Angkor Wat at Siem Reap, Cambodia
Travelling in Siem Reap seems to get easier each year as development has brought in new roads and better infrastructure. The overland journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap is now a pretty smooth ride, apart from a few small stretches of road which are still to be completed. Buses from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh leave and arrive regularly and there are also a number of buses to other parts of Cambodia from Siem Reap now. There are normally daily boats to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh and Battambang in both directions as long as the water levels are high enough.
INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAVEL
Flights to Siem Reap to/from Thailand
Direct daily flights from Bangkok to Siem Reap with Bangkok Airways cost around US$160 one way and direct flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok cost the around same. Bangkok Airways are the only airline operating the Bangkok to Siem Reap flight route.
Bangkok Airways also operate indirect daily flights to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Ko Samui from Siem Reap which all fly via Bangkok with good connection times.
Flights to Siem Reap to/from Singapore
The cheapest direct flights from Singapore to Siem Reap can be made with Jetstar who operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Please note that Jetstar is a budget airline, so you can not transfer your baggage onto another airline. SilkAir have direct flights from Siem Reap to Singapore and also from Singapore to Siem Reap. Silkair also operate indirect flights to/from Singapore via Da Nang in Vietnam.
Flights to Siem Reap to/from Malaysia
Direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap with Air Asia start from around US$74 one way if you book early. They fly on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. There are also direct flights from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur on the same days for around the same price. Please note that Air Asia is a budget airline, so you can not transfer your baggage onto another airline. There are direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Siem Reap with Malaysian Airlines from around US$90 one way. There are also flights from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur via Phnom Penh from around US$90 one way.
Flights to Siem Reap to/from Vietnam
There are direct flights from Hanoi to Siem Reap daily in both directions with Vietnam Airlines. Vietnam Airlines also have daily flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap in both directions. Cambodia Angkor Air has a daily flight in both directions from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City. There are both direct and indirect flights from Siem Reap to Da Nang in both directions with SilkAir.
Flights to Siem Reap to/from Laos
There are daily flights from Vientiane to Siem Reap via Pakse with Laos Airlines in both directions from around US$150 one way. There are direct flights from Luang Prabang to Siem Reap and from Siem Reap to Luang Prabang five days a week with either Laos Airlines or Vietnam Airlines, but they operate the route between them. There are daily direct flights from Pakse to Siem Reap in both directions with Laos Airlines. Bangkok Airways operate from Siem Reap to Pakse in both directions on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Flights to Siem Reap to/from South Korea
You can fly to Siem Reap from Seoul with Asiana Airlines or Korean Airlines. You can also fly to Siem Reap from Incheon with Asiana Airlines or Korean Airlines.
TRAVEL BY ROAD
Getting to/from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
You now have the option of taking a bus direct from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap. There are now numerous bus companies operating this route. The trip takes around 12 hours including a few stops. The buses leave around 7:00am in both directions.
Getting to/from Bangkok via Poipet
Travel To/From Khosan Road Bangkok
Taking the bus from Khosan Road (leaves around 7:00am) to the border is not too bad and if you do it this way you will arrive at a restaurant (the bus will wait here for around 2 hours) about 4km from the border. If you only go to this restaurant near the border then take your bags off the bus and take a 80 Baht tuk tuk from the restaurant to the border crossing. From the border we suggest you take the taxi to Siem Reap. Although we do not recommend it, taking the bus to Bangkok from Siem Reap is not too bad, but it still takes at least 10 hours and costs between US$8 and US$15. It leaves around 7:30am.
If you are taking the bus all the way to Siem Reap you will have a 2 hour wait at the restaurant, another few hours spent getting across the border, then at least another 4 hours getting to Siem Reap. If you do decide to go all the way from Khosan Road to Siem Reap, then good luck!
Travel To/From Morchit bus station Bangkok to Border
Morchit bus station is in the northern part of Bangkok and from here to the town (Aranya Prathet) near the border by local bus takes around 4 to 5 hours. From Aranya Prathet to the border is 6km and you can get to the border crossing by tuk tuk for around 80 Baht.
Travel To/from Bangkok to Aranya Prathet by train
From Bangkok to Aranya Prathet there are two trains daily leaving at 5:55am and 11:35am which take around 5 hours and cost less than US$1.50. The train station is 15km from the border and you will need to get a tuk tuk to the border crossing for around 100 Baht. There are two trains daily going from Aranya Prathet to Bangkok which leave at 6:40am and 1:55pm.
TRAVEL BY BUS
Getting to/from Poipet
The tourist bus from Poipet to Siem Reap leaves around 2:30pm, if you are lucky, takes at least 4 to 5 hours and you will be sold like cattle to a guesthouse who is paying someone to drop you there late at night, so you will not want to go anywhere else. And for that whole experience they charge US$10, double the price of the other direction.
There are daily buses to the Poipet border with a few different bus companies. Bus tickets cost about US$6 and most buses leave around 7:30am.
TRAVEL BY TAXI
Getting to/from Poipet
The taxi from Poipet to Siem Reap costs between US$35 and US$40 depending on how good you are at haggling. You can also take a shared taxi from Poipet to Siem Reap for US$12 per person and usually you will not have to wait long before the taxi fills up. The taxi from Siem Reap to Poipet costs around US$30, but a shared taxi is around US$8 per person (unless you want the front seat then you pay double the price).
The border crossing is open from 7:00am to 8:00pm.
When crossing the border into Cambodia the guys doing the visas will try to charge you more than US$20. The price is US$20, no more, and there is no express service. If you are nice to them, do not get angry with them and just calmly give them a US$20 note, then they probably will not say anything. Please be aware that there a current scam where a tuk tuk driver will take you to an office to get you visa before you reach the border, this is a scam and it just another way for these people to overcharge you. The official visa office is at the border crossing.
When you cross the border there will be people trying to get you onto a free bus which takes you to the taxi station, so you can either take one of the taxis from there or where another bus waits to take tourists to Siem Reap. You will also have a number of touts asking you if you want a taxi to Siem Reap. These touts will make a commission from the driver. If you do want a taxi to Siem Reap, then you can either negotiate a price with the tout or you could just try to speak to a driver directly, although many of them will not speak English. In our experience, it is normally ok just to negotiate with a tout and as long as you are happy with the price then it is worth paying him a few dollars, because it saves a bit of hassle trying to find a taxi by yourself.
Please note that US$ dollars is the main currency used in Siem Reap by tourists. Do not change any currency into Cambodian currency at the border nor matter what anyone tells you. There are many scams involving money exchanging at the border.
DOMESTIC AIR TRAVEL
Getting to/from Phnom Penh
There are regular flights to/from Phnom Penh with around 6 flights daily in both directions with new airline www.cambodiaangkorair.com which started flights on the 28th July 2009. Cambodia Angkor Air is owned mostly by Cambodia with Cambodia Angkor Air and Vietnam Airlines owning the rest. Cambodia Angkor Air has cheaper flights available with a number of promotion flights for the opening of the new venture. A taxi from Phnom Penh airport into town costs about US$9 and a motorbike costs about US$2.
There are currently only two cities in Cambodia that have airports which are in operation for tourists to fly which are Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.
TRAVEL BY BUS
Getting to/from Phnom Penh
The road condition from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is in good condition and it is a pretty smooth ride. There are many bus companies that run between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh with the most popular companies being the Paramount Angkor Express, Mekong Express and Neak Krohorm bus company, but there are a number of others that do the same trip. Prices for a one way trip cost between US$4 and US$12 depending on which bus company you use. The Mekong Express bus company is the most comfortable with good air conditioning, a toilet on board and also a light breakfast or dinner depending on the departure time. The Mekong Express takes around 6 hours. The Paramount Angkor bus company is probably the best value and is very popular with many tourists now and takes around 5.5 hrs.
Your hotel, guesthouse or a travel agent in Phnom Penh can arrange bus tickets for you. During busy holidays there will be many more buses running different times and the prices also go up. Please note that there is more than one bus station in Siem Reap and not all buses stop in the same place.
Getting to/from Sihanoukville
The road condition from Sihanoukville to Siem Reap is good and the drive is pretty smooth all of the way. The Mekong Express bus leaves Siem Reap at 7:00am, then you change bus in Phnom Penh to another Mekong Express bus, which takes you to Sihanoukville. The price of the Mekong Express bus ticket from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville is around US$19 and you will arrive in Sihanouville around 5:00pm. The Sorya bus makes the same trip, but the connection in Phnom Penh is longer and therefore you will not arrive into Sihanoukville until around 7:00pm. Sorya charge around US$10 for this trip, but it is not as nice a bus as the Mekong Express. From Sihanoukville to Siem Reap, you can take any bus that leaves before 8:30am and then you will be able to get any connecting bus to Siem Reap. There is also an overnight bus from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville. The bus leaves Siem Reap at 8:00pm and arrives in Sihanoukville at 6:00am the following morning. It also stops in Phnom Penh around 1:00pm for anyone wanting to go to Phnom Penh.
TRAVEL BY BOAT
Getting to/from Phnom Penh
There is more than one boat company that have a boat from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, but they normally take turns on which boat goes, because there is only one boat a day which leaves around 7:00am and the boat from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap leaves around the same time as well. The cost of the ticket will be between US$32 and US$35 per person, which is far too expensive in our opinion. The trip takes anywhere from 5.5 to 9 hours depending on water levels (there is little water in the rivers during the hot season).
The boat between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap is not very scenic, because you are on Tonle Sap Lake most of the time, so all you see is water. If you do take the boat, then make sure you have a sun hat and high factor sun lotion, especially if you are sitting out on the deck.
Getting to/from Battambang
The boat from Siem Reap to Battambang leaves around 7:00am daily and costs between US$18 and US$20 per person. The boat from Battambang to Siem Reap leaves around the same time. The boat takes from 5 to 12 hours depending on water levels. In hot season the water is very low and you may have to get out and push the boat off a sand bank!
The boat travels along the river most of the way and it is only on Tonle Sap Lake for a short time. This boat trip is more scenic than the Phnom Penh/Siem Reap boat trip, because you will go through more floating villages and past other villages along the river on the way. It is a good idea to take water and food on this trip in case your trip is longer than expected.
Source www.siemreaprooms.com