I went from Vietnam to Cambodia, more precisely from Ho Chi Minh to Rabbit Island in Cambodia. This one seems to be the closest island to Vietnam on the Cambodian side of the border. It is easy to reach Rabbit Island through Kep, a city 30 min away from the Ha Tien border in Vietnam.
Getting from Vietnam to Cambodia
So, first, I went from Ho Chi Minh to Ha Tien on a night bus. The bus departed from Mien Tay Bus station at 11:30 pm and at 6:30 am we were already in Ha Tien. It costs 250K dong. I bought the ticket at the Kumho Samco office in D1 and they had a free shuttle bus to Mien Tay bus station even though the pick-up was at 10 pm, so there was a lot of waiting.
Anyway, the bus wasn’t full and the journey was smooth. Buses in Vietnam are very comfortable for long rides as the bed, yes bed not seat, reclines to 80% so it is possible to sleep even though it will never be a good night’s sleep. We made one stop at 1:30 am and that was it.
Crossing the Vietnam to Cambodia border
I was still not sure how would I cross the border from Vietnam to Cambodia and I decided right there at Ha Tien bus station. If not, I would probably have gone one bus earlier (from HCM to Ha Tien) because I know of a transport going from Ha Tien town to Kep for 10 USD at 6 am, the cheapest I found. I arrived in Ha Tien too late to hop on that bus. Still, I didn’t pay that much more and by doing this border crossing on my own, I probably saved myself some time.
So, at Ha Tien bus station, I decided to take a Xe Om, or moto-taxi to the Vietnamese side of the border. A man approached right as I left the bus and he charged me 100K dong, which I thought wasn’t a bad deal, even though the border isn’t actually that far, and it could surely be cheaper. I tried to negotiate for a while, but he was a hard rock to move, haha. It was fine.
From the border to Kep
Once at the Vietnam to Cambodia border, I stamped my way out of Vietnam and as soon as I left that building I was approached by a man telling me he could take me to Kep for 15 USD by motorbike. I’ve read about tuk-tuk to Kep for 10 USD, so I told him I would go for 10 USD. He accepted and I found my transport to the Cambodian city that didn’t take more than 30 min to reach. I asked the driver to leave me at the pier where the boats to Rabbit Island depart. The place is called Koh Tonsay Boat Terminal and isn’t far from Kep market. I arrived there at 8 am. So, between arriving in Ha Tien and Kep took me 1h30.
From Kep to Rabbit Island or Kaoh Tonsay
At the pier, I discovered that the shared boat to Rabbit Island leaves at 9 am, so it was all good! The round-trip cost is 10 USD. To return to land, you just show the ticket to the boat driver, and that’s it.
What I knew was that there was no wi-fi on the island, so I would like to buy a SIM card. I tried to buy one near the border on the Cambodian side and the lady asked for 10 USD so I didn’t buy it. The pier is a very deserted place, but there were still some things nearby. A hotel and a restaurant where I went to ask for help on where to buy a SIM card. There was a phone shop 10 min walk away so I decided to go and try to buy the sim card. I bought a sim card for 3 days of internet and it cost me 3 USD. I did well not buying it at the border even though I thought I wouldn’t be able to buy it once at the pier.
There were more foreigners on this boat: 5 more which was surprising. I thought I would see less. The boat ended up departing at 9.15 am, but 30 min later we were on Rabbit Island. The sea was kinda rough so we moved very slowly across the ocean. On the way back the boat took only 20 min to do the same crossing.
There were 3 different times a day available to go back from Rabbit Island to Kep throughout the day: 7 am, 8 am, and 4 pm.
Many people, especially foreigners, seem to choose to go to Rabbit Island in the morning and come back at 4 pm, which gives them enough time to check out the island, but tight if you decide to walk all around it. Still might be a good day getaway as the beaches are very empty.
From Rabbit Island to Ho Chi Minh City
I stayed on the island for 3 nights and it was a very quiet, relaxing getaway from Saigon, as I live in the Vietnamese city.
To get from Rabbit Island to Ho Chi Minh, I decided to hop on the boat at 8 am. I know there is a bus from Kep to Ha Tien town at 9 am, so it should be enough time.
I bought this bus ticket at Captain Chim’s restaurant, which is a few meters away from the pier. Luckily, I took a picture of their bus services while waiting to go to the island. One day before, I contacted them by WhatsApp to schedule my ticket. At 9 a.m., the minivan was at the restaurant to pick me up.
They had other options too. Departing at 9 am was a bus to either the border, Ha Tien Town, or Ho Chi Minh City. I wasn’t sure if I should buy already the ticket directly to Ha Tien town, or only to the border, but I ended up buying the ticket to Ha Tien town for 13 USD– yes, prices in Cambodia are many times in USD.
This ended up being quite a longer journey… it would have been much faster if I decided to do it by myself.
Step 1: from Kep to Ha Tien border
So, what happens is. The first minibus takes us to the border and we cross it by ourselves. On the Vietnamese side, we should wait for another transport at the cafe right after the border to take us to Ha Tien Town. Well, we were 5 people in the Minivan, all foreigners, so I thought this would be fast. And it actually was. What I didn’t know is that all the other foreigners crossing the border at the same time were supposed to be picked up by the same transport as ours.
I was surprised by how many foreigners I saw at the border at that time, but it feels like that is the time when foreigners cross Vietnam to Cambodia border as the transports available are arranged that way. I didn’t think about it though. So, they combine all the foreigners that are arriving at the same time at the border and then make them all on a bus to town, Ho Chi Minh, or Phu Quoc. It was all the same transportation.
Crossing the Vietnam to Cambodia border was smooth and fast even though there was a way to scam the tourists. On the Vietnamese side of the border, after stamping the passport, an official is sitting at the next post checking our temperature. WTF?! This is January 2025 and there is no pandemic whatsoever. It was simply a SCAM! Yes! They charged each foreigner 1 USD for the health check. They wouldn’t let the foreigners pass without doing it. Interesting that they didn’t do the same to some Cambodians crossing the border too. So, for me, this was obviously a way to get their hands on some extra money. I saw people asking why, and I asked too. The man said it was because of the health check. I think everybody knew we were being scammed but no one dared to say a thing. And I was surely not up for an argument with a Vietnamese official because of 1 USD, so I paid, shut my mouth, and moved forward.
Step 2: From Ha Tien border to Ha Tien town
Once we crossed the Vietnam to Cambodia border we waited and waited, and I was wondering what were we waiting for. Later I understood it was about the other foreigners crossing the border, not only the people with me in the minivan. So, once everyone crossed the border, we hopped on a new bus. This bus is for foreigners only, how didn’t I see this haha. Anyway, I’m not used to doing these things in the way they arrange it for foreigners who are traveling, but it was a lesson learned.
This bus stops first for foreigners who already have a ticket to Ho Chi Minh City. The bus leaves them at Ha Tien Mekong Travel- an agency where I thought about going previously. Then the bus takes the others to the ferry terminal to Phu Quoc. I was the only one asking to go to Ha Tien bus station. I went to the bus station and bought the ticket for the next bus departing to HCMC at 11:30 am with Kumho Samco.
Step3: From Ha Tien to Ho Chi Minh City
Funny that I ended up on the same bus as the people who already had a ticket to HCMC and who were left at the agency haha. I didn’t know, but they all showed up later at the bus station. As I did it by myself probably i saved a few dollars. Not much I think though. I didn’t even know what time was the bus to Ho Chi Minh when I arrived at the bus station, so it was all just a coincidence. The bus to Ho Chi Minh departed at 11:30 and at 8 pm we were in the heart of the city. This bus was 80% foreigners which is weird, but these might be the majority of foreigners crossing the border that day, unless someone is doing it by themselves. I think you should be careful on this bus because locals know this is a bus filled with foreigners. Someone stole my USB charging cable and I wouldn’t be surprised if some Vietnamese would board this bus just to try to rob some foreigners. They had our backpacks identified to place them in the luggage compartment, a thing that didn’t happen on the trip in the opposite direction.
So, besides the 1 USD scam, this Vietnam to Cambodia land border was actually very easy to cross. Very easily done on your own.
