Ho Chi Minh To Phnom Penh Private Car

 

There is not any other car rental agents in Vietnam arrange the private transfers from Saigon Vietnam to Cambodia because the car and driver is not able to pass Moc Bai crossing border if without permit paper. 

 

Note: this route we have to change vehicles at border and drivers will hold up a signboard with your names on it.

 

 

In general, the trip from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City goes like this: (optional) pick up from hotel, 3.5 to 4-hour drive from Phnom Penh to the border including a meal stop, stop at Cambodian border for exit stamp, then back on the bus and ride to the border building. Once at the border building you’ll take all of your luggage inside towards the right and wait for your bus driver or attendant to arrive with the passports. Once your luggage is scanned, go right and show the officer your entry stamp, then bring your luggage outside and wait for your bus to pull up. From the border it’s another 1.5 hours to Ho Chi Minh City.

 

(You should know that there is no visa on arrival for Vietnam available at the land border crossing; you must have a visa already or have a passport from a country that qualifies for a visa exemption. If you’re going in the other direction, most nationalities are eligible for a visa on arrival. More about Cambodia visas and getting a Vietnam visa in Cambodia).

 

In the other direction, if you are coming from Vietnam to Phnom Penh, there is first a stop at the Vietnamese border for the exit stamp where you will wait for your bus attendant to call your name and hand you your stamped passport, which you will show to an agent on the way to the door. Then you’ll get back on the bus which will take you a few hundred meters further to the Cambodian border building where you can get an entry stamp and visa on arrival.

Giant Ibis is, as usual, the stand-out for good departure times, big comfortable buses, foreign-tourist focused service (no karaoke, loud music or movies) and minimal stops. It has the most central bus offices: near the night market in Phnom Penh and on the main street in Pham Ngu Lam (backpacker district) in Ho Chi Minh City. Giant Ibis coordinates the border crossing a little differently than other companies, their staff batch and expedite passport stamping, saving customers the wait in line at the stamp counter (Phnom Penh-HCMC) with all of the other buses that arrive at the same time, instead making a stop inside the border at a duty-free store where you can order food or stock up on cheap booze while you wait, then bypassing the line inside the border building and going straight to the luggage scanner. Read our full review of the Giant Ibis Cambodia to Vietnam bus.

 

Tickets cost $18 and for an added fee of less than $1, you can book online and reserve a seat in advance.

 

Giant Ibis schedule:

 

Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City: 8 a.m., 12 p.m.

Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh: 8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m.

 

Foreigner-favorite Mekong Express is another popular bus company who go from Cambodia to Vietnam. They are a good option for this route, especially their smaller vans which tend to be a little quicker than the larger buses that all of the other companies use. Mekong Express are known for safe driving and tickets that are less expensive than Giant Ibis. Tickets cost $14 and can be booked online.

 

Mekong Express van/minibus schedule:

 

Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City: 6:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m.

HCMC to Phnom Penh: 6:30 a.m., 3 p.m.

 

Mekong Express bus schedule:

 

Phnom Penh to HCMC: 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 2 p.m.

HCMC to Phnom Penh: 7 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 1 p.m.

 

Many of the other bus companies that do the route from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City have their offices on the same stretch of Sihanouk Blvd. in Phnom Penh near Olympic Stadium, including Kumho, Sapaco Tourist, Danh-Danh, and Long Phuong. Their service and facilities are pretty similar, and they generally have a toilet stop an hour and a half or so outside of Phnom Penh in addition to at the meal stop. These companies do tend to have a smaller proportion of Western travelers, so you may be a bit more on your own for going through lines and getting visas and stamps, but it is pretty easy to do. Also, they are significantly less expensive, with prices ranging from $9 to $12.

 

You can check schedules for various bus companies and make a reservation online for buses headed from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City or in the other direction, from HCMC to Phnom Penh.