How to Get from Trat to Cambodia by Land

The best option we found was a ferry to the port, followed by a minivan and then a bus. We got this through a travel agency on Koh Mak, the smallest of the three islands, for 1,000 baht (including the ferry). Agencies on Koh Chang or Koh Kood probably offer this service too.

If you can't find this option, we recommend taking the earliest ferry from the island to the port and, once there, asking a tuk-tuk or taxi driver to take you to Trat or to a travel agency where you can arrange a transfer to the Cambodian border. The closest one to Siem Reap is Aranyaprathet – Poipet. Below is a photo with the prices and routes the agencies offer from Trat to Cambodia:

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. 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 Cambodian visa scam at the border

Once the minivan reaches the border, they'll have you get off with your backpacks, and some people who seem to work for the minivan 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 hand you a piece of paper or ask for your passport, saying they'll help you get the 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 and get the visa for you, 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 still 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.

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.