Roi-et To Siem Raep And Phnom Penh V.v.

[sanooknl]

We are planning a trip over land from Roi-Et to Siem Raep and Phnom Penh in july this year. 'We' are myself (dutch), my thai wife (living in NL for > 20 years) and our 2 children (18, 14) and we all have dutch passports. We have a rental car which we want to use to drive to the border with Cambodia, in Cambodia we want to use local people for transport and tours. I have some questions to more experienced people on this forum:

-I am wondering what would be the best place to cross the border, would it be Poipet or Chong Chom ? Are the roads ok in july ? Is it possible to leave the rental car for a few days on a safe place ?

-Can we arrange a tour to Siem Raep and Phnom Penh (and back) on the Thai border side or is it better to do this at the Cambodian side ?

All useful information is welcome ! Thanks a lot.

[Dave the Dude]

Hi Sanooknl

I have never done the trip from Poipet but hear the roads are better than Chon Chom (which I did 2 yrs ago). They are dirt tracks with rough ancient rusting bridges along the way. I found it quite exciting BUT that was NOT in the rainy season. As for Tours, all Cambo taximen will want to drive you around anywhere you want to go. The standard of vehicle is not exactly 'high-end'. Similarly every hotel in SR & PP will have tour packages. SR is a great city BTW with a fantastic choice of bars/restaurants (and no dirt tracks!).

Have a great time

Edited May 31, 2010 by Dave the Dude

[songhklasid]

I done the trip last year (nov) from surin to chong thom, crossed the border, Had a taxi waiting to take us to the 2 dragons resort(60 $ U.S.) @ siem riep, the girls @ the 2 dragons organised a local taxi ( village close to chong thom) to do round trip as was cheaper than taxi x-siem riep, we returned same way, the most horrendous part was the mini-bus border - surin jam packed, no air-con skip this one if you can.

regards songhklasid.

[Chinavet]

I did the trip from Chong Chom to Siem Reap via Anglong Veng in April last year with my brother in law. We arranged a reasonable Camry hire the day before at the Thai side of the border (I live close), about USD $80 from memory. It took 1.5 hours on OK dirt road to Anlong Veng then another 1.5 hours to Siem Reap on excellent quiet sealed road.

My brother in law returned with a group of 7 including ladies in their 60's and a 2 yr old child to Surin again in Nov 2009. We called a travel agency in Siem Reap (from the internet) and arranged a van to meet them on the Cambodian side of the border at Chong Chom. I don't have much detail but I remember he said the dirt road to Anlong Veng was in much poorer condition and I think added another hour to the trip. Work on this road stopped along with funding by Thailand so it is surely further deteriorated by now.

I would bet agency arranged transport from Siem Reap would not commit to sending a vehicle for the trip unless sure they can manage it. But the weather now is a real wild card and I can easily imagine a heavy rain would make the dirt section quite dangerous with the potential for real delays. I would carry a stock of food and water if you attempt it.

There is a security guarded car park at Chom Chong, but I don't know how secure that would be especially for a rental. I know there are expats near the border that would provide secure parking if you need it. PM if I can help more.

[consnabit]

I have made multiple trips and my findings are not quite the same as reported here. With your crew you need a definite arranged in advance transport. I was solo and just go and take what ever I find at the border. Trip 1, a hired Toyota camry at the border solo for $50, picked up a passenger and split the fare. Trip 2, caught a minibus, a nightmare. Trip 3 hitched a ride on a truck bed for $10. The road was garbage. In rainy season, a test of wills. Poipet your best bet for transport as there is a casino there with plenty of private taxis. Good luck and be careful. Do not let the drivers take you to their cousins guest house.

[sanooknl]

Thanks for all the information but I'm still not sure about our route...

-How about the roads from Chong Chom (Surin) to Siem Reap in july/august, will there be problems due to the rain season ?

-Would you suggest to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by water of by road ?

-Is it possible to travel from Phnom Penh to the border with Thailand (Chong Chom or Poipet) in 1 day ?

[Fookhaht]

Thanks for all the information but I'm still not sure about our route...

-How about the roads from Chong Chom (Surin) to Siem Reap in july/august, will there be problems due to the rain season ?

-Would you suggest to travel from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh by water of by road ?

-Is it possible to travel from Phnom Penh to the border with Thailand (Chong Chom or Poipet) in 1 day ?

Chong Chom route: Do a search on Thai Visa. Here's one account from a year ago:

Chong Chom To Siem Reap - Thailand Forum

I had friends who did it last year in July. Said it took about 3-4 hours, but with rain may take 6-8 hours.

Seam Reap to Phnom Penh: Take the high-speed passenger ferry, by all means! Air-conditioned, great site-seeing--a very relaxed and enjoyable trip. Much less tiring and tedious than by road. Pictures taken in month of August about 7 years ago.

[toptuan]

You may possibly get more responses and more helpful information in the Southeast Asia sub-forum. I noticed a good number of Cambodia-travel-related threads over there.

If later, you would like me to move this thread to that new topic, just send me a personal message (PM). Just click my name and scroll down to "Send Me A Message."

Cheers,

TT