What's the quickest transportation?

Fly. Siem Reap Airways (FT, ironically) is the best bet -- they have good planes and fly the route 3-5 times a day. See www.siemreapairways.com -- they're a subsidiary / affiliate of Bangkok Airways (PG). IIRC, fares are currently around $65-$75 one-way; roundtrip should be a little less than twice that.

For those who want to spend more time and / or less money, there are some fine buses that make the trip in around 5+ hours. Mekong Express is said by many to be the best; I haven't tried it though.

Enjoy your trip,
Michael

the boat is interesting, but takes awhile. bring sunscreen. you'll need it

I plan to fly from PNH to REP on Sept 2. Should I make a reservation now or can I wait until I arrive in PNH?

my guess is that there is no advantage to booking it ahead, but you could go to the airline site and see if they offer cheaper fares in advance. I don't believe availability will be an issue. Price might be cheaper.

but it's been three or four years since i was there

Assuming you're not merely transiting at the airport, I would buy the ticket from a local travel agent in Phnom Penh. Generally, I've found the travel agents here to have better prices than the airlines' websites for that route.

Enjoy your trip,
Michael

It's settled, I shall wait until I'm in PNH to book the flight. BTW, apparently you cannot book that flight online through Bangkok Air. They said because it's operated by Siem Reap Airlines, you must call or email to book the flights. Directly from their email response to me:

*Routing :*

- Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and Siem Reap to Phnom Penh

================================================== ====================

*Flight time :*

_Phnom Penh to Siem Reap_

FT 990 : PNH - REP : 0645 am - 0730 am

FT 992 : PNH - REP : 0930 am - 1030 am

FT 996 : PNH - REP : 0550 pm - 0635 pm

_Siem Reap to Phnom Penh_

* *FT 991 : REP - PNH : 0810 am - 0900 am

FT 995 : REP - PNH : 0430 pm - 0520 pm

FT 997 : REP - PNH : 0705 pm - 0755 pm

================================================== ====================

*Ticket fare :*

_For one way : USD 60_

+ insurance and fuel surcharge (USD 9.5) + airport tax at Phnom Penh
(USD 6) + Value add taxes

for Domestic flight in Cambodia (USD 6 for one sector)

_For round trip : USD 120_

+ insurance and fuel surcharge (USD 19) + airport tax at Phnom Penh (USD
6) + airport tax at Siem

Reap (USD 6) + Value add taxes for Domestic flight in Cambodia (USD 12
for two sectors)

================================================== ====================

*How to make the reservation :*

- Please inform the itinerary as below if you would like to make the
reservation directly with us
via email or you can contact at Phnom Penh Town office for purchasing
the ticket.

1 . The passenger full name/surname/Title name/ nationality

- Title name is very important for making the reservation , please do
not forget yo inform us.

2. Contact number of homephone/businessphone/fax number with Area Code

3. The needed departure and destination city.

4. The departure time you need ( approximately ).

5. Inbound/Outbound connecting flight information including the
departure and arrival time.

6. Age and date of birth for child 2- 11 years or infant under 2 years.

================================================== ====================

*Paying and Issuing the ticket*

- You can pay and pick up the ticket at Phnom Penh Office 1-2 days
before on travelling date.

_Phnom Penh Town Office _

Address : No.61 A St. , 214 Sangkat Beong Rang , Khan Don Penh , Cambodia

Telephone number : + 855 (23) 722 545-47

Fax number : + 85 (23) 725 502

E-mail : [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>

Working hours : 0800 am - 0400 pm (everyday except Sunday)

If I were you, I would try to secure seats sooner rather than later. I'm going to Angkor Wat this weekend. We are flying into BKK and we tried to route BKK-PNH-REP.

Unfortunately, all seats on Siem Reap Airways from PNH to REP were sold out.

Take a look at the fare class inventory for this Sunday:

Siem Reap Airways Intl 990
Aerospatiale ATR-72 6:45 am
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PNH) 7:30 am
Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP)
Y0 M0 K0 Q0 T4 V0 B0

Siem Reap Airways Intl 992
Aerospatiale ATR-72 9:45 am
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PNH) 10:30 am
Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP
Y0 M0 K0 Q0 T4 V0 B0

Siem Reap Airways Intl 996
Aerospatiale ATR-72 5:50 pm
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PNH) 6:35 pm
Siem Reap, Cambodia (REP)
Y0 M0 K0 Q0 T4 V0 B0

I don't know what is T class but it seems I can't book in that inventory.

Ah yes - I forgot about the August high season... For francophile, if you still want to travel from PP to Siem Reap, do note that going by bus or taxi is quite nice and doesn't take that long -- only around 5-6 hours (including rest stops). If you were willing to get up early enough to take a 6:45 am flight (which means getting up around 4:30 or 5 am), you could arrange a taxi and be in Siem Reap comfortably before noon.

As a plus, you get to pass through the town of Skuon, famous for a local delicacy: fried tarantulas! (See photos and text here and a more personalized description here ; also available in plusher surroundings at the quite good Phnom Penh restaurant Romdeng -- see website here .) And you get to see some of the "real" Cambodia -- that is, the towns, villages and farms that are outside of the economic boom areas of Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. And the rice paddies are beautiful at this time of year.

However you end up traveling, I hope you enjoy your time here.

Michael

Thanks, Michael. I have three days in in REP. I just want to see the temples for two days. Can you recommend some small towns around REP where I can get a feel for real Cambodia.

I was thinking about doing this:

http://www.diethelmtravel.com/cambod...A07_02_00&bo=0


Thanks so much, Michael.