Before you start reading, are you looking for our full review of how to get from Bangkok to Siem Reap in 2022? If not, carry on.
If you’re heading from Thailand to Cambodia, the Bangkok to Siem Reap direct bus is the easiest way to do the trip overland. Why might you want to go overland, one might ask? For one, it’s a lot less expensive, with the direct bus costing between $28 and $35. For another, if you’re looking to transport large or bulky household goods or have large pieces of luggage, the direct bus is an easier option, particularly because they don’t make you change buses at the border.
The Nattakan direct bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap (and vice versa)
Bus options
There are now two companies running direct buses between Bangkok and Siem Reap, Nattakan and Giant Ibis.
We have more in-depth reviews of both Nattakan (see below) and Giant Ibis (click here) on this route if you want to get into the nitty-gritty details, but in summary, I have taken both several times and think that Giant Ibis offers a better trip. They leave from a more convenient location near Khao San Road, the buses are brand new and the entire journey, including the border crossing, is smooth. Although the ticket is more expensive at $35, it’s well worth the price.
Buying tickets
If you’re going with Giant Ibis, tickets can be bought online and a seat reserved in advance for $35 with no additional service fees. You can print your ticket out or just show it to them on your phone or device and you’ll get straight onto the bus. Buying online allows you to choose your own seat, and advance purchase is recommended because the bus can get busy in high season.
You can also buy Nattakan tickets between Bangkok and Siem Reap (plus Bangkok and Phnom Penh) on BookMeBus. Tickets cost $28 in either direction, plus a 5% booking fee ($1.40 per ticket). The procedure is simple and you’ll receive an e-ticket that you can either print out or present on your phone when you arrive at the bus station. In high season the buses are often full, so it’s more than worth the booking fee to be able to reserve a seat in advance.
The Transport Co. Ltd station inside the Northern/Mo Chit 2 bus terminal, Bangkok
Tickets for Nattakan can also be purchased at the Northern bus terminal in Bangkok, sometimes called Mo Chit 2 bus terminal, sometimes called Chatuchak bus terminal. On the ground floor a booth labeled The Transport Co, Ltd. sells the Bangkok to Siem Reap tickets. Taxi fare to the bus station is around 150 baht (about $4.25) from Sukhumvit, making the trip a more expensive way to get a ticket than the online option unless you’re already in the area.
The Nattakan buses run at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. in either direction and the Giant Ibis leaves at 7:45 a.m.
The bus journey on Nattakan
The direct bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap takes between 8 and 11 hours, depending on how crowded it is at the border. Passengers are allowed two bags each with a maximum weight of 20 kg, although the weight limit was not enforced when I hauled two suitcases of Ikea merchandise to Cambodia. There is limited storage space above the seats in the bus, so if you want to stow something inside, board early. The Nattakan Bangkok-Siem Reap direct buses are Korean, and seats are comfortable and lean back more than they probably should–watch out for the knees of the person behind you!
Nattakan buses: not not the worst place to spend eight hours…
On my recent trip, the 9:00 a.m. bus from Bangkok left on time. We were given a bottle of water and a snack, which was a limp-looking Asian pastry. There was a toilet break at 11:00 a.m. at a rest stop with a giant 7-11 and some fast food and local food options. At 1:10 p.m. we stopped at the Transport Co., Ltd. office in Aranyaprathet and were each given a ready-made hot lunch from 7-11, in my case it was shrimp and basil stir-fry. I’m ashamed to admit, but I thought it was pretty good if a bit on the small side. Vegetarians be warned, you’ll need to bring your own lunch. Later, we were given the choice of an orange juice or an iced coffee. You won’t starve if you don’t, but it’s definitely worth bringing some food of your own on the trip.
By 1:40 p.m. we were at the border, and everyone had finished their visa process and we were on the road at 3:15 p.m. We arrived in Siem Reap at 5:30 p.m., for a total of 8.5 hours.
The border
When you approach the Poipet/Aranyaprathet border, the bus will stop and let off all passengers. You can leave your bags on the bus (that’s why they call it a direct bus, there are no bus changes). You’ll then be expected to walk yourself through the various border checkpoints. There’s not a lot of instruction from the crew and the process can be confusing for those who have not done it before, but it’s actually quite simple. Just remember that you need to be stamped out of the country you came from and get a visa for the country you are entering (so two stops).
If you are heading from Bangkok to Siem Reap, after you go through both offices, turn back around and the bus will be waiting for you in front of the Grand Diamond Casino. They wait there for every passenger to complete their visa process, which takes an hour or two in total, so don’t be afraid to go into the casino and have a drink or a meal in the Chillax Cafe. It sounds awful, but the food isn’t too bad.
Visas
Most nationalities do not need to get visas in advance (check out our page about Cambodia visas if you want to know more). On the Cambodia side, a tourist visa costs $30. The bus company will request an additional $5 to have your visa batch processed with everyone else on the bus, and it is much quicker. Some days the bus company will require you to do this, other times you can secure your visa on your own.
If you choose to do it on your own, the visa officials will ask you for 1100 or 1200 baht (~$35) or if you insist on paying in dollars, which you should, they will ask for $30 and a 200 baht processing fee. There is no processing fee, it’s just a bribe. Arrive early and refuse to pay and eventually they will stamp you through. Telling other passengers the real price loudly will usually get you serviced more quickly, as they will be eager to get you out of there. The other option is to secure an e-visa in advance. The price these days is $40, so you won’t save any money doing it that way, although it may help minimize border-induced rage that is not uncommon in Poipet. For more about crossing the Poipet border, check out our post on Crossing the Poipet/Aranyaprathet border overland.
This is the official building that you get your Cambodia visa in. If you stop somewhere before the border, don’t bother wasting your money.
We’ve gotten reports that the bus will stop before you get to the border and try and get you to use an agent to process your visa for 900 baht by calling it a VIP service. They did not do this on my recent trip, so hopefully this is no longer an issue. However, if they do stop and try and get you to let them process your visa you have a choice of whether or not you pay. However, this so-called VIP service can be worth it, and it’s often faster and less stressful to just pay the extra money, so it’s up to you whether or not you think it’s a battle worth fighting.
On the Thai side, you will get stamped through and do not need to pay anything.
Overall, this is a much easier way to travel overland than the other methods I have tried, which always involve haggling at the border for taxis and buses. The Bangkok-Siem Reap direct bus is not as cheap as the mini-bus/casino bus combination (which is usually around $11 or $12) but the peace of mind is worth it. If you’re looking for more info on going the other way, check out our post on getting from Siem Reap to Bangkok.
Transport Co., Ltd.
Mo Chit 2 Bus Terminal (หมอชิต 2 (อาคารผู้โดยสาร), Bangkok [map]
+66 2 936 0657; +66 89 281 1396
Buy tickets
Nattakan Transport
22 Sivatha Blvd, Svay Dangkom District, Siem Reap [map]
T: 063 96 48 96; 078 975 333
Buy tickets
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Just did a SR-BKK-SR trip:
1. The bus seems ‘new’: plastic covers on seats.
2. But is ‘decaying’ thru neglect v fast.
3. The toilet is spotless (by Cambogian standards)
4. but u need to be a contortionist to use it.
5. I went over on a Sunday & returned on a Friday.
6. Notices firmly stuck to the windows of the the first row of seats point out that 5 Baht is payable to the Thai police on weekends. I didn’t pay, either way.
7. Do NOT reserve seat 1B: you have no leg room because of the stairs. Probably more comfortable on the roof (better view too).
8. Seems that Sunday is not a good day to go SR-BKK: nearly 2-hour wait at Thai immigration. A sauna.
9. Returning BKK-SR on a Friday: vvv fast
10. But there is a new scam: bus stops outside a visa office which isn’t the real one and will cost you more than the real one.
11. Just get off, head off right, down the ‘tunnel’ and up the stairs to the Thai immigration, then down, across the road to the R to the real Cambodian office.
12. Food remains minimalistic.
13. Moo Chit is a semi-nightmare: expect to be charged 150 Baht excess by the tuk-tuk drivers’ mafia or wait and wait and wait for a meter taxi (frustrating after an 8-hour journey). Your choice.
Thanks for the great trip report, David! The immigration line SR-BKK is often terrible. Do you do this trip often? Thai Ticket Major claims to be able to take international credit cards now. If you travel ex-BKK soon, would you be willing to test it out? I suspect that it’s not actually possible or will still require a ticket pickup in BKK.
We just took this route after reading so many good things. The buses don’t seem to get cleaned often enough and a few hours in cockroaches started emerging from under the bathroom, then under our seats(we were all the way in the back). At the border we switched seats to the front where there were less roaches, but they were still there. Most people just didn’t care or were oblivious(I saw a lot of people just brush them off or not notice them crawling up their shirts. My wife(as well as I) was repulsed and barely made it without making them pull over and jump out.
The service would be great on a newer or cleaner bus. It did make the journey much easier, but we opted to pay double to fly back to Bangkok
Yuck!
Hi lina
I posted before but just a little bit more info if possible.
Lina what bus terminal in Phnom Penh does the bus leave direct to mo chit in Bangkok and what is the company’s name…
Thanks for your time lina…
Where does the bus drop you off once you get to Siem Reap? Thanks for this article. It was very helpful and makes me feel a lot more prepared for the trip.
I just made the journey to and from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Here’s what I have to add:
1. The buses look newer! It was a comfortable ride.
2. When arriving in Siem Reap, the bus drops you off in front of the Nattakan office on Sivatha Road (one of the main ones).
3. You can book your return ticket right there in the office. They do not take credit card but do have an ATM machine on premise.
4. When getting back to the Mochit2 bus terminal in Bangkok, your cab driver will ask for 10 baht to exit the terminal (like going out of the airport). Not sure if I just picked a cab up from the wrong end of the station or not.
5. There’s a sign on the bus that if traveling on weekends or holidays, each passenger has to pay 5 baht to the Thai police. The staff will go up and down the aisle collecting this.
Last week did the SR-BKK journey. Small goody bag for breakfast (orange juice, almond cookie, pastry twirly thing) and small rice dish for lunch af Aryanaprathet, after crossing border, No stops on the way, but there was a toilet on the bus. NB going this way you have to unload your case & take it with you for the Thais to scan (which they didn’t that day)
When did you book your ticket? They dont accept reservation right? Im afraid that we’ll have a problem getting a seat.
Reservations can be made. I booked about 3 or 4 days in advance in the office on Sivatha Blvd. Got a receipt with seat number. No problems. Price includes pick u up from hotel/guest house (or you can get to the office yourself).
Hi Lina, just to clarify, can we let another person buy tickets for us? Also, can we have it bought like weeks before?
Thank you for this very helpful entry and site.
Yes to both questions. If I recall correctly, they ask for your name and phone number, but there’s no problem booking for someone else. You can also book online at thaiticketmajor.com, but the process isn’t very clear to me. You need to pay in person at 7-11, I think, so don’t know if you can do it weeks in advance.
I booked several weeks in advance thru Ticketmajor’s website. Paid straight away at a 7-11, got a receipt & booking number. Took this to their Moo Chit office to get the actual ticket. Be warned: booking on the site was a (small) nightmare that eventually came good. Persevere
Thanks for the report, David. Would you be able to book that far in advance if you weren’t in Thailand, though? Are there other payment options other than in-person at 7-11?
I think there are other payment options, probably with a Thai debit or credit card or via a Thai bank a/c. I chose the 7-11 route because I didn’t have either of former & didn’t want to go thru my Thai bank a/c. Booking outside the Land of Wiles is probably best done by phone (Good luck)
I think I’d rather walk home than deal with that phone call!
FYI Before u can book thru Ticketmajor’s, u need to register with them: just the usual, email & password. And they do answer emails: I got distressed that my 7-11 booking hadn’t happened and sent them an email to check. They calmed my nerves.
Hi Lina, thanks a lot for this sites, where we found a lot of information, I have a question…how full are the buses from bangkok to siem reap? its possible to buy ticket on the same day we would like to go to cambodia or is it necessary to do reservation before?
It really depends. I would try to book it the day before, if you can. If your dates are flexible and you can stay in Bangkok an extra day if you need to, I wouldn’t worry too much about.
information for another traveler, in this time (februar 2015) are ticket from bangkok to siem reap sold out for 6 days!
Seriously? We’re going tomorow and we dont have tickets yet.
Earlier in the month they had lots of same-day availability, but it’s Chinese New Year right now which is the busiest week of tourist season in most of Asia, so you need to book in advance (for everything, not just buses).
Thank you very much for this really useful post! I wonder if we can ask the driver to stop in Battambang? In your experience, how long does it take in total to do the same Bangkok-Siem Reap if we can’t take the direct bus and use the BKK-Aranya Prathet_Poipet-Siem Reap with the multiple bus and shuttle? many thanks for your help!
Hi Sophie, I’m glad you found my post useful. They definitely will not stop in Battambang, because they are a direct bus. I have more details on the other options between BKK and Siem Reap here: https://movetocambodia.com/transportation/how-to-get-from-siem-reap-to-bangkok/
It’s possible to do the trip in as little as 9 hours or so, but you never know when you will get stuck at the border for 3 or 4 hours (usually happens if you arrive mid-day). So I always budget an entire day to make the trip.
They do make you change busses at the border, the companies just lie and say you do not have too. Thailand is left hand drive while Cambodia drive on the right, so I call bullshit.
I’ve taken the bus and you don’t change at the border. All of the other companies do, but this one does not.
@Kyle You have no idea of what you are talking about. You DO NOT, repeat NOT have to change bus at the border on the direct Bangkok-Siem Reap bus.
iam from the phil an asean member do i need to have avisa from cambodia? planninig to go there onjune. thank you