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From Thailand in Siem Reap


From Thailand in Siem Reap

The nearest and most popular border crossing at Poipet has acquired a dishonourable reputation among travellers. Misfortunate tales of miscreant border guards demanding inflated visa charges and tortuous journeys on the decrepit "Bangkok scam bus" have been repeated and embellished into backpacking folklore. Though there is undoubtedly some truth in many travellers experiences, the same angst can be largely avoided with a little planning. Arranging an E-visa before arrival will ensure you can get your passport stamped without paying any additional fees. Onward transport from Poipet is tightly controlled by gangsters and the corrupt officials get kickbacks from their enterprise - making your travel options to Siem Reap limited. After clearing immigration you will be escorted to an oversized golf cart that takes you to the official bus station. All transport to Siem Reap leaves from here. The once notoriously rough road is now paved for the entire length so it should take you less than 4 hours to reach Siem Reap. One or two buses leave whenever the bus is deemed full enough. Tickets cost about $10 and the trip can take 3-5 hours, though you might have to wait a couple hours for the bus to fill up. Independent minded travellers coming directly from Bangkok can take the frequent Thai Government buses to Aranyaprathet on the Thai side of the border instead of acquiescing with the complaining backpackers who paid 200-600 baht for the scam bus from Khao San Road. The quickest method of getting from the border to Siem Reap is a shared car. A four seater car costs US$25-45, depending on your bargaining prowess, and takes 2-3 hr. Even if your a travelling solo, it shouldn't be too hard to find others to share the expense. For solo travelers who are on a tight budget, you can get the scam 'free shuttle' to the "tourist bus station" and cross the street and flag cars down waving your hand up and down as it points to the ground. This is proven effective. Negotiate with the driver. They will typically start at 300 baht, but can easily get talked down to 150 baht, all the way to Siem Reap. You might be in a crowded car, with 7 or 8 other people, but this is the cheapest and quickest way to get to Siem Reap.

The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Siem Reap


Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Siem Reap - updated Mar 2024

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Siem Reap Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.

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