When you are travelling in this part of the world – Southeast Asia, you’re more likely going to cross four countries; Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. I didn’t do this trail last year, I’m not sure why! I ended up leaving without seeing Cambodia, now that I had the chance, I grabbed it and booked a bus ticket from Bangkok to Siem Reap.
Crossing the border between Thailand and Cambodia was a piece of cake, it was fast and easy unless you decide to dance and drink in Khaosan Road until 3 in the morning. Don’t do it. I did it and it was horrible the next day when I needed to take this bus to Siem Reap. If you haven’t found a hostel yet, check out this list of hostels in Cambodia that I personally stayed at. If you are staying in Siem Reap for a while, you may want to check out the swimming pools in Siem Reap.
If you need help in budgeting, check out this Southeast Asia travel budget which I thoroughly wrote. I also have backpacking in Southeast Asia guide and Southeast Asia travel route post.
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THAILAND-CAMBODIA BORDER CROSSING
I’ll walk you step by step on how to cross the border by land between Thailand and Cambodia, we’ll also discuss the cost and what to expect once you reach the border.
Book Your Bus From Bangkok To Siem Reap
The main bus station is in Mo Chit, which is 10 kms from the city centre of Bangkok. We all know that it’s always cheaper to book your bus directly from the bus station, however giving the fact that the bus station is located outside the city centre, it might be cheaper to book your bus online or find the best travel agency.
You can also take your chances and arrive as early as you can to buy your ticket on the same day you earn to travel. But this is risky as you never know if the bus has space or not. The bus ride is about 9 hours and the bus ticket should cost about 750 baht directly from the bus station, 1100 baht through a travel agency or your hostel/hotel and 950 through online which I did.
You have the option to get a bus from Bangkok to the border of Bangkok to Siem Reap.
Cost
The ticket cost about $12, plus the metro and motorbike taxi I took to get to the bus station, which was around $3. From the bus’ office, I took a tuk-tuk to get to my hostel for $1. I spent about $16 in total.
How To Get To Mo Chit Bus Station
Surprisingly, Bangkok has a great metro system. It’s cheap and reliable. From Silom, I took a metro to Mo Chit (42 baht) from the metro station, I took a motorbike taxi to the bus station (40 baht). Remember to arrive 30 minutes before your bus leaves as this bus station is quite busy.
You can also just book a Grab car service from your accommodation. The cost depends on how far you are from the bus station.
Crossing The Border
About 13.00, I got off the bus and head to the border control of Thailand to get my exit stamp. The whole border is a chaos and under construction, don’t panic if you get confused and lost. Just ask anyone where can you get the stamp and they’ll point you in the right direction or better just keep going straight, no turns.
Only 7 countries are visa-free in Cambodia, if you’re not on the list, you can get a visa on arrival for a fee of $30, make sure you have a passport photo with you as well. Here’s a visa guide for Cambodia for all nationalities. After getting your exit stamp from Thailand, walk about a kilometre to the entry point of Cambodia. Prepare your visa fee and a passport photo.
GET YOUR VISA FOR CAMBODIA ONLINE TO AVOID SCAMS AT THE BORDER
The border is open between 07:30 – 20.00 (7.30 am to 10 pm).
After you get your entry stamp, jump back to your bus for another 4-hour drive to Siem Reap. The journey is pretty nice, passing through farms and seeing how the locals in the countryside live their life is interesting. In my opinion, I think Cambodia is one of the poorest yet top destination country in Southeast Asia. The roads are undeveloped as soon as you leave the city. Siem Reap itself is covered in mud when the rain starts to pour.
It was about 18.30 when we reached the office of the bus company, they provided free service to drop us off at our accommodations. So, that’s it! The border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia is pretty straightforward and easy. From Siem Reap, a lot of backpackers head to Battambang, Phnom Penh, Kampot, Sihanoukville and Koh Rong. Check the map and plan out where you want to head next. Check this border crossing guide, it will show you the options of how to get from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh city.
If you have any question regarding Thailand Cambodia border crossing, don’t hesitate to reach out to me through the comment section below.
SCAMS AT THE BORDER
Be aware of the scam in the land border of Thailand and Cambodia, it has been proven that some people have been scammed by someone as they cross this border. I highly suggest you get your evisa before you arrive to avoid being a victim of the scam.
One example of the scam is when you supposed to pay $30 for the visa, but then you will be asked to pay another $10. Another story is when you already arranged your e-visa beforehand, someone will ask you to pay extra money without explaining what it is for.
It’s hard to say to only deal with an official at the border since some travellers claimed that even the officials are running the show as well. Just keep your passport with you and don’t hand it to anyone unless you’re about to get your stamp/visa.
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Hello Mary,
I was planning to exit Thai-Cambodia boarder, and then go back to Thailand. I was a Philippine passport holder. I think magkababayan tayo. Hehe. Just kidding. My question is do i need to pay a $30 or 1200 baht for VOA in cambodia immigration to stamp my passport?
Hi Mei, There shouldn’t be any fee. However, land border allows you to enter Thailand twice a year only and there is a chance that they will ask you to show a bank statement, exit ticket, and hotel confirmation.
Thanks for your reply, my follow up question is, my husband will accompany me to travel because he is working here in Thailand. I only applied for tourist visa and it will expire nextweek and i wanted to extend my stay here, thats why i need to exit through land border. He has complete documents though, what do u mean by exit ticket? Airfare ticket?
Yes, you might need to show a flight leaving Thailand.
Hello Mary,
I have the swiss pass and I would like to stay more than 2 months in Cambodia.
I arrived in Phnom Phen on the September 27th 2018 by plane.
I got a tourism visa (valid for 1 month) and I’m extending it already for 1 month more.
Thus I will have the right to stay in Cambodia until the November 27th 2018.
Do you think it is possible to get a NEW tourism VISA for Cambodia on September 27th (or 28th) if I cross the terrestrial border in the direction of Thailand and come back to Cambodia?
Tell me if my explanation is not accurate enough.
Sorakann Ki
Hi Sorakann,
Many travellers actually have done it and have not experienced any problem. I personally have not tried it for Cambodia but have done many times in Vietnam. I’m pretty sure it’s not a problem. I think the best is to ask one of the Facebook groups about backpacking in Southeast Asia if you are unsure or Cambodia expat groups. You can try Cambodia subreddit as well.
Sorry, I’m not much of a help but let me know if you have more questions.
Hi. We will crossing the border of thailand and cambodia this october and we are planning to rent a mini van as we are a group of 7 pax travelling with luggages. With this, we are planning to leave midnight from thailand to arrive early in Cambodia. My questions are:
1. Is Thai border immigration open 24H?
2. Is Cambodia border immigration open 24H?
Trying to find blogs about this but I cant seem to find any as of yet.
Thank you.
Hi Majane, I’ve crossed these borders a few times but always during working hours of the day. From Vietnam side to Cambodia, the borders on both sides are not 24 hours, however, I’m not sure about Thailand to Cambodia. I think you can either:
1. Check the bus schedules between these borders, if there are no buses that leave after let say 18.00 or the bus leave after 18.00 but the travel time is more than 10 hours, the bus will probably stay overnight on the border and wait till its open again.
OR
2. Contact the bus companies and inquire if the border is open 24 hours or what are the working hours.
Thank you so much Mary. I already did the 1st suggestion and it seems like they are not open until 8am. Will try to double check it with the bus companies as well as they will have the most updated information.
Will update this comment once I get confirmation from the bus company to guide your readers as well.
God bless and keep writing/blogging.
Just got a confirmation message from Giant Ibis Transport. Both the Aranphayet (Bangkok) and Poipet (Cambodia) immigration operating hours is 7:30 am to 10:00 pm. Fyi.
Thanks for letting me know! 🙂