Getting from Siem Reap to Battambang cost me $7 and three hours in an electric van with eight seats. My friend and I booked it on a Wednesday, left Friday evening, and were back in Siem Reap on Sunday night. Here is exactly how we booked it, what the ride was like both ways, how it compares to the other vans on the route, and the one trick on the way home that saved us a tuk-tuk fare.
Siem Reap to Battambang at a Glance
Here are the numbers from our trip, straight from the booking page and my own watch.
- Operator: EVgo Express, an electric van service
- Booked through: BookMeBus
- Vehicle: “EV Van – 8”, eight passenger seats plus the driver
- Price: $7 per seat, so $14 each way for two of us and $28 round trip
- Departure: 5:30 PM from Siem Reap, scheduled to arrive 8:30 PM
- Ride time: about three hours, with one short rest stop
For context, the whole weekend for two of us came to about $200, hotel included. The van was the cheapest line on the budget. You can see the full breakdown in my Battambang weekend trip write-up.
How to Book Siem Reap to Battambang Tickets
My friend booked our seats on BookMeBus, which lists dozens of Cambodian bus and van operators in one place, EVgo Express among them. You pick the route, the date and the number of passengers, then choose from the departures on offer.
On our Friday there were several options on the route. The ones my friend sent me included a Cambolink21 Express “VIP Van” with 15 seats at $10.25 a seat, leaving at 7:35, 8:05 and 8:35 in the evening. Another operator had morning and early afternoon departures at $8.50. The EVgo van at $7 was the cheapest of the lot and left at a time that worked for us, so that was an easy call.
EVgo also lists the route on its own site, evgo-express.com, at $7 a seat for the 5:30 departure. Pro tip: compare both before you pay, and screenshot your booking. You will want it at the station.
The Ride Out: Friday Evening
I rolled up to the EVgo station in Siem Reap at 5 PM. The van pulled out at about 5:30, right on schedule. It was a small, quiet electric van with eight passenger seats.
About an hour and a half in, we pulled into a small roadside rest stop. You get a few minutes to use the toilet or grab a snack and a drink, then it is back on the road. After that it was a straight run to Battambang.
The last stretch is the rough part. The road got bumpy toward the end, and my friend started feeling sick to her stomach. We made it without trouble, but if you get carsick, take something before you go and grab a seat near the front.
Arriving in Battambang at Night
We got in around 8:30 PM. Our hotel had arranged a pickup, so a driver was waiting for us when we stepped off the van. If your hotel offers a pickup, take it. Rolling into a town you don’t know after dark with bags is no fun, and the hotel arrangement saves you haggling at the door.
One warning on that, though. Our pickup driver spent the ride trying to book himself as our tuk-tuk driver for the next day, and he turned up outside the hotel the next morning to try again. A hotel pickup is a ride, not a contract for the weekend. I cover that in more detail in the full Battambang weekend breakdown.
The drive in gives you a good first look at the city. The first thing we saw on the way past the river was the giant black statue of Lok Ta Dambong Kra Nhoung, the figure the town is named after, followed by market stalls along the water.
The Ride Home: Sunday Evening
Our return seats were on the same 5:30 PM EVgo departure. I was feeling sick by Sunday, so around midday I called and asked if we could switch to an earlier van. They said no. In hindsight I’m glad, because it gave us time for two more stops that afternoon.
The Battambang EVgo station felt like the front room of somebody’s house. It’s small and easy to miss, so leave a little time to find it. We took about an eight-minute tuk-tuk across town to get there.
Here is the thing to know: the van left at 5:20 PM, ten minutes early. We were already there, so it didn’t matter. If we had turned up at 5:29, it would have. Bottom line: be at the station at least 20 minutes before departure, whatever the ticket says.
The Roadside Drop-Off Trick
On the return leg of our Siem Reap to Battambang round trip, a rainstorm rolled in, with thunder in the distance, and we stopped at the same rest stop as on Friday.
That is when we asked the driver if he could let us off on the street where I live in Siem Reap, instead of going all the way to the station. It was right on his route. He said no problem, pulled over at the side of the road, and we hopped out with our bags. That saved us a tuk-tuk ride across town at the end of a long day.
Pro tip: if you’re staying anywhere along the main road into Siem Reap, ask the driver at the rest stop. Ask politely and early, and don’t expect him to go out of his way. Ours didn’t have to.
Best Way From Siem Reap to Battambang?
For two people on a budget, yes. At $7 a seat it was the cheapest option we saw, it left on time (early, in fact), and the electric van was quiet and comfortable enough for three hours. The trade-off is space. With eight seats, you are close to your neighbors, and there is not a lot of room for big luggage.
The 15-seat vans at $10.25 give you more departure times and a little more room for a few dollars more. If you want to travel in the morning, look at the operators running earlier departures. Either way, the ride from Siem Reap to Battambang is about three hours whichever van you choose.
One thing that no longer works: plenty of older guides suggest continuing from Battambang overland into Thailand. The land border crossings between Cambodia and Thailand have been closed since mid-2025, so check the current situation before you plan a route that way.
Siem Reap to Battambang Tips
- Book a day or two ahead on BookMeBus. With only eight seats, the EVgo van can sell out.
- Arrive 20 minutes early. Our return van left ten minutes before the scheduled time.
- Screenshot your booking in case the signal is weak at the station.
- Carsick? Sit near the front. The last stretch into Battambang is rough.
- Bring water and a snack. There is one rest stop, about halfway.
- Ask about a roadside drop-off on the way back if you’re staying along the route.
- Arrange a hotel pickup if you arrive after dark.
Final Word
Getting from Siem Reap to Battambang is cheap and easy. Book the EVgo van on BookMeBus, pay $7, show up early, and you’re there in three hours. Once you arrive, start with my Battambang weekend trip guide for what we spent and whether it’s worth the ride, and check where to eat and drink in Battambang before you go hungry. Coming from the capital instead? Here is how to get from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.
Have you done this ride? Which van did you take, and did yours leave early too? Tell me on Facebook or Instagram.
