Tales of Asia - Siem Reap Guide

Siem Reap is served by the Siem Reap-Angkor International Airport which opened a flash new terminal building in July 2006. It's still not the end-all but it will do until the people responsible for whathever it is they are responsible for fulfill their dream of building a brand new airport capable of handling direct long-haul flights from around the world, a project they've been babbling and only babbling about for over a decade now.

Air schedule information is always volatile and no sooner does someone like me put information on the internet that an airline comes along and changes its schedule making me look dumb. So don't assume absolute truth in anything I tell you in reference to who flies from where and when without confirming first with the airline or a travel agent or someone who is capable of actually giving you a reservation and putting a ticket in your hand. I'm just a guy with a website.

To and from Saigon: Vietnam Airlines, six to seven flights daily.
To and from Hanoi: Vietnam Airlines, two to three flights daily
To and from Danang (by way of Singapore): Silk Air, three flights a week

To and from Bangkok: Bangkok Airways, five to eight flights daily.
From Chiang Mai: Bangkok Airways, two flights a week.

To and from Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia Airlines, three flights a week.
To and from Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia, one flight daily.

To and from Singapore: JetStarAsia, three flights a week.
To and from Singapore (by way of Danang): Silk Air, three flights a week.

To and from Pakse and Vientiane, Lao Aviation, daily
To and from Luang Prabang, Lao Aviation, three flights a week.
To and from Luang Prabang, Siem Reap Airways, three flights a week.
To and from Luang Prabang, Vietnam Airlines, two flights a week.

To and from Taipei, Angkor Air (codeshare with Far Eastern?), five flights a week.
To and from Kaohsiung, Angkor Air (codeshare with Far Eastern?), four flights a week.

To and from Kunming, China Eastern Yunnan, daily.
To and from Guangzhou, China Southern, three flights a week.

To and from Seoul, Inchon, and Pusan, Asiana Airways and Korean Air, daily flights.

The most popular route is to/from Bangkok and Bangkok Airways is the only carrier running this route and the cost is predictably expensive. Plan on around $140-160 USD one way and $300 USD return for what is all of a 45-minute flight. At this point I remind you that we're not supposed to talk about the Open Skies policy and why is it, when a policy states that anyone can fly in to Cambodia from anywhere, we have but a single carrier running a monopoly on the most popular route? But as I said, we're not supposed to talk about that so it wasn't me who brought it up. But if you're interested to know the deal is in force until 2009, what month I'm not sure.

In high season (November to April, especially December to February), many flights book out, especially on the Bangkok - Siem Reap route, but it's still possible sometimes to turn up at the airport and get a ticket out on the next flight as many of the advanced bookings are made by tour companies who really don't know how many people they will be actually flying in. Low season (May to October) there are seats available more often than not.

Visas are available on arrival from anywhere for anyone except those nine countries in the Cambodia Axis of Evil for visa-on-arrival: Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Bangladesh, Sudan, and Sri Lanka. Alternatively, Malaysians, Filipinos, Singaporeans, and Laotians do not need visas. For everyone else they cost $20 USD and require a passport photo. If you forget the photo they usually charge you a dollar and may or may not make you wait until they've processed all the other passengers who remembered their photos. The visa application form is easy to fill out and takes but a minute. Don't stress yourself over proof of onward travel or anything like that. They don't care. Your $20 is proof enough. For more information on visas see my FAQ, specifically the Legalities page.

Historically, visa on arrival at the airport is a scam free process though we have heard a few recent reports of "1000 Thai baht only" nonsense, which seems particularly ridiculous given that a majority of flights don't come from Thailand and therefore the passengers can't be expected to have Thai baht anyway. Still, some passengers on flights from Bangkok have been duped into paying the overcharge.

The next thing you have to sort out is transportation from the airport into town. If you have a reservation somewhere it's pretty much standard procedure to get picked up at the airport - surprisingly most of the cheaper places offer the ride for free, while with some of the higher end establishments, well don't be too surprised if later a charge for the service appears on your bill. If you have no reservation somewhere then you'll have to get a taxi and that means dealing with the Tourist Transport Association, the group with the exclusive contract to offer taxi services at the airport. The drivers all carry identification and every vehicle has a number painted on the door, for example B-52. Yes, there really is a driver designated B-52 and the irony of this designation is not lost on him. You should make a note of the driver number before you get in.

That there is an organization with an exclusive contract to operate taxi services is in itself an unremarkable fact, except that while the drivers pay a nominal fee to be members of the TTA, the spaces are full and a slot in the TTA now resells for a minimum of $2000, so there's a bit of pressure on the drivers as they have quite a bit of cost to recover, hence simply getting a ride to your chosen destination is not always a priority with some of them.

Generally, the first pitch is to have you hire them for your transport around the temples (which you need anyway) and virtually every driver will try this on and there's really nothing wrong with that. In fact, if you wanted a car to drive you around you just saved yourself the trouble of trying to hire one. The second pitch will be to get you into a hotel or guesthouse that pays a commission. Again, if you have no booking anywhere and no place in mind, you just saved yourself the trouble of looking for a hotel.

But if you didn't need a driver and/or you had a place to stay in mind which isn't one of the commission paying places, then this is where problems can develop. Most of the time, you won't get anything more than a lot of selling with a bit about how your chosen hotel or guesthouse is dirty, is in a bad location, the staff is no good, bad for Cambodia (if it's foreign owned) but eventually you'll end up where you wanted to go and he gets his $5. But there are a few bad apples among the taxis who at this point won't take you any farther (though they may have tried, probably unsuccessfully, to call your chosen non-commission paying hotel or guesthouse and inform them they have a customer, but won't bring them in unless they get a commission, and I know several places who can confirm this happening to them) and will eject you on the spot. Fortunately, this is not a common occurrence (and much less common since tourists began paying their drivers upon delivery rather that at the airport taxi desk), but if it does happen, well, now you know why I told you to remember the driver's ID number. Take it to the tourist police. They are located near the Angkor ticket plaza.

While I wouldn't suggest that the behavior of a few crazy drivers would be reason not to take a taxi, tuk-tuk, or moto from the airport (you're going to walk????), keep in mind that because of past problems with some of the drivers most hotels and guesthouses will be delighted to pick you up at the airport, and as I said earlier, often for *free*.

All domestic flights originate from Phnom Penh and fares run about $70 each way.

There is only one domestic carrier operating right now which is Siem Reap Airways, the Cambodian version of Bangkok Airways, and they run four to five flights a day. This is a proper airline running French-built ATR-72s (a turbo prop) and sometimes Boeing 717s. They are safe and reliable.

PMT (Progress Multitrade) was trying to fly domestic routes and occasionally did using an ancient Russian-built AN-24... eiyahhhhhhhh!!!!!! until they crashed it into a mountain flying between Sihanoukville and Siem Reap. They have temporarily(?) suspended operations.

Royal Khmer Airlines (who?) - back in April 2004 some people (who?) got their hands on a jet (what?) and flew a few times between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (when?) and then disappeared. They never advertised, promoted, or did much of anything. When I asked a couple of travel agents about this airline, they said, "who?". I said "Royal Khmer Airlines". They said, "what?". I said, "an airline in Cambodia.". They said, "when?". I said, "apparently not anymore." Try your luck as they claim to be flying again and have schedules posted. They do indeed fly charters between Siem Reap and Hanoi and Korea.

Angkor Airways - In 2005 some outfit calling itself Angkor Air issued a press release announcing service between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The issuance of the press release was for some period of time the company's most successful endeavor. More recently they've established an office and a schedule but I have yet to hear of anyone actually flying with them. Seriously, they successfully fly charters between Taiwan and Siem Reap, but as far as I know do not fly regular commercial routes and certainly not on domestic routes.

President Airlines - they suspended operations in May 2005 though spent a good year or so insisting they would fly again before finally succumbing to reality.

Royal Phnom Penh Airways - they were around for awhile, flying first, Antonov 24s and then Chinese-made Y7s - a copy cat of the Antonov 24 (eeeeeiyyaaahhhhhh!!!!) - on domestic routes and sometimes to Bangkok. But the owner of the company, a prince and head of his own political party, spent all his money on the 2003 election, and all during the SARS scare and that was the beginning and the end of both his airline and his political career. Even when his own airline was flying to Bangkok he was spotted flying President Air to the same location... hardly an endorsement of a carrier we want back.

Another new upstart, First Cambodia Air, offered some international routes to/from Phnom Penh, but they suspended service after only three months in business and over a million dollars in losses. Seeing as one of Hun Sen's daughters had a 51% share in this outfit it does make one wonder what if any influence the fine PM has on the aviation industry in Cambodia.

International - see outline above, domestic - see above, several flights daily on anywhere from two to three carriers. Departure taxes are $6 domestic and $25 international (and yes, it's an outrageously high departure tax and you are more than welcome to complain about it).

Flying too expensive? Sure is. So take the bus or something. I have another section on this website which will tell you everything you could ever possibly need to know about coming and going by land from Thailand through the Aranyaprathet / Poipet border crossing. And this is the link.

1.) Tourist bus. ALL PRIVATE BUS SERVICES TO CAMBODIA SOLD BY TRAVEL AGENTS IN BANGKOK ARE RIP-OFFS AND RIFE WITH SCAMS. ALL OF THEM. NO, NOT SOME OF THEM. ALL OF THEM. Most originate on Khao San Road. Prices are in the 200 to 600 baht range. Very very slow, full of scams. 12-18 hours no matter what time of year. Beware the visa scam (overcharging you for the visa) and money changing scam (forcing you to change money at outrageous rates). These scams are detailed more thoroughly on this page. Also expect numerous delays to wear you down and get you in late, as each passenger is sold to a guesthouse for $7 each. If there are three of you, you could travel independently (see #2 below) for about the same money and get to Siem Reap in half the time. At 80 baht the service was a joke, but at 200-600 baht it's simply a rip-off. I do not in any way shape or form recommend this option.

2.) On your own. Bus to the border from Bangkok 4-4.5 hours, departures from Morchit (Northern) Bus Terminal every 30-60 minutes from 3:30 am to 6 pm, or take a slow train (5.5 hours) from Hualamphong, departures at 6 am and 1 pm. From Poipet take a Toyota Camry taxi (about $45-60 for the whole car). Road is in good shape, under construction and almost finished and you can expect travel times of around 2.5 hours. It is possible to make Bangkok to Siem Reap in 8 hours, but you should plan on about ten to eleven hours just to be safe. There are a few border hassles to beware of and these are detailed on the Overland section referenced above.

If returning to Thailand, again, skip the bus and take a taxi to Poipet and from there sort yourself out with onward transport to Bangkok, Koh Chang, or wherever. Although the bus trip to the border is less scammy, it's still a crap backpacker bus on a crap road.

While the bus services between Siem Reap and the border/Thailand are backpacker scam buses, the rest of the bus services in Cambodia as well as to Vietnam are all fine.

Again see, the Overland section of this website for full details on road conditions, border crossings, pricing, etc.

Along the northern border there are two crossings offering access to the Isaan region of Thailand as well as Vientiane, Laos. They are O'Smach (west of Anlong Veng) and Sa-ngam (Si Saket province in Thailand) / Anlong Veng crossing.

The other two border crossings are in Pailin and in Battambang province. The Pailin checkpoint carries the name Phsa Prom Border Crossing and the Battambang checkpoint in Kamreang district will be known as the Daun Lem Border Crossing. Both of these crossings connect with Chantaburi province in the Pongnamron district.

Poipet is the best border crossing for going to Siem Reap and has the most transport options. If coming from southeast Thailand (i.e. Rayong, Chantaburi, etc) you might look at using the Phsa Prom crossing near Pailin and certainly if you want to visit Battambang before Siem Reap. The only real drawback with Poipet is the immigration queues, especially on the Thai side, can be horrendously long.

Border hours at all posts are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., but I do not recommend being in Poipet after dark. It's not a very nice place and you probably won't be able to get any transport at this hour anyway.

Boat: I do not recommend using the boat service between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. It's a massively over-priced tourist rip-off. Decent buses run on a perfectly good road for $9-12. If you want to see the lake, book a lake trip in Siem Reap.

Still, if you must... Boats depart each morning from Phnom Penh (or Siem Reap going the other way) at 7:00-7:30 a.m. Transport to the boat docks should be included with the cost of your ticket and this is particularly important departing Siem Reap as the boat docks are half an hour from town in the port village of Chong Khneas.

Tickets for foreigners are $35 (!!!!) and this is indeed a special foreigner price. Locals go for considerably less. There is no legal reason for this. The boat operators do it for no other reason that they can and they think you're stupid.

Most boat trips are about six hours, sometimes more. In the event of a breakdown or as sometimes happens in the dry season, a boat gets stuck, the ride can take ten hours. Although neither scenario happens very often, such unplanned events do happen from time to time and as such you ought to bring some water and a snack with you became you won't be getting any onboard.

Boat safety: On this route there hasn't been a sinking since 2000. Still, don't count on a life vest. As for robbery, there was a single hijacking in March 2000 that was by all accounts a politically motivated event designed to damage the tourism industry. Whether or not that's true, the fact remains it was an isolated incident and a single incident doesn't make a trend. The only reason I bring it up is that you might read or hear about it somewhere else and then wonder why I didn't alert you to this danger. Well, it's not a danger so don't worry about it.

Road: Bus or taxi. If you choose to travel by road, you'll probably take the bus as it's only $9-12 and now takes as little as five hours. A more comfortable option is to hire a taxi (Toyota Camry). Prices are around $70-80 for a whole car and you can make the trip in as fast as four hours. Now, if there are two or more of you, go back and look at the boat ticket price... and consider the comfort of an air-conditioned vehicle with your own private driver. Enticing, isn't it? Taxis can be obtained from around Central Market in Phnom Penh and Psah Leu in Siem Reap, or ask your guesthouse or hotel to arrange one, though this option often results in a higher price.

Buses: This is an industry that has evolved from predominantly dodgy tourist services to proper bus services running on schedules and departing/terminating at central locations that have nothing to do with someone's guesthouse. And even a couple of the guesthouses that do offer bus services are targeting anyone, Khmer or foreign, looking for a ride, and not just someone they can put into their Siem Reap-affiliated guesthouse.

I've given up trying to keep track of all the bus companies and schedules as everyone and their uncle is jumping into the business and a company and schedule posted today could be gone tomorrow. That said, bus departures in either direction are fairly regular from 7:00 am to 2:00 pm. Best place to sort out a bus ticket and get the most update information on schedules is from a hotel or guesthouse and many of the bus companies will pick you up from there and bring you to the station. Better companies include Paramount Angkor Express, Kampuchea Angkor Express, and Mekong Express though the latter is a bit pricy for reasons that aren't too clear as they are no longer the only bus that offers drinks, on board toilet, etc. The first two charge $9, while Mekong charges $12. The biggest difference between the services offered is $3.

Although there is a main bus station in Siem Reap most but not all buses use it. If you're traveling to Siem Reap and expecting a pick-up by your hotel or guesthouse it is imperative that they know the name of the bus company and your departure time from Phnom Penh so they will know how to find you.

If you don't have a prearranged pick-up then you can expect the usual song and dance from the tuk-tuk drivers, though compared to the taxis at the airport, the guys here are marginally better at taking you where you want to go, but beware offers of "free ride to any guesthouse" as what they really mean is "free ride to any guesthouse that pays me a commission or if you hire me to take you to the temples", if neither you'll be looking at about $3 for a ride which should only be a dollar.

Several companies now offer bus service between Siem Reap and Sihanoukville and Siem Reap and Saigon (Mekong Express, Mai Linh, Sapaco), though you will change buses in Phnom Penh.

There is a speedboat service that costs around $20 and is a bit dodgy. The good point is that the wetlands scenery down the Sangker River is spectacular. The bad point is the service is totally dodgy. Boats sink - well, they fill up with water and everybody jumps out and stands in water up to their waist until they either plug the hole or find you another boat; boats get stuck in the mud; breakdown; sometimes never finish the journey forcing everyone into the back of a pick-up truck for the last two hours... And no matter what the person selling you the ticket says - there is no guarantee or even consistency in respect to the type/size of boat you will get or how long the trip will take, but you do very well to do it in less than seven hours.

If you're taking this boat solely because you think the road from Siem Reap to the border is too much, well, that is absolutely stupid. The road is almost finished. Paved. Done. Don't be silly. Take the boat to Battambang because you want to go to Battambang and/or see the views, not because you think the road is too much to handle.

Siem Reap index page
Introduction
Getting there
Arrival by air-international
Arrival by air-domestic
Departure by air
Arrival by road from Thailand
To/from Phnom Penh
To/from Battambang
Staying there
Eating and drinking
Temples
Other things to do and places to go in and around Siem Reap
Additional stories on the Siem Reap area