I have been to siem reap twice before but have always flown . Has any one done the trip overland , and if so can you give me any info on the trip, just looking to go by bus one way and fly back to bkk
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I have been to siem reap twice before but have always flown . Has any one done the trip overland , and if so can you give me any info on the trip, just looking to go by bus one way and fly back to bkk
There is a bus direct from Bangkok to Siam Reap, cuts
out all the mess around the border crossing, pretty cheap and seems ok..
You can get a mini bus from Pattaya, straight to border. There is a service on Sukhumvit south Pattay close to Big C.
Enjoy
This bus dep. BKK/Mochit @ 8.00and though its advertsied as direct it is not-but due to L/R hand running there is an organised change (or was-things may change without warning) at some enclosed compound and in all rest-they also do the nerve-wrecking border formalities for you-but you pay extra for it. In high season its often full and duplicated. Fare 900 bt+the extras. Run by the Thai BoKoSo (= the ''govmt. bus' and some Khmer partner of high standard). Can be booked online IF ou have Thai bank.
From PTY and assuming you speak/read Thai and know how to handle Thai buses-most of the gays on this site do not and shriek at the sheer mention of it- it would go like this: there are NO fixed times and changes can/may take forever: go to Sukhumvit rd, bus to Chachoengsao-change -bus to Aran (yaprathet)-may even end at border (=Rong Kleua market=salt factory). Both run ev 25/30/40 mins till around 18.00. Go over border-may now be VERY busy and full of delay-pay the ripoff corrupted Khmer visa (or wait and stand your ground-its now 30 US$ for most farang), then read up in wikitravel for the dire warnings about expensive non-buses to SR.
ASK at PTY agents-there may now be minivans direct to border, as since some monthes also a Khmer comp. (Virum Bantang or so) has opened a direct van route BKK-via SR-PnPn-HCMC and there may be feeder routes with ever more turis.
The many ''borderrun'' vans from PTY use another borderpost near/beyond Chantaburi without organised trsp at Khmer side onward.
Taken it all together AirASsia-if booked smartly and on their promosyen-may be worthwhle still, though its now from DMK. BKK-air flies direct ex Swampy and can be taken for miles form many, many freq-fly programs
I went from SR to Poipet by bus, spent a night there, had a look at the casinos (I don't gamble), border crossing by foot, Aranyaprathet to BKK by train (58 Baht!). This way is easy (SR to BKK), but from BKK (and probably similar from PTY) to SR there are a lot of scams (search on the internet).
As far as I could understand and as far as I can judge, everything pong said is correct.
Useful to know: Aranyaprathet town and train station is a few km from the border crossing (songtheos drive regularly), whereas Rong Klua market is directly at the border crossing.
Flights to/from Bkk/SR (no personal experience) are said to be quite expensive, you might want to check that as well.
If you have time and do not want to face the long queues and the scams at Poipet, you could try this way, which is more adventurous but also more rewarding. Google Ban Packard Border Crossing for getting information like this : http://thehungrybackpackers.com/2014...to-battambang/. Cambodian e-visa is not accepted at this crossing.Quote:
Originally Posted by pong
From the border, there are taxis to Pailin and then organised transport to Battambang, which seems to be a nice place to visit before heading to Siem Reap. However this would suppose one night in Chanthaburi town and another one in Battambang before hitting Siem Reap. No first-hand experience but high on my must-do list.
If you do not want to try this, going by plane is not so expensive with Air Asia ; you must be flexible with your dates, book in advance, and bear in mind that you will some extras to add - including booking a front seat which will allow you to exit the plane quickly and do not waste to-much time for your visa-on-arrival processing.
Based on the five answers so far, the answer is "No".Quote:
Originally Posted by aot871
I have done the trip overland, second one below, although in the opposite direction.
First time (Bangkok==>Siem Reap), a few years ago:
Bangkok railway station to Aranya Prathet (6 hours) . About 50 baht at the time
Tuk tuk to border 60 baht
Then found a taxi on the street and shared it with a Polish tourist. $20 each, total $40. No scam.
[OK, this isn't strictly starting from Pattaya, however add in a bus to Bangkok and it's an option]
Second Time (Siem Reap ==>Pattaya)
Taxi from Siem Reap to Border $40
Bus from border market to Pattaya (cannot remember cost, but must be about 350 baht).
I've also been overland from Sihanoukville to Pattaya.
In all 3 cases the border crossing only took a few minutes. When entering Cambodia, I have always used an e-visa and the border control has always been very quick, whether it was at PoiPet or the airports.
The slowest part has generally been the rail or bus journey on the Thai side.
Somewhere I saw a taxi service recommended that could be pre-booked from PoiPet to Siem Reap. I've not tried that. Perhaps google might locate it for you.