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Wat Phnom, Phnom Penh

© Creative Commons / Allie_Caulfield

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Cambodia

Travel to Phnom Penh

Flying to Phnom Penh

There are no direct flights to Phnom Penh from the United Kingdom but there are good connections with Thai International, Singapore Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Air France. The peak travel season is from September to April. Cheap flights to Phnom Penh can be found by avoiding school holidays, Christmas and Cambodian New Year in April.

Flight times: 

From London - 14 hours 10 minutes; New York - 20 hours 20 minutes; Los Angeles - 19 hours 35 minutes; Toronto - 19 hours 35 minutes; Sydney - 12 hours.

Travel by road

Summary:

The roads around Cambodia vary from excellent to very poor tracks but conditions are improving slowly. Traffic drives on the right, but cars are both left-hand and right-hand drive cars, which can account for the rather reckless manner of driving adopted by the Cambodians. The road system around Phnom Penh is the best in the country with numbered routes leading out of the city. It is not possible to hire cars in Cambodia but it is possible to hire a car with a driver.

Routes:

Route 1 is the main road to the Vietnamese border at Moc Bai, Route 4 takes you to the only port at Sihanoukville and Route 6 to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor. The further you travel from the capital, the more the roads deteriorate and land travel becomes a gruelling experience. It is important to remember that during the rainy season, May to October, even major routes can suffer disruption because of serious flooding. Most long-distance taxis leave from the northwest corner of the Central Market.

Driving times:

From Battambang - 4 hours; Kampot - 3 hours; Siem Reap – 4 to 5 hours; Sihanoukville - 2.5 hours.

Coaches:

As the roads leading out of Phnom Penh are good, there is an extensive bus service to places such as Siem Reap, Sihanoukville, Rattanakiri, Battambang, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. These are operated by the main bus company, Phnom Penh Sorya Transportation (tel: (023) 210 359; www.ppsoryatransport.com), and buses depart from the southwest corner of the Central Market, corner at Street 217 and Street 67.

Travel by rail

Services:

There are two lines in Cambodia, from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and Battambang but neither line is operating at the moment. However, there is ongoing work to upgrade and reopen both lines by 2013.



Travel over water

Summary:

Express boats service Phnom Penh from Siem Reap and boats leave from south of the Japanese Bridge on Sisowath Quay at Street 104. Tickets are sold at the dock and should be bought at least one day in advance.

This is quite an adventurous way to get to Siem Reap and occasionally these local ferries break down or become grounded if the water is too low or the service is suspended. The best time to travel is during and just after the rainy season between June to November.

Ferry services:

There is a regular boat service between Phnom Penh and Chau Doc on the Mekong in Vietnam, with several operators including Blue Cruiser (tel: (023) 633 3666; www.bluecruiser.com) and Hang Chau Boat Company (tel: (012) 883 542). Taxis and motodops (motorbike taxis) always meet the boats.

Transport to the city:

The ferry dock is centrally located so can easily be reached by taxi from local hotels.

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