Can I Drive My Thai Car Into Cambodia?

[samran]

ah ignore the last post!

thanks for the response...(I assume your post relates to both cars and motorbikes though....)

It does,. really, its easy, people seem to make a big hoo haa about this and i have found it the oppisite, there are borders i favour, ban laem is my favourite, the customs immigration there are superb,ive got throught there in 45 mins inc the cambodian side, the road is a bit of an adventure on the cambodian side though, but for me as i said thats why i go,.the easiest /fastest way to phnom penn is without doubt koh kong, i got form phnom penh to pattaya in 9 hours on monday, i was going well and only stopped for fuel, i havent been to laos for a long time, i dont remember it being difficult, i went to pakse and onto cambodia, thats an interesting road/border, the tarmac just ends like they ran out ! then it becomes a dirt track, quite bizzare,.

yeah, I've been down to sii pan don (4000 islands in the south of loas on the cambo border). The road is great in Laos (world bank funded) and then vanishes as soon as it hits cambodia. I actually didn't think you could go any futher..but you learn something new every day...

[RY12]

Sorry my friend you are being given a right load of tripe on here, you DO NOT need an international drivers licence to enter cambodia or thailand, ive been crossing into cambodia and laos for 10 years, the last time last monday,however you do need the vehicle in your name to enter with it alone, if its in your girlfriends name and shes with you ,no problem, and another one that made me laugh was " the car must not have money owing on it , or be on finance, ."again ,where they get these ideas from are beyond me,.

Thanks for the good news Mike! So, according to your experience, I should go through Koh Kong and all I'll need is:

1.) the owner of the car to be in there with me

2.) SOME sort of proof that the owner actually owns the car (i.e. green book is good enough, don't need purple book or embassy authorization?) and it's irrelevant if the owner is still making monthly payments.

3.) SOME sort of driver's license on my part (it doesn't have to be international, my American one would be fine?)

4.) worse comes to worse, the police will be open to bribes and I won't get imprisoned?

Beyond that, I can enter and drive around almost anywhere in Cambodia with no problems? Hope to h-ll that is true, sure would be a load off my chest! thanks

[Sakeopete]

Aside from all the red tape nobody seems to have mentioned that Cambodia is still lawless and chances are you may be relieved of your vehicle after entering with or without your life intact.

[mikethevigoman]

Sorry my friend you are being given a right load of tripe on here, you DO NOT need an international drivers licence to enter cambodia or thailand, ive been crossing into cambodia and laos for 10 years, the last time last monday,however you do need the vehicle in your name to enter with it alone, if its in your girlfriends name and shes with you ,no problem, and another one that made me laugh was " the car must not have money owing on it , or be on finance, ."again ,where they get these ideas from are beyond me,.

Thanks for the good news Mike! So, according to your experience, I should go through Koh Kong and all I'll need is:

1.) the owner of the car to be in there with me

2.) SOME sort of proof that the owner actually owns the car (i.e. green book is good enough, don't need purple book or embassy authorization?) and it's irrelevant if the owner is still making monthly payments.

3.) SOME sort of driver's license on my part (it doesn't have to be international, my American one would be fine?)

4.) worse comes to worse, the police will be open to bribes and I won't get imprisoned?

Beyond that, I can enter and drive around almost anywhere in Cambodia with no problems? Hope to h-ll that is true, sure would be a load off my chest! thanks

I am still using my uk licence after 10 years of travelling this continent, i have NEVER been asked for my licence at the border or on the road,( in cambodia ).never heard of a purlpe book or embassy permission required,.yes it can seem lawless to some,. however the police stopping you for nothing and demanding money for a non commited offense is unheard of in cambodia,.and the kymer rouge stopped eating tourists about 10 years ago !..if you are worried by all this id say fly down and rent,.

[mikethevigoman]

Aside from all the red tape nobody seems to have mentioned that Cambodia is still lawless and chances are you may be relieved of your vehicle after entering with or without your life intact.

Well for me after travelling there for 10 years and sometimes with up to 10 other vehicles/bikes i cant name one person that has had his vehicle stolen there, can you ? ..its no worse than thailand, be aware and dont leave it with the keys in !.

[mikethevigoman]

ah ignore the last post!

thanks for the response...(I assume your post relates to both cars and motorbikes though....)

It does,. really, its easy, people seem to make a big hoo haa about this and i have found it the oppisite, there are borders i favour, ban laem is my favourite, the customs immigration there are superb,ive got throught there in 45 mins inc the cambodian side, the road is a bit of an adventure on the cambodian side though, but for me as i said thats why i go,.the easiest /fastest way to phnom penn is without doubt koh kong, i got form phnom penh to pattaya in 9 hours on monday, i was going well and only stopped for fuel, i havent been to laos for a long time, i dont remember it being difficult, i went to pakse and onto cambodia, thats an interesting road/border, the tarmac just ends like they ran out ! then it becomes a dirt track, quite bizzare,.

yeah, I've been down to sii pan don (4000 islands in the south of loas on the cambo border). The road is great in Laos (world bank funded) and then vanishes as soon as it hits cambodia. I actually didn't think you could go any futher..but you learn something new every day...

Well i stopped and scratched my head,. then a local came through on a scooter, i said ( pointing down the track he had just come up ) Kampochia ? .he replies positive, so very gingerly i ride along and sure enough after about 4 kms i hit the border, ( a peice of wood for a barrier )the laos guy was asleep in his underwear and quickly got dressed and stamped me out, i had a business multiple entry visa for cambodia and was stamped in,.the ride on down to stung treng was great ( on a dirt bike !)

[stingray]

I drove frequently into cambo. There is no big deal. Mainroads are almost perfect now. You fill out the form at the border and let the bluebook or a copy at the Army counter near the immigration. You pay 100 Baht per day during the car drive in cambo. You get a red sign, wich allows you to drive only in the Province, where you bordering, for example, Ko Kong. It's illegal to drive in another province, like Sihanouklville. The red sign you have to put behind the windscreen. The car have to be in your name, otherwise it isn't possible to cross the border.

I recomment: use a a old wreck like me. I have a old 3 liter Toyota Crown 6 cylinder. No one care's and nobody well steal it. It's old and use a lot of gasoline, so nobody even want touch it. To drive a 4 whel drive Vigo is a liitle bit risky. They maybe get stolen.

[Dhinu]

hi guys,,

i'm driving from Malaysia to Thailand than to Cambodia on the 26th Dec 2009... (next saturda)

anyone with any info on Route's would be of great use...

we get in to Thailand from the malaysian BUKIT KAYU HITAM border (Malaysia) than up up up up up till we get to the arayapatety (Poipet-Cambodia Border)

pls share any info you think might be of use..

Me and my Brother will be driving...

Malaysian Car (mine)

Mitsubishi Triton Pick-up

i have a int driving lic

i have the car orginal Grant

we still dont have the route to take ............. pls help...

my mail add: [email protected]

thnaks...

dhiu

[Tjip]

I would like to drive my own car ( Chevrolet Colorado Z4 4x4 ) from Pattaya to Sihanoukville.

Is this possible, which border need I to cross and what paper work will I have to do ?

Thanks

[gotlost]

The short answer is no do not thank about it. There are other threads on this forum about the subject. A bike is different but car no.

[JohnLeech]

I drove frequently into cambo. There is no big deal. Mainroads are almost perfect now. You fill out the form at the border and let the bluebook or a copy at the Army counter near the immigration. You pay 100 Baht per day during the car drive in cambo. You get a red sign, wich allows you to drive only in the Province, where you bordering, for example, Ko Kong. It's illegal to drive in another province, like Sihanouklville. The red sign you have to put behind the windscreen. The car have to be in your name, otherwise it isn't possible to cross the border.

I recomment: use a a old wreck like me. I have a old 3 liter Toyota Crown 6 cylinder. No one care's and nobody well steal it. It's old and use a lot of gasoline, so nobody even want touch it. To drive a 4 whel drive Vigo is a liitle bit risky. They maybe get stolen.

As far as I am aware Stingray has summed up both the legal position and the condition of the roads. What some people may get away with is a different matter, as is their view of the roads. I first drove from PP to Aranyaprathet nearly 20 years ago in a standard (2wd) Toyota pickup (including during rainy season) when the roads were basic laterite, with no major difficulty and very little "adventure"; most main roads were simply boring and uncomfortable and I can't think of any reason why I would want to subject my own car to them, even now they have been improved considerably, but we all have a different idea of fun.

[asiawatcher]

NO you cant drive in Cambodia ! .if u most take car into country u need special permit for car then on the border a cambodian citizen most drive your car.

Incorrect - you need a Cambodian drivers license not a driver, which you can easily get. You need the permit for the car and the license to drive and being left hand drive country you will have fun and games apart from the rotten conditions of the roads.

[WarpSpeed]

ah ignore the last post!

thanks for the response...(I assume your post relates to both cars and motorbikes though....)

It does,. really, its easy, people seem to make a big hoo haa about this and i have found it the oppisite, there are borders i favour, ban laem is my favourite, the customs immigration there are superb,ive got throught there in 45 mins inc the cambodian side, the road is a bit of an adventure on the cambodian side though, but for me as i said thats why i go,.the easiest /fastest way to phnom penn is without doubt koh kong, i got form phnom penh to pattaya in 9 hours on monday, i was going well and only stopped for fuel, i havent been to laos for a long time, i dont remember it being difficult, i went to pakse and onto cambodia, thats an interesting road/border, the tarmac just ends like they ran out ! then it becomes a dirt track, quite bizzare,.

Oh if it's "superb" they're guarranteed to change it then eventually like they did in Phuket when it was good there too..

[hansnl]

Looked it up.

Holders of an International Driving Permit can drive in Cambodia.

The Kingdom recognises and accepted the conventions of 1926, 1949 and 1968, and the use of the International Driving Permit of all other countries party to those conventions.

OOPS

Thailand seem not to have signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic of 1968.

Maybe that might be a reason for the Cambodian Authorities not to accept a Thai IDP.

However, the new style Thai driving license is also in English, and thus acceptable in Cambodia.

Edited March 16, 2011 by hansnl