Cambodia to Vietnam overland by bus is the Aussie backpacker's classic Indochina move in 2026 — Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City in roughly seven hours for fifteen US dollars. Here is exactly how it runs.
You take a tourist coach from Phnom Penh to Ho Chi Minh City through the Bavet–Moc Bai land crossing. The full trip runs 6–8 hours door-to-door for $15–25 USD (~$23–38 AUD) one-way. Giant Ibis and Mekong Express are the premium picks; Sapaco is the budget option. You need a Vietnam eVisa pre-applied online ($25 USD / ~$38 AUD) before boarding and a passport with at least six months validity. The border itself is a clean three-step process: Cambodian exit stamp, a short walk across no-man's-land, then a Vietnamese entry stamp.
Aussie backpackers, retired couples doing slow Indochina loops, gap-year travellers, even the occasional business traveller who fancies the scenery — they all end up on this bus. The route runs daily, several departures, and the bus operators have refined the border process to the point where a competent crew clears the whole queue in under an hour. The Vietnam–Cambodia visa combo guide and the Thailand–Cambodia border closure update both go deeper on the surrounding policy context. See our full apply for your Cambodia eVisa for the end-to-end walkthrough.
On the Cambodia side, you don't need anything extra to exit — the eVisa or VoA you entered Cambodia on covers your exit automatically. No e-Arrival card to file for departure. If you're heading back to Cambodia later in the trip on a separate leg, the do Australians need a Cambodia visa explainer and the Cambodia eVisa application walkthrough cover the entry side.
If you're crossing in the next month, the Smartraveller advisory for Vietnam is worth a five-minute read — particularly during the wet season (May to October), when occasional flooding on Highway 1 can slow the journey. The Cambodia first-trip planning checklist covers the broader pre-arrival prep if this is your first Indochina trip.
Next steps and related reading for Australians: apply for your Cambodia eVisa when you are ready to lodge, bookmark our Cambodia visa hub for Australian citizens as the single canonical reference, skim the FAQ on Cambodia visa at the border for quick answers, and use our glossary of Cambodia visa terms to decode any acronym in this guide.
Saigon is two hours past the border. Multi-entry if you plan to return to Cambodia later.
See the combo guide →No overland from Bangkok in 2026. The Bavet bus is the Indochina overland route.
Read the closure update →Did this guide help you?
首次赴柬埔寨旅行？以下是面向美国人的诚实首次旅客清单——签证、美元货币特点、安全现状、疫苗接种、寺庙着装规范，以及2026年新机场的实际抵达体验。
自2025年6月以来，泰国与柬埔寨之间的全部七个陆地边境已关闭，因此在2026年，美国人从泰国进入柬埔寨的唯一方式是乘坐飞机。以下是曼谷至暹粒和曼谷至金边航线的工作方式、登机前所需的柬埔寨电子签证，以及为何旧的波贝陆路计划已不再可行。
三种方式跨越柬埔寨首都与吴哥窟之间的195英里：15美元的特快巴士、45分钟的航班或缓慢的河流渡轮。以下是每种方式对美国旅行者的实际费用、所需时间以及哪种适合您的行程。
The quieter northern overland route into Cambodia — Pakse to Stung Treng.
Plan the Laos route →
