Bkk To Pp To Sihanoukville

[Baht Man]

I'll probably fly to PP and want to stop in Sihanoukville for a day or two.

Whats the bast way to get there from PP and then back to to LOS?

Are there flights out of Sihanoukville or am I destined to

go by boat or bus

Thanks

[adammike]

there is talk of an airport

but its bus back to PP

or the boat to KK.

I took a mini bus from KK to PP once

its an interesting trip to do once, there

are 3 ferrys to take but you do get to see

cambodia.

you only want to do it in the dry season as

most of the road is just rolled soil.

They are supoused to be building bridges

but you know might take a while.

[midas]

I just flew back from PP yesterday afternoon after undertaking the opposite journey

to that which you are contemplating i.e. to Sihanoukville by bus and ferry last Tuesday morning.

Actually it wasn't half as bad as I thought it would be !

I caught a government bus from Ekkamai to Trat at 7 AM ( which took about

five hours ) and then switched to a minibus from Trat to KK ( one-hour).

There I was forced to stay overnight because the ferry to Sihanoukville

only goes once a day at 8 AM. But even staying overnight was

OK and gave me the chance to relax after six hours traveling.

They have now completed a new bridge across the river leading from the

Cambodian border where you receive your Visa so that part of the journey

is also much easier - before you had to make a short boat journey accross th'e river

apparently.

The ferry is comfortable with big airline style seating

( takes about four hours ) -traveling quite fast. It does

get a little choppy about one-hour before reaching Sihanoukville

because you are much further out to sea ( because of the shape of the coastline )

but apart from that it was a good experience !

The other thing is that it's incredibly inexpensive to travel this route

if your main aim is to visit just Sihanoukville - because apart from the

4 hour bus journey each way from and to PP, there is the additional cost

because apparently Cambodia is now imposing both an arrival tax

and a departure tax on airline passengers!! ( $ 20 upon arrival and $ 25 upon departure

from the airport ). I heard a group of four Americans before we boarded the

plane yesterday complaining bitterly they considered this was a " ripoff ".

If you decide to go back directly from Sihanoukville

the boat leaves at about mid-day. When you disembark in KK

you can choose to proceed directly to the Cambodian / Thai border

and on to Trat and Bangkok the same day if you don't want to stay

overnight in KK.

[adammike]

everybody pays 20$ for a visa to cambodia overland or flights.

you do have to pay $25 depature tax for international flights

its not new but it went up from 20 to 25 a year or so ago.

you dont have to pay depature tax if you go overland.

[sungod]

Baht man, actually done the same trip as you intend about 2 years ago. You can get a decent air con bus from PP to Sihanoukville, its about the best road in the country so its not too bad. After that you take the high speed ferry to Koh Kong, 4-5 hrs and goes past some really nice Islands. On arrival at Koh kong, baggage permitting, take a motorcyle to the border crossing point and then you are back. Depending on where you are going to in Thailand, you can club together if there are other people, and take a mini bus to your destination. Failing that, you get a mini bus to Trat 'bus Station' and onwards from there. I haven't been to that crossing for a while so someone might be able to update, but the reason for the motorbike to the border is that you want to get there quick, and before everyone else, as with the boat arrival time, and the border closing at 5, it is cutting it thin sometimes.

[Baht Man]

Thanks for all the posts and feedback. I'll decifer what will work best and move on.

[adammike]

check the times that the border crossing closes i seem to remember reading that it was going to

stay open later.

[Baht Man]

Baht man, actually done the same trip as you intend about 2 years ago. You can get a decent air con bus from PP to Sihanoukville, its about the best road in the country so its not too bad.

Sungod.............how long is the bus from PP to Sih..? Thanks

[sungod]

To tell you the truth I can't remember exactly, I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong , but just over 4 hours springs to mind. The air con buses are ok, just like we have here.

[adammike]

it is about 4 hours