Thailand, Cambodia Launch Direct Bus Services Linking Bangkok, Phnom Penh

[dangman]

oh yeah, about the 300 baht buses from khao san road to siem reap..

for most people this is really 900 baht

because they'll take your passport for an 'express' visa just before the border

charging double the normal fee

i.e. 1200 baht.. when if you use american money the visa is $20 (600 baht)

and it only takes a couple of minutes to get it yourself

lots of people like this because of the convenience

but once you're on the cambodian side you are just getting shipped onto the ripoff bus anyway

the whole trip takes way too long

waiting for the bus to leave in the morning

a slow drive

you have to wait in a huge queue for a couple of hours at the border

and waiting at the (fake) bus station for a slow bus

not to mention pressure to stay at commissioned guesthouses and to change money at bad exchange rates

bring this new system on!

[happysanook]

oh yeah, about the 300 baht buses from khao san road to siem reap..

for most people this is really 900 baht

because they'll take your passport for an 'express' visa just before the border

charging double the normal fee

i.e. 1200 baht.. when if you use american money the visa is $20 (600 baht)

and it only takes a couple of minutes to get it yourself

lots of people like this because of the convenience

but once you're on the cambodian side you are just getting shipped onto the ripoff bus anyway

the whole trip takes way too long

waiting for the bus to leave in the morning

a slow drive

you have to wait in a huge queue for a couple of hours at the border

and waiting at the (fake) bus station for a slow bus

not to mention pressure to stay at commissioned guesthouses and to change money at bad exchange rates

bring this new system on!

now easier, means far more people. means prices will go up on food and rooms. more touts and rip-off artists will be attracted to the route.

[mrdome]

Or train from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet for 48 baht, 60 - 80 baht for transportation to the border, $1 for moto driver after border crossing and then $8 to Phnom Penh (pay at the bus inside the bus station only and ignore everyone else). Can't do it any cheaper than that. I would recommend taking the afternoon train and spending the night in Aran and being at border crossing at 7. Not sure how far you can get when you take the morning train. PP is a bit too far to get there in half a day overland.

Bus travel from BKK to Koh Kong, Cambodian border via Trat takes about 4 hours by bus to Trat, a 45 minute van trip from Trat to the border, and a 15 minute taxi, tuk tuk, or motorcycle ride to Koh Kong. The total is about 400-500 Bt.

Crossing the border takes about 20-30 minutes and a 200 m walk. Pay the small fee one of the locals touts asks to take your visa through the process and you will avoid the hassel of having to fight with the greedy immigration officers over the fact that a visa only costs $20.

A bus from Koh Kong to PNH takes about 4.5 - 5 hours and cost $18 (i.e.540 Bt) a year ago. The bus from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville takes about 4-4.5 hours. The Cambodian buses I took a year ago were very nice double decker buses like the tour companies use here in Thailand, not one of the old tired junkers that are used by the Thai bus companies.

The trip though Poipet and Bantumbang to PNH is longer.

Plan on spending a full day on buses and arriving in PNH in early evening. Water and soft drinks are usually served on the Thai express busses and on the Cambodian busses but I alwasy take a bottle of water as well. There are usually chances to get off the bus to eat but take your own food if you aren't fond of Thai or Cambodian food. If you do buy Thai or Cambodian food buy only fresh cooked food or hot soup to avoid the Bangkok or PNH Trots.

[UKJASE]

Or train from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet for 48 baht, 60 - 80 baht for transportation to the border, $1 for moto driver after border crossing and then $8 to Phnom Penh (pay at the bus inside the bus station only and ignore everyone else). Can't do it any cheaper than that. I would recommend taking the afternoon train and spending the night in Aran and being at border crossing at 7. Not sure how far you can get when you take the morning train. PP is a bit too far to get there in half a day overland.

Bus travel from BKK to Koh Kong, Cambodian border via Trat takes about 4 hours by bus to Trat, a 45 minute van trip from Trat to the border, and a 15 minute taxi, tuk tuk, or motorcycle ride to Koh Kong. The total is about 400-500 Bt.

Crossing the border takes about 20-30 minutes and a 200 m walk. Pay the small fee one of the locals touts asks to take your visa through the process and you will avoid the hassel of having to fight with the greedy immigration officers over the fact that a visa only costs $20.

A bus from Koh Kong to PNH takes about 4.5 - 5 hours and cost $18 (i.e.540 Bt) a year ago. The bus from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville takes about 4-4.5 hours. The Cambodian buses I took a year ago were very nice double decker buses like the tour companies use here in Thailand, not one of the old tired junkers that are used by the Thai bus companies.

The trip though Poipet and Bantumbang to PNH is longer.

Plan on spending a full day on buses and arriving in PNH in early evening. Water and soft drinks are usually served on the Thai express busses and on the Cambodian busses but I alwasy take a bottle of water as well. There are usually chances to get off the bus to eat but take your own food if you aren't fond of Thai or Cambodian food. If you do buy Thai or Cambodian food buy only fresh cooked food or hot soup to avoid the Bangkok or PNH Trots.

Do you know what is the name of the bus station in Poipet MrDome? i read there was two, and one was a lot more expensive than the other...

also, where is the best place to grab a taxi to this bus station, once in cambodia?

any tips, as we are going next week.... i read that just over the border there are all sorts of money making schemes going on, and we wanted to avoid these if possible......

[seasider]

Apart from Air Asia, does anyone else fly BKK-PP ?

Looking at a last minute flight there and Air Asia are very expensive.

[KhunMoo]

Anyone know if these busses are up and running? Or it just the usual crap-stories, and nothing happens

[belidofan]

Or train from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet for 48 baht, 60 - 80 baht for transportation to the border, $1 for moto driver after border crossing and then $8 to Phnom Penh (pay at the bus inside the bus station only and ignore everyone else). Can't do it any cheaper than that. I would recommend taking the afternoon train and spending the night in Aran and being at border crossing at 7. Not sure how far you can get when you take the morning train. PP is a bit too far to get there in half a day overland.

Bus travel from BKK to Koh Kong, Cambodian border via Trat takes about 4 hours by bus to Trat, a 45 minute van trip from Trat to the border, and a 15 minute taxi, tuk tuk, or motorcycle ride to Koh Kong. The total is about 400-500 Bt.

Crossing the border takes about 20-30 minutes and a 200 m walk. Pay the small fee one of the locals touts asks to take your visa through the process and you will avoid the hassel of having to fight with the greedy immigration officers over the fact that a visa only costs $20.

A bus from Koh Kong to PNH takes about 4.5 - 5 hours and cost $18 (i.e.540 Bt) a year ago. The bus from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville takes about 4-4.5 hours. The Cambodian buses I took a year ago were very nice double decker buses like the tour companies use here in Thailand, not one of the old tired junkers that are used by the Thai bus companies.

The trip though Poipet and Bantumbang to PNH is longer.

Plan on spending a full day on buses and arriving in PNH in early evening. Water and soft drinks are usually served on the Thai express busses and on the Cambodian busses but I alwasy take a bottle of water as well. There are usually chances to get off the bus to eat but take your own food if you aren't fond of Thai or Cambodian food. If you do buy Thai or Cambodian food buy only fresh cooked food or hot soup to avoid the Bangkok or PNH Trots.

Do you know what is the name of the bus station in Poipet MrDome? i read there was two, and one was a lot more expensive than the other...

also, where is the best place to grab a taxi to this bus station, once in cambodia?

yes indeed, some more specific information on this would very much appreciated. Thank you!

[falang07]

Apart from Air Asia, does anyone else fly BKK-PP ?

Looking at a last minute flight there and Air Asia are very expensive.

last minute is always expensive, everywhere

[Wavefloater]

This sounds like good news for people who enjoy long bus journeys or have such limited funds that they need a cheap option like this. Unfortunately, I don't have the greatest luck in life, so I wouldn't risk traveling that far on buses through Thailand and Cambodia. It seems that buses are frequently in tragic accidents in SE Asia, but I might be wrong to have that impression. If I am wrong about the safety record of buses in this part of the world, I'm sure somebody will set me straight (with or without any facts).

[Old Croc]

Great news, I can get a direct bus from Bangkok to Phnom Penh!

Now, if I can just get one from Patong to Karon my life would be complete!

[tombkk]

Apart from Air Asia, does anyone else fly BKK-PP ?

Looking at a last minute flight there and Air Asia are very expensive.

I always fly Thai Airways. I doubt that they are less expensive than Air Asia, though.

[seasia]

Apart from Air Asia, does anyone else fly BKK-PP ?

Looking at a last minute flight there and Air Asia are very expensive.

Bangkok Airways but their price was higher than Air Asia on the dates I was looking at.

[UKJASE]

we have just this evening got back from a trip to cambodia......

we left hua hin at 4am in the minivan..... got to victory monumnet, and got the 7.15 minivan to Rong Kleur....... walked across the border and got the $20 visa on arrival for cambodia.... we then grabbed a cab just the other side of the border crossing...... not much hassle from touts thankfully, and a decent cab ride to Siam Reap for $30...... (it should have been $25, but $30 divided equally between the 3 of us, so we settled on $30)

we were in Siam Reap for about 3pm..... back 10 days later after a great trip of Siam Reap > Phnom Penh > Sinoukville > Trat (Thailand)

beer in a bar as low as 8B..... usually 50c (15B)...... hotels as low as $5....... happy (drunken) days

[craigt3365]

we have just this evening got back from a trip to cambodia......

we left hua hin at 4am in the minivan..... got to victory monumnet, and got the 7.15 minivan to Rong Kleur....... walked across the border and got the $20 visa on arrival for cambodia.... we then grabbed a cab just the other side of the border crossing...... not much hassle from touts thankfully, and a decent cab ride to Siam Reap for $30...... (it should have been $25, but $30 divided equally between the 3 of us, so we settled on $30)

we were in Siam Reap for about 3pm..... back 10 days later after a great trip of Siam Reap > Phnom Penh > Sinoukville > Trat (Thailand)

beer in a bar as low as 8B..... usually 50c (15B)...... hotels as low as $5....... happy (drunken) days

How did you like S'ville? I thinking about a trip there one day...

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

I checked with a travel shop in Phnom Penh, which said Capitol Tours is running the PNH-BKK direct bus. Leaves 6:30 am each day. Arrives BKK around 8 pm. $18.

Mekong Express has a cross-border licence and will start a similar service, date unknown.

I sure would like to know if/when a Thai bus company takes up the return route.

[UKJASE]

we have just this evening got back from a trip to cambodia......

we left hua hin at 4am in the minivan..... got to victory monumnet, and got the 7.15 minivan to Rong Kleur....... walked across the border and got the $20 visa on arrival for cambodia.... we then grabbed a cab just the other side of the border crossing...... not much hassle from touts thankfully, and a decent cab ride to Siam Reap for $30...... (it should have been $25, but $30 divided equally between the 3 of us, so we settled on $30)

we were in Siam Reap for about 3pm..... back 10 days later after a great trip of Siam Reap > Phnom Penh > Sinoukville > Trat (Thailand)

beer in a bar as low as 8B..... usually 50c (15B)...... hotels as low as $5....... happy (drunken) days

How did you like S'ville? I thinking about a trip there one day...

Sihanoukville was great...... it is low season at the moment so relatively quiet, but there are pubs and clubs open till 6am, there are a few nice beaches to visit, a few casinos, a great island tour for $15 that takes in 2 islands (bamboo island is beautiful) and some snorkelling.... lots of choice for food and beer and smokes..... great stuff..... a good vibe there, and cheap cheap cheap.....

about 4 hours from PP........ cops are a bit keen on motorbike offences, but when the fines are $1 i suppose they have to be

[nyles]

So from where did you get that tour bus? And what time does it leave from bkk?

[Cuchulainn]

http://www.catmekongexpress.com.kh/index.php

[Maestro]

I can't find any departures from Bangkok on that page or on that site. Have you got another link for departures from Bangkok?

[Tomtomtom69]

How will they deal with Cambodian buses having the wheel on the other side and who will be driving them?

Wonder which bus company paid for the rights

Personally i wouldn't trust Thai's or Cambodians driving on the wrong side ( which ever side that is)

so they will need to change buses and drivers at the border

No they won't if it's a "direct" bus. There are already numerous cross border bus services running between Thailand and Laos, and if a Lao bus is used, the steering wheel will be on the "wrong" side in Thailand, if a Thai bus is used, the steering wheel will be on the "wrong" side when driving in Laos.

No problems there at all.

It won't be too hard driving a Thai bus in Cambodia since there are still numerous right hand drive vehicles on the road in Cambodia these days.

If this bus service involves a change of bus at the border, then it's not a direct service and it shouldn't be promoted as such. Besides, it's been possible to travel between Bangkok and Phnom Penh for years with a change of vehicle at the border. Since this news promotes a direct bus service, it will use the same bus. Incidentally, I'd rather trust a Thai driver than a Cambodian one, but I'm sure whoever does the driving (it will certainly be a Thai if the bus used is Thai registered) then they will drive in a sensible manner.

[UKJASE]

one thing in cambodia on the buses is that you have to be very careful of your bags...... my mate who we were travelling with is ex army, and doesnt trust a soul.... he got off the bus for a pee stop at some small town, but ensured he or his wife were watching the bags thro the window.....

but still his laptop was taken...... he asked the bus driver for help with contacting the police etc but was given the cold shoulder

he searched the bus etc but had no luck....... sounded like an inside job to me.......

we heard lots of stories like this and read them too on the net

[Sateev]

How will they deal with Cambodian buses having the wheel on the other side and who will be driving them?

Wonder which bus company paid for the rights

Personally i wouldn't trust Thai's or Cambodians driving on the wrong side ( which ever side that is)

so they will need to change buses and drivers at the border

This is a road safety issue I actually brought up with the ministry of transport. Several land-connected countries within ASEAN are LHD countries (left-hand drive) while several others are RHD countries. My question is whether they plan to unify this. So far, there are no such plans.

...

Oh yes, they will unify it...just as soon as everybody in the right hand drive countries agrees to junk their vehicles and buy LHD cars and trucks instead, or vice versa. Are you sure you don't work for The Nation?

[emilyb]

Apart from Air Asia, does anyone else fly BKK-PP ?

Looking at a last minute flight there and Air Asia are very expensive.

last minute is always expensive, everywhere

On a random note, I'm not sure why, but THAI's return flight (PNH - BKK) has dropped price recently. Outbound is still something like $275, but the return is only about $163. I had to book a quick flight back, last minute, and it was a better deal than Air Asia or Bangkok airways (again, last minute).

[4evermaat]

good news about the train

the problem with the buses at the moment is tourists don't know about the cambodian side

so middlemen are making a lot of money

taking most tourists out to a bus station 7kms from the border and charging three times the price of the bus price

a fair proper bus service with everything in the open is surely welcome

in the meantime i recommend getting the 6am minibus from victory monument..

it flies to the border and you beat the crowds who turn up at midday

then there is a good hotel for about 300-500 baht (and some dirt cheap guesthouses) near the real bus station

buses leave in the mornings to battambang, siem reap and phnom penh

otherwise you could get a later bus to battambang and get another bus to phnom penh

or go with the crowd, share a taxi to siem reap and then another bus from there

i'm really looking forward to the train getting going in cambodia

great news all round.. especially as last year it seemed there could've been war between the countries.. good stuff!

we have just this evening got back from a trip to cambodia......

we left hua hin at 4am in the minivan..... got to victory monumnet, and got the 7.15 minivan to Rong Kleur....... walked across the border and got the $20 visa on arrival for cambodia.... we then grabbed a cab just the other side of the border crossing...... not much hassle from touts thankfully, and a decent cab ride to Siam Reap for $30...... (it should have been $25, but $30 divided equally between the 3 of us, so we settled on $30)

we were in Siam Reap for about 3pm..... back 10 days later after a great trip of Siam Reap > Phnom Penh > Sinoukville > Trat (Thailand)

beer in a bar as low as 8B..... usually 50c (15B)...... hotels as low as $5....... happy (drunken) days

I'll most likely be coming in to the Bangkok hualamphong train station and then figuring out

Where should someone exchange money? I understand that Cambodia uses USD for the majority of their transactions, including the visa. So between hualamphong, Victory Monument, Aranyaprathet, Poipet, or anywhere in between, where are the better places (or only places) to exchange Baht or Riggit for USD? Particularly small bills like $20, $10, $5 (assuming Cambodia accepts $5 or $1).

For the Cambodia Visa, does it have to be new $20 bill exactly, or can it be 2 x $10 bills or 4 x $5 bills?

I checked with a travel shop in Phnom Penh, which said Capitol Tours is running the PNH-BKK direct bus. Leaves 6:30 am each day. Arrives BKK around 8 pm. $18.

Mekong Express has a cross-border licence and will start a similar service, date unknown.

I sure would like to know if/when a Thai bus company takes up the return route.

Can you describe what kind of bus is this? VIP? 1st class? Air cond? Or some older ragler. 14 hours is a long trip....how many stops (besides the border stops) are there? Edited November 3, 2012 by 4evermaat

[4evermaat]

one thing in cambodia on the buses is that you have to be very careful of your bags...... my mate who we were travelling with is ex army, and doesnt trust a soul.... he got off the bus for a pee stop at some small town, but ensured he or his wife were watching the bags thro the window.....

but still his laptop was taken...... he asked the bus driver for help with contacting the police etc but was given the cold shoulder

he searched the bus etc but had no luck....... sounded like an inside job to me.......

we heard lots of stories like this and read them too on the net

Why didn't he have the laptop bag or other sensitive valuables on his person?

[ubonjoe]

You change Bhat to dollars at any full service Thai bank (not mini branches at malls or department stores).

[Tomtomtom69]

Good news especially for Siam Reap, where the alternative is that overpriced flight on Bangkok Airways. To PP it's a little less attractive -- about ten hours of driving and no doubt another hour or two waiting at the border vs. an hour by Air Asia.

What I'd really love is for Cambodia to get their train rehab project back on track. But that's proven such a total fiasco that buses are probably the most we can hope for.

Already happening. I know the guy who was the project manager, but he has since retired. In any case, within the next 2-3 years at the latest the train service will be up and running again. The tracks from Poipet to Sisophon are already finished but the rest of the line is still being rehabilitated I think, hence the long time before it will become operational.

[Tomtomtom69]

How will they deal with Cambodian buses having the wheel on the other side and who will be driving them?

Wonder which bus company paid for the rights

Personally i wouldn't trust Thai's or Cambodians driving on the wrong side ( which ever side that is)

so they will need to change buses and drivers at the border

This is a road safety issue I actually brought up with the ministry of transport. Several land-connected countries within ASEAN are LHD countries (left-hand drive) while several others are RHD countries. My question is whether they plan to unify this. So far, there are no such plans.

I have lobbied for free border traffic within ASEAN for a few years and will continue to do so. The Cross-Border Transport Agreement (CBTA) was signed several years ago, and the implementation is overdue. Buses are not the real issue, as passengers can walk and carry their baggage from one bus to the other, trucks are. Reloading of cargo is expensive and causes opportunity for damage. Along with the bus licences, a few truck licneces have been issued. The concern about LHD vs. RHD is less here, because trucks are not supposed to overtake. I remember that trucks in Italy had their steering wheel on the right-hand side in my youth even though they drive on the right side of the road.

They won't be changing buses at the border otherwise it wouldn't be a cross border service! Currently, there are literally dozens of ways of crossing this border by changing vehicles at the border, but the concept behind a cross border service means you stay on the same bus. Also, I don't see anything wrong with having the steering wheel on the "wrong" side in one country. It's just the way it is when Thailand drives on the left and Cambodia on the right. Same thing happens in Europe (between England and France for example) and it's a done deal. I've driven LHD vehicles in Thailand numerous times and it wasn't any more difficult than driving a RHD vehicle. You just need to keep a larger distance with the vehicle in front in order to see who is coming in the opposite direction, but since so many Thai roads have 2+ lanes in each direction now and more are being upgraded all the time so that is slowly becoming less and less of an issue nowadays.

BTW unifying the side of the road countries in ASEAN (or anywhere really) drive on would be a complete waste of billions of dollars to modify infrastructure, signs and provide driver re-education and would thus be completely pointless. Even if ASEAN member countries made it easier than it currently is to drive across borders, poor infrastructure, poverty, a general lack of disposable income to purchase cars and other alternatives such as buses, trains and planes mean that cross-border traffic in ASEAN will never have the same volume of traffic that you see in Europe or North America. Thus why would Cambodia for example, switch to left hand driving when the number of Thai registered vehicles inside its territory amounts to maybe 10 vehicles at any one time.