Vietnam and Cambodia have a good and close relationship to each other for a long time ago now. About the distance, the capital Phnom Penh of Cambodia is just 280 kilometers away from Ho Chi Minh city. So, it just takes 6 hours to get to Phnom Penh from Ho Chi Minh by bus. And today, it’s more convenient for tourists to travel by bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh cruise or in reverse when the bus is the cheapest, safest and the most convenient means of transportation for foreign travellers, since the bus system has been well-developed and covered the central parts of two big cities.
The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh- source: internet
Therefore, the bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh make tourists more happier. Now, for those who want to make a trip to Cambodia – a country in Indochinese Peninsula from Vietnam, they will make it in an easy way with bus.As we all know, Cambodia is a popular tourist destination of Southeast Asia, attracting visitors from all over the world with the royal palace in Phnom Penh, the ancient relics like Angkor Wat or Angkor Thom, great natural beauty as the Tonle Sap and Mekong rivers, along with the beaches, beautiful islands like Sihanoukville, Koh Rong, Koh Thmei. And when putting the first steps of yours here, the tourists must be fascinated by the wild beauty of creation.
The bus route from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh- source: internet
How to get to Phnom Penh from Ho Chi Minh by bus?
According to the bus route, as you can see from the blue line as the map below, firstly you will go from Ho Chi Minh City – Moc Bai (The border between Vietnam and Cambodia), next Moc Bai – Crossing mekong River, then go from Crossing Mekong River to Phnom Penh.
In Ho Chi Minh city, often the bus will depart from 04:30 am until 03:00 pm, in detail, time of departures from Ho Chi Minh city to Phnom Penh: 07am, 08am, 09:30am, 11am, 01pm and 03pm. There is a 20-minute stop-over for rest and food at an eating place at a point just about a kilometer from the border Moc Bai after going into the Cambodian territory.
The fare of single trip is around 10 to 15 USD, round-trip fare is a round 23 USD per person, it depends on which company bus you choose. In addition to the fare, you must pay for an extra $1.5 charge through the border gates.
In Ho Chi Minh city, you board or get off your bus in Pham Ngu Lao Street. The street is very near Ben Thanh market – the traditional public market in the city and Saigon Square, which is the recent bargain shopping center in the area and belongs to the District 1 – the central district of Ho Chi Minh city. The bus terminal at the western end of Pham Ngu Lao Street in Ho Chi Minh City. If you are staying in a hotel around that area, it’s so easy for you to get there in some-minute walk. About the ticket, you can get it from some ticket offices in Pham Ngu Lao Street.
Ho Chi Minh (Sai Gon) Terminal Bus in Pham Ngu Lao St- source: internet
One more important thing you should need to know is visa requirements to avoid delays, difficulties and possible unpleasant experiences. You can get your visa from: Cambodian embassies and consulates or Airports and Border-gates in Cambodia.Notice that: For more convenient and effective, passports of all passengers are gathered by the bus steward as soon as the bus departs from Ho Chi Minh. The bus steward will give all your passports in just one handover instead of the passengers presenting their passports individually to the Vietnamese immigration officer at the passport checkpoint at Moc Bai International Checkpoint. Then the passport will be deliveried back to its owner. For some passengers who come from another countries not belonging to Asia, this may be strange to you. But don’t worry about that anymore and remember you are in the Southeast Asia, and believe in the experienced guide because she or he know how to do better for you.
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The documents routinely required when applying for a visa in a Cambodian embassy or consulate or in a point-of-entry upon arrival in Cambodia are as the following:
1) Passport with at least 6 months remaining validity, and enough blank pages available.
2) Passport-size colored or black-and-white photo, if you are required to have a visa.
After 6 hours on the bus from Ho Chi Minh, now you are so happy when arriving in Phnom Penh. From here, if you want to move to some places, there are many Motorcycle-pulled carriages, called “tuktuk” available for you. In Cambodia, the tuktuk is standard public transportation. It functions like a taxi cab in other countries. The tuktuk will bring you anywhere in the city of Phnom Penh. The fare from any bus station in the city to your hotel should not be more than US $ 3.00.
Tuktuk vehicle in Cambodia- source: internet
Nowadays, traveling by bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh becomes popular and favourite to tourists, because this means of transportation is highly up-to-date with reasonable fare and very safe. These buses make the short distance between Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh more and more shorter. Hence, the convenient buses make a great chance to tourist to travel to beautiful places belonging to Indochinese Peninsula.
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