There are various ways to travel from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and vice versa. I was looking all over the web for the most efficient way to travel between the two places. I came across the Giant Ibis bus company which has some pretty good reviews. The bus leaves Phnom Penh at various timings. Visit Giant Ibis website for the complete list of timings. There is also a night bus which leaves at 11pm if you are looking to save some accommodation costs. It takes about 6-7 hours each way and costs USD 16 per trip. I booked the bus via my hotel and they charged a dollar more but the bus company will pick you up from your hotel. A tuk tuk will charge you at least two bucks to get you from the hotel to the bus station.
Here’s the bus parked at the 30 minutes rest stop
These buses are fitted with WIFI connection and power supply at each seat. But the WIFI got useless out of the city area and it was not accessible for more than 80% of the journey. I think that the WIFI runs on the 3G mobile network which is in line with my phone network; it switches to GPRS when the bus travels to the outskirts. The seats are pretty new and can be decline to a slight degree. It is a 2×2 configuration with a last row at the back. There is no toilet at the back of the bus but there are two rest stops for the journey, the first one for 10 minutes and another one for 30 minutes where you can grab a bite. All seats comes with seat belts which makes it a safer ride. There is a LCD monitor at the front of the bus where they play a couple of English movies but it may be too far for people sitting at the back.
Bring a neck pillow for your sleep
My bus was not full and I was lucky to get two seats to myself. It is fine if you are traveling with a friend but the seats might be too close together if you are sitting beside a stranger. It’s not a short ride, we are talking about a 6-7 hours bus ride. It is pretty bumpy at some parts and this is when the seat belts come in handy.
Overall, I think it is a very good option for budget travelers that have ample time and wants some comfort.
I just took Giant Ibis from HCMC to PP. The bus itself was fine. However, crossing the border from Vietnam to Cambodia, you are ‘required’ to pay an extra $5 “service fee” to the bus attendant in order to have them “help you get your visa faster” even though there is no line. When we said we’d do it ourselves he got hostile with us. At the border, they offered no help, and told everyone on the bus we would be late because of us. Yes, we delayed the bus 5 mins because we decided to get our visas legitimately instead of paying a bribe, but that’s not why the bus was over 2 hour late from the time they told us, with no traffic or delays along the route. Of the 48 countries I’ve been to, this was the most corrupt border crossing I’ve experienced. Usually, the tour company will assist with making sure you don’t get screwed by corrupt border officials. Here, they were part of the problem and joined in to take a cut.
Hi Justin, I feel bad for your experience with Giant Ibis. Personally, I tried the border crossing either way between HCMC and PP with Mekong Express. The staffs were helpful. So far so good, so might be a good choice for others.