I'm going to Cambodia at the end of March for ten days, am thinking about renting a car for self drive rather than getting one with a driver or taking buses etc. Has anybody done this, got anything useful to report?
(Ordinarily I'd rent a moped but will have a passenger who's not keen on the idea.)
Thanks in advance!
Your main problem as a tourist with renting a self drive car is finding out how to navigate to your destination and when you get there where to park safely. Phnom Penh has very few traffic signs, inadequate street maps a number of one way streets which are universally ignored as is the priority at junctions and traffic lights. When you do arrive at your destination where do you park? Cambodians treat the pavement out side their houses their private parking space and woe be tied anyone who parks unattended in the road blocking their access that's if you can find a space not occupied by tuk tuk. New driving regulations have just been introduced with the police keeping more if not all of the on the spot fines they collect, you can just imagine their delighted when they discover a nice juicy foreigner driving the wrong was
There's not a stressful amount of roads in the country, so going from city to city is easy. Besides Phnom Penh, the other towns/cities are small enough to not get completely lost. And getting a little lost is fun. Didn't rent a car, but would suggest it after having the worst bus ride experience I could have imagined. It was truly terrible.
The only DOWNSIDE were the cops. Two days of renting a motor-bike got me pulled over five times. They threaten jail time, and this and that, then ask for a bribe of about $20US. I lied and said I only had half that. They accepted and I was on my way. It became a headache though.
If you're going to spend the money on a car, spend the money to get an international driver's license.
If you're American and don't have experience driving in Cambodia, I highly recommend you not do this. Just taking a taxi from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh recently we were forced off the road at least three times by trucks coming head on overtaking both lanes. Cambodian drivers know how to deal with stuff like this, but if you're not used to it and put in a situation like this, you might panic, you might hit a motorcyclist, etc. Please don't risk your and other people's lives if you don't know what you are doing.
Thanks again. We're still on the fence, will make a decision when we get to Phnom Penh. We've got international drivers licenses just in case.
Honestly I'm fed up with bus travel too, would prefer my own wheels. I understand the comment about not being ready for the traffic. Yes I am American (and British), but have driven and ridden various places where the traffic is best described as rather spontaneous. Unnecessary attention from corrupt police is as much as a detractor as traffic.
High class problem for sure.
I have been driving for over forty years all over the world for both business and pleasure including Cambodia where due to my location I need to however I do find it a very challenging experience and frequently not a pleasant one. What is particularly challenging is to anticipated what other road users will do Phnom Penh speeds are generally low until you come across crazy moto drivers or drunken Suv drivers. However the real challenge comes on the National Highways where size counts, both the size of your vehicle the size of your ego and the size of your wallet, local traffic mainly motos, cycles and cows are oblivious to all other vehicles crossing the carriage way without looking and without a care in the world. Life is cheap in this country and is often more cost effective to kill someone than mearly injure them
In the cities it´s easy to take tuk tuks. For long distance, If you want to avoid buses I recommend you get one of the Lexus taxis, they're really not that expensive. A 4 hour trip from Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh cost 40 dollars for the entire back seat, the whole car would have cost 45. The car was a 12 year old Lexus which was really comfortable, the driver a really nice guy, so it was a great trip. You can also buy individual seats for 15 dollars. So much less hassle and risk than renting a car and trying to drive yourself.
As the other posters have said, you need to decide whether driving yourself in Cambodia is for you, given the challenges and risks.
However, if you have previous experience driving in the region then I'd say go for it and in fact, I would actually recommend renting a car rather than a moped/motorcycle as if you fall and have an accident on one of those things, you'll be sorry. Whereas by driving a car you'll be safe unless you're involved in a very serious accident.
AVIS Cambodia (formerly known as AVR) rents out a multitude of different vehicles with and without drivers. If you're not sure about your driving skills in Cambodia, why not rent out a vehicle with driver for a day or two to see if you're confident enough to get the hang of things, and if yes, then you can self-drive from then on? A driver will add another US$25-35 or so to the daily cost.
For more information, go to their website: www.avis.com.kh.
Telling a visitor to rent a car in Cambodia is just really bad advice. OP said he is coming for 10 days, if he doesn't want to take a bus, he can take Lexus taxis everywhere and it would most likely be cheaper then renting a car. Within a city, tuks tuks are numerous and easy form of transport. There's just so much that could go wrong with a car in Cambodia, it's really not something a visitor would want to deal with. Not to mention the huge amount of stress of driving and having to find places there. I would recommend renting a car only in very exceptional circumstances.