Bangkok To Siem Reap/Phnom Penh

[Erap]

Hi all

I plan to take a short holiday from Bangkok, going to Cambodia - not sure yet whether Siem Reap or Phnom Penh. Question is, what is the best way for an overland travel? I heard there is a casino bus going from Lumpini to the Aranya/Popipet border. Does anyone know what time does it leave and what is the cost? Also, how do I continue from Poipet to the rest of Cambodia? Would appreciate your help.

Thank you in Advance for your reply

Erap

[Who, me ?]

Bus leaves at 07:30 from Suvanaburmi

Travel time about 3 hours

cost 187 Baht / person

When I used it a couple of weeks ago, I was more than pleased. Soft ride, good driver

[craigt3365]

I haven't been for a few years, but I think if you go overland to PP, it's quite a long trip. And if you shop, the airfare is pretty cheap.

Have you seen Angkor Wat? It's amazing.

[taninthai]

A train leaves at 5.35 to aramya pratetomce across border there is minivans to siam reap 9 dollars or if you haggle good taxi is available for 25 tales about 2 hr to Siam reap

[SantiSuk]

http://www.seat61.com/Cambodia.htm#Bangkok%20-%20Phnom%20Penh

http://www.canbypublications.com/

Air travel aint that cheap unless you book BKK to Phnom Penh with Air Asia several months in advance. If you book AA 2 weeks in advance it's going to be 6,000 ish baht and 8,000 baht with Bangkok Airways. Only Bangkok Airways flies to Siem Reap from BKK - again say about 8,000 baht unless you book well in advance. Independent overland travel is easy and cheap if you have the time.

Express bus from border to Siem Reap 3-4 hours. Express bus from SR to PP 6-7 hours. Slow roads, but cheap and relatively comfortable and numerous services throughout the day (and at least one night bus). I recommend Mekong Express from SR to PP - luxury coaches well driven $13 one way.

Do the round trip by travelling on from PP to Sihanoukville to Trat if you have time and want to avoid the boredom of coming back the way you went overland.

Don't miss Angkor Wat, restaurants and bars in PP, the Khmer Rouge jail. Read up some Cambodian 20th Century history - you'll shed a tear, but it puts a visit in context.

[TerraPosse]

If you don't want to be stuck in Poipet and/or being ripped off for a 'taxi' ride to Seam Reap or PP then make sure you get across the border before 9 am. The casino buses leave as early 4 and 5 am and go every hour I think. Now as you cross the border there's a 'free' bus to take tourists to the bus station. It really is free and it used to drop you at the local bus station in town. Not anymore. It takes you to some 'special' tourist bus station where you can either get a shared taxi or 'special' tourist bus to SR (mainly) and PP and about double the normal rate. Last time I just walked from the border to the local bus station about 10 min down the main road and then off to the left. You can buy tickets for Soraya and other local buses there or at the bus depots on the main road just before you turn left. It was about 15 U$ to PP and the last bus leaves 9.30 am (sharp strangely enough) and gets you to PP by around 7pm. SR is closer but there are really no buses after 9.30 in the morning from the local station (I found out the hard way tow years ago).

The reverse journey otoh is a piece of p**s by comparison. Buy a bus ticket from PP-BKK for U$ 15, get to Psar Thmei at 6 in the morning and hop on a bus...get dropped right at the border in Poipet...cross...someone will wait for you in a mini bus already to take you to BKK in a jiffy.

There'll be hordes of touts approaching you as soon as you step of that bus in Aranya, 'offering' to help you with Visa, some disease control or some other scam...best to make swiftly and purposefully for the border gates (even if you do it for the first time). They are very persistent (and friendly) but I strongly suggest to ignore them. Ohh, and chances are the Cambodian border chaps will come up with some permission/stamp/clearance you need that you have never heard off. If you speak Khmer or are a regular you can haggle them down otherwise you'll have to pay the extortion (U$ 20 to be likely) sooner or later or otherwise you'll miss the bus (see my comment above) and they know that. Then again maybe things have changed for the better since I went last time...

[Erap]

Thanx Terra! That was the kind of information I was looking for.

[THAILIBAN]

the border of Aran/Poipet does seem to entirely exist for the purpose of scamming foreigners.

it is by far the worst place in Asia and all travel-messageboards are full of stories of annoyed/frustrated/angry scammed foreigners.

nowadays, the scam does not end in Poipet, it continues when you arrive in Siem Reap. not only in Poipet, as well in Siem reap a new "private international tourist Bus station" has been built by that very influential private company (korean) who has the monopoly to perform those transport rip-offs.

arrivals will always be timed as late as possible in the evening, and then the Bus goes to said Bus-Station out of town in the middle of nowhere.

this is a gated compound, as safe as Fort Knox. when the Bus enters that compound (jail?), the entrance-doors will be locked immediately and the Passengers forced to use the already waiting TUK TUK - crowd, part of the transport-mafia. outrageous fares will be demanded (5 times the regular going rate), and if u don't agree, it is difficult to get out of that "jail". this situation has obviously worsened in the past few weeks/months. If your guesthouse/Hotel is smart, they should be able to send a independent Tuktuk of their choice to rescue you. this would have to wait outside and then those Gangsters will probably open the door and let you out.

The Poipet Transport-Scam is hard to endure for even the most seasoned travelers.

remember: omce crossing the border they will force in that "free tourist shuttle", and from that moment on, you are their "prisoner" - there is no way to escape.

so the only chance is to NOT enter that Bus, but that will start a series of harrasments and verbal or even physical attacks by the "enforcers" of the Taxi Mafia. they will follow you wherever you go in town and threaten every private Taxi driver who dares to accept you as a passenger.

do yourself a favour: FLY into Phnom Penh, spent a few days there, then take a hassle-free and inexpensive BUS-ride with SORYA TRANSPORT ( www.ppsoryatransport.com , but NO, they can not take u from POIPET to Siem Reap) from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, spend even more days there, and then from there it is indeed a breeze to organize a private Taxi (around 30 Dollars, there are several guesthouses and travel agents who have shared Taxis running every day - in the other direction the fixed rate is 48 !) to take you to POIPET, then cross the border hassle-free back into Thailand and you can with amusement watch the annoyed traveler-crowd being harassed by the Mafia in the other direction.

if you think my narrations are too exaggerated, then please check all those plentiful travel-forums to find out yourself ;-)

[taninthai]

I travelled through this border last month I dont think this free bus is that much off a scam they just take you to a bus station 10 minutes away where there are minivans waiting at a cost off 9 dollars per person or 40 dollars for taxi me and my friend choose not to get on the bus as we new we could get a taxi for around 25 dollars for some people and groups the 9 dollar minivan is a good option.

We had no problems or abuse through not getting on the bus and there was plenty of taxi offering there services the taxi took us to a yuk yuk driver in Siam reap who drove us round to many hotels at no cost then we used the same tuk tuk the next day to go ankor at a cost off 15 dollars it was a pleasant experience could not have asked for a better tuk tuk driver.

IMHO the scam you have to look out for is on the thai side off the border if coming from train station tuk tuk will take you to fake immigration office where man will try to get you into his office new all about this one in advance so just stayed in tuk tuk and told him have visa already take me to border crossing.

[hehehoho]

Did it yesterday.

Hoped on a bus to Aranyaprathet. Through immi with a Cambo E-visa, Toyota Camry axi to Phnom Penh with two others, $20, with an extra 100thb for the front seat (scam I know )

[bangkokburning]

BKK to border via minibus from Morchit or Victory Monument

Cross as early as possible

Get a taxi from the hotel/near the roundabout. Whole taxi can go for as little as US20. Seats are about US8/9. If you get shuffled to another taxi, make sure that you do not pay more. This is more likely to occur coming out in Banteay Meanchey.

Return:

Get a taxi from your hotel, Capital Tour. Get a bus from Capital to border in town. Do not go out to the bus station for a bus, they don't run to the border. You can though get a taxi (US8/9) but will have to wait. This is not SOP so you will wait. You may have to pay an extra buck to taxi ordered from your GH but I would shop it otherwise.

As stated, you may have to switch taxis along the route.

Taking a bus is not advisable. It is more expensive, slower and I have heard that they charge I think (?) 100B to get out to the mafia bus terminal well outside (10km) Poipet.

Hop across the border and head for the minibus stand. Do not listen to the touts.

Border is very laid back compared to years ago, lots of infrastructure.

IF you are headed on to PNH, buy a ticket in town from Capital Tours. While in town you can relax or just take a break for the evening. The bus leaves from bus station but they will trip you out free. The bus drops city center so wherever you are headed, you are there. I would not stay at Capital, but this service is sufficient. About 6 hours. Nice ride if you start in the early morning. Same on return. Leaves from other side of Capital GH.

Another option if you are headed to PNH which you really should do is see Battambang. It's really not much but you can go to PNH via rtes 5, 6 and then return via SRP taking in Angkor and its environs.

[sRP] Price to the bus station from Wat Bo area I bargained to a buck but paid 1.5 as this was a B60 ride easy.

I would never do an E visa out on online security concerns.

Edited June 24, 2011 by bangkokburning

[williamwinter]

You can take a minivan to Aranyaprathet from Victory monument station in Bangkok. There are buses going almost every 30 minutes, so you will be more flexible. The price is about 200 baht and it is fast. The first one leaves at 05:30 and it will take you about 4 hours. It is difficult to not get tricked once you cross the border. You just have to take it as it comes. The guys running it there do not allow honest people to make a business. A bus to Siem Reap from the border will cost about 9 dollars. A shared taxi will be 12 dollars.

Mind that when you cross the border the police will ask you 1000 baht for a visa and the actual price is 20 US. So if you have a 20 dollar bill with you they have to take it. Just say you don't have baht anymore.

Her I also have a nice link to a page about the travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap Enjoy your trip, Siem Reap is a great place to go to.

[hehehoho]

E-visa online removes all extortion going through the immigration. You print it out and give them a copy. Saves a page in your passport too.

[bangkokburning]

E visa is not secure. The site is not secure and the people running that gig, I would not trust with my credit card information. A few years ago the site did not even work well.

Get a visa in BKK or deal with it on the border.

[SantiSuk]

E visa is not secure. The site is not secure and the people running that gig, I would not trust with my credit card information. A few years ago the site did not even work well.

Get a visa in BKK or deal with it on the border.

That's an over-reaction IMO bangkokburning and the ease of an e-VISA should not be ignored. No need to queue for visa-on-arrival at the airport and no one page paper visa filling up your expensive-to-renew passport.

Most major card providers have their own security. You do not give your security password to the sales merchant (the e-Visa operator in this case); rather you type it in at the end once you have been switched to your card provider's security website. It is true that some merchants will give services or goods without a PIN or internet security password so there is still some risk. Minimise this by having a card you use for internet purchases with a low credit limit (say $1,000) and check your statements online every couple of weeks or so.

It would be a huge issue to the Cambodian Government if their visa provider started ripping off travellers. I'm as cautious as most, but I can't imagine that anyone will ultimately lose money by using the e-Visa service and some normal everyday credit card use protections.

Still - if you are the ultra-cautious type I don't knock bangkokburnings advice and it's a useful warning anyway.