BKK - REP Discount Fares?
 

Travelocity lists $331 for early September round-trip travel from Bangkok to Siem Reap (near Angkor Wat). Bangkok Air is the only listed option.

Is there a way to cut this price, perhaps by purchasing tickets in Thailand? I will only have about a day between arrival at BKK and desired departure to REP. :confused:

Bangkok Air has an airpass -- that will help -- but you need a 3rd destination.

The airfare (without the airpass) is what kept me from making the trip on several occasions while I was in Thailand- Finally, when I was in Saigon, I decided to fly to REP It is worth the money! Touring the Angkor and other temples is wonderful and the increased tourism to come will not help to protect these wonders. Go soon, IMHO- I am glad I did.

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My brother in law lives in Siem Reap (go to his Linga Bar when you are there, one of the hotspots in town) and he tells me that the cheapest way to get there is through Saigon on Vietnam Air, which is quite reliable. OP is right, Bangkok Air is quite reliable, but is the only reliable carrier from BKK. Not sure if this works on the three legged itinerary, but check on including Luang Prabang, Laos in the itinerary. I have not been, but he does it on Bangkok Air, and says it is an interesting stop.

I live in Phnom Penh. PG ( = Bangkok Airways) is a great carrier, with the only defect being the lack of any mainline affiliation for FF purposes. :( As others have pointed out, PG has the monopoly on the BKK-REP route, and prices accordingly.

Going via PNH may reduce your costs. If nothing else, using PNH as a third destination will allow you to use the PG Airpass. There are a few sights in PNH that would make for a good day or two of sightseeing.

I haven't flown TO (President) into or out of BKK, but have many friends who have done so. I have flown TO between PNH and REP. I think their equipment is generally OK (though not as nice as PG's) but would agree that there's some concern as to how long the airline will stay solvent - and so I wouldn't buy my tickets in advance. But I would have no problems buying a ticket from them in BKK, for departure that day or in the near future.

Enjoy Cambodia,
Michael

^ Thats what I think... will be in REP at the end of next week and I really look forward to it!

I am flying BKK-PNH on TG (included in international ticket), PNH-REP on Siem Reap International Airways and finally REP-BKK on PG. REP-BKK was about 130 EUR oneway (booked at TA in Germany).

Does anyone has experience with Siem Reap Airways? I heard that they (sometimes?) fly the a/c of PG!? My booking at checkmytrip shows ATR72 as the equipment.

I'll give feedback once I am back at the beginning of July!!!

This has been the lament for years now. And, sadly, it's true. Access has decreased in the last 6 years between my visits. More sections are off limits, are undergoing reconstruction, or have been literally chopped off for the underground international antiquities trade. Nevertheless, Angkor Wat is still a stunning place to walk through with or without the ropes. You don't need to press your sweaty palms against the reliefs of naked apsaras :) to fall in love with the place. (What you need is a major thunderstorm so that the tourists decide to stay in their hotel rooms and you have the place to yourself -- but that's a different issue.) So, it's not so much a question of going now or going later, just go when you can and don't delay because you figure it's not worth the extra few hundred dollars to visit. I don't question those who don't think it is worth it to make Angkor Wat THE destination of their transoceanic trip, but I am constantly amazed at people who can't justify taking the short flight over from Bangkok...Angkor Wat is what traveling is all about.

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One and the same. PG proper flies all the 717s while the AT7s are split between the two. Some of the "Siem Reap Airways" fly domestic PG routes (I am sure one of the AT7s I flew BKK-THS-BKK was a Siem Reap one. FWIW, you might try pricing out the PG pass (REP-BKK iwll cost USD 80 + tax). You might be able to squeeze in an additional destination in Thailand for little or no extra money.

I agree with visiting Angkor ASAP.. My wife and I visited in December 2002 (Note.. the week between Xmas and NYE is VERY busy, overrun with Japanese tour groups). We had to fly BKK-PNH-REP as the nonstop flights from BKK were booked out months ahead. Bangkok Airways and Siem Reap airlines were the same; but we had to pay both domestic and international departure taxes on the return.

We flew President Air from PNH to REP - it was quite an experience. We paid cash, they never asked our names, and the agent checked off two X's on his seating chart as passenger control. There was no safety announcement. Luggage was stored behind a curtain in the back. But they did serve us a boxed meal on our 45-minute flight.

Like I say, President is not so bad: You arrived safely and you got fed.

For a scarier ride, you could always try Royal Phnom Penh Airways. They fly Chinese-built Russian-designed planes (I forget the model) which have an air conditioning system that pours mist into the cabin -- which looks kind of like smoke. (You can always tell the newbies when the mist starts pouring into the cabin...)

- Michael