How to Get from Bangkok to Siem Reap by Land

• Bus

By bus. This is the best way, since several companies run this route at different times and it's the cheapest option. The bus leaves from Mo Chit bus station in Bangkok and arrives at the Siem Reap bus station. The trip takes 8 to 9 hours. The bus stops at the Aranyaprathet border so you can exit Thailand and enter Cambodia. Then you get back on the other side, in Poipet (Cambodia), and continue on to Siem Reap. You can buy a ticket online here or at a travel agency. We recommend checking the prices on this site first, so the agencies don't overcharge you.

• Train

From Hua Lamphong train station in Bangkok, two trains a day go to the border. The trip takes 6 hours. One leaves at 5:55 am and the other at 13:05. We recommend the 5:55 am train so you don't end up having to sleep at the border, since it sometimes closes around 18:00 and the second train would get you there right around then. The trains drop you a few kilometers from the border, so you'll have to take a tuk-tuk to get there. From the border to Siem Reap you can take a bus or a taxi. The most comfortable way is a taxi, which you can find right at the border. You have to negotiate the price with the driver, but it's usually between US$20 and US$30. Otherwise, you can go to the Poipet bus station and take a bus to Siem Reap. There are signs at the border showing where the station is.

• Minivan

Minivans leave from Victory Monument in Bangkok, and you can buy a ticket at any agency. Like the train, the minivans drop you at the border, and from there you have to find a taxi or bus to take you to Siem Reap.

To enter Cambodia with an Argentine passport you need a visa, which lets you stay in the country for 30 days on a single entry.

Visa on arrival: The visa on arrival costs only US$30, and you can get it either at the airport in Cambodia when you land or at the land borders. All you need is two passport-size photos and US$30, paid in US dollars.

E-visa: You can get the visa online here: E-visa. It costs US$30 + US$6 for processing, and approval takes 3 business days.

If you're going by land, we recommend reading about the most common visa-on-arrival scams and how to avoid them.

The famous visa-on-arrival scam at the Cambodian border

If you're going by bus, once you reach the border they'll have you get off with your backpacks, and some people who seem to work for the bus company will come up to you. They'll tell you to leave your backpacks there and ask whether you have the visa. If you don't, they'll either hand you a piece of paper or ask for your passport, saying they'll help you get the Cambodian visa.

DON'T LISTEN TO THEM. Just tell them you'll see them on the other side of the border. Ask which bus you need to take on the other side, get them to give you the sticker so you can board it after the border, and carry on by yourself. They'll surely tell you that if you do it on your own you won't make it in time and you'll miss the bus, or that you'll have to wait 5 hours for the next one. Don't believe them, just keep going.

Here's how it works: they want to “make it easier” for you to get the visa, and that's why they'll charge you US$50 or more instead of the US$30 the visa actually costs. At no point do they tell you they're charging more than it costs, or that you can do it yourself for less money. It's their business. Be careful, and don't confront them, because they get quite violent. Calmly tell them you'll do it on your own and that you'll see them on the other side of the border. They'll surely insist. Even though we knew all this beforehand, they made us hesitate and we almost stayed with them, but no! Just keep going.

They told us there was a huge delay at the border and that if we did it on our own we'd miss the bus. The border was EMPTY! We were almost the only ones crossing, and of course we reached the other side 1 hour before everyone else.

Visa on arrival

Once you cross the Thai border, there's a booth where you get the Cambodian visa. If you already have it, walk straight on to immigration. If you don't, go into the booth. The visa costs US$30, so don't let them make you pay more. And if you don't have a passport-size photo, they charge you an extra US$2 or 100 baht. The process is really simple. Once they stamp the visa, continue to immigration.

If you go to the border by tuk-tuk, the driver will probably try to stop somewhere, telling you it's the official place to get the visa, and try to charge you more. Just say no and tell them you want to go to the border, since the visa on arrival is issued right there: once you've gone through Thai immigration, you can get the Cambodian visa at the official booth.

Once your passport is stamped, you have to find your bus to continue on your way.

Another famous scam at the border is being told that your bus is delayed and you'll have to wait several hours. Here comes the scam: as an alternative, they offer you a taxi that costs about US$30 so you can get there faster. Sometimes the bus really is late, but it's up to you whether to pay the extra US$30 or wait for the bus you already paid for.

If you decide to take a taxi, don't take one right there at the border. Walk a bit farther and you'll find lower prices.

After reading about all the ways they try to scam you at the border, you're probably having second thoughts about doing this trip by land. The truth is that if you know all this beforehand, the crossing is simple and you'll get to Siem Reap without paying a single dollar more than you should.