Has anyone driven to Cambodian border for border run ? There's soldiers and checkpoints , I was thinking to hire a car and drive myself however my Thai GF is worried that a farang in a rental car is going to attract problems? I have Australian passport and Drivers license any advice or experiences appreciated

If you worried why not take one of the various border run companies? Does not cost more than renting + fuel.

Thanks for response , I'm not concerned but my Thai GF is worried. I was just curious to see if concern was justified. Yes there's many border run companies I'm just weighing up my options

Probably not a problem as long all the paperwork is straight on the rental.

Not having a Thai drivers license could be a problem. Some places are insisting you need a Thai license or a international drivers permit.

My first concern: are you accustomed to road traffic in Thailand one of the most dangerous in the world?

Otherwise I also don't see a specific problem with a properly documented rental car and having proper drivers permit.

Of course the car has to be parked on Thai side of border.

I don't know whether there are guarded parking lots near the checkpoint, I guess so.

Highly recommended.

Aranyaprathet is probably the most busy land border checkpoint.

I would not love to drive there by car.

Edited March 13, 201610 yr by KhunBENQ

Thanks for responses ! Very helpful

I live 2 hours from that border, drive there all the time.

It is no problem at all (other than the innate problems of safe driving in Thailand).

There are a couple of checkpoints (not always manned). As long as the car has a current tax sticker on it, you will usually be waved straight through. If you are not, as long as you have a valid license and passport with current visa, again no prob.

Mainly they stop buses/vans that might have illegals on board, and trucks with a lot of merchandise.

There's a "speed check" near the army base with the manicured gardens who pick up all the gamblers rushing to get to the casinos in "no man's land" before all the Bangkok buses just out of Aranyaprathet.

You can park your car near the Thai side exit and use an agent from there for your first time.

Excellent feedback thank you !

There's a "speed check" near the army base with the manicured gardens who pick up all the gamblers rushing to get to the casinos in "no man's land" before all the Bangkok buses just out of Aranyaprathet.

You can park your car near the Thai side exit and use an agent from there for your first time.

First time or not, why use an agent? It costs money and saves no time (unless you pay for VIP service which you can also do more cheaply without using an agent).

Since Aran/Poi Pet is an extremely busy border, doing a border hop there can be a time consuming, hot and slightly uncomfortable experience. There is a highly organized mafia trying to separate you from your money. However, if you know your rights, and insist upon them politely in a friendly fashion, there is no reason to pay any bribes, agent fees, foreigner supplements, or any other payments other than $30 for the Cambodian visa.

As I have mobility problems and it's approx 500m between the two border points, with the Kampuchea visa office half-way, I hired a wooden hand cart for 100 baht and paid 300 baht for VIP service at the Visa office.

My passport was back, stamped in and out, about the time I finished a beer.

I was back in Thailand within 45 minutes (no agent).

I agree with just pay the USD$30 and don't argue the toss about the sign which says less or you'll be waiting a while for your visa.

Edited March 13, 201610 yr by Evilbaz

You don't say where you're travelling from to Aranyaprathet, im guessing BKK or Pattaya?

We went from BKK that way last year on a touring holiday. It's a very easy drive.

We left home via the Bangna-Trat elevated, then Chachoengsao, then the 304, then the 359 to Aranyaprathet. The 359 is a great road, fast, straight, very little traffic, and scenic recommended route to Sa Kaeo or Aranyaprathet. Any army checkpoints are very close to Aranyaprathet and we just drove through no problem.

We stayed at the Indochina Hotel, nice place, easy to find (on the road north out of Aranyaprathet), Thai food at dinner was excellent, breakfast was adequate, pool is very nice, downside is that its one of those hotels you can hear everything happening in the corridor. 10 minutes drive to the border and the famous market. Drive your car tgere and cross the border or if you have concerns leave the car at your hotel, cross and return.

Leaving from Bangkok, thx again for answers

Have no idea why your girl would have any concerns going there.......

Have drove there many times from Surin an Pattaya by car and motorbike ....... just turn into the mkt place drive straight to the end an park in the security run car park.

you have a driving licence right ? Thai or Intl will do.

I defo wouldnt recommend going with them visa run minibuses ..... packed in like fish in a tin with a bunch of strangers an unable to stop easily anywhere along the rout = long tiring run

Have no idea why your girl would have any concerns going there.......

Have drove there many times from Surin an Pattaya by car and motorbike ....... just turn into the mkt place drive straight to the end an park in the security run car park.

you have a driving licence right ? Thai or Intl will do.

I defo wouldnt recommend going with them visa run minibuses ..... packed in like fish in a tin with a bunch of strangers an unable to stop easily anywhere along the rout = long tiring run

Easier still get an E-visa on line before you go. 30 dollars and 7 seven dollars and after stamping out of Thailand just walk straight to the Border stamp in, cross the road and stamp out and then back to Thai side.

Print 3 copies, one to show on the Cambodia side, in, and another for the out side. The third is just for ease at the Thai back in side as they always look for the big whole page wasting visa issued.

No agents, no waiting, no problems.

Do a search on Thai visa to get the correct site for the e-visa if it's more than 37 dollars US it's a scam.

The E-visa saves a lot of space in the passport. You need to judge if that is worth $7. Getting the visa on entry is not time consuming (especially compared to the time it can take to stamp in and out of Thailand and Cambodia).

The E-visa saves a lot of space in the passport. You need to judge if that is worth $7. Getting the visa on entry is not time consuming (especially compared to the time it can take to stamp in and out of Thailand and Cambodia).

It can be if you turn up at the same time as 10 tour buses and they are all not sure what to do etc etc and you are stuck at the end of the queue.

Why take the chance for a lousy 7 bucks?

The E-visa saves a lot of space in the passport. You need to judge if that is worth $7. Getting the visa on entry is not time consuming (especially compared to the time it can take to stamp in and out of Thailand and Cambodia).

It can be if you turn up at the same time as 10 tour buses and they are all not sure what to do etc etc and you are stuck at the end of the queue.

Why take the chance for a lousy 7 bucks?

Most on the tour buses are duped into using unofficial visa services. Those who use the official visa service, and do not know what to do, have no impact on the speed at which you can fill out your own visa form.

Have you ever experiences a long queue at the official visa application counter entering Cambodia anywhere? The longest queues I have seen are at the airports, and these have still resulted in less than 15 minutes to get the visa and be on my way.

The queues to stamp in and out at land borders, on both the Thai and Cambodian sides can be horrendous, however. It can take 3 hours from joining the queue to stamp out at Poi Pet to finally be stamped in on the Thai side. If looking to spend money to save time, you are better off buying VIP service to bypass those queues.

I must be unususlly unlucky then as I have encountered long waits at PP airport for visa on arrival. The mob is usually not orderly enough to be called a queue. I've experienced as much as 2 hour delay. One of the reasons I prefer evisa.

My first concern: are you accustomed to road traffic in Thailand one of the most dangerous in the world?

Otherwise I also don't see a specific problem with a properly documented rental car and having proper drivers permit.

Of course the car has to be parked on Thai side of border.

I don't know whether there are guarded parking lots near the checkpoint, I guess so.

Highly recommended.

Aranyaprathet is probably the most busy land border checkpoint.

I would not love to drive there by car.

Yeah I agree with you. I've been living in Aranyaprathet for the last eight years and the border traffic is pretty chaotic with long lines of heavy trucks waiting to cross to Cambodia. It doesn't get better when you reach Poipet and suddenly the traffic is on the right side. I wouldn't dream of taking my car over the border. The traffic in Cambodia is even more insane than in Thailand.