Poipet

The nearest Thai town is Aranyaprathet, about 6 km from the border. The border is in central Poipet. The border is open 07:00-20:00. There is no time difference between Cambodia and Thailand.

Immediately next to the Thai immigration facilities is Rongkleu Market, which host banks, cafes, a convenience store, money exchangers, and buses.

Poipet is a large town that is well connected with reasonably priced buses to various points in the country. The three major cities of Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap (US$3.75 to Poipet, US$5 from Poipet) are each directly connected to Poipet. If you're on a bus to Poipet with a view to leaving Cambodia, the bus will stop at its company's Poipet offices first. Do not get off unnecessarily as it will likely continue as far as immigration, which will save you a walk or motorbike taxi fare.

Taxis to Poipet should be cheaper than those from Poipet, if you can keep middle men out of it. Your guesthouse may help arrange one but will inflate the price for you. A taxi from Siem Reap should be about US$30 and take about 2½ hr.

Leaving Cambodia at this border is generally unproblematic. The porters that swarm over your luggage as soon as it's out off the bus are only trying to get a fare for carrying it to the Thai side. They will generally not steal from it, but it's best to keep your valuables on you. Their services (US$1) can be appreciated on a hot day if the queues are long.

Rongkleu Market has buses to Bangkok's Victory Monument, Mo Chit bus station and Suvarnabhumi airport. There are also buses from the market to other Thai towns, such as Nakhon Ratchasima and Chachoengsao. Such buses allow travellers to avoid Aranyaprathet town, though Aran is better connected.

From Aranyaprathet, songthaews (pickup trucks that act as buses) run between the 7-Eleven in Rongkleu Market and the out-of-town Tesco Lotus hypermarket, passing through central Aran on the main road. A ride costs 15 baht. A tuk-tuk should cost 60 baht after haggling and a motorbike taxi should be 40 baht after a haggle.

On the Thai side, entry to the Thai immigration facilities is to the left of the main road which approaches the border. Travellers therefore must head towards the busy Rongkleu Market for about 2 or 3 metres before seeing the queues for immigration.

When in line for Thai immigration, both arrivals and departures, there are vats of cool drinking water that travellers can help themselves to, if they have a bottle to fill.

As of May 2023, visa issuance and immigration are now done in the same room; just follow the "Foreigners" signs at the border. The visa-on-arrival office is in the back of the room, which is dominated by the queues to enter the country. Remember to pick up an arrival card in the room as well.

• Queues are longest at around midday when many buses arrive. Arriving earlier or later will let you sail through.
• The paperwork is very simple. It requires no assistance, regardless of what touts may say.
• Forms are available at the counter to the left of the visa window, although a "helpful" tout will likely offer you one as soon as you approach the office. Take the form and otherwise ignore the tout.
• A passport photo was previously required for the visa, but as of May 2019 the visa officials are turning down the photos and saying they prefer to just scan your passport. They now ask for a 100-baht fee regardless of whether you have a photo, though if you insist a few times that there is no such fee, they will eventually give up and grumpily tell you to have a seat and wait. This is a bluff, as you will still have your visa in hand within minutes.

Alternatively, you can obtain an e-Visa for US$36, which is the same visa as the one for US$30 but obtained online in advance. Having an e-Visa usually saves you time at the border (unless they have to open the "e-Visa counter" just for you and it takes even longer than just getting one on-arrival), and considering the $5-10 bribe typically demanded to issue your visa-on-arrival, isn't that much more expensive than the VOA.

US$30 tourist visas (T class) can be extended once only, for a further 30 days at cost of US$45. Anyone wanting longer stays and multiple entries in Cambodia will need a US$35 "ordinary" visa (E class, valid for 30 days and extendable in Cambodia). As of April 2018, a work permit and letter from employer is required to get an EB (business) extension. If you are not working you will need to apply for an EG ("looking for work") extension, or, if you are aged over 55, an ER (retirement) extension. The EG extension is a one-off, and comes in 1-, 3-, and 6-month versions, 1- and 3-month are single entry and the 6 month is multiple entry. Once you have had an EG extension you cannot extend it or reapply on a subsequent visit. Confusingly, E class visas are unrelated to the online visas. They cost US$35 and require no extra documents or fees. Make sure the officials know that you know this.

One's first steps after the arrivals office lead to the Transport Monopoly Tout Zone (see map). The racket here is the dressing of expensive privately run transport as official policy.

Free, so-called government buses or minibuses await tourists emerging from immigration. They go to an inconveniently out-of-town transportation depot: the 🌍 Poipet Tourist Passenger International Terminal. They cease running at about 18:00. Overpriced food is available while one waits for an expensive bus or shared taxi. On the other hand, the buses here run much more frequently than local buses from the town, so you could also just think of it as the price of a transport infrastructure that wouldn't exist at all if not for tourists.

Only the diligent and stubborn will avoid this one (see below) because police are beastly to and extort drivers that pick up tourists near the border. The police and "helpful" others pester tourists emerging from arrivals and basically cajole them onto the buses. Most tourists succumb, either unaware of the dishonesty or unwilling to go against a uniform. If such a set up irks you, remember that despite how it initially feels you have every right to do as you please in Poipet and you can smilingly, tactfully and respectfully decline to follow their instructions.

Some tourists have reported being taken to a private travel agency instead of the proper depot, under the pretense that the station "is under construction". You don't have to deal with them but the private company may be cheaper than the "officials".

An official taxi to Siem Reap costs an offensive 2,400 baht. The police-enforced cartel takes US$25 per taxi per trip. Negotiation is very difficult but should be possible given that a taxi outside the cartel should cost about US$30. Negotiate the price in dollars, baht prices tend to be inflated.

There are no rules against introducing yourself to fellow travelers and sharing the ride.

Drivers who work for the cartel will generally deliver tourists to wherever they choose in Siem Reap without any problems. Though possible tricks include being dropped in a dusty parking lot out of town or at a commission paying guesthouse, which is most of them. Simply do not pay until you are happy with the destination. Do not believe that taxis are prohibited from entering the centre of Siem Reap.

Wherever you end up, tuk-tuk drivers will be waiting. A fare within town should be US$1, though Siem Reap is easily covered on foot.

From the Tourist Passenger International Terminal a bus to Siem Reap costs US$9 per person and takes around three hours.

You may arrive a couple of kilometers outside central Siem Reap, where tuk-tuk drivers pay the cartel for access to arriving tourists. They recoup their money by taking tourists to commission paying accommodation, which they may offer to do very cheaply, perhaps for free. Their big money however comes from temple trips and they will implore you to hire them on for this. This is not necessarily bad but make sure you know the correct rates. If you value your independence, pay the tuk-tuk driver a fair rate (US$2 is acceptable, perhaps generous) for the trip into town, make sure you are dropped where you want to be dropped and then have nothing more to do with him. If you pay a cheaper rate for the tuk-tuk, you may feel obliged to use his services subsequently.

Avoid this scam by saying you want to have lunch, find a guesthouse, see Poipet, go to the post office or casino or karaoke, basically anything that isn't finding a bus. Then walk down the street, the pressure eases off away from the roundabout and you should be able to pick up a ride without being bothered.

Just don't start negotiating with a driver if a policeman is standing next to you. It's unfortunately their job (i.e., orders from bent bosses, rather than legal duty) to intervene if a tourist tries to deal with a driver outside the monopoly. Don't be worried, the intervention will be nothing more than creaming a cut from the fare (you're not doing anything wrong remember). There are many taxi drivers in town. A taxi to Siem Reap normally costs up to US$30, but negotiate as prices may start at US$50–60. If you want to do it Khmer-style, a seat in a shared taxi will be about US$8.

Non-tourist buses depart from the bus company offices scattered along the main street a little way from immigration (see map). Their fares are outside the official monopoly so a bus to Siem Reap costs only US$5, to Battambang US$4. Departures are in the morning and can generally only be made after staying overnight in Poipet. However, the taste of victory over Cambodia's institutional corruption can be sweet.

Pickup trucks can be found near the border and in the town, they run to Siem Reap and Battambang, although changing in Sisophon is likely. Seats inside/outside the truck cost 10,000/5,000 riel to Sisophon, plus approximately double that for an onward journey to either Siem Reap or Battambang.

The monopoly only affects transport from Poipet. Buses from Siem Reap to Poipet are about half the price of those from the Tourist Passenger International Terminal to Siem Reap.

Poipet's airport has no scheduled flights. However, if you're travelling between Bangkok and Siem Reap, flights will pass near enough over Poipet and cost about US$150.

Alternatively, have the monopoly work for you. Take the free shuttle out of town and then hitch-hike. Anyone who picks you up will expect something for their effort, nothing compared with a taxi or even bus fare though.