Most people fly there by plane from Bangkok. You can either fly to Pnom Pen, or if you're only interested in Angkor Wat, it's better to fly directly to Siem Reap (as long as it's still possible, since Phnom Penh airport authorities are pushing to forbid international flights to Siem Reap). Have a look at the site of Bangkok Airways for more info on schedules and fares.
Getting to Cambodia By air
From Thailand Most people fly there by plane from Bangkok. You can either fly to Pnom Pen, or if you're only interested in Angkor Wat, it's better to fly directly to Siem Reap (as long as it's still possible, since Phnom Penh airport authorities are pushing to forbid international flights to Siem Reap). Have a look at the site of Bangkok Airways for more info on schedules and fares.
You can also fly with Royal Air Cambodge, they charge 8.700 Bht and have 3 flights a week on wednesday, friday and sunday, departure in BKK at 14.30. Last thing I heard however was that they went bankrupt (12/2002).
When deciding on flying directly to SR or with a stopover in Pnom Pen, also take into account airport taxes:
- Phnom Pen international 20 US$, domestic 10 US$
- Siem Reap international 8 US$, domestic 4 US$ (4/99).
Update 13/1/99: There was indeed an article in the South China Morning post indicating flights between Bangkok and Siem reap would be ended in the middle of 1999. However, I've had no signs of this untill now, on the contrary, Bangkok airways increased the number of flights to 3 a day on 1/4/99 (7/99).
Price for the Bangkok-Siem Reap trip is 10.000 Bht return trip if you take the afternoon flight from BKK, otherwise it's 11.500 Bht, but don't forget to add the airport tax of 500 Bht in BKK and 8 US$ in Siem Reap.
Since 1/4/99, there are now 3 flights a day from BKK at 8 am, 12.40 and 14.30.
From Vietnam
Starting january 2000, Vietnam Airlines has started a direct flight from Saigon to Siem Reap 5 times weekly, namely on monday, wednesday, thursday, saturday and sunday. Check out their website, although it's possible they have not yet added this new info.
Over land
From Thailand It is nowadays possible to go overland from Bangkok to Siem Reap. From Bangkok, take a train to Aranyaprathet (2 trains a day). Walk across the border (no visa issued here !) and you're in Poipet. It's easy to arrange a private car to Sisophon. In Sisophon change cars for Siem Reap. From the border to Siem Reap is about 5 to 6 hours.
Warning
There's a scam going on at the Thai-Cambodia border. On entering Cambodian Immigration there is a large sign saying "Quarantine", manned by two pseudo-doctors. They will explain that there is a 'Cholera Epidemic' in Cambodia and to proceed you MUST either have an International Health Certificate saying you have been vaccinated against Cholera (which most people know is not very effective), or you MUST pay $5 to receive two pills that you are to take immediately to give you protection during your stay. These 2 pills are the antibiotic Doxycycline and the likelyhood of them protecting you is zero. No amount of complaining, discussing, or producing your own doxycycline enabled anyone to NOT pay the $5. This scam is run by border officials supported by border police and they are making thousands of dollars from this con (Matthew cannon, Thorn Tree 9/99).
Going back from SR to BK, arrange a "taxi" through your guesthouse. This is a pick up truck. Since the road is very bad and it might rain, make sure you sit inside. The trip is just 150 km but it takes 7 to 9 hours. Either you stop at Sisophon and take another car, either you continue all the way till the border. From there take a taxi to the busstation at Aranyaprathet and take a bus to BK (4,5 hours, 110 Baht 12/98). The easiest option available since 1/99 is to book a minibus from Bang Kok (Khao San Road) all the way to Siem Reap. Price is around 1.400 Bht for a single trip, but I did find 1 place on Kaosan Road where they had a promotion of 800 Bht, so shop around a bit (4/99).
WARNING: don't underestimate this overland trip. Distances don't seem so long, but roads are terrible. Especially during rainy season, count on 10 hours for the 150 km trip in Cambodia, and you'll have to push the pick up several times after it gets stuck.
From Vietnam
You can also go over land from Saigon to Pnom Penh and cross the border in Moc Bai. Since recently, your visa does not need to state anymore you will leave Vietnam through Moc Bai, so this will give you more flexibility.
The easiest and cheapest way to travel overland from Saigon to Phnom Penh is by tour bus. Both SaigonTourist (187a Pham Ngu Lao) or Sinh Café (De Tham) run buses. The cost is USD6.00, the buses depart Saigon at 8:30 am and arrive in Phnom Penh around 4/5pm.
This is the cheapest and easiest way to get to Phnom Penh. The other way, for the adventurous, is to make your own way across. This is, in fact, a lot quicker (you save at least two or three hours) but slightly more expensive (USD10.00) and more challenging.
Another way (info 1/99)
On your own
Another way to enter Cambodia from Thailand is via Ko Khong. This is an option for people who went to Ko Chang first. Crossing the border might take a while, make sure you already have your visa. At the border, there are plenty of taxis to bring you to Ko Khong (50 B), avoid a motortaxi, the road is awful. You will then get to a small town on the opposite side of the river from Ko Khong. Take a speedboat there (40 Baht).
WARNING: there was a posting on the LP TT (7/99) of someone who had done this crossing in the other way. They were ripped off by the boatman who originally agreed with 30 Bht for the boat, but once on the river asked for 200 Bht (for 4 persons). When they refused saying "a deal is a deal", he dropped them away from the docks so they had to walk through the water and had to find another boat, so they nearly missed the crossing of the border (which closes at 5 pm).
At Ko Khong, there's nothing special, but you need to spend the night there because the boat to Sihanoukville only leaves once at 7.30 am (LP Update is wrong about this). Make sure you buy your ticket the day before.
The trip to Sihanoukville takes 4 hours. On arrival register at the police (the captain will do this for you). Take a motor to the busstation (10 Baht). From there take a bus to PP (12.000 Riel, 4 hours).
Organised
Apparently there are now also organised trips leaving from Pattaya at 2 am all this way over Sihanoukville till Phnom Penh (arrival 4 pm), price is 1.800 Bht one way.
If you prefer to take a slower pace, then you can leave at noon in Pattaya, spend the night in Koh Klong and arrive in PP the next day at 3 pm, price is 2.200 Bht one way.
You can find more info on this at the website of Flamingo, a Phnom Penh based travelagency. I didn't use their services myself, so I can't recommend them.
By boat from PP to Siem Reap
There's a fast boat charging 25 US$ for a single trip and 48 US$ for the return trip. It takes about 6 hours.
Have a look at this report with some nice pictures.
Travel guides
There are mainly 2 guides for backpackers: the LP and the Footprint.
I decided to buy the Footprint. It's OK, but just like the LP, they cannot keep track with all the new hotels being built in Siem Reap. You cannot blame them, because the book dates from 1997, and there's a lot of building going on in SR. Their info on history, politics, economics is quite detailed. The info on the Angkor temples could be a bit more detailed though. You might consider buying a separate book for that. It also has a section on Bangkok. The new edition will be available in 10/99.
Order the Footprint Cambodia now for only 12.76 US$
Lonely Planet has their own book of course. The critic is a bit the same for them: the "where to stay" section is a bit outdated. The new edition will be available 9/99.
Order the Lonely Planet Cambodia now for only 12.76 US$
Other books
If you can't make up your mind, click on the Amazon.com logo and search for more books
Wegwijzer For those of you speaking dutch, it is definitely worth considering becoming member of "Wegwijzer". This is a non-commercial organisation based in Bruges, Belgium. They have an incredible amount of info coming from guidebooks, leaflets but also reports from members. Since 2001 you can now get a lot of these reports online!! Membership is only 25 Euro a year, and this includes a good magazine they publish every 2 months. Have a look at www.wegwijzer.be. I myself am a member since almost 20 years now.
Visa You can get a visa at the airport, both in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. It costs 20 US$ for tourists and you need 1 photo. It's best to check before you leave because things can change fast.
Otherwise it's fairly straightforward to get your visa in Bangkok. Any travel agent should be able to arrange it for you in 24 hours (but some can do it in 6 hours), 1000 Baht.
Money You don't really need to change money as long as you take enough small dollar notes.
Also Thai currency is readily accepted when going from BK to SR, but exchange rate is not so good (they proposed us 12 US$ for 500 Bht = 41,6 Bht for 1 US$).
Otherwise be aware that there are no banks in Siem Reap open on Saturday.
TC's are accepted in some hotels, but they'll charge 4% commission, banks will charge 2 %.
Safety In Phnom Penh, things were tense but calm at the time of writing. However, things can change fast, so it's a good idea to inquire before you leave. It's also wise to register at your embassy, so they know you're around in case of an emergency (8/98).
In Siem Reap, thing are much calmer and you shouldn't have problems there.
To get some up to date info, check the website of the Pnom Pen Post at http://www.newspapers.com.kh/PhnomPenhPost/
The info you find here was provided by Graham Borthwick and Andy Brouwer and includes some comments as well as some info from personal research.
Andy has been to Cambodia several times and now has his own site which is definitely worth a visit.
Here are some other interesting sites worth a look:
Bert Hovius has a good site with lots of info, no frills (it's actually 1 page).
An excellent site (probably the best) on Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia is the one made by George Moore. It has a good list of links to other sites on these regions. Other info was added by Luc Eggebeen (1/99).
In 3/99, I added a very extensive report posted on the LP thorn tree by someone called Jimmy.
In 3/99, I went to check out things myself. |
