Getting around Cambodia: transport and apps

Install a ride-hailing app before you leave the airport. It replaces the entire negotiation and removes the tourist price.

• Grab and PassApp both cover Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, showing the fare up front. PassApp is the local one and usually has more tuk-tuks on it; Grab takes foreign cards.
• A short city hop is USD 1 to USD 3 in a tuk-tuk, a little more in a car.
• If you do flag one down in the street, agree the price before you get in. The unmetered tourist price runs to about triple.
• Two things are both called a tuk-tuk: the traditional remorque, a carriage towed behind a motorbike, and the smaller Indian-style auto-rickshaw that most app cars are. The rickshaw is quicker through traffic; the remorque is better with luggage.

Between cities

• Phnom Penh to Siem Reap is the main route, 5 to 6 hours on a good road with a wide choice of departures.
• Giant Ibis is the operator most travellers pick for the long runs, with Capitol Tours and Virak Buntham also on the main corridors.
• Book online rather than through your guesthouse, on BookMeBus, CamboTicket or 12Go. You will see the actual departure times and the vehicle, and it is usually cheaper.
• Night buses exist and are best avoided on safety grounds where a daytime coach will do.

The land borders with Thailand are closed. Poipet, Chong Chom and the other Thai crossings have been shut to tourists since the 2025 fighting, so Bangkok to Siem Reap has to be flown. The Vietnamese and Lao crossings are operating normally.

Traffic ignores lane markings and right of way. Cross roads slowly and predictably and let the traffic flow around you; stopping suddenly is what causes accidents.

• PassApp - https://passapp.com/ - The local ride-hailing app, strongest for tuk-tuks in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.
• Grab - https://www.grab.com/kh/ - Rides, food delivery and foreign card payment.
• BookMeBus - https://www.bookmebus.com/ - Domestic coaches, minivans and ferries with live seat maps.
• CamboTicket - https://www.camboticket.com/ - The other domestic booking site, with operator reviews.
• 12Go - https://12go.asia/ - Useful for cross-border and multi-leg journeys.
• Giant Ibis - https://www.giantibis.com/ - Books direct on the main tourist routes.
• Bakong Tourists - The National Bank's app, which lets a foreign card pay Cambodian KHQR codes.
• Google Maps - Reliable for driving and walking; download the offline area for Siem Reap and the Angkor park.
• Google Translate - Download the Khmer pack. English is widely spoken in tourism and much less so outside it.