How to travel from Shihanoukville (Cambodia) to Thailand by bus

Monday, December 23, 2013 Countries , Hat Lek , How-Tos , Koh Kong , Sihanoukville Ville , Thailand , Trat , Travel 0 Comments

Cách đi từ Shihanoukville (Cambodia) tới Thái Lan bằng xe buýt.

You can go to Thailand from Shihanoukville by yourself by bus, although it is quite a very long trip.

Trat bus Terminal - Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookiesound/6684643579/

Tips: There are bus operators such as Rith Mony, Bun Thou, and Virak Buntham Express operate daily air-conditioned minibus service leaving at 8-8:30AM to/from the the border with Thailand at Koh Kong/Hat Lek, taking about 5 hours (as what they say, but the time they spend to pick up passengers along the way plus bad road condition, it may take more than 6 hours!). In November 2013 I took the Virak Buntham Express from Shihanoukville to Koh Kong for a ridiculous 9 USD (ticket for locals, as they say, is 8 USD) departed from 8pm and arrived at 2:30PM!

They will also typically have pickup in front of the offices on the main strip in town at 7:30AM. Other  minibuses also serve this route but even more jam-packed and uncomfortable.

Be prepared for toilet paper, the bus may stop somewhere for lunch and the toilets there are horrible.

At Hat Lek border, after you've done with visa procedure, they'll be minivans to transfer passengers to Trat bus station in Thailand for 120BTH (or 4 USD, you have to pay in BTH) and take about 1 hour 30 minutes. At Trat bus station, you can buy tickets to Bangkok (around 4-5 hours, consider the the traffic jam in Bangkok, too), Pattaya, and other places in Thailand.

Virak Buntham Express address in Shihanoukville: The new government Bus Terminal. Tel: 016 754 358/012 769 382/ 011 558 988.
In Koh Kong: 100 metre North of the round about or Cinema street. Tel: 016 559 481/ 016 797 909/ 089 99 87 60.

Watch out for scams at the Cambodia (Koh Kong) border.