poipet city

Poipet hosts Cambodia's main border crossing with Thailand, which links north-western Cambodia to Aranyaprathet, and hence Bangkok. Cross-border activity has made the town grow to be larger than its provincial capital, Sisophon.

It is located on the fully paved National Highway 5 which runs to Sisophon and then further on the south side of the Tonle Sap Lake to Battambang and Phnom Penh. At Sisophon, National Highway 6 branches off to provide a fully paved arterial route along the north of the Tonle Sap to Siem Reap and Phnom Penh.

Poipet is a medium-sized city that is well connected with reasonably priced buses to various points in the country. The three major cities of Phnom Penh, Battambang and Siem Reap ($3.75 to Poipet/$5 from Poipet) are each directly connected to Poipet. The bus station is located in the city center near the southwest end of Pub Street. Note, if on a bus to Poipet with a view to leaving Cambodia, the bus will stop at its company's Poipet offices first. Do not get off unnecessarily as it will likely continue as far as immigration, which will save you a walk or motorbike taxi fare.

Taxis to Poipet should be cheaper than those from Poipet, if you can keep middle men out of it. Your guesthouse may help arrange one but will inflate the price for you. A taxi from Siem Reap should be about US$30 and take about 2.5 hrs.

Leaving Cambodia at this border is generally unproblematic. The porters that swarm over your luggage as soon as it's out off the bus are only trying to get a fare for carrying it to the Thai side. They will generally not steal from it (but it's best to have your cash and electricons on you). Their services (US$1) can be appreciated on a hot day if the queues are long.