferry is the fastest and most comfortable choice.

[toptuan]

Last month I drove to the border at HatLek wanted to try to dive over.

Was it the oxygen tanks, fins, and diving mask the immigration officials really were suspicious of?

[abdulrahman]

Last month I drove to the border at HatLek wanted to try to dive over.

Was it the oxygen tanks, fins, and diving mask the immigration officials really were suspicious of?

No,and the sharks would have been happy too!

[mikethevigoman]

Has anyone driven a Thai registered vehicle to Sihanoukville ?

Any thing to be aware of / beware of ?

I always leave my car at the Had Lek carpark for 200 baht per day so I Questioned about the same thing, from what they told me at Immigration ,the permit is only for Koh Khong and you are not supposed to leave that province.

Plus they wanted 100 baht per day to take my car in so I graciously declined .

Can be done easy,( PROVIDING THE VEHICLE IS IN YOUR NAME ) there is no permit to travel beyond the province, its a con and a crock,I get told that and say oh really i wasnt aware please can i have your name and details .usually then they know you know what you are talking about and tell you to sod off,.i have driven/ridden to all 4 corners of of cambodia and with a business visa there are some very small borders you can leave by,.the road itself is good now all the way except near the ferrys/bridges,i have been crossing at that border for 9 years and done it about 40 times,

[LivinLOS]

Looking to head there next month.. Debating drive and ferry or fly and bus ??

Whats the bus / transit times from PP ??

Which one can be done with the most comfort ??

I have a car passport and Thai international etc but the car isnt a 4x4 and dont feel like screwing it up.

[threelegcowboy]

Looking to head there next month.. Debating drive and ferry or fly and bus ??

Whats the bus / transit times from PP ??

Which one can be done with the most comfort ??

I have a car passport and Thai international etc but the car isnt a 4x4 and dont feel like screwing it up.

My info 3 months old.

Drive and ferry?

Leave your car in Thailand and do the ferry? Well that is all good except be sure morning ferry ride with NO WIND. If by car then access to 4 four bridges could be rough if it has rained etc.

Fly into Phnom Penh and do the bus to SV? Well yes you can as long as the flight lands before noon. Time for a short trip to bus station and leave on bus to SV before 130PM. PERFERED TRIP*****

[toret]

Has anyone driven a Thai registered vehicle to Sihanoukville ?

Any thing to be aware of / beware of ?

Drive in. Get Koh Kong permit. After KK, take off the plates. Don't sue me when the local cops want money.

[mikethevigoman]

Has anyone driven a Thai registered vehicle to Sihanoukville ?

Any thing to be aware of / beware of ?

Drive in. Get Koh Kong permit. After KK, take off the plates. Don't sue me when the local cops want money.

has anyone ever seen this permit ? i havent in 40 visits !

[ozzydom]

You can certainly get your car into Cambodia ,at Xmas there must have been a dozen Thai registered cars at Sihanoukville, mainly Pattaya plates.

Point one is Cambodia only recognizes a Cambodian drivers license,so if you dont have one,expect to pay, and a foreign plate is like honey to a bee to the BiB.

Some of the roads are quite good others atrocious and dealerships are few and far between if you are unlucky enough to break something or have an accident.

If your intention is to visit out of the way places and you have a 4WD , sure I think it would be worth the hassle, but if your only going to Snooky or PP or even SR ,my inclination is to use local transport, it is sooo cheap.

And if you are looking to come out through Poipet ,dont ! the road from Battambang to Poipet is a write off ,although some work may have been done since the wet season.

And at Poipet you will find officialdom at its very worst...

[wilko]

I've done several postings asking about this.....well Siem Reap actually........and I get the same responses...loads of people twelling you what a bad idea and take a bus or "what d'you wanna do that for" types...at the end of the day I've never come across a post from someone who has actually taken their car any distance into Cambodia. plenty KNOW someone or NEARLY did it or have been somewhere else.

There may have been a guy who used to drive between Snooky and Trat.

[samran]

Well, the official line by the department of land transport is that Thailand and Cambo don't have an agreement to let private vehicles drive into each others country. I asked them about a year ago when I went to get my car passport.

No doubt that people are doing it 'unofficially' or via car convoys. I've seen a convoy of thai plates on the way to Siem Riep.

But there doesn't appear to be the process in plact in the same way you can take your car to Laos or Malaysia.

[mikethevigoman]

You can certainly get your car into Cambodia ,at Xmas there must have been a dozen Thai registered cars at Sihanoukville, mainly Pattaya plates.

Point one is Cambodia only recognizes a Cambodian drivers license,so if you dont have one,expect to pay, and a foreign plate is like honey to a bee to the BiB.

Some of the roads are quite good others atrocious and dealerships are few and far between if you are unlucky enough to break something or have an accident.

If your intention is to visit out of the way places and you have a 4WD , sure I think it would be worth the hassle, but if your only going to Snooky or PP or even SR ,my inclination is to use local transport, it is sooo cheap.

And if you are looking to come out through Poipet ,dont ! the road from Battambang to Poipet is a write off ,although some work may have been done since the wet season.

And at Poipet you will find officialdom at its very worst...

i agree with you, i go on a dirt bike and i love it, if i were in a car or in the back of a van/pickup id hate it, my uncle did it once ,nearly killed him !

[mikethevigoman]

I've done several postings asking about this.....well Siem Reap actually........and I get the same responses...loads of people twelling you what a bad idea and take a bus or "what d'you wanna do that for" types...at the end of the day I've never come across a post from someone who has actually taken their car any distance into Cambodia. plenty KNOW someone or NEARLY did it or have been somewhere else.

There may have been a guy who used to drive between Snooky and Trat.

I have,. went in through koh kong with my truck, drove round the country and went out through poi pet, the cambodian customs told me i should have gone out through the same place i came in but relented, i do it every 3 months on my thai registered bike and have crossed into thailand coming back at all borders, with a business visa issued in cambodia the small borders can let you in/out as they dont have to issue a visa,.

[wilko]

Well, the official line by the department of land transport is that Thailand and Cambo don't have an agreement to let private vehicles drive into each others country. I asked them about a year ago when I went to get my car passport.

No doubt that people are doing it 'unofficially' or via car convoys. I've seen a convoy of thai plates on the way to Siem Riep.

But there doesn't appear to be the process in plact in the same way you can take your car to Laos or Malaysia.

That's the "official line" from your officials who are obviously unaware of or can't be bothered with the ASEAN treaty!

[samran]

Well, the official line by the department of land transport is that Thailand and Cambo don't have an agreement to let private vehicles drive into each others country. I asked them about a year ago when I went to get my car passport.

No doubt that people are doing it 'unofficially' or via car convoys. I've seen a convoy of thai plates on the way to Siem Riep.

But there doesn't appear to be the process in plact in the same way you can take your car to Laos or Malaysia.

That's the "official line" from your officials who are obviously unaware of or can't be bothered with the ASEAN treaty!

fair point. I'm fully aware that one hand doesn't know what the other is doing here though.

I assume though that when you took your truck to cambo, you would have had to do through the normal proceedures with the Thai side - temp export of a vehicle, taking the engine number, stamping out on the car passport, and then coming back in, re-importing the vehicle and returning the required documents?

If you look though my postings in the motoring forum, a few of us have described to process you need to take your car into loas, it would be good then for you to offer a step by step guide for people (like me) who would love to drive to Siem Riep for instance.

[wilko]

Eh? I think you'd better read my posts again!!!

[ozzydom]

You can certainly get your car into Cambodia ,at Xmas there must have been a dozen Thai registered cars at Sihanoukville, mainly Pattaya plates.

Point one is Cambodia only recognizes a Cambodian drivers license,so if you dont have one,expect to pay, and a foreign plate is like honey to a bee to the BiB.

Some of the roads are quite good others atrocious and dealerships are few and far between if you are unlucky enough to break something or have an accident.

If your intention is to visit out of the way places and you have a 4WD , sure I think it would be worth the hassle, but if your only going to Snooky or PP or even SR ,my inclination is to use local transport, it is sooo cheap.

And if you are looking to come out through Poipet ,dont ! the road from Battambang to Poipet is a write off ,although some work may have been done since the wet season.

And at Poipet you will find officialdom at its very worst...

i agree with you, i go on a dirt bike and i love it, if i were in a car or in the back of a van/pickup id hate it, my uncle did it once ,nearly killed him !

I envy you Mike, I bought an Africa Twin with the intent of doing just that,then learned I had left it to late in life.. The mind said go but the body would not obey.

[asiakingtravel]

That 's great,

Nam