Angkor Wat Transportation

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I booked a ticket to Siem Reap with the Mailinh Bus Transport Co. I purchased a return ticket which was Saigon- Phnom Penh- Siem Reap- Phnomn Penh- Saigon this was an open ticket and found the busses to be in new condition..very comfortable and had air /con..notify their office on the day that you want to travel..These busses are great value..
The total ticket cost was around US$ 30.00

OK, so the temples of Angkor cover a vast area of some 400 square kilometres. So what's the best way of getting around to see them? Well I first bought a 3-day pass for $40 so I had enough time to see the majority of them and certainly the most important and well known of them plus some a little further away. This is what I did:

Day 1: I hired a bicycle from a place just down the road from where I stayed in Siem Reap and cycled all the way to the entrance gate that's located along the main road that leads from the town to Angkor Wat. I then got my pass and cycled up to Angkor Wat which is about 6km from Siem Reap, so bear this in mind. After visiting this, I then cycled north and into Angkor Thom and cycled around this in order to see the Bayan temple, Baphuon Temple, Elephant Terrace, entrance gates, and finally Preah Khan which is just outside the northern gate of Angkor Thom. I then cycled back in the early evening when it was getting dark. This is quite a tuff days sightseeing by bike but I managed to do it and I'm hardly Lance Armstrong!

Day 2: I hired a tuk-tuk driver from my hotel in order to visit the temple to the east of Angkor Thom which included Pre Rup, Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm (where parts of the Tomb Raider film were shot), Ta Keo, and a couple just outside the eastern gate. This cost me $15.

Day 3: I hired the same tuk-tuk driver and first visited the Roluos Group of temples which are located about 13km east of Siem Reap. I then got the driver the take me all the way north so that I could visit Banteay Srey and Banteay Samre which are located a fair way northeast of Angkor Wat. This cost me $30.

I wish I would have read this a month ago, but for anyone else that needs him...I had a very friendly, dependable tuk-tuk driver for my Siem Reap visit by the name of Loum Ly (or Aly for short). Very stand-up dude with good English skills. You can reach him at (855) 92 66 80 81 or alynew53@yahoo.com

We had a great time with him in 2008.

Chris

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If you want to visit the Angkor Monuments, the best and cheapest way is by the local Tuk Tuk (carriages pulled by motorcycles). The official Tuk Tuk drivers will wear a vest with their numbers stated at the back of the vest, so this is controlled and safe.

Usually, the driver will charge by per Tuk Tuk per day, and each Tuk Tuk can take about 3 persons to be comfortable. The cost per day is quite affordable (see below), and the driver will send you to each of the monuments of your choice, wait for you to hop-on and going to the next monument and so-on. This is a very flexible way to get around, and it is a very good and relaxing experience.

When I was there in November 2009, my Tuk Tuk driver was Mr Heanh (see photos). He is a nice and honest person who speaks English, experienced and will guide you to the major monuments. If you are interested, you can contact Mr Heanh when you are in Siem Reap. His contact number is tel: 092-835-719 and his Tuk Tuk number is S20 (unfortunately, he does not have an email address). His charges per day is as follows:

- US$15 for Angkor Wat, Angkor Thum City and nearby monuments such as Ta Prohm, Ta Keo.
- US$20 for the above monuments, plus those in the Grand Circuit such as Sras Srang, Pre Rup, East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean & Preah Khan.
- US$25 for further away monuments such as Banteay Srei (about 40km away).

Please note that the above rates does not include a guide. Mr Heanh will only tell you basic information e.g. names of the monuments and which era they were built. If you hire a guide (which I did not), I was told it is about US$40 per day. There are various guides who can speak various languages very fluently!

Just returned from Angkor Wat Siem Reap, had a wonderful trip and an unforgettable experience. We use Mr. Timothy a.ka. Salmat as our tuk tuk driver, he is very friendly, realiable and able to communicate in english. We are paying around Usd 25 for 2 days trip which i think it is reasonable price. The trip includes Angkor wat temples (including Banteay Strei which is another 1 hour drive), tonle sap, siem reap old market, night market, artisan d angkor and silk farm. You can contact Timothy by e-mail"

timothy_mate@yahoo.com

Tel: +855 92 915158

Bumpy ride but it is very fun & interesting.

We hope you will find this information helpful for your next siem reap trip.

Cheers.....

A trip to Angkor Wat small circuit tour (Siem Riep>Angkor Wat>Angkor Thom>Ta Keo>Ta Phom>Sra Srang/Bankeay kdei & back to Siem Riep) is US$10. If booked from guesthouse =US$12. U can add US$5 if u wanted to go further to the grand circuit or even to Rolous group.

Bus ticket to phnom Penh from Sie Riep can be purchased at the guesthouse (normally xtra US$1 than normal price)...For aircon without toilet such as Sorya & GST =US$5 & wth aircon & double decker =US$8. Mekong express is at US$10-US$11. Pickup from your guesthouse/hotel via van.

For tuk tuk around USD15 for the temples nearby (eg.Bayon, Pre Rup). If go to Banteay Srei, Roluos Group, Banteay Samre etc (more far away), its more suitable to rent a car with air-con.

There is many driver information and contact info from the website and you can ask quotations from them to see the general cost as your reference. The following is some recommended drivers from others packpackers.

1. chansy - chansy_siemreap@yahoo.com
2. Oum - oumdavuth@yahoo.com
3. shinsak - shinsak02@yahoo.com (tel 85592773483)
4. Ming - chenhuiming82@yahoo.com +855 11627230, 855 92641344
He also runs a guesthouse name Angkor Garden Villa
5. Vuthy thy - http://www.angkortransport.com/
vuthy_006@yahoo.com

add to that 25 dollars for the car.. why not spend the extra ten dollars and get somebody who has already been proven to be good? write to www.mandalayinn.com and ask maung maung about the rate for a car and a guide.. you would see that it is creeping up there.. gone are the days a car and guide for 25 usd.. long gone

you may be able to get a good guide for 25 usd. also if you have a car and a guide and within the prescribed number of hours you could visit off the beaten path places and also always go to the tonle sap and watch sunset etc..

if you just want to do it yourself, just get a tuk tuk and pay him about 12 usd per day or similar and he will drive you around..