Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital city of Cambodia.

Hitching out

Southwest towards Sihanoukville, Koh Kong by Expressway E4

From Central Market area take a bus number 3 towards Borey Son Ti Pheap 2. The bus stop is located on the western side of the market on Street 128, not far from the junction with Monivong Boulevard, which is the main thoroughfare of Phnom Penh. Get off near Chom Chao Flyover which is a multilevel junction where the National Road 3 and 4 start. The bus ride is 1500 riel, cash only, no change given. From there you have to use Passapp or Grab apps to order a tuk tuk which can get you to the expressway entrance. Tuk tuk should cost around 8,000-10,000 riel (Nov 2024). You can hitch just after the roundabout, but there is more traffic further up the road where flyover merges. Toll plaza is less than 4 km away, but pedestrians are prohibited on this motorway. For Koh Kong get off at expressway exit 114 to Kampong Seila.

Southeast towards Bavet, Ho Chi Minh City by National Road 1

From Monivong Boulevard, which is the main avenue running north-south, take a bus number 1A heading south to the last stop, located at Veal Sbov Bus Station (1500 riel, cash only, no change given). At the same bus terminus jump on a bus 1B and get as far as possible to avoid all the local traffic. You can get off at the last stop before the bus leaves the main road which is located here. If you go back around 50 metres there's a bit of a shadow. Make a sign Bavet and you can get a direct ride to the border.

South southwest towards Kampot, Kep by National Road 3

From Central Market area take a bus number 3 towards Borey Son Ti Pheap 2. The bus stop is located on the western side of the market on Street 128, not far from the junction with Monivong Boulevard, which is the main thoroughfare of Phnom Penh. Once on the bus you will pass by the airport and Chom Chao Flyover which is a multilevel junction where national road 3 and 4 start. You can get off at Depot Tela gas station which is on the right hand side. There's a massive advertising banner above the road which provides much needed shadow just where the bus stop is. The bus ride is 1500 riel, cash only, no change given. The national road 3 was upgraded to dual carriageway standard in 2022, but it's not a motorway so pedestrians, bicycles and motorbikes are allowed.

South towards Takeo, Cần Thơ by National Road 2

You can take a cheap minivan to the Tonloap Market (ផ្សារទន្លាប់), on the border with Vietnam, at the Caltex Petrol Station of Daeum Kou Market [11.55285N, 104.9037E] or at the Sokimex Petrol Station of Steung Mean Chey [11.5348N, 104.8857E] (to both of these spots you can get by bus 4B). Otherwise, head south on Chamkar Doung Road (Road 271) towards the Killing Fields (ជើងឯក) from the Sokimex Petrol Station, and hitchhike from there.

Northwest towards Siem Reap by NR6 and northeast towards Kratie, Laos by NR7

You can hitch just after Phrom Bayon Statue and roundabout on the eastern side of Chroy Changvar Bridge, where National Road 6 starts. You can get here from Monivong Boulevard by bus 1A heading north (1500 riel, cash only, no change given). Make sure to make a sign as first of all you will have a lot of local traffic here, and secondly the roads later split. The NR6 continues northwest towards Siem Reap, but if you want to go to Kratie (Kracheh) and towards Laos you have to take NR7 which starts 70 km north from this spot. If you want to avoid all the local traffic and hitch in a spot with some shadow jump on a bus number 6, which starts near the Cannon Rifle Roundabout. Get off just before PTT gas station where the northern bypass merges. There's an advertising banner above the road to protect you from the scorching sun.

Northwest towards Battambang, Poi Pet, Bangkok by National Road 5

From Monivong Boulevard take the public bus line 1A and get off at the bus stop before Prek Pnov Market. Walk further north to find a good spot. There is a Sokimex petrol station with a lot of space for cars to stop and some shadow.

Public Transport

There are 21 bus lines in Phnom Penh bringing people to the farthest outskirts of the city. The vehicles are modern with AC onboard and they run between 5.30am and 8.30pm with an interval of 10-20 minutes depending on the line. One ride costs 1500 riel, cash only, no change given (Nov 2024).

For a long time there weren't any useful maps or apps that foreigners could use to be able to figure out Phnom Penh City Bus network. Luckily it changed in 2024 and now you can find Cambodian capital's buses on Google Maps. The bus stop names are displayed in Khmer only, so it's impossible to pronounce them if you don't speak the language, however if you know how to use Google Maps for public transport at home, you shouldn't have any problems here. For geeks who want to know how far away is the bus they're waiting for, there's also an app provided by the PP City Bus Authority that shows all the 21 lines with their stops, as well as live position of the buses from their GPS units. It's possible though that not all the buses are equipped with a GPS so use the app with caution.

Besides buses there's plenty of three wheeler tuk tuks. There are two main apps used by locals to order a tuk tuk: Grab and Passapp. With these apps you will know the price to your destination before ordering, so you don't need to worry about being ripped off. Prices start at 4000 riel (USD 1) for the shortest ride up to 1km and a distance of 10km should cost around 10,000 riel, or 2.5 dollars (Nov 2024).

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