Pattaya To Phomn Pehn By Road

[galowgala]

what is the closest border crossing to PP is it koh kong, it looks like that on the map, i have a friend who would drive me there, i pay for the fuel, and how much is it to take a taxi from the border to PP

[Roota]

what is the closest border crossing to PP is it koh kong

To PP, yes, Koh Kong is the most direct (Baan Phakkaad in Chan is closer if you're going to western Cambodia). The bus from KK to PP is perfectly OK now so I haven't priced a taxi lately, but I'd guess roughly $40-50.

[eljeque]

One alternative....

Get the early morning bus on Sukhumvit which will take you to Trat, and then you can get a minivan to Hat Lek (Koh Kong). Do not get the one4 that will stop in Rayong, Chantaburi, etc.

In KK, you can find a bus to PP. The ticket from PP to Pattaya is $35, so the price from KK to PP would be somewhere around 1/2 of that price.

[Asiacat]

One alternative....

Get the early morning bus on Sukhumvit which will take you to Trat, and then you can get a minivan to Hat Lek (Koh Kong). Do not get the one4 that will stop in Rayong, Chantaburi, etc.

In KK, you can find a bus to PP. The ticket from PP to Pattaya is $35, so the price from KK to PP would be somewhere around 1/2 of that price.

I went according to this guy's directions to Koh Kong. From koh Kong I took the speed boat to Sihanookville for B600 and then a bus from Sihanookville to Phnom Penh (3 dollars).

I didn't realize there was a bus directly from Koh Kong to Phnom Penh. This was 2 years ago mind and things may well have changed since then.

[threelegcowboy]

1. There is no longer a boat from Kho Kong to Shinookvile.

2. There are buses that run between Kho Kong and Shinookvile, Kho Kong to Phnom Penh also. They are cheap at 12 to 15 each. Buses only leave in morning so scheduling involves an overnight stay in KhoKong. These roads are as good as it gets, farily smooth.

There is a bus that leaves KhoSan Rd BKK through Popiet to Phnom Penh (I have never taken this). I think this is the only one that can be done in one day without and overnight stay. Road may be better now but before was a rough ride.

Happy Trails

LLL

[tropo]

The ticket from PP to Pattaya is $35,

Please don't keep this a secret. Where can we catch a bus from Pattaya to Phnom Penh?

[dieter1]

it is a real miracle: there are buses in Sianouk Ville going to Pattaya and Bangkok. They do it in one day (even before all these new bridges were built in Cambodia).

BUT NOBODY CAN TELL ME HOW TO TAKE A BUS THE OTHER DIRECTION ( Pattaya to Sianouk Ville).

I did ask at many tourist agencies, at this board, ...... - nothing. The tourist agencies want something like 1200 Baht just for a minibus to the border (one way !)You can get a flight ticket from Bangkok to Phnom Penh for this money!

In Sianouk Ville it costs about 20 $, so about 660 Baht - for the whole distance !

WHERE DO ALL THESE BUSSES END? (if they dont go back ? And how to they get them to the border ??

it´s a miracle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[threelegcowboy]

I have taken this trip to and from Patters/Shinookvile many times. The last trip being Christmas. I have checked around for other ways etc and take what I think is the best for the money etc. If you had read my last post you would have answered some of your questions.

Buses only leave Koh Kong around 8AM for Shinookvile or Phnom Penh. You can take a taxi but you will pay a large premium.

Does not make sense to a westerner why the schedule is the way it is. But here may be some reasons why there is NO BUS out of Koh Kong in the afternoon.

1. Just getting started with these large bus schedule, as traffic increases so may an afternoon alternative.

2. Koh Kong needs overnight travelers.

3. Not enough cordination with Thailand transit. Travels may have long layovers or miss the bus altogether.

4. This bus is intended for Cambodians. They dont care about your schedule.

5. Drivers may not want to be on that road late in the day for SAFTEY reasons.

[tropo]

I did ask at many tourist agencies, at this board, ...... - nothing. The tourist agencies want something like 1200 Baht just for a minibus to the border (one way !)You can get a flight ticket from Bangkok to Phnom Penh for this money!

it´s a miracle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a miracle you can get a flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh for only 1200 baht. The best I can come up with is 2365 one way and over double that for return.

Where do you find such cheap flights. If flights are available at that price, why would anyone want to go by bus?

[galowgala]

what is the closest border crossing to PP is it koh kong, it looks like that on the map, i have a friend who would drive me there, i pay for the fuel, and how much is it to take a taxi from the border to PP

so it seems the crossing for kon hong is the best and how much will a taxi cost to phom penh. there is 2 of us

[threelegcowboy]

what is the closest border crossing to PP is it koh kong, it looks like that on the map, i have a friend who would drive me there, i pay for the fuel, and how much is it to take a taxi from the border to PP

so it seems the crossing for kon hong is the best and how much will a taxi cost to phom penh. there is 2 of us

The only info I have is from 6 months ago and involved 2 Cambodian passengers who paid total of $60 US from Koh Kong to Shinookvile. Phnom Penh is farther than that. So my guess is Foriegner will pay $100 US from Koh Kong to Phnom Penh.

You could spend the night and take the bus.

LLL

[eljeque]

The ticket from PP to Pattaya is $35,

Please don't keep this a secret. Where can we catch a bus from Pattaya to Phnom Penh?

The ticket from PP to Pattaya was $35 available on the riverfront in PP.

There is a Travel Agent on Soi Post Office named.... I believe "Koh Chang Travel" which sells tickets. BUT they want a lot more than $35 ... like twice as much... as the price in PP.

This is why I think the Sukhumvit Road bus to Trat and a minivan to KK is the way to go.

[dieter1]

"There is a Travel Agent on Soi Post Office named.... I believe "Koh Chang Travel" which sells tickets. BUT they want a lot more than $35 ... like twice as much... as the price in PP.2

that would be 1225 Baht !

ok, flight Airasia is 2365 Baht (exactly !) (because 700 (?) for ransom ("airport-tax) is included. I think compared to a journey with bus, which will need probably 2 days, its cheap. And beside, nobody actualy tells us, how much you would have to pay, if one(!) ticket for the whole journey would realy be availabel ! ("eljeque" does "believe" it, he/she doesn´t know it)

and !!

- if you take the way at road back, you will only get a 2 weeks extension (?) for staying in Thailand !

and !

you will have to pay a ransom of 1200 Baht at the cambodian border, instead of 700 Baht (20 $) at the airport in Phnom Penh for a cambodian-visa.

2365 minus 700 = 1665 !!!!

If you would add hotel - lets say 500 Baht -

It´s

2365 + 700 = 3065 Baht for flight BKK - Phnom Penh iinc. visa

1225 + 500 (hotel) + 1200( visa) = 2925 Baht for bus

So : what is cheap ?

still not satisfied? Ok, you live in Pattaya? Add 200 For bus (incl transfer to busstation) to Airport.

So: 3265 for flight and 2925 for bus (and you would have more expenses by bus, because you need to feed yourselve for 2 days !)

more questions ?

[galowgala]

"There is a Travel Agent on Soi Post Office named.... I believe "Koh Chang Travel" which sells tickets. BUT they want a lot more than $35 ... like twice as much... as the price in PP.2

that would be 1225 Baht !

ok, flight Airasia is 2365 Baht (exactly !) (because 700 (?) for ransom ("airport-tax) is included. I think compared to a journey with bus, which will need probably 2 days, its cheap. And beside, nobody actualy tells us, how much you would have to pay, if one(!) ticket for the whole journey would realy be availabel ! ("eljeque" does "believe" it, he/she doesn´t know it)

and !!

- if you take the way at road back, you will only get a 2 weeks extension (?) for staying in Thailand !

and !

you will have to pay a ransom of 1200 Baht at the cambodian border, instead of 700 Baht (20 $) at the airport in Phnom Penh for a cambodian-visa.

2365 minus 700 = 1665 !!!!

If you would add hotel - lets say 500 Baht -

It´s

2365 + 700 = 3065 Baht for flight BKK - Phnom Penh iinc. visa

1225 + 500 (hotel) + 1200( visa) = 2925 Baht for bus

So : what is cheap ?

still not satisfied? Ok, you live in Pattaya? Add 200 For bus (incl transfer to busstation) to Airport.

So: 3265 for flight and 2925 for bus (and you would have more expenses by bus, because you need to feed yourselve for 2 days !)

more questions ?

[galowgala]

"There is a Travel Agent on Soi Post Office named.... I believe "Koh Chang Travel" which sells tickets. BUT they want a lot more than $35 ... like twice as much... as the price in PP.2

that would be 1225 Baht !

ok, flight Airasia is 2365 Baht (exactly !) (because 700 (?) for ransom ("airport-tax) is included. I think compared to a journey with bus, which will need probably 2 days, its cheap. And beside, nobody actualy tells us, how much you would have to pay, if one(!) ticket for the whole journey would realy be availabel ! ("eljeque" does "believe" it, he/she doesn´t know it)

and !!

- if you take the way at road back, you will only get a 2 weeks extension (?) for staying in Thailand !

and !

you will have to pay a ransom of 1200 Baht at the cambodian border, instead of 700 Baht (20 $) at the airport in Phnom Penh for a cambodian-visa.

2365 minus 700 = 1665 !!!!

If you would add hotel - lets say 500 Baht -

It´s

2365 + 700 = 3065 Baht for flight BKK - Phnom Penh iinc. visa

1225 + 500 (hotel) + 1200( visa) = 2925 Baht for bus

So : what is cheap ?

still not satisfied? Ok, you live in Pattaya? Add 200 For bus (incl transfer to busstation) to Airport.

So: 3265 for flight and 2925 for bus (and you would have more expenses by bus, because you need to feed yourselve for 2 days !)

more questions ?

yes how much is a taxi to PP from poipet im not interested in how much it is in comparison to a flight, i just want to know how much a taxi is to PP

[mickba]

Just some snippets for anyone still asking. I've flown PNH/BKK twice but the fare was about B5500 and then add on taxi Pattaya to Suv', check in time and taxi PNH end. Don't forget the $25 exit fee from the airport, but you do get 30 days if you're border running. It's not that great and when I got stranded because of Suv' airport closed I discovered the $35 bus ticket PNH- Pattaya. That's big bus to KK/Hat Lek then minibuses to Pattaya. It's a fair old trek so you need to be patient.

Bus tickets Sihanoukville-Pattaya can vary from $20-$35 so shop around. Often your hotel will be cheaper than a shop. I think they all pay $20 for them from the company and add on whatever they can - or not.

IMO the tickets you buy in Pattaya for about B3000 including a night in KK are a waste of time and money, so...........

My usual itinerary has become -

B800 minibus Pattaya-Hat Lek, then when you get through the border the guys there will start trying to sort your travel. You can get a m/bike up to KK for about B150/less. You can get a taxi to PNH for B2500-3000 or, what I've done is haggle and mess about until you get a shared ride for B1000-1500 (the 1500 was for front seat in a Mercedes S520). You'll get transhipped over the bridge to another taxi. It's a clat but you should be into PNP by about 6pm. My back up plan if I don't find a taxi is to stay overnight in KK and get the bus next morning, but it hasn't happened yet.

The same applies for Sih'ville but it's quicker.

From PNH I've bussed it to Siem Reap and back 3 times - about $10 each way. I've been down to S'ville 4 times - about $8 and from there back to Pattaya.

At the moment I'm contemplating going to PNH on my funky moped. I think I could get to KK the first day and then PNH the second - maybe.

Edited June 28, 2009 by mickba

[imaneggspurt]

I did ask at many tourist agencies, at this board, ...... - nothing. The tourist agencies want something like 1200 Baht just for a minibus to the border (one way !)You can get a flight ticket from Bangkok to Phnom Penh for this money!

it´s a miracle !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's a miracle you can get a flight from Bangkok to Phnom Penh for only 1200 baht. The best I can come up with is 2365 one way and over double that for return.

Where do you find such cheap flights. If flights are available at that price, why would anyone want to go by bus?

I dont think its called a miriacle, its called a fallacy i think,.

[mickba]

Just some snippets ..............................................................................At the moment I'm contemplating going to PNH on my funky moped. I think I could get to KK the first day and then PNH the second - maybe.

So far so good.

4 hours to Trat then 2 more to the border then 4 more Koh Kong to Phnom Penh. About 800 baht all told and dam_n good fun if you've got the arse for it - in every way

[BruceMangosteen]

Just some snippets ..............................................................................At the moment I'm contemplating going to PNH on my funky moped. I think I could get to KK the first day and then PNH the second - maybe.

So far so good.

4 hours to Trat then 2 more to the border then 4 more Koh Kong to Phnom Penh. About 800 baht all told and dam_n good fun if you've got the arse for it - in every way

Please let us know how it goes when you want to cross into Cambodia with a Thai motorcycle. Curious what you are actually riding?

Tidbits...

Koh Kong has a great nightlife if you are not picky.

PHN to Koh Kong is more than four hours. Depends on traffic.

The bus ticket PHN to Koh Kong is $10.usd if you go down and buy it direct in PNH. Don't know about in Koh Kong. Marking up and paying commissions is a way of life in Cambodia. I know people who have paid as much as $15.usd for the $10.usd ticket.

There is a noon bus from Trat to Pattaya and Bangkok. This the best option if you are spending a night in Koh Kong on the return. Enjoy a nice breakfast on the water.

Someone was asking about Pattaya to the border...the Sukhumvit buses, the orange ones, arrive from BKK at apx 6am, 8am, and noon. These are not scheduled times so you must go early. With the noon, I'm not sure you would reach the border in time.

There is a "scam" on the return from Cambodia. They will tell you on the Thai side "no more vans" but if you are there in the morning, no worries, have vans every 20mins to Trat. Sometimes you have to change in a small town on the way.

A motorcycle taxi to/from Koh Kong should be 60baht, not the higher figure someone paid/posted. Just hold out for that if you want to. Tuk Tuk 200baht. Don't know about taxis.

An eVisa is the way to go if you have a credit card, for entry into Cambodia.

[mickba]

Just some snippets ..............................................................................At the moment I'm contemplating going to PNH on my funky moped. I think I could get to KK the first day and then PNH the second - maybe.

So far so good.

4 hours to Trat then 2 more to the border then 4 more Koh Kong to Phnom Penh. About 800 baht all told and dam_n good fun if you've got the arse for it - in every way

Please let us know how it goes when you want to cross into Cambodia with a Thai motorcycle. Curious what you are actually riding?

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Koh Kong has a great nightlife if you are not picky.

PHN to Koh Kong is more than four hours. Depends on traffic.

An eVisa is the way to go if you have a credit card, for entry into Cambodia.

Eyup - back in Pattaya now.

I think I must have got the time to Trat wrong. I left the border this morning at 08.55 - definitely! At 01.25 I was at the Camel's Toe, Ban Chang, ordering a cottage pie - definitely! I don't see how it could have taken me 4 hours only to Trat, but never mind.

As for the time KK-PNH, I was told it would take me 6 hours. I've been in taxis that took longer than that and I've been in a Mercedes S520 that took just over 3 hours - 'kin' lunatic. I know the clock in the Dugout said just before 11.00am and I know the big clock in the flower bed in PNH (wherever that is) said 15.30 and I'd been lost for about half an hour.

The return from Paragon, Riverside, to the dugout KK took me 4.5 hours yesterday. It rained again for about 20% of the way, but the good thing is that the bikes seem to disappear when it does.

I don't know how you've travelled, but the advantage of a m/bike whenever you hit traffic is amazing, especially the last 20km in/out of PNH, but also just about anywhere else. I know you're doubting me so I'll add to it. All the way from KK to PNH airport, only one vehicle passed me - a newish Camry - and when he got caught about 10 mins later in a line behind some trucks I went straight past and never saw him again.

The bike? It's a Yamaha X1R 135cc. It's a Spark derivative with a totally manual gearbox and clutch plus disc front and rear. It's not as smooth as the injection Spark I had but you can do an awful lot more with it. It's fitted with CBR size tyres/wheels i.e. oversize, so I think whatever I say is plus about 7-8% (?). Most of the time in the open I was showing about 110-120kph and rarely less than 100kph. A few times I saw it go over 140kph, but that was on the way, down inclines with a tail wind and tucked in. I never saw that on the way back, when I seemed to have head wind most of the way. I've also had the seat reupholstered with a bit more foam in it and that helped a lot.

I also wore a high visibility (if my phone would speak to my PC you'd know what I mean) full face Arai helmet, without which I'd have been stuffed. All credit to those who've done it toodling along on auto's and the like with placky lids on, but this wasn't like that and I wouldn't want to do it that way. It was brilliant tucked in there all cosy with good visibilty even in the rain. Easy to forget there's only the flip flops , vest and shorts betwixt you and the scratchy stuff. No, I wouldn't recommend it.

I doubt I would have gone much faster on a proper bike, but obviously it would be a lot easier. I was more or less flat out all the way and you hardly dare blink. It was hard work. Also, I didn't stop either way except for fuel and a swig of water. There were several dodgy moments, the worst of which being my own fault when I took to the red stuff at about 100kph and hit some crosswise ruts - not good but I survived.

Not sure what else I can say if you don't believe me, except we'd better do it together next time, only I think I'll be turning right for Sihanoukville.

BTW - the traffic in PNH isn't half as bad as it looks, mainly because they don't generally do anything like the speeds they do round Pattaya.

Yes, e-visa every time.

Great night life in KK? I wouldn't go that far, but I was surprised to see there are some dam_n fine looking young pullets perched up at the chicken farm.

[raro]

Fond memories come back here...I made that border run in 2001 (I think it was) from Rayong to Poi Pet by motorcycle. Me and a colleague of mine, me riding a Honda 125 cc two-stroke. Never knew that an arse can hurt that much

[mickba]

Fond memories come back here...I made that border run in 2001 (I think it was) from Rayong to Poi Pet by motorcycle. Me and a colleague of mine, me riding a Honda 125 cc two-stroke. Never knew that an arse can hurt that much

Not the same crossing but an extra inch of foam can work wonders wherever you go. There's a guy down Thepprasit does it how you want and in whatever colour you want for B500

[BruceMangosteen]

Great report. What about the crossing with the Thai motorcycle? Any hassle on either side of the border? Checkpoints? Thanks.

[mickba]

Great report. What about the crossing with the Thai motorcycle? Any hassle on either side of the border? Checkpoints? Thanks.

OK, you win, I'll confess I screwed up. I wasn't going to bore you but.........

I presented myself, passport and departure card etc. - all correct. The girls there were great and one filled out all the m/bike paperwork for me. Green book was the most important. They weren't too interested in insurance or tax certificate but again - all correct. It cost B10 and I now had all the right bits of paper to bring the bike back into Thailand.

So, back on my bike and off I toodled down to the Cambodia immigration etc. a hundred metres or so down the road. Passport and e-visa all correct I then asked the "helpful" lads what I had to do about taking the bike in. Nothing they said and off I went for my big breakfast at the Dugout.

I then did my run to PNH and back with no contact with police or any other authority (luckily as it turned out).

Back at Cambodian immigration, again it was a breeze and off I went back up to the Thailand side. I handed in my paperwork at the Thai immigration and, once again, all correct - brilliant!

I was on my bike, about to set off, when a guy called me over to a small building next to the Thai block, which I hadn't noticed before - Cambodian Customs! - oops.

He asked me for the Cambodian temporary import/export document. I'd read about this somewhere so I knew I was in trouble. I had expected to get it down at the other end, but when they waved me off I thought no more about it. Now what?

I told the guy I hadn't done it, but he insisted on ploughing through the book looking for an entry. He then took me to "introduce" me to his boss. Thankfully he spoke perfect English and I explained my error and that this was my first time and sorry, sorry, sorry.

I did wonder what they could actually do, as the bike was now safely (?) back in Thailand. There was a period of reflection as he gazed into my eyes, looking for I don't know what. Then he told me to go fetch the Thai paperwork back. Would they give me it? Yes, no problem. Then I think he contemplated doing the Cambodian stuff retrospectively. Then he again gazed into my eyes for a while - I just knew this was going to cost me - a lot.

Then he presumably decided this just wasn't worth the hassle, bade me farewell with a little lecture about getting it right next time and off I went. There are lots of tales about these guys extracting money and he had me over a barrel, but not this time.

My only contact with police was on the Thai side and nothing to do with my trip into Cambodia. I got pulled up in Trat for a routine licence check. One was doing the initial check and the other filling out the ticket. When I proudly presented my Thai driving licence he laughed and asked me something in Thai I didn't understand - "You not aspeak Thai?" - "No, sorry" - "OK - you good falang have licence.Welcome to Thailand". If you haven't got one then get one. IME they're not too interested in all that International Driving Licence crap and the Thai one is good for Cambodia too I'm told (?).

If you're wondering, I didn't have any insurance whatsoever whilst in Cambodia, for myself or the bike. I did enquire by email but they didn't answer and off I went. Not really a good idea but I don't know what you do about it. As in Thailand, most bikes are uninsured. If you t-bone one of those big shiny Lexus, or even a Hummer, then you could have problems.

Twice coming back, I had almost made my way through a gaggle of cars and pickups, when I spotted the road block ahead. I think they do use some radar, but at least have spotters back up the road, though if they tell you you've been speeding then you have. I knew I'd been going through 80's at about 120, so I thought this was the point at which my flourescent orange (think Dynarod) helmet might have been a bad idea. Both times I tucked in behind the lead vehicle and prepared to grovel and plead. Both times they basically told me to clear off out of their way and suddenly the road behind me looked empty. One guy in a beemer, who I repassed a couple of times, got away with the first one, but I didn't see him again after the second.

It's a brilliant trip, however you choose to do it. I think the best way is to plan on getting across to KK the first day and spend the night there. You should make it comfortably to either PNH or S'ville the next day. The same in reverse coming back.Fuel is cheaper in Thailand, but if you fill up at the last pumps you'll have used about 25km worth before you leave KK, so top up again. I didn't and there is quite a stretch across the mountains where I didn't spot any bottles and it's a bit lonesome up there. Brim full from KK you should make it to the garages before the T junction. there are bottles at the bridges and just about everywhere when you don't need them. They can be expensive when they see Barang pull in. I try to stick it out for the pumps, but it can be good fun pulling in to some of the "shops".

You might prefer to wait until after the rainy season, but it's not so bad if you have a big condom and a decent helmet (get it?).

If you haven't done it then just do it and, if you have the time then think about Siem Reap and/or S'ville, Kep/Kampot. If I have the time I'm going to do S'ville next.

In case you're wondering, my avator is not far wrong - i'm knocking on a bit. So come on young boys, get off your a*ses, or should I say on them.

[mickba]

A few phone pics along the way.

By the side of one of the new bridges - how it used to be.

Onward and upward into the mountains

Some monkey business (of a different kind) in PNH

The view from the Dugout at KK - a very welcome break