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TRAVELING FROM BANGKOK TO
SIEM REAP & ANGKOR WAT
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 How
do I get from Bangkok to Angkor Wat?
That is the question most often asked in
the Guest Houses of Kaosan Road and Travel
Agencies throughout the city of Bangkok.
The answer is relatively easy for those
who just want to get there as quickly as
possible, but not as easy for the truly
adventurous who like to take the route
less traveled and avoid airlines whenever
possible, or those who are traveling on a
very tight budget.
Great
Hotel deals in Siem Reap - up to 70% off
on normal rates.
You
can fly directly from Bangkok to Siem
Reap (Angkor). In only a little
over an hour you can be transported from
one of the most adrenalin charged,
constantly hustling, shopping and
nightlife obsessed cities of the world, to
the edge of a majestic outcropping of
ruins that is still largely in the
clutches of the jungle, that it's ancient
rulers and architects had once tamed, if
only for a brief moment of it's entire
history.
Flying directly is fairly expensive though
for the short one hour flight (currently
close to US $300.00 round-trip), so it
encourages many travelers to find an
alternative mode of transportation. In the
future (when Bangkok Air loses it's
monopoly on the route) the price of flying
may become more reasonable.
Bangkok Airways - Bangkok's
Suvarnaboumi Airport to the Siem
Reap Airport. Either book a return flight
ticket with Bangkok Airways or book your
return flight with Siemreap Airways
International in Siem Reap.
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| THE EASY WAY to Siem Reap
- 2011 Update
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Bangkok
Airways - Bangkok's Suvarnaboumi
Airport to the Siem
Reap Airport. Either book a return
flight ticket with Bangkok Airways or book
your return flight with Siemreap Airways
International in Siem Reap. Current (Feb.
19, 2011) round-trip Internet Booking fare
- starting at 10,820 Baht (fare could
go up or down at any time).
Bangkok to Siem Reap flight
schedule:
08:00 - PG 903 - Seven
days a week
11:35 - PG 905 - Seven days
a week
13:55 - PG 913 - Seven
days a week
17:45 - PG 907 - Seven days
a week
19:20 - PG 909 - Seven days a week
(departure
times vary, please check with airline)
 Air Asia
(Thailand) - one flight per day from Suvarnaboumi
Airport to Phnom Phen's
Pochentong Airport
Current round-trip fare - 6,230 Baht
(Internet price - Feb. 19, 2011). I only
see one flight per day listed right now,
FD 3616 - leaving BKK at 15:15. (please
check airline for the latest schedule
and prices)
From Phnom Phen you will have to take a 6
hour bus ride, or a 9 hour boat ride up
the Tonle Sap River, to reach Siem Reap
and Angkor Wat.
Helicopters
Cambodia - http://www.helicopterscambodia.com
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| THE HARD (but more adventurous) WAY
to Siem Reap |
Trains, Boats,
Buses, and Taxis
Trains
- the train will take you from Hualompong
Station in Bangkok to the Thai-Cambodia
Border at Aranyapratet. Unfortunately the
old rail line across the border and into
Cambodia no longer exists.
Boats
- once you get to Phnom Phen, Battambang
or Sianoukville you can elect to take a
boat the rest of the way to Siem Reap.
Depending on the time of the year and the
amount of rainfall this can be a more or
less trying experience.
Buses
- big luxury tour buses, Thai government
public transport buses, tour company
mini-vans, and trucks with benches make up
this often hair raising assortment of
transportation choices.
Taxis
- you have all heard the horror stories of
hiring Cambodian taxis. First there is the
problem of communications and getting to
the destination you have asked for. Second
there is the problem of rates changing as
the trip progresses. Third is the suicidal
driving habits of most of the taxi
drivers.
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2011 Update: Most travel
guides and blogs still recommend the
Morchit (Northern) bus terminal in
Bangkok. Although it has the most buses
traveling to Aranyaphrathet from Bangkok,
it does not take you all the way to the
border and a 100 Baht tuk-tuk ride is
required from the bus station to the
border. On the way the tuk-tuk driver will
try to take you to a fake "Cambodia
Consulate" for an overpriced Cambodian
Visa service and then deliver you directly
to touts at the border. Just be strong and
insist that you already have a Visa and
that you want to go to the market (not the
border). It is
only a short walk to the border from the
market and you can stock up on drinks and
snacks, or even go shopping and change
money at the bank, for the trip to Siem
Reap. Cambodian Immigration police will
issue you a Visa on arrival (they will ask
for a tip though, so it is really best to
get a Visa on-line or at the Cambodian
Consulate in Bangkok.
The
bus to Bangkok at the Rong Kluea
Market bus station
A less known (but much better) bus service
that goes directly from Bangkok to the
Rong Kluea Market at the Thai-Cambodian
Border for Poipet is available from Ekamai
(Eastern) Bus Terminal on Sukhumvit Road.
There are only a few busess a day though,
so it is best to go to the Ekamai bus
station and reserve your seat ahead of
time. The bus can also be caught from the
Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok.
The same bus at the Bangkok
Airport (Suvarnabhumi) Transport Center
Bangkok Taxi
to the border & Cambodian Taxi to
Siem Reap - (Easy on the Thai
side of the border but not so easy on the
Cambodian side) Very comfortable taxis and
even more comfortable limousines can take
you from Bangkok to the Cambodian border
in three hours or so for from 2,000 Baht
up. Once you are across the border it
becomes another story all together.
Cambodian taxis traveling from Poipet to
Siem Reap tend to be fairly beat up by the
rough roads and heavy loads that
they carry. Taxis can be shared with up to
six passengers and will cost from US $35
to US $60 dollars for the four hour trip.
Poipet
to Siem Reap Road Update: As
of the June 2009, the road from Poipet to
Siem Reap is completely paved and smooth
driving all the way. The trip takes less
than three hours, but the taxi ride
(private, no local passengers are picked
up) is still around $50, unless you are
very good at bargaining, in which case you
may get the price down to as low as $35.
2011 update: There
is now a second Poipet Bus Station and
both of them offer buses and taxis.
Unfortunately they have been used to
scamming the travelers for so long, that
they are still trying as hard as possible
to make a few extra bucks by squeezing 4
to 5 people into a "shared" taxi (at an
average of $10 per passenger) and delaying
bus journeys untill the bus is full. The
bus also has a number of bus company
"employees" on board who chat up as many
travelers as possible to stay at "my"
guesthouse. These guys are experts at
making "friends" with newly arrived
tourists and travelers, stay alert and
watch your bags at all times.
Share taxis will drop their passengers off
at the side of the road on the outskirts
of Siem Reap, where they are handed over
to "free" tuk-tuk (motorcycle trailer
taxi) drivers who will insist on bring
them to pre-arranged guest houses. Even
the "private" taxi drivers will try to
drop you there (no matter what agreement
you made with them), so do not pay them
untill you get to your hotel or guest
house.
The taxi drivers will all give you a sob
story about only getting a small part of
the fee and try to get a large tip out of
you on arrival in Siem Reap. The last trip
I took, the guy owned the car himself and
did not work for a taxi company (I took a
motorcycle into town and found him on my
own), but he still gave me the usual sob
story. The best way
to deal with this problem is to pick up
(or print out) a map of Siem Reap, before
you leave Bangkok and mark your hotel or
guest house destination on the map. Show
it to your taxi driver before you leave
Poipet and insist on being delivered
directly there.
I should explain that I am not a tight
fisted jerk or always looking for the dark
side of the cloud. Cambodia can be a great
place to visit for a short or even long
time. I first visited Cambodia in 1979 and
am now based out of Siem Reap, so
obviously I have found something to like.
Just please keep your wits about you,
especially when it comes to dealing with
anyone in the local transport industry.
CAUTION: Never
buy a bus ticket from Bangkok to Siem Reap
- this continues to be a royal scam -
there is no bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap.
You will be dumped at the border and given
over to the bus and share taxi gangsters
on the Cambodian side of the border. They
will often try to make you pay again, lie
to you and generally screw with you as
much as possible. The lies start at Kaosan
Road in Bangkok and continue for the
entire journey to Siem Reap. In Siem Reap
they will even sell you to a Guest House
they are working with.
Read this page carefully and you will be
fine, above all have fun in Cambodia.
If you have any interesting Bangkok to
Siem Reap travel experiences or comments
regarding this page, please contact George
Mann - george@angkorroad.com
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| More Cambodia Trip Experiences
|
AngkorRoad.com
- travel information and various
photo-adventure trips around Cambodia.
Koh
Ker – Prasat Thom & City of Lingas
- 4WD trip from Siem
Reap to Koh Ker, Cambodia
Remote
Angkor Temples - Preah Vihear
- the most spectacular temple location in
Cambodia
Angkor
Road Photo
Adventure - Photo Tours
& Workshops with George Mann
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