Easy way to Sihanoukville from Pattaya

[louse1953]

I'd agree the land route is quite "an adventure". Have done it two times though, last time about 6 months ago. Went from Koh Chang to the border by minivan, but should be available from Pattaya as well. The border crossing did not take an hour as some here have claimed - last time they didn't even try to charge us $5 extra which seemed to be the standard practice first time I went. Took maybe 15 minutes to cross the border, 10 minutes by "taxi" (some guy with a car) to Koh Kong "bus station". True, it is a dirt field, but no rusty run down mini vans in sight. Got on a decent bus (about as good as the lower end of the scale when compared to Thai buses), and waited maybe 10 minutes until the bus left. Again, no, it was not jammed full - think there were about 10 people on the bus, i.e. not even half full. The biggest annoyance was that the bus didn't really go to Sihanoukville, instead it went to Phnom Penh, so we had to get off at the intersection, grab some food at a restaurant and with some luck, smiles, and waving of dollar bills, we managed to buy two tickets for another (quite nice) bus that was parked at the restaurant near the intersection.

If money is not an issue I'd never recommend doing it - just take a flight to Phnom Penh and go to the Soraya Bus Station for an easy 4-7 hour bus ride to downtown Sihanoukville. If you're feeling adventurous and want to save some money, try it. It's not easy or super comfortable, but in my experience it's not as bad today as some of the above posters seem to have experienced years ago.

Adventure! Should have done it 12 years ago.Sea of mud and crossing rivers,in a mini bus,on 2 canoes lashed together with a few planks.Only a oncea

[fey]

The OP earlier stated Sihnanoukville rubbish town is off the agenda. Bright lad. Take your folks to good stuff in los. Sien Reap is about all Cambodia has to offer. Killing fields is a stern reminder. Boat cruises sorta ok. Beaches forget it

would have to agree with you on that one, not really a family friendly country

[dirtycash]

sihanoukville is nice, lovely beaches and plenty of bars and resturaunts, been a few times, only annoyance is the overnight stay in koh kong its a sh@thole !! i dont know why the people down there cannot get over night / late night buses to head to snooky , no one wants to stay in koh kong.

[Sheryl]

Some very nice beaches on the offshore islands

[Mooner]

if you are looking for beautiful beaches from Pattaya - try looking at Koh Samet, it's closer than Hua Hin as well... also consider Koh Chang.

+1. Some of the beaches after the first 2 in Samet are nice. Clear water and white sands. Just over a hour from Pattaya. Ko Chang, Ko Kood & Ko Mak another 2.5 hrs away.

Far better than HH.

[trigpoint]

I live near pattaya and there is no quick and easy way to snooky, and I go very regular, 1st get an e-visa (no stamp taking up a page in your passport). Fly with air asia to Phom P, either get a taxi at airport to snooky, or go into PP and overnight, some very nice resturants and bars. Get a bus to snooky about $8 or a taxi $$.

There are some very nice beaches there, otres beach is very quite and clean as is the sea. Stay clear of the town and stay nearby golden lion. Beer is 50 cents a glass and wine third of the price in Thailand. Nice islands and places of interest. Its well worth a visit.