Cambodia Travel Tips

Travel Tips

There are two international airports in Cambodia, in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The Globe Aware program requires you to meet up in Siem, Reap, so be sure to arrange your flight all the way to Siem Reap.


The Phnom Penh airport was recently renamed from Pochentong Intl Airport to Phnom Penh Intl Airport and the airport in Siem Reap is called Siem Reap-Angkor Intl Airport. There are only flights from regional locations.


Bangkok is the easiest place to pick up a flight to Phnom Penh or Siem Reap. Flights to the capital also fly out of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Vientiane and Guangzhou. The major airport is 7km (4mi) west of Phnom Penh.


To Siem Reap there are flights from Bangkok (Bangkok Airways), Vientiane and Pakse (Lao Aviation), Singapore (Silk Air by way of Phnom Penh), Saigon, Hanoi, and Danang (Vietnam Airlines and sometimes Siem Reap Airlines for Danang), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia Air), and Seoul (Asiana). Bangkok Airways monopolizes the direct Bangkok-Siem Reap route and has round-trip fares in excess of of $275 for the 45-minute flight. Vietnam Air enjoys a similar monopoly for the Saigon-Siem Reap route.


There are no direct flights from the United States to Cambodia, but there are lots of ways to connect.

  • From China you can take these airlines: Dragon air (Hong Kong), Shanghai Airlines, First Cambodian Airways, President Airways, and China Southern Airways
  • From Korea you can take these airlines: Korean Airlines
  • From Kuala Lumpur you can take these airlines: Malaysian Airlines and First Cambodian Airway
  • From Singapore you can take these airlines: First Cambodian Airways and Silk Air
  • From Thailand you can take these airline: Bangkok Airways, Siem Reap Airway International, President Airlines, Royal Phnom Penh Airlines, and Thai International
  • From Taiwan you can take these airlines: President Airlines and EVA Airlines
  • From Vietnam you can take these airlines: Vietnam Airlines, Siem Reap Airways International, and Royal Khmer Airways


There are lots of perks, of course, to booking online. First, you get to see the options from which to choose. Second, you usually earn more reward miles. Third, often the best fares an airline carries are only listed on the internet. From our experience, no one avenue always has the lowest fare, so you are probably best checking several of the sources below.

We think its worth checking out the major discount booking sites first, to provide an overview of what seems to be out there.

Expedia http://www.expedia.com
Orbitz http://www.orbitz.com
Travelocity http:// www.travelocity.com

Then, check on the airline websites for those major carriers which seem to offer the lowest fare. Airlines often have their best webfares listed only on their own websites.

American Airlines http://www.aa.com/ 1-800-433-7300
Continental Airlines http://www.continental.com/ 1-800-231-0856
Delta Airlines http://www.delta.com/home/index.jsp 1-800-241-4141
Northwest Airlines http://www.nwa.com/ 1-800-447-4747
United Airlines http://www.united.com/ 1-800-538-2929

Sometimes consolidators, who book directly with airlines in negotiating their own fares, have the best rates:

http://www.exitotravel.com/
http://airtravelcenter.com/atcbroker.htm
http://www.airlineticketsinfo.com/info/consolidators.htm

And sometimes even travel agents have access to special fares, or are more knowledgeable about routing a fare to where you can get a better deal. If you're already working with one, it's best to start there. Otherwise, you might try asking who your employer uses, or your friends. One we've used and been happy with is Jane Becker: beckerj@netins.net

Incidentally, websites like www.sidestep.com claim to search several sites at once to find the best deal, but we have found that it frequently does not yield the best deal.

If you do not care about knowing which carrier you go on, it may be worth trying to bid on airfare (Ebay style) at: http://www.skyauction.com .

Sometimes consolidators have the very best fares of all. One we've found that seems to have great fares to Asia is:

Amy Zhao
Kitty's Travel Inc.
38W. 32nd St, Suite 1209 New York, NY. 10001
Tel: 1-800-801-8448 1-212-594-1416
Fax :1 -212-643-0656
Email: kittystravelinc@hotmail.com

If you miss your flight and are delayed more than an hour or two, the group will head on to the program site. You will then need to get in contact with the person you designated as your emergency contact, whom we will have contacted to give you instructions to get to the program site.