Siemreap Travel Guide - Siemreap Travel Information – Siemreap Tours

Home > Destination > Cambodia > Siem Reap

DESTINATION DETAIL

Siem Reap

One of your reasons to have your Cambodia tours must be the Temples of Angkor. Gateway to the Temples of Angkor Nestled between rice paddies and stretched along the Siem Reap River, the provincial capital of Siem Reap City serves as the gateway to the millennium-old ruins of the Angkorian-era Khmer Empire. Designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, the Angkor Archaeological Park encompasses dozens of temple ruins including Bayon, Ta Prohm and the legendary Angkor Wat whose artistic and archaeological significance and visual impact put it in a class with the Pyramids, Machu Pichu and the Taj Mahal. And thought the major temples in the Angkor Archaeological Park are very well touristed these days, it is still possible to get away from the crowds with us as your professional Cambodia tour operator, explore the area and discover the ancient temples of Angkor. Siem Reap Town is where you will probably stay during your visit. The area has been receiving foreign visitors to the temples for over 100 year. The town is actually a cluster of old villages, which originally developed around individual pagodas, and was later overlain with a French colonial-era center. Take note of the colonial style architecture heavy European colonial style structures and modified “Chinese shophouses” – in the Old French Quarter and around the Old Market. Nowadays, Siem Reap offers a wide range of hotels, including several 4 and 5-star hotels, dozens of mid-range places as well as an amazing variety of restaurants, lots of shopping opportunities and a vibrant nightlife. Often missed are the many opportunities to experience traditional Cambodia: boat trips on the great Tonle Sap Lake to fishing villages and the Prek Toal bird sanctuary, craft shops and silk farms, road tours throught rice-paddy countryside to distant temples and beyond. This is the place for most of your Cambodia tours memories.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

1. Getting there & away

Land

Bus, car & taxi

The road linking Siem Reap to Phnom Penh is now surfaced all the way, and air-con buses thunder up and down daily. The road west to Sisophon, Thailand and Battambang is in a messy state in places, but is finally being overhauled. It is served by some buses and plenty of share taxis.

There are several companies operating buses between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and services depart between 6.30am and 12.30pm. The average cost of a bus ticket is US$5, depending on the company. Tickets can be bought at guesthouses or ticket booths in town. Leading companies include Capitol Transport (963883), GST (012 888981; Sivatha St), Neak Krohorm (964924) near Psar Chaa, and Sorya Transport (760103). Mekong Express (963662; Central Market; US$9) and Paramount Angkor Express (963662; Tep Vong St; US$8) both offer a slightly more upmarket service with an in-drive hostess and a snack. All buses now arrive and depart from the bus station and taxi park, about one kilometre east of Psar Leu on NH6 towards Phnom Penh. Watch out for over-eager moto and remorque drivers on arrival at Siem Reap bus station; it’s like stepping off the bus and into a rugby scrum.

Share taxis are a faster way to travel between Siem Reap and the capital. They usually cover the distance in just four hours and charge about US$7 per person or US$45 for the whole car.

The 152km run to Thailand can take as little as three hours, but in the wet season you should double that and add some more on an off day. Buses through to Bangkok cost about US$10 to US$12 and can take from 10 to 14 hours. It is faster to go your own way. Share taxis run to Poipet (US$6 per seat, US$40 for the car, three to four hours) for those travelling independently, or to Sisophon (US$4), for connections to Battambang.

Share taxis and pick-ups depart from the taxi park about 3km out of town on NH6 towards Phnom Penh.

Boat

There are daily express boat services between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh (US$20 to US$25, five to six hours) or Battambang (US$15, three to eight hours depending on the season). The boat to Phnom Penh is a bit of a rip-off these days, given it is just as fast by road and about one-quarter the price. The Battambang trip is seriously scenic, but breakdowns are very common.

Boats from Siem Reap leave from the floating village of Chong Kneas near Phnom Krom, 11km south of Siem Reap. The boats dock in different places at different times of the year; when the lake recedes in the dry season, both the port and floating village move with it. A Korean company is currently building an all-weather road and, somewhat incongruously, a marina.

Most of the guesthouses in town sell boat tickets. Buying the ticket from a guesthouse usually includes a moto or minibus ride to the port. Otherwise, a moto out here costs about US$1 to US$2, a remorque-moto about US$4. A taxi is more like US$10.

Air

There are direct international flights to Bangkok in Thailand; Vientiane, Luang Prabang and Pakse in Laos; Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and Hanoi in Vietnam; Hong Kong; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia; Kunming in China; Seoul in South Korea; Singapore; and Taipei in Taiwan.

Domestic links are currently limited to Phnom Penh and only Siem Reap Airways (US$75/120 one way/return) currently offers this route. Demand for the limited number of flights is high during peak season, so book as far in advance as possible. There were flights to Sihanoukville for a short time and these may well resume some time soon.

Airline offices around town:

Angkor Airways (964166; www.angkorairways.com; Achar Mean St)

Bangkok Airways (380191; www.bangkokair.com; Airport Rd)

China Eastern Airlines (965229; www.ce-air.com; Tep Vong St)

Jetstar Asia (964388; www.jetstarasia.com; Siem Reap Airport)

Lao Airlines (963283; www.laos-airlines.com) Behind Center Market.

Malaysia Airlines (964135; www.malaysia-airlines.com; Siem Reap Airport)

Siem Reap Airways (380191; www.siemreapairways.com; Airport Rd)

Vietnam Airlines (964488; www.vietnamairlines.com; Airport Rd)

2. Getting around

Car & motorcycle
Most hotels and guesthouses can organise car hire for the day, with a going rate of US$20 to US$30. Upmarket hotels may charge more. Foreigners are forbidden to rent motorcycles in and around Siem Reap. If you want to get around on your own motorcycle, you need to hire one in Phnom Penh and ride it to Siem Reap.

Bicycle
Some of the guesthouses around town hire out bicycles, as do a few shops around Psar Chaa, usually for US$1 to US$2 a day. Try to support the White Bicycles (www.thewhitebicycles.org) project to help the local community.

3.Money & costs
Money
For cash exchanges, markets are faster and less bureaucratic than the banks.
ANZ Royal Bank (023 726900; Achar Mean St) Provides free credit-card advances and can change travellers cheques in most major currencies. International ATMs all over town.
Canadia Bank (964808; Sivatha St) Offers free credit-card cash advances and changes travellers cheques in most major currencies at a 2% commission. International ATM.
Union Commercial Bank (964703; Psar Chaa) Charges 2% commission for travellers cheques and offers free Visa advances.

4.Health & safety

Dangers & annoyances

Siem Reap is a pretty safe city, even at night. However, if you rent a bike, don’t keep your bag in the basket, as it will be easy pickings for a drive-by snatch. Likewise, lone females should try to walk home with travelling companions when leaving late-night spots, particularly if heading to poorly lit areas.

There are a lot of commission scams in Siem Reap that involve certain guesthouses and small hotels paying moto and taxi drivers to deliver guests. Ways to avoid the scam include booking ahead via the internet and arranging a pick-up, or sticking with a partner guesthouse if you are coming from Phnom Penh. Alternatively, just go with the flow and negotiate with the hotel or guesthouse on arrival.

There are a lot of beggars around town and some visitors quickly develop beggar fatigue. However, try to remember that with no social security network and no government support, life is pretty tough for the poorest of the poor in Cambodia. There is no need to give to everybody, but there is also no need to treat them as pariahs. In the case of children, it is often better not to encourage begging, but if you are compelled to help then offer food, as money usually ends up being passed on to someone else.

Out at the remote temple sites beyond Angkor, stick to clearly marked trails. There are still land mines at locations such as Phnom Kulen and Kbal Spean.