Giant Ibis night bus at a glance…
- Price: $15
- Schedule: 11 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.
- Time: 6 to 7 hours
- Buy tickets online
Over the years, I’ve taken more Giant Ibis night bus journeys than I care to admit. When I first moved to Cambodia, I vowed I would never take a night bus in Cambodia. Since then, I’ve made an exception for Giant Ibis because of their safety record and precautions. I’m now a regular on the Giant Ibis night bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. In this post, I’ll share some details about the company and the trip from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap (and vice-versa).
The Giant Ibis night bus looks great in the morning, too.
Night buses in Cambodia are notoriously unsafe. Giant Ibis, on the other hand, makes safety a priority. Their buses go slowly, with a maximum speed of 60km (37 miles) per hour. They enforce this by transmitting the speed via GPS to the Giant Ibis office so that management knows if a driver breaks the rules and go faster. Going slowly is not only safer, but allows for a better night’s sleep, because even at at these speeds the bus usually arrives in six or seven hours. Another safety precaution Giant Ibis takes is to always have two drivers on each bus, and they switch half-way through the journey. If one driver feels fatigued he can switch out and take a nap.
In addition to offering a safe ride, each seat is equipped with a power socket that accept standard American, Euro, and UK plugs, and most of them usually work. The bus has WiFi (password: giantibis) that is provided by 3G. This means the connection works as long as there’s 3G coverage, which is for true for about 60% of the journey. Be aware that they do turn out the lights soon after the journey begins, so if you do want to read you will need to bring your own lighting.
The buses are air-conditioned and have a toilet on board. Overly cautious types such as myself bring a sweater for the former and tissues for the latter. Passengers are all given a bottle of water, and each bed comes with a pillow and blanket. When you board the bus you’ll be given a bag to keep your shoes in, so as not to get the beds dirty.
The 11 p.m. Giant Ibis night bus has lie-flat beds.
There are two Giant Ibis night buses going each way between between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, with slightly different seat configurations. The 11 p.m. Giant Ibis night buses have 32 beds, with 15 on the bottom bunk and 17 on the top. The beds do not fully lie flat, but offer a 45 degree angle that’s pretty decent, and some taller people seem to find the angled seat more comfortable than the lie-flat ones. Seat 6-F is right next to the toilet, and as such, is probably the least optimal seat on the bus. Each bed has a cubby at the bottom to keep your shoes (and feet) in.
The 11 p.m. Giant Ibis night bus seating chart.
The 11:30 p.m. bus has 30 lie-flat seats, with 14 on the bottom and 16 on the top. The only downside of this is because there are two fewer seats, there isn’t always a bed for the driver who may end up sleeping next to you in the aisle. On these buses, there are eight single beds and 11 seats of double beds.
The seating plan for the 11:30 p.m. Giant Ibis night bus.
The buses do not have two levels, rather, the seats are designed like bunk beds with one on the top and one on the bottom. All of the Giant Ibis night buses are arranged with one row of two beds next to each other, and a row of single bunks with an aisle in the middle. If you are traveling alone, try to get one of the single beds. I have traveled alone on the Giant Ibis night bus many times and have never felt unsafe as a solo woman, but again, be sure to get a solo bed (if you buy a ticket online, you can make an advance seat reservation).
Off to dreamland on the Giant Ibis night bus beds. This is the interior of the 11 p.m. bus.
The night bus buses are not new, but they are fully refurbished. As on all buses, the toilets are not the nicest in the world (if you are a larger person you’ll have a hard time squeezing in) but at least these ones are usually clean. The road between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap is still bumpy — although better than a year ago — and if you aren’t a sound sleeper, it can be a challenge to get a good night’s sleep. Luckily, that challenge is usually alleviated for me by bringing an eye mask, ear plugs, and a sleeping pill.
I travel between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap regularly, and the trip can be excruciatingly long. Because I save so much time by sleeping through the journey, I’ve become a regular on the Giant Ibis night bus. Despite being pretty highly strung about road safety in Cambodia, overall, I think the Giant Ibis night bus is a safe way to get across the country (here are the other options for this route).
In Phnom Penh, the buses boards on time at the Giant Ibis office on Street 106 across from Phnom Penh’s night market. For the daily night bus to Siem Reap they do not offer hotel pick up, but the office is centrally located and walking distance from the riverside. Once you arrive in Siem Reap the bus drops off at the more centrally located Giant Ibis ticket office near Old Market (rather than the Giant Ibis bus station).
In Siem Reap, the night bus leaves from the Giant Ibis ticket office near the Old Market. If you’re arriving in Phnom Penh, the bus drops off at the Giant Ibis office on Street 106 in Phnom Penh. You can find maps for both stations at the end of this post.
Giant Ibis night bus schedule:
Phnom Penh – Siem Reap: 11 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
Siem Reap – Phnom Penh: 11 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
Tickets on the Giant Ibis Phnom Penh to Siem Reap route cost $15, and prices are the same for locals and foreigners. You can buy tickets online and choose your seats in advance.
We plan to take the SR->PP Night bus. Do you know where we will board the bus at SR? I know the location of the ticketing office. DO we board the bus there or at a differnt location? Thanks.
Hi Chris, the night bus leaves from the ticketing office near the Old Market.
hi Lina, thanks for such a nice blog.
I want to travel on 28th sept Night to Sinhaukville 11PM bus, please let me know below details.
1)what time it will reach sihanoukville if we leave at 11PM from siem reap.
2)what type of bus you offer from Siem reap to sihanoukville(Ac/Non AC, bedsheets/food/sleeper/etc?
3)Where is the pick up point in siem reap and drop point in Sihanoukville?
4) I am Staying at below places, how far i need to travel from/to your office to get to these places?
SIEM REAP
Palm Garden Lodge
La Pax Hotel Street (No.132 , St. Tepvong)Next to Phsar Gné , Ta Poul Village, Svaydan kum , Siem Reap , . , Cambodia
SIHANOUKVILLE
Ocean Walk Inn
Serendipity Beach Road , Sihanoukville , Sangkat 4 , Cambodia
Hi Shravan, I’m not a travel agent so I’m afraid I can’t help you with tall of your questions. You might find my post on how to get from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville more useful, though: https://movetocambodia.com/transportation/how-to-get-from-siem-reap-to-sihanoukville-and-vice-versa/
How much a ticket Phnom Penh to SR for night shift? and how many time in night shift?
$15, 11 p.m. every night.
I just got back from my trip in Cambodia end of July. I took Giant Ibis, online booking $16 11pm. The terminal is opposite to the night market in Phnom Penh.
We left Phnom Penh at 11pm and arrived SR at around 6:30AM the next day. Be warned though that the road is very rough and bumpy.
On my way back to PN (Monday night), I took a different bus because GiantIbis was full. The trip took 10hours, arrived 9am in PN.
Hi JC, may we know which alternative night bus you took from SR-PP, just in case GiantIbis will also be full during our trip. Thanks.
Hi Lina, is the night bus equally new like the day bus? Have wifi?
thanks, this is very helpful. I am travelling from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap via night bus this weekend after reading this review. Hopefully I wont get lost and will be able to find the pick-up point in time.
It’s very easy to find, here’s a map: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Giant+Ibis+Bus+Terminal/@11.574475,104.927178,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x310951456203f091:0x76e0bff0010d88d6
thanks Lina
Hi Lina, this is very helpful, thanks! I am looking at booking tickets for the night bus online and the seats are listed 1-32. Do you know what seats those correspond to on your diagram?
Hi Catherine, if you book on giantibis.com they will show you a seat map after the page where you enter your name, etc. in.
Hi! I’m traveling to Saigon, then Siem Reap in a week. Do you think it’s advisable that I make a stop in Phnom Penh in between? Does the Giant Ibis Night Bus travel from Saigon to PP, then PP to Siem Reap? Thank you! :)
Giant Ibis night bus travels from SR to PP and arrives around 6:00 a.m. then there is a morning bus from PP to HCMC that leaves at 8:00 a.m., so you don’t need to stay in PP more than a few hours unless you want to!
Hi Lina, I know this post is a couple of months old now – but I was just wondering if you had heard anything or experienced how the night bus runs during rainy season (end of Sept)? Both in terms of road conditions and safety?
I take the Giant Ibis night bus regularly now. I cannot predict how the road will be in September, but it’s already pretty rainy here and everything is exactly the same as my post from a few months ago. I’m sure it will be fine–if the road gets worse they will just drive more slowly.
thank you ,very helpful.
steven from Manila
oops sorry for the grammar mistakes!
I plan to take the Giant Ibis night bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap in mid-June.
Would like to know how would the weather condition be like in mid-June? And is the road condition safe? Is it advisable to take the night bus?
Thanks! Hope to hear from you soon. Your blog post is very helpful (:
Mid-June will still be hot season, but there are occasional rain showers. I go between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap often, and I think the night bus is safe. So if you would like to save time, I would recommend it. Otherwise, do the daytime bus on Giant Ibis.
Thanks Lina! Your reviews have been very helpful. Will book the bus tickets soon! (:
Thanks, I am getting on this bus tonight! I found this very helpful!