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
Bus tickets purchased through links in this post generate affiliate sales for us. This does not affect our reviews for specific bus companies or routes! For more about how we deal with advertising, affiliate sales, and stuff like that, you can read more here.
Hello. This might be a dumb question and I’m sorry for that but is there air conditioning on this bus? Thanks!
Yes, there is.
Hi Lina,
Thank you for the great write-up.we are planning to go from bangkok to siam reap.does the e-visa will be valid if you cross from thailand to cambodia? through Poipet/Aranyaprathet border? i am a sri lankan passport holder.
also i need to come back to bangkok do they process the thai visa on the border on your way back? because the thai multi entry visa is 4 times higher than the single entry.
appriciate your help.
regards,
Sanjeewa
regards,
Jayan
The E-visa is valid at that border crossing, but I do not know the requirements for Sri Lanka passport holders. To your second question, yes, the process visas at the border every time you enter or exit the country.
Thanks Lina for the prompt reply.
so I have have single entry and exit thailand and once i come back to cambodia there will be a thai visa processing office on the border and I can get a single entry visa again? thanks.
Hi Sanjeeva . I have been breaking my head from past 1 week regarding the same question. Even the Thailand consulate office in chennai is not giving me a clear answer. Can we get Visa on arrival to thailand at the border ? Or flying from Siem Reap to Bangkok is the only option ?
Sri Lankans cant get visa on arrival to Thailand. So i assume we cant. problem is Thai multiple entry visa is very expensive. I am not sure for your nationality.
Hey everyone, after reading this post I took heed and decided to take this route myself with the suggested bus company. I’m a female solo traveler myself with an American passport and just got into Bangkok last night. I figure I’d share my experience to help anyone else deciding on this route:
I took the 9 am bus leaving Siem Reap. I was staying at a hostel not too far away from Pub street and I took a 10 min tuk tuk ride directly to the bus company’s headquarters (basically looks like any other travel agency shop in Siem Reap). For a bus of 20+ seats, I was surprised to see there were only 6 of us (all international) riding that day. I bought my ticket via Bookmebus and it cost me $28. Pretty sure I could have gotten it cheaper had I known it wasn’t fully booked. Anyway, we left on time and had no problem. They gave us a little goodie bag with a sort of wafer bar, a can of coffee, and a box of apple juice. Later on they gave us a bottle of water as well. Note that throughout the trip they pick up and drop off locals, both in Cambodia and Thailand.
We got to the border around 11 am and it was already a crazy sight. Once we got there, we were given a bus pass to wear around our necks and instructions where to go and what to do, but it was pretty confusing since the coordinator didn’t give clear instructions and we were rushed off the bus (I understood later it was to avoid getting stuck behind large hoards of tourists trying to cross the border). He directed us to where we get the stamp on our visas to depart Cambodia but after that we were basically on our own. Basically after getting your Cambodia stamp, you walk straight towards the border line for a solid 5-10 mins and go on the left hand side. I was worried I wouldn’t find it but you have to walk aaaall the way down and eventually you hit it (remember, stay left). Once you get there, you walk all the way down to where there are some stairs that says “Foreign passports”. Right before going up, someone will give you a piece of paper to fill out your Thai arrival/departure information. I made a mistake on my form and tried to get a new one to fill out but they weren’t very inclined to help, they just shooed me off saying to just cross the info off and write above the mistake. I got to the line and it’s safe to say I’m lucky it only took me 2 hours to get through because right after I arrived there was at least 3 groups of travelers queuing behind me. After you get your passport stamped, you walk down the stairs and get out of the building. I was awfully confused where to meet up and just kept walking straight. I was about to turn right to where it says “Passport control” but a man who saw my pass caught me and told me to go left instead towards a parking lot. This is where the bus was. Thankfully I didn’t need to take my suitcase with me, it stayed on the bus. Good thing was that they wait for all the passengers to arrive before they head out.
Afterwards once everyone had arrived we left around 1 pm towards Bangkok. They gave us a lunch that I’ve seen being sold in the 7/11 here: it was rice with fried pork. 3 of the passengers were from Bahrain and they don’t eat pork so they were given shrimp fried rice. However the coordinator mixed up the foods, giving someone else the shrimp. Once he realized he made a mistake, he tried to snatch the shrimp from the passenger to give it to the guy from Bahrain. Neither passengers were having it since the guy with the shrimp wasn’t given any explanation and the Bahrani guy didn’t feel right about taking it so they never switched. The whole ordeal seemed a bit unprofessional. I would suggest bringing your own food and snacks because they don’t carry extra food, especially for those with dietary restrictions. Same goes for water.
Anyway, I can’t say much about the bus ride itself since I was asleep for most of it. Can’t tell you if we made any pit stops but I’m sure they didn’t. In any case, there’s a bathroom on board. We arrived in the Bangkok area around 5 pm instead of 9 pm as we were originally told. I think they just give extra time to account for the border process. However getting off the bus was a whole mess. The same coordinator came up to every passenger asking where we were headed and basically kicked us off the bus in an unknown location saying “Oh just get off here, it’s easier”. I regret not emphasizing getting to the bus station because none of us knew where the hell we were nor how to get to our final destinations. I can tell you for sure though that we were definitely not at the Mo Chit 2 Bus terminal as stated on my ticket. I stupidly didn’t have any Baht on me when I arrived so I struggled to find an ATM that worked for my card and had to hail down 3 different cabs before one agreed to take me.
In the end, I wouldn’t completely discourage taking the Nattakan bus. On the plus side, it was a relatively smooth ride and they did give us food as well as holding on to our suitcases and waiting for us on the other side. However, it was pretty expensive (the price to pay to make sure you have your ticket in advance), bring your own food and insist to get to the bus terminal. If not, be sure to have local currency and some working Thai words. Taxis seem to be reliable here in Bangkok, just make sure to emphasize on turning on the meter.
Hope it helps others looking into this and happy travels :)
Thanks, Caroline! Very helpful to have such a detailed trip report of the bus in the Siem Reap to Bangkok direction. I’ve had the confused drop-off in Bangkok with every bus company I’ve tried so far and it’s always frustrating. Also, you’re lucky to have arrived by 5. Sometimes the traffic into the city can slow to a crawl and add a few extra hours to the trip. Thanks again.
Hi,
we are arriving to Bangkok International Airport (Suvarnabhumi) on 10 March at 6:55 am. We would really like to catch a bus at 9 from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Is it possible? What is the fastest way to get to bus station from airport? Is it taxi or trains?
Thank you very much for your answers!
I don’t think it’s possible. The airport takes quite a while to get out from, immigration lines can be long, Bangkok has traffic, airport is far from town, etc etc. Check Thai Smile, you might be able to fly for not much more.
I’ll begoing to cambodia on the 16th january if anyone wants to join me let me know;)
Hi…I’m from Indonesia
I wanna go to bangkok from siem reap on 26th january.
Is it okay,to buy ticket online?
Its my first trip,n I’m afraid of scam web.
Yes, it is safe. I have used the company in the links of this blog post more than 10 times with no problems at all.
Hi hesti,
It is safe. I did book online too.
Hi
I am checking bookmebus and they offer a night travel option, but you have to board it at 1 am on a side street to the Thai National Art Gallery. Do you have any info about this ? is it safe to be in this area at 1 pm?
Thanks
That one is a different bus company. Google the bus company name with the word “accident” or “assault.”
Hi, I badly need to have a night schedule in going to Siem Reap, do you know any bus station for this?
I came today from Bangkok to Siem Reap. When the bus stopped at the border, there where “army” (about 10) of men asking for your passport and taking you to the travel agency with yellow sign and black letters. If you give your passport them, they give it to the travel agency. Price of the visa is 1500 bahts and after you get your visa those men ask for more money.
When you leave the bus and if those men exist, tell them you allready have visa. Don’t give your passport to them. Next to travel agency is passport check. Go straight there and you can get your visa on Cambodian side of the border. There are good signs and it is really easy.
That’s why you go here and get a Visa on line. Print it out, staple it in your passport, and, you don’t have the hassles . I have done this on 3 or 4 occasions , BTW. https://www.evisa.gov.kh/
Fee if you get the Visa on Line :
Fees USD30 + USD7 (processing charge)
Its normally processed in a day or two.
Crossed the border from Bangkok to Siem Reap ten days ago. Paying it all in Baht turned out to be slightly cheaper (currnetly that is) but having dollars on you is always good since that’s (basically) the currency in Cambodia. Thr nattakan bus is really nice and the article is correct. However, The price I paid was 1100 Baht, others payed 30$ and 100 Baht fee. In the bus you could get your visa for 1400 Baht. For sure quicker and easier, but there were only 5 in the bus who did it so they had to wait for the rest anyways.
Also, arriving in Siem Reap they have free tuktuks for everyone to theor hostel but the drivers try to get you to book an Angkor Wat tour with them. do whatever you want but I didnt went with the offer and got a tuktuk the next day. $15 is the general price for a small tour and 18 for the big tour, if u decide to make a deal anyways.
Literally just went through the border. Price currently: 30 USD for Cambodia visa + 100 baht processing fee. BRING A PASSPORT PHOTO. If not, you will have to find a place nearby to get it done. Best to have all the currencies ready on you. When stamping out of Thailand, you will need a departure slip. They have them available there if you don’t have it.