How to Get From Bangkok to Angkor Wat

By Mark Wiens 17 Comments
Cambodia Border Entrance


1.  Mo Chit Station- Bangkok

Start at Mo Chit Station– Bangkok’s Northern bus terminal.  Take a bus to Aranyaprathet that departs every 30 minutes starting at about 4 am for the price of around 200 baht (US $6).  Bus takes about 4 hours.

2.   Rongklua Market- Border

The bus will either take you all the way to the border or it will drop you in town and you will need to spend less than 100 baht (US $3) on a tuk tuk to the actual border at Rongklua Market.

CAUTION: If you take a tuk tuk, don’t let the driver take you to a middle man to get your visa.  Go all the way to the border and get it officially so you don’t get ripped off.  Insist that the tuk tuk takes you to the border, if the tuk tuk tries to stop at a visa service, tell him to continue onwards.

3.  Border Crossing

Handle Thai immigration and walk through the Cambodian arch and finish the paperwork and payment of US $20 for a Cambodian Visa (have some US $ on you). You will then be lead to a FREE government shuttle bus (hassle free) which will take you a few kilometers into Poipet to the tourist taxi and bus station.

The choice of transportation to Siem Reap is either bus or private taxi.  The bus usually costs $8 per person while the taxi costs $12 per person.  However, the buses are rather infrequent with one in the morning and one in the evening.  If you have a group, kindly finagle a taxi and strike a deal.  Joining with a few other travelers, we were able to get a taxi for 5 for US $40, splitting the cost.  You kind of need to haggle a deal  but will probably pay somewhere around $10 per person.

4.  Poipet to Siem Reap

The 2 hour taxi ride will take you into the town of Siem Reap where most likely it will drop you off at a tuk tuk stop where all kinds of middle men will try to give you a free ride to a guest house in an effort to sell you a tuk tuk for the next day and make a commission on the guest house.  We were taken to the decent Green Town Guest House and accepted the offer, though you have NO obligation.  The tuk tuk driver will also attempt to get work for the next day by offering to take you to tour the temples, in my opinion not a bad offer.  If you want nothing to do with their services, kindly ask them to take you to your guest house of hotel of choice.

5.  Siem Reap Tuk Tuk

To hire a tuk tuk for an entire day of temple hopping should cost about US $12. Haggle a little and eventually reach a similar price.

OVERVIEW: The transportation from Bangkok to Siem Reap takes approximately 7 hours and costs approximately US $15-20 with very little pain and not too much effort.

Recommend:

I would recommend leaving Mo Chit bus station at about 6 am.  If you arrive in Siem Reap in the afternoon you can purchase a single day ticket ($20) to the temples at 5 pm.  This allows you to see the sunset and have the entire following day at the same cost and then maximize 24 Hours at Angkor Wat Temples.  We organized a tuk tuk for the first evening and the entire following day for $14 and had an outstanding trip.

17 comments. I'd love to hear from you!

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  • Alexander Franks

    3 years ago

    Yeah, I was ripped of by a middle man for $50 for visa. This article is a really good guide on How to Get From Bangkok to Angkor Wat, without being foxed.

  • Chi Alfaro

    11 years ago

    hi, Mark! Thank you for this information. Any tips on how to do Siem Reap to Bangkok? I am doing it on reverse. Thank you!

    • Mark Wiens

      11 years ago

      Hey Chi, no problem, glad it would help. I have never done it in reverse, though I think you could take a shared taxi to the border and then it’s quite easy to get transportation from Rongklua market back to Bangkok by either bus or mini-van.

  • Glen

    12 years ago

    I have a question what happen if i accidentally gave may visa to middle man and what will the first thing to do?..

    • Mark Wiens

      12 years ago

      Hmm, not sure Glen, possibly just a higher fee, various people getting a cut of money…

    • Glen

      12 years ago

      Thank you mark for the info. by the way were planning to visit at bangkok by 3rd week of sept.

    • Mark Wiens

      12 years ago

      No problem Glen. Cool to hear that you’ll be visiting Bangkok!

  • Dayne

    12 years ago

    Hey Mark!

    Just did this trip out two days ago and am going back tomorrow. There are more buses into Siem Reap, at least there were when we went. Watched 3 leave full before we could get out. Takes about 4 hours including a 40 minute stop for food and bathroom. Only thing I would add that you missed is that the train from Bangkok heads there every day as well! It’s 3rd class seating and if you get on at the main station (H… can’t remember how to spell it right now) it will cost 48 baht and takes 6 hours. You can catch it at the BTS/Airport link station though and might not have to pay. I didn’t. (3rd class is free for Thai’s and as the only class to the border is 3rd, not a lot of people checking tickets) I would not recommend doing this during Songram though, as it is packed, as in force your way on, climb over people, stand for 3/4 hours (I recommend the bathroom if you can get it) and maybe get a seat before you arrive packed. But I hear its almost empty most times.

  • Jigzy

    13 years ago

    Just di this trip last week.Everything is as described here.Will get into some small details.

    Mochit: two different companies making the route to Aranyaprathet.The one i used was goverment bus,departure time is 05.00,05.45 and 09.30.
    I took the one that left 05.45(bus didnt leave before 6.00).Bus did not stop for break and we arrived Aranyaprathet around 11.30

    Time used to cross border was almost 1 hour.Bevare of touts,they will take you to “their” visa office.Just avoid them or say no politely.No need to exchange currency at border,cause in Siem Reap got plenty of them.Rates also bad at border(1bath = 101 riel,but in town its around 1 bath = 130 riel).Since bus rom poipet leaves at 12.00 and 15.00,you could try to fix taxi from border.Shoudlnt cost more than 50 usd(poipet station cost 10 usd pr person with bus and 12usd per person with taxi.

    In Siem Riep it still cost 15usd for a whole day with tuktuk and 40 usd for 3 days ticket to visit ALL Wat.
    I have uploaded some pics from my trip at my flickr page : http://www.flickr.com/photos/lengsphotos/
    or
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lengsphotos/sets/72157625503574847/
    1 video with 360 view of Angkor Wat is also to be seen at my site.

    Will do same trip again in beginning of feb 2011.Had a great time!

    • Mark Wiens

      13 years ago

      Thanks so much Jigzy for sharing this extra information. Awesome photos too, thans!

    • Jessica

      13 years ago

      Hi, i need help is Poipet and Border at Rongklua Market is a same place?….thank you

    • Mark Wiens

      13 years ago

      Hey Jessica,
      They are just a few kilometers away, and it’s possible to take a free shuttle provided by the government to get from the Rongklua Market to Poipet. Best of luck on your travels!

    • jay

      13 years ago

      Thanks for the info, I have a question. You say the taxi should cost under 50 usd, and the taxi at the poipet bus station is $12 per person. Are you talking about 2 different types of taxis, one at the border before you take the free shuttle and then one at the bus station? There are 2 of us traveling. Can we get a taxi at the bus station for $24 for just the 2 of us in the taxi, or how does it work. Thanks for your help, Jay.

    • Mark Wiens

      13 years ago

      Hey Jay,

      As I remember, the taxi will attempt to make you pay around $50 – $60 for the entire taxi, no matter how many people you are traveling with. However, I think if you visit the official counter, avoiding all the touts, they will give you a taxi ticket for $12 per person (I’m not fully sure and I’m not sure if they then wait for others to arrive to fill the vehicle).

      What I did was connected with 3 other travelers at the bus station and asked if they would be willing to share a taxi with me (that’s how we got 5 people for $40 – after haggling).

      The best thing might be to connect with 2 – 3 others that you might meet at the bus station / border and ask if they would like to share a taxi with you.

      I really hope you have a great trip and good luck with everything!