Siem Reap Airport Transfers: Read This First — The Airport Moved

If you are looking for "REP", start here, because the situation changed and a lot of advice online has not caught up.

The old Siem Reap International Airport (IATA: REP), the one 6-8 km from town that everybody remembers, closed to commercial flights on 15 October 2023. Flights now use the Siem Reap–Angkor International Airport (IATA: SAI, ICAO: VDSA), which opened the following day, 16 October 2023.

The part that matters for your transfer: the new airport is roughly 50 km east of Siem Reap, not 8 km. The drive into town takes about 45-60 minutes on the purpose-built Angkor Highway, rather than the 15-25 minutes the old airport needed.

That single change invalidates almost every "Siem Reap airport transfer" figure written before late 2023 — including a tuk-tuk into town for a few dollars. The trip is now six times longer, and it is priced accordingly. Buy your transport at the transport counters in the arrivals area, where the rates are posted, and treat any specific figure you read online (including the old ones on this page, which we have removed) as unreliable.

The old airport sat close to the Angkor Archaeological Park. Aircraft traffic and pollution were considered a threat to the temples, and the airport could not handle the passenger volumes Cambodia wanted. A replacement further from the monuments was announced years in advance and finally opened in October 2023.

For visitors, three practical things changed:

Distance. About 50 km instead of 6-8 km. A new road, the Angkor Highway, connects the airport toward the city and takes the worst of the congestion out of the trip, but it is still roughly a 45-60 minute drive.

Cost. Every ground transport option costs more than it did, because the journey is far longer. The cheap airport tuk-tuk hop into town no longer exists in the form the old guides describe.

Planning. At the old airport you could improvise. At 50 km out, with a long drive ahead, improvising is less comfortable — particularly late at night, with children, or in the heat.

If you are reading an article, a forum post or a hotel page that says the airport is a short ride from Pub Street, it was written before October 2023. Check the date on anything you rely on.

The new terminal is large, modern and air-conditioned — a considerable step up from the old building.

Visas. Most nationalities need a visa. A tourist visa on arrival is available, and an e-visa can be arranged online before you travel, which lets you skip that queue. Both carry a fee set by the Cambodian government, and those fees are revised — the e-visa fee was cut at the start of 2025, for example — so check the current amount on the official portal, evisa.gov.kh, rather than trusting a figure from a travel article. One warning worth taking seriously: many lookalike websites sell Cambodian e-visas with service fees stacked on top of the government fee, sometimes several times the real cost. Apply only through the official government site.

After immigration, baggage claim is straightforward. There are ATMs dispensing both US dollars and Cambodian riel, and SIM card counters selling tourist SIMs with data. Cambodia uses US dollars alongside the riel, with riel generally used as small change, so you do not need to exchange currency before leaving.

Then you exit to ground transport, and this is the part that is genuinely different from the old airport: you have a long drive ahead, so it is worth sorting your transport properly rather than grabbing the first offer.

Before the options, the honest caveat on price. The airport does not publish its ground-transport fares on its website, and the figures circulating on travel sites, blogs and aggregators disagree with each other — we found the same taxi quoted at wildly different prices on different pages. So this guide does not print a number. The rates are posted at the transport counters in the arrivals area, and that posted rate is the real one. Check it there.

Airport shuttle bus: The airport's own website confirms a shuttle bus service operates, and it is the cheapest way into town. Tickets are sold at the transport area in arrivals. Because it is a scheduled service over a long route, it suits travellers who are flexible on timing and travelling reasonably light.

Taxi / private car: Booked at the transport counter in arrivals, at a fixed posted price for the journey rather than a meter. Air-conditioned, direct to your hotel, and the sensible default for most visitors given the distance. You pay at the counter and are directed to your vehicle.

Minivan: Also booked at the counter, for larger groups and families with luggage. Priced above a car, and worth it once you have more than three people and their bags to move 50 km.

Pre-booked private transfer: Arranged before you fly. A driver meets you in arrivals with a name sign, the price is fixed at booking, and the driver tracks your flight. Over a 45-60 minute drive, after a long journey, this is the lowest-friction option, and the only one where you can request a child seat in advance.

Ride-hailing (Grab, PassApp): Both operate in Cambodia and quote a fare in the app before you confirm. Coverage at the new airport is less dependable than it was at the old one — it is 50 km from the city where the drivers are — so treat it as a possibility rather than a plan, and have a fallback. You need a working data connection.

Tuk-tuk: Be realistic. The classic Siem Reap airport tuk-tuk belongs to the old airport, 8 km from town. From the new airport it is a 50 km run on a highway in an open vehicle — slow, hot, wind-blasted and not meaningfully cheap. Ride a tuk-tuk around town, where it is a genuine pleasure. It is the wrong tool for this trip.

Hotel pickup: Many Siem Reap hotels arrange airport pickup, and given the new distance it is worth asking your hotel directly what they charge and whether it is included. Confirm before you arrive and give them your flight details.

We are not going to give you a price list, and it is worth explaining why rather than quietly leaving it out.

The airport does not publish its ground-transport tariff online. The numbers on travel sites contradict each other, and many of them are simply the old airport's prices carried forward — which describe a 15-minute journey that no longer exists. Reprinting any of that would look freshly checked while being wrong, which is worse than saying nothing.

So here is what is actually true and useful:

• The rates are posted at the transport counters in the arrivals area. That is your authoritative source. You see the price before you commit, and you pay at the counter rather than negotiating with a driver at the kerb.
• Order of cost, cheapest first: shuttle bus, then a shared or standard car, then a minivan or a pre-booked private transfer. The gaps between them are wider than they were at the old airport, because the distance is greater.
• Everything costs more than the pre-2023 figures, and by a lot. The trip is roughly six times longer. If a price you read looks like a bargain from the old airport era, that is exactly what it is.
• Pre-booked transfers are fixed at booking, so the figure is known before you fly.
• Grab and PassApp show the fare in the app before you confirm — that quote is your price.

Cambodia uses US dollars for most tourist transactions, with riel as small change. Carry small bills; drivers rarely have change for large notes.

The new airport handles flights into the evening, and the 50 km distance makes a late arrival a different proposition than it was.

The transport counters in arrivals operate for arriving flights, so there is a staffed, fixed-price option rather than a kerbside negotiation in the dark. Ride-hailing availability drops off at night, and at 50 km from the city it was never dependable to begin with — do not count on it as your only plan.

A pre-booked transfer or a confirmed hotel pickup is the sensible choice for a late landing. Your driver waits regardless of delay, and you are not solving a long journey at midnight after a flight. The drive itself is on a modern highway and is straightforward at night; the issue is availability and fatigue, not safety.

The distance changes the calculation for families more than for anyone else. A 15-minute hop is survivable in almost anything. A 45-60 minute drive with tired, hot children needs a proper vehicle.

Tuk-tuks are out for this journey — no seatbelts, no restraints, no luggage space, and 50 km of highway. Save them for town.

Car seats are not provided in standard taxis or ride-hailing vehicles in Cambodia, and the law is not enforced the way it is in Western countries. If you want a child seat, a pre-booked transfer is the only realistic route, and you must request it in advance and confirm it will be there — do not assume.

Vehicle size. Families always have more than they think: a stroller, a car seat from home, the extra bag of kid supplies. A standard sedan handles four people and two large cases; add a stroller and it is tight. Book a minivan or SUV if you are close to the limit — over 50 km, cramped is a long time.

Heat. Siem Reap is hot year-round, regularly above 35°C. Air conditioning for an hour in the car is not a luxury with small children. Fill water bottles before you leave the terminal.

Transport counters: In the arrivals area. You book, pay the posted rate, and staff direct you to your vehicle. This is the straightforward option if you have not arranged anything in advance.

Pre-booked transfers: Your driver waits in arrivals with a name sign. Confirm the meeting point in your booking confirmation.

Ride-hailing: Pickup is from the designated area; the app shows the driver's location. Expect a wait, and have a fallback.

Hotel pickup: Your hotel will tell you where their driver waits. Get the driver's name and phone number before you fly.

Take the shuttle bus if: you are travelling light, flexible on timing, and want the cheapest way to cover the 50 km.

Book at the transport counter if: you have not arranged anything, want a fixed posted price with no negotiation, and are happy to sort it out on arrival.

Choose a pre-booked transfer if: you are arriving late, travelling with family or heavy luggage, need a child seat, or simply do not want to solve a long drive after a long flight.

Try Grab or PassApp if: you have working data and a fallback plan, and you are comfortable with the wait.

Do not plan on a tuk-tuk for this journey. Ride one in town instead — that is where it belongs.

Ask your hotel what they charge for pickup. At this distance it is a real question with a real answer, not a formality.