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Voykit pocket guide · Thailand
Aranyaprathet
อรัญประเทศ
Treat Aranyaprathet as a one-night staging town for the Poipet border, not a destination: arrive by 15:00, cross in the morning.
Aranyaprathet is a Thai border town in Sa Kaeo province, 6 km from Cambodia's busiest land crossing at Poipet and the standard overland link between Bangkok and Siem Reap. There is little to see in town; its value is a cheap bed, a night market and an early start at immigration. The border runs 08:00–20:00, and the town is the scene of well-documented visa and tuk-tuk scams, so plan the crossing yourself.
- Country
- Thailand
- Local name
- อรัญประเทศ
- Best months
- Nov–Feb
- Avoid
- Mar–May (hot and smoky), Sep–Oct (wet)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- THB
- Money
- Currency is the Thai baht (THB, ฿). Cards work in malls, hotels and many restaurants; street food, markets, boats and small taxis are cash.
- Daily spend
- Budget ฿500–900 excl. bed · Mid ฿900–1,800 excl. bed · High ฿1,800+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- AIS and TrueMove H sell tourist SIMs at airport arrivals; passport registration is required.
- Emergency
- Police 191 · Ambulance 1669 · Tourist police 1155
- Plugs
- Types A, B, C, O · 220 V · 50 Hz · Most sockets take flat US pins and round European pins; type O is the Thai three-pin standard. UK plugs need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Street food: Nothing.; Sit-down restaurant: Leave ฿20–100 or the coins; skip it if a 10% service charge is on the bill.; Taxi / Grab: Round up to the next ฿10 or ฿20.; Massage: ฿50–100 per hour to the therapist, in hand.; Guide / driver day: ฿300–500 for the guide, ฿200–300 for the driver.; Hotel porter / housekeeping: ฿20–50.
- Water
- Not drinkable from the tap. Street refill machines charge about ฿1 a litre; bottled water everywhere.
- Toilets
- Western toilets in malls and hotels; squat toilets with a water bucket in rural stops. The hose ('bum gun') replaces paper; paper goes in the bin in older buildings. Some public toilets cost ฿3–5.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Noodle soup or rice dish | ฿40–80 |
| Night-market plate | ฿30–60 |
| Beer: can at a 7-Eleven / draught in a bar | ฿35–60 / ฿60–90 |
| Tuk-tuk within town | ฿20–60 |
| Songthaew to Rongkleu Market | ฿15 |
| Third-class train to Bangkok | ฿48 |
| Bus to Bangkok, second / first class | ฿160 / ฿207 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- BKK · Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok)
- Direct buses run to Aranyaprathet through the day, not overnight; about 4–5 h
- DMK · Don Mueang (Bangkok)
- No direct service; bus to Mo Chit, then a Mo Chit–Aranyaprathet bus
Typical fares
- Songthaew Aran → border
- about ฿15, 15 min
- Tuk-tuk Aran → border
- about ฿60 after haggling, 15 min
- Train Aranyaprathet → Bangkok
- ฿48, 5–6 h, two departures a day
Get around
The town is small and walkable. Songthaews run between central Aran and Rongkleu Market at the border for about 15 baht and can be flagged along the main road. A tuk-tuk to the border is about 60 baht after haggling, a motorbike taxi about 40 baht; agree the fare and the destination before you get in.
See and do
Known for
- Poipet border crossing to Cambodia
- Rongkleu Market
- Bangkok–Siem Reap overland route
- Third-class train from Bangkok
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Poipet and the Cambodian border | Songthaew or tuk-tuk to the border, then walk through Thai and Cambodian immigration | About 30–60 min plus queue time |
| Sa Kaeo town | Local bus or songthaew from the Aranyaprathet bus station | About 1 h |
| Prachinburi | Bus from the Aranyaprathet bus station | About 3 h |
| Chachoengsao | Bus from the Aranyaprathet bus station | About 3–4 h |
Sleep
- Train station crossroads
- Guesthouses and hotels within a few hundred metres of the station; walkable to food and the bus station.
- Ratuthit Road / town centre
- Clock tower end of town; more hotels and the evening food stalls near the cement reservoir.
- Highway 33 towards the border
- Bungalow motels and larger hotels 1.5–3 km east; you will need a tuk-tuk or songthaew.Bungalow motels and larger hotels 0.9–1.9 mi east; you will need a tuk-tuk or songthaew.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Border, please | ไปชายแดนpai chaidaen |
| I already have a visa | มีวีซ่าแล้วmee visa laeo |
| Go! | ไปbpai |
| How much? | เท่าไหร่tao rai |
| Stop here | จอดที่นี่jot tee nee |
| Thank you | ขอบคุณkhop khun |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: A wai (palms together, slight bow) to return a greeting; a smile and nod for shop staff; avoid: Waiing children or service staff first — it confuses; hugging strangers
- Head and feet: Keep feet on the floor, sit with legs folded to the side in temples; avoid: Touching heads (even children's), pointing feet, stepping over people or food
- Temples: Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off, sit lower than monks; avoid: Women touching monks or handing them things directly; climbing Buddha images
- Monarchy: Stand for the royal anthem in cinemas and at 08:00 and 18:00 in public places; avoid: Any joke or comment about the royal family; stepping on a banknote
- Keeping calm: Stay polite and smiling when things go wrong ('jai yen' — cool heart); avoid: Raising your voice; public anger loses the argument
- Names: Khun plus first name ('Khun Somchai'); nicknames are normal; avoid: Using the family name alone
- Home visit: Shoes off; bring fruit or sweets; step over the threshold, not on it; avoid: Sitting with feet towards the family shrine
- Beckoning and pointing: Palm down, fingers waved towards you; point with the whole hand or chin; avoid: Pointing at people with a finger or with your foot
Scams and watch-outs
- Border scams are the main risk: no visa office, no 'government bus' and no immigration formality happens anywhere except the border itself.
- Tuk-tuk drivers may detour to visa shops and relatives' businesses; insist on 'Border!' and refuse unplanned stops.
- Thailand allows only two visa-free overland entries per calendar year; check your passport's allowance before you cross.
- Roads to Bangkok have checkpoints and buses are boarded by uniformed officials; keep your passport handy.
- Police road checks on Highway 33 have been reported to target motorbike renters; use the parallel side roads.
The town itself is calm; the risk is the border industry. No visa, stamp or customs step happens anywhere except at the crossing, and no intermediary is needed. Fix tuk-tuk fares first, refuse detours, and keep your passport on you.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Aranyaprathet yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Poipet border crossing to Cambodia
- Rongkleu Market
- Bangkok–Siem Reap overland route
- Third-class train from Bangkok
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- Tourism Authority of Thailand: www.tourismthailand.org/
- State Railway of Thailand: www.railway.co.th/
- Transport Co. (intercity buses): www.transport.co.th/
- Wikivoyage: Aranyaprathet, revision 5240323 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5240323
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Aranyaprathetอรัญประเทศ
ไปที่ที่อยู่นี้
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Aranyaprathet; most are in Bangkok. Consular help for a lost passport means a trip to Bangkok.
The border is open 08:00–20:00 and there is no time difference between Thailand and Cambodia.The border is open 8:00 AM–8:00 PM and there is no time difference between Thailand and Cambodia.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/aranyaprathet). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.