Planning a Trip

Deluxe

• Diethelm Travel, No. 65 Street 240, P.O. Box 99, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (tel. 023/219-151; fax 023/219-150; www.diethelmtravel.com). In Siem Reap: House No. 4, Road No. 6, Krum No. 1, Sangkat No. 2, Phum Taphul, Siem Reap, Cambodia (tel. 063/963-524; fax 063/963-694).

• Exotissimo, 46 Norodom Blvd., Phnom Penh (tel. 023/218-948; fax 023/426-586; www.exotissimo.com). In Siem Reap: 300 Airport Road No. 6, Siem Reap (tel. 063/964-323; fax 063/963-621).

  Budget

• Capitol Guesthouse Tours, No. 14A Street 182, Sangkat Beng Prolitt (tel. 023/217-627). This is the town's budget travel cafe and a good place to arrange inexpensive rural and local tours and onward connections by bus and boat. Remember that you get what you pay for, but the services are convenient.

• Small tour operators and ticket shops abound along Sisowath. For flights and other services, try K.U. Travel and Tours (tel. 023/723-456; www.kucambodia.com) at No. 77 on Street 240 (in the cafe and gallery area).

• For buses and onward land and water connections, contact your hotel front desk, who in turn will likely contact one of the following consolidators: Mekong Express (87Eo Sisowath Quay; tel. 023/427-518), which offers the most deluxe services at slightly higher rates, but their air-conditioned buses are clean and very efficient; Neak Krorhrom Travel and Tours (127Eo, Street 108, on the Wat Phnom end of Sisowath Quay; tel. 023/219-496); PTM Travel and Tours (333B Monivong; tel. 023/220-909); or World Express Travel and Tours (43-44 Street 108; tel. 023/991-978). These are just a few of the many. Note: Avoid booking full-package-tour connections to Bangkok.

Getting There

By Air -- All major airlines in the region connect here. Pochentong Airport is just a 15-minute drive from the city center and a cab costs $7 (#3.90), a ride on the back of a motorbike just $2 (#1.10). Buy tickets from the taxi stand outside the departure terminal under the archway to your left.

By Boat -- Speedboats connect with Phnom Pehn with Siem Reap and leave every morning from the main dock on the north end of town. Tickets are available just about anywhere in town. The price is $25 (#14) from most hotels or the Capitol Guesthouse . Mekong Express Tour Boat charges $35 (#19) for the 5-hour trip on a larger, more comfortable boat. Contact them just across from the ferry terminal (87 Sisowath Quay; tel. 023/427-518). See the "Getting There" section at the beginning of this chapter for information about boat connections from Vietnam.

By Bus -- Phnom Pehn is a hub for buses throughout the country -- best are the many budget tourist companies offering affordable daily connections to anywhere from the far south to Siem Reap. A tourist bus to Siem Reap takes 6 to 7 hours and costs $5 (#2.80). Ho Wah Genting Transport Company (tel. 023/210-859), with an office just west of the central market, sells tickets to all the major stops and minor hamlets in the country. Mekong Express has daily connections to Siem Reap on an air-conditioned bus for $10 (#5.55). Their buses make the trip in about 5 1/2 hours.

Getting Around

Phnom Penh's downtown is accessible on foot, and it's easy to find your way because the streets are arranged in a numbered grid. For sites farther afield, like The Killing Fields or any temples, you'll need wheels. Metered taxis are everywhere in town, and any hotel can arrange daily car rental (with driver).

Motorcycle taxis, called motodups, can be hired anywhere and cost about $1 (#0.55) for short trips in town. Bargain hard. These guys are everywhere, especially on the riverside, and the competition is in your favor. Then again, what the heck is $1 (#0.55)? Tip and you'll have a friend for life.

Or contact the folks at Lucky! Lucky!, at 413 Monivong Blvd. (tel. 023/212-788), who rent high-quality motorbikes for rural touring (available for long-term rental) as well as jeeps and even luxury cars. Next door is New! New!, a friendly competitor.