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How to travel to Siem Reap from Laos or Thailand

Posted on by admin

Chong Sa Ngam is located about 40 minutes from Sisaket in Thailand and the road is completely sealed on both the Thai and Cambodian sides. Chong Sa Ngam is the city on the Thai side of the border on the Cambodian side, the border is known as Along Veng. Once you have completed the visa formalities, it only takes about 1.5 hours to get to Siem Reap or 120 km!

What does this all mean? Certainly if you are traveling from Isaan cities like Ubon, Surin or Sisaket you would be looking at only about a 3 hour drive to Siem Reap – not that great! If you are coming from Pakse, the travel time is about 6 hours. Well this is the route from Pakse for those interested in traveling overland.

Leaving Pakse around 8am, travel 44km to the Thai border at Chong Mek, this only takes around 40 minutes but probably 1 hour to complete visa formalities (Thai visas are issued free and on arrival). The next trip via Det Udon to Chong Sa Ngam, actually there is no need to go to Ubon, there is a paved road that goes directly to the border and it is only 200 km away and takes less than 3 hours including one or two stops to go to the bathroom.

Now he must cross the border into Cambodia again. Visas are issued on arrival, but there is a fee of around $25 USD. Once you cross the border, you can stop to see Pol Pot’s cremation site just a few meters down a small path. In this way his last position during the Reign of the Khmer Rouge. You are now in Along Veng and from here it is only another 1.5 hours to Siem Reap or about 120 km past the Banteay Srei temple on the way. This is a great alternative to traveling the route through Kampong Cham, which will take more than 15 hours!

This is great news for travelers or tours looking for alternatives to flying from Pakse to Siem Reap. Or for those who would like to include a bit of Isan in their touring schedule! Isan, North East Thailand, is stunning and the people are extremely friendly and hospitable, eco-resorts like Kong Jiam are a perfect hideaway, and there are also some great temples to visit as an introduction to the Khmer Empire.

On another note, the actual route that the Khmer Empire traveled from Wat Phu Champasak in Laos to Siem Reap in Cambodia is actually only 240 km and there are plans underway to complete this route, so in a few years the Pakse route to Siem Reap can only take about 3 hours watch this space!!!

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