Mekong Express

3.8
379 customer reviews
  • About
  • Popular Routes
  • Reviews

About Mekong Express

Company Information

Mekong Express started operations in 2002 and has long been regarded as one of the leading and fastest-growing private bus operators in Cambodia.

Routes served by Mekong Express

Phnom Penh–Siem Reap

The major route operated by Mekong Express connects Cambodia’s capital city, Phnom Penh, with Siem Reap, the gateway to the famous ruins of Angkor Wat. There are four departures each day with buses leaving both cities between 07.30 and 12.30 each day, with the five hour trip costing USD14.

Phnom Penh–Sihanoukville

From the operator’s base in Phnom Penh you can visit destinations across the whole of Cambodia.

There are also four services each day heading from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, home to glorious beaches along Cambodia’s coastline. Buses depart from 09.30 each day and the journey lasts around four hours. Tickets are priced at USD14 per person in either direction.

You can also reach Siem Reap directly from Sihanoukville; there are two buses each day leaving the beach town to travel up the country (at 07.00 and 08.30). The journey will last over nine hours so you will arrive into Siem Reap for late afternoon and is priced at USD26.

Phnom Penh–Battambang

Battambang is a destination that is often overlooked by visitors but is well worth exploring a far more laid-back Cambodian city. There is one bus each day from Phnom Penh leaving at 13.30, scheduled to arrive around 19.00. From Battambang there is also one service each day that leaves at 07.30 (arriving back into the capital at 12.55). The journey will take between five and six hours in total and is priced at USD14.

International service: Vietnam

Mekong Express also offers international services, with departures heading across the border to Vietnam. You can reach Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi, from either Phnom Penh or Siem Reap, although the journey will take twice as long from the latter city.

There are two departures from Phnom Penh every day, leaving at 06.30 and 15.30, and the journey lasts for five hours. There are also two buses from Hanoi to Phnom Penh with the same departure times and also costing USD17.

If you want to visit Hanoi directly from Siem Reap then there is one bus each morning at 07.30 that will take 10 hours in total and you are scheduled to arrive in Hanoi for 17.30. The return journey leaves Hanoi at 07.00 and tickets are priced a USD26 per person in either direction.

Pros

Mekong Express often boast quicker journey times than some other operators along these routes, however, this probably means that you will have shorter or fewer breaks and the drivers may be driving quicker than you would necessarily like.

The buses all offer Wi-Fi which is very useful on a long journey, especially if you need to contact someone or to work out how to reach your hotel when you arrive at the bus station.

Cons

The range of departure times offered by Mekong Express is not the best. There are no overnight buses available, which might be useful for the longer trips such as Siem Reap to Sihanoukville or international connections like Siem Reap to Hanoi.

If you are travelling a long distance on Mekong Express then you will lose a day of your holiday that could be used exploring this beautiful country.

Even on the most popular route between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, the options are limited. There are no departures from either city after 12.30 which can be inconvenient if you are catching a flight the following morning as you will be required to pay for accommodation.

Note that there are no toilets on board any of these services, which is in fact a common case throughout Cambodia; although there are frequent breaks where you can use the bathroom or buy some extra snacks for the trip. The buses themselves are not always in the best condition and on some of the shorter trips you may find yourself on a minibus rather than a larger luxury or VIP bus, which is likely to be far more cramped and uncomfortable.

Keep in mind

As is the case with bus trips across Cambodia, delays are pretty common and often unannounced, so it is always best to allow plenty of flexibility into your schedule just in case. This is especially important if you have a flight to catch!

Travellers Reviews

Mekong Express services are competitively priced but are not always the most popular operator for those looking to travel across Cambodia. This is mainly due to the limited schedule on the routes which can often be inconvenient for travellers.

Also, the fact that you may be required to travel by minibus on some routes can put visitors off as these are usually far less comfortable than a larger bus.

Read more

Mekong Express Popular Routes

NaN Passengers

Mekong Express Company Reviews

C L
The driver spent nearly the entire ride talking on his cell phone or with earbuds in listening to music which did not seem safe and was a bit annoying to those of us in the small van who might want to relax, sleep or read.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Jun 10, 2019
C L
Bus was 2.5 hours late and had no record of my booking
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Jun 7, 2019
K P
The conductor assist as well specially on the immigration area and it was a great experience, on the contrary, bus was old that whenever it stop, we can hear the sounds of it that keeps us awake on the trip. Overall experience was good.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Apr 28, 2019
P R
Friendly staffs
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Apr 19, 2019
M A
A vit slow at the check point.. Other than thst is ok
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Apr 7, 2019
B M
The driver was driving dangerous, we almost had an accident.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Mar 27, 2019
D C
Little longer than anticipated, but good service and a safe driver.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Mar 23, 2019
A E
The bus left on time. Plenty of leg room ment a comfy journey. Ac worked well it was almost chilly, had to use scarf as a blanket, so is good for anyone suffering with the heat. Even though the lady on the bus saw our pre payed visa for Cambodia ($35) she tried to charge us again another $37dollers each. She told us if we didn’t pay the police would keep our passports and would let us into the country. We refused to give her more money or our passports and said we’d go through customs ourselves. We were then told despite our bags being in the hold and wouldn’t let us retrieve them, they wouldn’t wait for us at the border if we got through after them. When we arrived at the border we got straight through, the staff at the border where friendly and helpful and it took us about fifteen minutes to leave Vietnam and enter Cambodia not being charged extra by anyone. We waited almost an hour for the rest of our bus at a cafe on the other side of the border. There were other people on the bus that day that like us prepayed their visas but were scared into paying the bus staff again costing over $70 each to enter the country. because of this I wouldn’t use the Mekong express company again. Please stop scamming your customers!!
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Mar 14, 2019
R A
No wifi in the bus and we traveled for 14hrs due to some delays
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Mar 12, 2019
J C
Road was insanley rough Can't wait for the new highway
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Mar 11, 2019
Z X
I think it was better than I imagined. The people at the staf are also very friendly. It is very interesting to ride the bus and see the scenery of the road.
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Mar 9, 2019
D L
The stewards were not that friendly or helpful. The air conditioner was blowing constantly on my head with no way to turn it off so I had to jerry rig something to cover the vent. They gave us a 5 minute bathroom break the first time and a 20 minute break the second time which included lunch at a nasty roadside place. The only positive thing is the movies they showed to take one's mind off of the 8 hour trip
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Mar 5, 2019
C G
mekong express bus were dirty and aircon was not working well. it was the worst bus ride of my life
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Mar 3, 2019
T W
Bus was clean and had usb charger for the phone. Nice smooth ride
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 27, 2019
E V
On the whole a good service. Arrived at the bus station and our tickets weren't on their system which was worrying but luckily there were 2 free seats so they gave us those. Not sure what would have happened otherwise though.. booked through 12go asia a week earlier. First leg was on a mini bus but plenty of stops so that was fine. Then an hour wait at Phnom Penh before changing to a coach which was nice, free water and snack, toilet on board, air con. Journey took 15 hours in total rather than the stated 12.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Feb 26, 2019
J J
The ride itself was super relaxed, however we arrived 2 hours later than stated, so nothing to feel from Express Bus. Exit from Vietnam took ages, entry pretty fast and without 1 dollar service fee.
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 26, 2019
D N
El bus era bastante viejo. La azafata de Ho Chi Minh a Phong pen fue bien práctica con el tema de la frontera camboyana. Tuvimos un pasajero que se sintió mal y tuvo que ser internado a 3 horas de llegar a siem rep. Llegamos sobre las 10 de la noche. Fue largo.....
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 21, 2019
N D
On the whole, the trip went OK. Arrived later than the schedule said. The lady who accompanied the flight was very helpful in getting/getting the visa
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 17, 2019
A Y
Bus not on time
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 17, 2019
F J
The bus was nice and comfortable. The AC worked fine. The staff was very friendly and helpful, and the procedeurs at the border worked fine. We didn't arrive at the final destination on time, and that's more or less the only negative thing I can come up with. But in this part of the world, one cannot really expect things to work on a minute schedule. Sit back and enjoy the ride! The price was very affordable, and I can recommend this trip for anyone who wants to get from Saigon to Phneom Penh.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 16, 2019
T F
Would have preferred a different place to stop for lunch.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 16, 2019
H B
The trip was really good the only negative was the buses turning up 30mins late full of passengers that needed to board and the driver constantly beeping his horn for 6 hours so if you going to do this journey bring earphones or earplugs
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 15, 2019
A G
It was a really comfortable ride. We even got free cookies and water. The bus stopped 2 times for the 6-hour ride. Was on schedule and the seat was big and comfortable. There was no free WIFI at the time. Also, it is not necessary to turn up 1 hour in advance. Most of the people come 10 - 15 min before. That was sufficient enough. Overall, was a good ride.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 14, 2019
Z E
no problems, no delays, good service.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 12, 2019
M A
The 1st bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh is very old and the AC is not working properly. They transfer us to another bus from Phnom Penh with better AC with free cookies and a bottle of water but ripped us off during the bus stop over for dinner. I ordered fried rice with chicken but only got fried rice and paid 5 USD for it!
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 7, 2019
T M
The 9:45 bus was cancelled without our being informed, and we had to wait until 12:30.The bus has slick tires and worn out shocks, and the driver is fearless.
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 7, 2019
S G
Tiny space for legs Many many stops to pick up and drop off locals along the way Had no choice but to support the Cambodian corrupted system by paying an extra $5 to get our passport stamped faster. You can always refuse but they warn you that you’ll have to wait 1.30h at the border and the bus won’t wait for you. I would not really care if the bus ticket from Siem Reap to HoChiMinh was not $30ish, which is ALOT of money here
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 5, 2019
L S
Wo do they charge 5$ extra for the visa on arrival when they don't do anything? Wow you give the customer the forms, but we can pick them up at the border itself for free.
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 5, 2019
C D
Please don't offer cake with palm oil on it... palm oil culture is so dirty for Malaysian animal life AND human life. Thank you! But all the rest was nice.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Feb 2, 2019
K J
Hello The trip went well but took 1h30 longer than expected. Distance to cover 78 kms.
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Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Feb 2, 2019
H B
The trip was generally ok, the driver was friendly and stopped once during the journey at a nice shop/cafe with a clean toilet block. There were a few issues with the bus, air con wasn't very good so it did get quite hot on the bus and there really wasn't very much leg room. It was advertised as a 3 hour journey and although in the conditions it does say journeys can take longer, my trip took 4 hours. From speaking to other travellers they also found the journey to be 4 hours, this is fine if it's the case but please change this on the advertisement. It wasn't the best bus journey I have had in South East Asia but I would do this route again.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Jan 31, 2019
G S
We were in a 12 passenger van which was comfortable. Driver was good and we had one lunch stop for 30 minutes and two shorter stops for bathroom breaks.Traffic and road construction were terrible but the driver handled it well. Would use again.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Jan 30, 2019
A T
The trip was very love, but the conductor was very helpful and accommodating
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Jan 28, 2019
D P
All right, there were vacant seats and we laid down one by one.I don't advise anyone to eat at roadside cafes, they stop there on purpose, it's very expensive.In the bus demand water and snacks, as the carrier promises
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Jan 25, 2019
M D
The bus ride was very cold, we arrived almost 2.5 hours after we were set to arrive and the wifi didn’t work. Also, the water bottle we were provided promises a snack, but there was no snack.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Jan 25, 2019
S D
Old bus. Cramped seats. No seatbelts. Poor customer service. Giant ibis is better.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Jan 9, 2019
C M
Staff were very unfriendly Helped themselves to water constantly but didn’t offer passengers water Staff just spoke amongst themselves, didn’t communicate with passengers so unclear what was happening Driver put the radio on so I couldn’t hear any commands from steward I witnessed a couple being moved seats so that the staffs friend could sit near them Wouldn’t travel with you again
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Jan 8, 2019
D L
Everything was done well! Thank you!
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Jan 8, 2019
A A
Book from 12Go. Everything go smooth except the final stop at Phnom Penh not at the place as written on the ticket booked. Supposed to stop at Riverside but he stopped 2km from the Riverside.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Jan 7, 2019
A J
Laugh a minute. 12go sends you to collection point by night market. But bus leaves from elsewhere. But we got picked up and collected other passengers then taken to bus station. An interesting exercise we drove past the river collection point 4 times before we actually departed. If you have an e- visa. Then expect a 2 dollar "processing fee" viet immigation officer gets one dollar and co get the other. Just pay it. Consider it a urgent processing fee. Ha ha. Dinner stop is well overpriced for what it is but. Just accept it and move on. Got into hcmc very late after entertaining bus driver chicken fights with big trucks. All in another day in cambodia.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 30, 2018
C D
the boarding point indicated at the instruction is different from the real boarding point. we have to ride a tuktuk again going on the bus station. arriving to the bus station, the system is organised. the bus have toilet and free snacks. OVERALL, this is a recommended bus company.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 29, 2018
E M
Seats very comfortable with enough space to rest
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 19, 2018
E M
Very nice trip.The only problem is that the space under seats which is used for legs to rest is very short.
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 16, 2018
C M
Overall, the trip was nice. The queue we had at the border is not that long from what I heard from others. Would be helpful if instructions we're clear about visa. We were told to get off the bus at the border but we were not instructed as to where to proceed. Plus I found out it's cheaper to buy tickets from the bus company than 12Go Asia.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 16, 2018
D S
Pleasant trip in a comfortable mini bus with complimentary water.
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Dec 12, 2018
P P
There was room on the bus that left before the one we had chosen (8:30 am) and we had arrived at 6:30 am, so we were offered a place on a bus that left at 7:00 am. Efficient staff. No problems at all.
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Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 5, 2018
F B
Pick up point sent on email wrong (103 Sisowath Street). Paid for a TukTuk hostel to pick up point, was there by 1:15 pm so 1 hours and 15 minutes ahead of schedule, and the people at the desk said that I had to go to the bus terminal. So I had to pay another TukTuk. Really unprofessional
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 4, 2018
F B
Took the VIP van - smaller and faster. Excellent help st the boarder
Van Regional 14pax, Mekong Express, Dec 2, 2018
J C
Old unkept bus with no wifi service. Nothing remotely as advertised.
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 2, 2018
K G
Luckily we arrived at the bus stop an hour early, as we were told to get on the bus that was about to leave because there was no bus coming for our scheduled time. That was pretty unnerving. The AC also didn’t work and we were stuck at a rest stop for about an hour and a half while they tried to fix it. We spent the rest of the (3 hr) ride with the windows open, though unfortunately my window couldn’t open so it was very hot. The staff was extremely kind. The bus attendant was awesome and kept us updated at every point. The complimentary cookies and water were also much appreciated! The staff is really the only reason I’m giving this company a 3 star rating!
Bus Express, Mekong Express, Dec 1, 2018
3.8
379 customer reviews
5
30%
4
33%
3
24%
2
13%
1
0%
87.1% of 379 travelers were presumably happy with Mekong Express as they left good or no review