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Siem Reap-Battamburg-Phnomh Penh-Kep-Siem Reap Possible in 9 or 10 days??

sharoonie

backpacker
Posts: 14

Hi,

The title of this post says it all, pretty much. Am willing to fly a leg if necessary, so if you know what's possible along that line, that would be great. I arrive in Siem Reap on Dec 19th and fly out of there on the 29th late at night. Am having trouble estimating the road travel time. How long does it take to get to Battambang from Siem Reap? Is it necessary to backtrack from there to Siem Reap to get to Pnomh Penh? All suggestions and advice much appreciated, so thanks!

#1 Posted: 12/12/2011 - 01:44
eastwest

som tam seller
Posts: 699
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Assuming that you actually want to do things in those places I'd say that it's too many places in 10 days. No need to backtrack if you go to Phnom Penh via Battambang .
But I would certainly either cut Battambang or Kep out of the itinerary if not both. But if you're not that interested in the temples and limit yourself to 1 day of main temples I guess B'bang or Kep can be added yes. It's still a lot of time on the bus

#2 Posted: 12/12/2011 - 02:00
chinarocks

tuk tuk driver
Posts: 190

Cut Battambang.

Kep/Kampot is definitely worth seeing but not at too fast a pace.

#3 Posted: 12/12/2011 - 05:11
sharoonie

backpacker
Posts: 14

Got it! Battambang is out. Two more favours... can you please let me what is best way to get to Kep in shortest time and any recommendations for guesthouses? Willing to spoil myself to pay for all mod cons for Kep, but cheap and nice would be great, too.

Thanks so much for your help.

#4 Posted: 12/12/2011 - 09:29
eastwest

som tam seller
Posts: 699
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Getting to Kep from where?
From Siem Reap it takes a full day on the bus and you'll have to leave with the 7 am bus and will arrive in Kep around 5-6 pm. Change of bus in PP. Best to take Sorya company which has connecting buses.
From PP it takes 4 hours.

You could fly from SR to PP and then take the bus but then make sure your flight arrives in PP 11.30 am. The bus to Kep leaves around 1 pm. It will still take you a full day but it won't be as tiring.

What's your budget for Kep? The majority of places is in the $30-50 range and most have swimming pool. There are a few budget places ($5-15) and of the lot I'd recommend Rega Guesthouse for their personal touch and nice young french couple. All in all Kep is best enjoyed with a little more money to spend so if you want real budget it might be better to stay in Kampot where you have better value cheap backpacker accommodation. Then make a daytrip from Kampot to Kep. The two places are only 25km apart from each other.

#5 Posted: 12/12/2011 - 20:24
chinarocks

tuk tuk driver
Posts: 190

Would second eastwest's advice - definitely stay in Kampot. You can hire a motorbike for a few days which gives you the flexibility to travel over and back to Kep for lunch/beachtime and also to see the province in more detail. Woould highly recommend this approach.

For accomodation in Kampot, try the Bodhi Villa. Cool place. And cheap. And great food on site.

#6 Posted: 13/12/2011 - 03:20
eastwest

som tam seller
Posts: 699
Private message

I wasn't aware I recommended Kampot to stay . I personally prefer Kep over Kampot but as I said it depends mostly on your budget and interests.

Forgot to mention the other option to get quickly from Siem Reap to Kep/Kampot.
If all goes well flights will start from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville very soon (in December). You could fly from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville and then take a minibus to Kampot/Kep. That trip takes only 2.5 hours by minibus. Only thing is that it probably isn't organised that well yet with the chance that you might have to spend a night in SHV. Most of the times those minibuses leave in the morning from SHV but it might be worth checking out if you're interested in that.

#7 Posted: 13/12/2011 - 05:58