Angkor Wat Transportation

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We travelled from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap by bus. After much research we decided to take Mekong Express as it is the most reliable and safe bus from Ho Chi Minh at 21$. True enough we very much enjoyed the travel and the occasional stops, the bus assistant was very nice and accommodating to questions. The bus was comfortable, its neither too hot nor too cold, just the right temperature, it has a toilet inside were seated two rows from the toilet but we never experienced any foul odor coming from the toilet. We readied ourselves with a lot of food knowing the 12 hour travel but we didnt expect the bus assistant to give us delicious free snacks. We had a short stop (30mins) at Pnom Penh after six hours of crossing from Vietnam to Cambodia border. Then we again took another bus which would take us straight to Siem Reap for another 6 hours. They gave us another free snack. If only were not pressed for time, we would have stayed in Pnom Penh for one night so that the travel would not be too tiring for us.

Getting there from Siem Reap, ideally, you would've purchased a 1 day or 3 day pass - hence you should book a tuk tuk or a cab for the day to get you around the sites.
A car should cost approx $25 - $30 per day.

Dec. 13, 2010

We just returned from Angkor Wat. It was everything we had hoped for and more. The temples were awesome as expected, but the best part of the experience was provided by our tuk tuk driver Srapon. We had contacted Srapon via the internet several weeks before leaving the U.S. He provided us with much useful information and can be of assistance in recommending and booking a hotel.

Srapon met us at the airport and drove us around for four days, providing information on the temples and on Cambodia in general. He picked us up at 5am for sunrise, took us to ride elephants and anywhere we wanted to go. After viewing a temple he would have ice cold water and a cool face wipe waiting. Best of all was a trip into the countryside. Srapon would stop whenever we wished to take pictures and answer questions and serve as interpreter with the local people. His English is quite good. We saw and did things that would not have been possible without his help. He is very gentle and soft spoken and couldn't be more helpful. His rates are very competitive, although we were so pleased with his service that we gave him a generous tip.

I highly recommend seeing the Angkor area by tuk tuk as opposed to a car. If you are already on an organized tour, I recommend hiring Srapon for at least a day for the trip out to Banteay Srei or perhaps to Tonle Sap Lake. You will find the experience well worth it and you will make a friend in Cambodia.

Larry and Monica

I just came back from Cambodia a few days ago. I hired Sra Pon to be our tuk-tuk driver for four and a half days in Siem Reap. He was very reliable. He was always on time every morning and kept his tuk-tuk very clean and tidy. The seat was very soft and covered in fabric seats (most other tuk-tuks have vinyl seats), which is great when the roads are bumpy and the weather is hot!! He even supplied us with bottles of cold water and wet towels in his ice box everyday. He spoke very good English and he could also read English as we showed him the names of the temples we wanted to visit. He brought us to any place we wanted and suggested other places also.

He may not be the fastest tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap but he is the safest and most careful driver in Siem Reap. Everyday we did the morning tour of the temples, followed by 2-3 hour lunch break and rest at the hotel, then did the afternoon tour of the temples. He made good suggestions as when to visit certain temples to avoid crowds. He also took us to different restaurants and other interesting places we wanted to go at night without any complains.

His rates are very reasonable, in fact was slightly lower than the other tuk-tuk driver was asking.

You can contact him at srapon@ymail.com
His phone number is (855) 89461575

You will never regret that you hired him to take you around!

Air Asia flies to Siem Reap from Kuala Lumpur or via Phnom Penh. Other airlines primarily from Bangkok, HCMC, Hanoi, Hong Kong and Singapore too.

Fairly new airport with Cambodian traditional architecture motif roof.

Has a domestic and international terminal. Short distance, about 8km from Siem Reap town, about USD5 by taxi.

Airport code: VDSR. Passenger service charge for international flight of USD25 is steep.

Siem Reap - Angkor International Airport is the second largest airport in Cambodia. It has frequent flights from Phnom Penh International Airport as well as direct flights to/from Laos (Pakse | Vientiane), Korea (Incheon), Singapore, Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), Taiwan (Kaohsiung | Taipei), Thailand (Bangkok | U-Tapao) and Vietnam (Danang | Ho Chi Minh City).

The airport is less than 15 minutes by car from the center of town. A moto should only cost $1. Visa on Arrival is available for $20 (payable in US dollars) and a single color photo. International departure tax is a steep $25.

First time to fly Bangkok Airways and must say, am extremely satisfied even happy with the flight and service. Although I was first apprehensive with the propeller ATR 72 80-seater aircraft, fears easily dissipated upon learning these are new aircrafts from a French-Italian joint venture company. Flight was smooth and snack was served on board (pastries, juice, coffee..even ice cream on return flight) Bangkok airways has a passenger lounge in the international airport, where you can wait and have snacks regardless whether you are flying economy or business class. Bangkok Airways is in Terminal 2 of Don Muang International Airport. We got the Bangkok Airways Discovery Airpass for only USD$80 ++ per one way trip, (meaning Bangkok to Siem Reap is USD$80, return is also $80++) but you will have to purchase at least 3 one way trips, so we got the round trip Bangkok-SiemReap and the Bangkok-Luang Prabang for only USD$320 per person. If we opted for the regular ticket, it would have cost us about the same price per person just for Bangkok to SiemReap and return. I think its a very good deal!

Angkor is sooooo big! What a richness in beauty. Just incredible, apart from all mayor temples make sure to visit Bantay Srei, little further a field. amazing! We went around by Tuk Tuk. Great way of visiting, choose your own itenary and save your breath for the tempels (its hot and its humit) biking around is also cool but demanding and the traffic is somewhat crazy. To advertise a little for our cool driver: We had a great driver Savuth, speaks english and was reliable, but more important he was a very fun companion which in my opinion is important when traveling together al day (also nice, he didn't try to sell us stuff). He wants to practise his English, so make sure to talk a lot. He charges between 10$ and 15$ a day depending on distance and hours. Don't expect stories about angkor, but do expect stories about life in cambodian countryside. His phonenumber (he has no internet) 092.362244 of course a cambodian number, so if calling from outside Cambodia look for the country code. You won't regret it! (at least if you don't see a driver earning 10$ as a slave and show some interest)

Oh yeah make sure to visit the landmine museum on the way to Bantay Srei. A break from the temples, and an eye opening story. This is really a good cause to support (2$ entry) as there are still 5.000.000 mines left in Cambodia killing 300 people a year and maiming many more. The museum also cares for child victems of landmines. They live there but they are not part of the museums (as some people seem to think we were told) and thus not on exhibition. Try to get a tour from a passionate Americam living and working there (Bill?)

Cheers & enjoy.