Krong Koh Kong Getting there & around

Getting there & away

When NH48 finally gets its four new bridges, ending the frustrating traffic jams at the ferries, travel times will plummet and transport options to Sihanoukville (220km) and Phnom Penh (290km) are likely to mushroom.

Krong Koh Kong is linked to the Thai border by a dual carriageway of sorts – not only does it lack lines, lanes, signs, reflectors and verges/shoulders, but some locals drive as if it were two parallel two-lane highways! The 1.9km bridge over Stung Koh Poi, built and run by the Thais, costs 4800r/44B each way for a car and 1200r/11B for a motorbike; bicycles and pedestrians cross for free.

Flights from Bangkok to Krong Koh Kong are planned.

Land

Bus & taxi

Rith Mony (015 404085; St 3) and Virak-Buntham (016 2077771; St 9) run buses (you have to change vehicles at each crossing) and faster minibuses to Sihanoukville (300B, five hours by minibus) and Phnom Penh (300B, seven hours by minibus). Capital Transport is ­planning to add a service to Krong Koh Kong. Guesthouses and hotels sell tickets.

On the northeast edge of town, Krong Koh Kong’s bus and taxi station (St 12) has an unpaved parking lot and a tin-roofed waiting area. Buses tend to stop in town, so the only reason to come out here is to find share taxis – most numerous in the morning – to Andoung Tuek (300B), Sihanoukville (400B) and Phnom Penh (400B). Prices will surely drop as the bridges come on line. Share taxis can also be found around the northwest corner of Psar Leu.

To the Thai border, a private taxi costs 200B to 250B (plus the 44B bridge toll) while a moto costs 70B (plus the 11B toll). A moto from the border is cheaper – just 50B (plus the toll).

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Boat

Passenger ferries link Krong Koh Kong with Sihanoukville’s ferry port (4½ hours) at 8am; departures from Sihanoukville are at 9.30am. Khmers pay 50, 000r or 500B, foreigners are charged US$20. The route is handled by two vessels, the Royal (016 851934) and the Khemara (Kamra; 016 852223). Immigration police check passports before boarding. Tickets in both directions can be booked through guesthouses and hotels. When you arrive in Krong Koh Kong, be prepared for a rugby scrum of moto drivers hoping to take you to the border.

A word of warning: the sea can be dangerously rough and these boats were designed for river travel, not sailing the open seas.

It’s not clear if this service will survive the easy land transport that will be possible once the NH48 bridges are opened.

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