When trying to get from Phnom Penh to Saigon or vice versa many travelers will face the decision of whether to fly or travel by bus between cities. Skyscanner shows most flights starting around $125, but at around $25 bus travel is much more economical and does have a few advantages. If you have come as far as this you may already be tired of planes and airports. Buses leave directly from the city, meaning the time to get to them from your hotel and be on board is minimal. At around 7 hours, this trip is just at the borderline where going by bus is tolerable.
Where’s the Money? This site may contain affiliate links. Many travel sites include such links to earn a commission at no cost to readers.
Buying a Ticket
There are a few different companies offering bus travel along this route. They do not all depart from a centralized depot so you will want to do at least a little research on a site like 12Go Asia. I booked my seat there and it was easy to use. For this trip I ended up choosing the Kumho Samco line and paid about an extra $5 for a “premium” seat, making the total price about $30. There were several open seats on the midday bus I took to Saigon.
When I bought online the seat specifically said it came with WiFi and a charging outlet which was not the case onboard. There weren’t any charging outlets at the seats.
Check-In and Boarding for Bus Travel
Even if you’ve booked online check in with the office first. They’ll review your passport and visa and hand write you a ticket for the bus. I’m glad I did book in advance because buying a ticket in person would have added to this process.
They load luggage underneath the coach. I was surprised (unpleasantly) to see that they were making passengers remove their shoes before boarding. If you are taking this trip wear flip flops or something that slides on and off easily. You’re given a plastic bag in which to keep your shoes.
Stepping onboard it is clear why they do this. The seats are recumbent and your feet are not on the floor during the journey but rather on the seats. The premium seat I paid more for is exactly the same as every other seat. The only differences were that it was at the front and so did afford a slightly better view. The seat next to me remained open because the only other passengers were backpackers. Locals don’t take this bus. The empty seat was crucial because the seats are stacked like bunk beds and there is no overhead storage for even small items.
Being near the front is only a mixed blessing. If the driver or bus attendant want to talk to each other, play music, or talk on the phone you’re going to hear every bit of it.
You should also plan what food want to bring onboard. Snacks work best because even sitting up is a bit of an awkward position to eat in. There aren’t a lot of obvious food outlets in the vicinity of the bus office in Phnom Penh. If you’re starting in Vietnam you might have better luck.
Bus Travel From Phnom Penh
The bus did depart exactly on time and turned out into the main road and the heavy Phnom Penh traffic. If you have already been in Phnom Penh for a few days there is nothing new to see on the way out of town. Nothing is lost by going in the evening and sleeping or just settling in with your headphones. Eventually you will start to sense that you are on the outskirts of the city and then the road gradually becomes a highway.
The highway is in very good shape and it is a smooth ride the whole way. While most of the trip spans flat open countryside the highway is the main artery through that country. It’s lined all the way with small shops and storefronts of the Cambodian style. Each area is dominated by the beer brand that sponsors the signs in front of merchants, and when you reach the Ganzberg district you will know you’re well on your way. Large Buddhist Wats are spaced out every couple miles .Overall the trip is somewhat scenic but you’re not going to break Instagram from your bus seat.
Bus Travel Rest Stops
At two hours into the trip we had our first rest stop. It isn’t clear how they choose these places but one imagines some kind of business relationship exists between the bus operator and the people who own these particular stops. You can use the bathroom of course (I didn’t try the one onboard, especially without shoes on… gross) and there’s the chance to purchase snacks off the shelf or a limited selection of food. I bought some shrimp chips and they tasted like cat food. Terrible. After about 15 minutes the bus is rolling again.
The second rest stop was not quite four hours into the trip. This was a restaurant with a small buffet and the driver and bus attendant had a quick meal here. There are some snacks available and there was also a power outlet free to use near the door. It was extremely annoying to get back on the bus after this stop and. realize that the border is only five more minutes away. It means shoes off again, etc etc. Would have been much better off making one stop three hours into the trip.
Crossing the Border
The Moc Bai Landport border station is just a big old cluster. If you are planning to get an e-visa in advance you will need to specify the entry point. So if you choose to come by bus it will be very difficult later to change your mind. It would require a new visa and paying another fee.
The bus attendant has already collected everyone’s passport but instead of doing things the easy way they have everyone disembark the bus and then they give you your passport back. Why even collect it in the first place? We had to walk ahead and pass an initial guard who checked the papers, then wait for several minutes before making our way inside the border station with our luggage in hand.
Inside they call you into separate lines and I am not sure what it is according to. I was in the VIP line and I think it was because I was holding a Vietnam e-visa. But there was no real difference between the lines. Thankfully the station was not very crowded. With many buses making this run it could be quite a long line if several arrive at the same time. Eventually everyone had their luggage x-rayed and we were able to remove our shoes yet again and board the bus inside Vietnam.
The Highway in Vietnam
The trip through Vietnam is mostly similar. the scenery is a little nicer as the agriculture and irrigation is more developed. The area near the border is still pretty rural but it is not long before you start passing through towns and are on the outskirts of Saigon. But there is still plenty of bus travel in front of you. There will be plenty of motorbikes to escort you from this point on.
Despite having a late model iPhone with an eSim and international plan my phone stopped working in Vietnam. I had to go into the cellular settings and discovered that there are four networks in place. So you may need to experiment and find the one that works for you.
Arrival in Saigon
There is significant traffic on the way into Saigon. At some point, inexplicably, we pulled off the road in a middle-of-nowhere industrial section and changed buses. More shoes on. More wrangling your luggage. At this point it is too late to really complain about anything. Although I resented this seemingly arbitrary change, I was glad to be on a coach with real seats, with my shoes on my feet and feet on the floor.
After about an hour of fighting traffic on the second bus you will pull up to the Kumho Samco office across from 23/9 Park in Saigon. It is located sort of between District 1 and District 10 in a good area for tourists. There are many bus operators in this street as well as restaurants, convenience stores, hotels, etc. If you’re traveling by bus you should definitely consider booking a hotel in this area. It is also a block away from the famous Bui Vien Walking Street. If you are staying elsewhere then at least you may want to find a restaurant here and decompress a bit before moving on to your hotel.
When you arrive you’re bombarded with people trying to hustle you into a taxi or things like that. They’re rude and obnoxious and very much in the way on a crowded sidewalk. You should not feel bad for brushing them off curtly.
Overall Experience
I might have had a bit of false confidence after having such a good experience with bus travel to Pattaya and back. This trip was generally fine but not exactly a luxury liner. I’d have preferred a trip that was just a couple hours shorter.
If you’re backpacking and continuing to other points in Vietnam you’ll find it very convenient to have all the operators so close The street is a one stop resource to get to things like Ha Long Bay Cruises or excursions into the mountains. Ready to book? Use the form above for routes all over Asia.
