Regarding the Cambodian side holding onto your Thai documents- that used to be a common practice at some borders (notably Koh Kong, but there were occasionally even stories out of O'Smach of this happening though it never happened to me at O'Smach, but did occur at Koh Kong). This was to ensure you drove back the same way you came. Koh Kong in particular, wanted to ensure you didn't leave the province (though once you agreed with customs that you wouldn't, there was nothing stopping you from driving to Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville or anywhere you wanted, which I did😂 as long as you returned the same way you came). Since the new customs system has gone into effect, Cambodian customs generally no longer holds onto Thai documents, but since you designated the Poipet crossing as your exit border as well and you spent only 1 or was it 2? nights in Cambodia, perhaps that's why they decided to. I always re-enter Thailand at a different border to the one I exit at for various reasons, hence why, since the end of Covid (I've now done 4 trips to Cambodia by car since end of 2022) this hasn't happened to me. My plan next time is to enter at Poipet and proceed to Laos hopefully. For future trips where I'm only going to Siem Reap or Phnom Penh, I might enter and exit at Ban Khao Din or enter at Poipet and exit at Ban Khao Din.

A few more comments, having recently crossed the border by car from Thailand to Cambodia using nearby Ban Khao Din and contemplating using the Aranyaprathet/Poipet border next trip. Firstly, from Bangkok, the drive to Ban Khao Din is roughly the same distance (and involves a similar traveling time) as getting to Aranyaprathet. It's slightly further from Siem Reap, but this is made up by the likely much shorter time you'll be at the border for. Ban Khao Din is relatively new; now its a fully fledged international crossing under the customs jurisdiction of Aranyaprathet on the Thai side and its own independent crossing known as Phnom Dey on the Cambodian side. The Thai side seemed slightly ill informed - suggesting I ask Cambodian customs for permission to take my vehicle across when at the exact same time, 2 Malaysian bikers were entering Thailand. Anyway, there was never any issue. The Cambodian side had a relatively new customs official enter the details of my trip into the system (which had already been uploaded by me the day before) after which he printed out the form. This took him a while as he had to call his supervisor every 2 minutes. Note that he only gave me the 3 days I said I'd be in the country for. I should have put down 20 or 30 days, just in case. All other borders would give me 30 or one time I even received 60 days. That being said, I was able to extend the permission using the app, when I wasn't able to return to Thailand on the last day due to bad road conditions between Sre Ambel and Koh Kong. However, the Thai side only put down 3 days as well, so I was fined by the Thais for arriving back a day late; a mistake that I had originally made on the Cambodian customs app, as they went by what Cambodian customs gave me. Again, new border, which rarely sees any vehicles and relatively few people crossing in general. My suggestion for future reference is to use Ban Khao Din at least for returning to Thailand. It's so much faster than Poipet and I recommend this border especially if you have passengers who are non-Thai citizens.

Really great video and it shows it is a bit of a hassle and requires preparation. I did not hear you say anything about options to park your car on the Thai side and walk across the Poipet border. Did you see any guarded parking lots? There are cheap taxi services on the Cambodian side, I read from others.

This is really a fantastic video. I've driven into Cambodia many times, using either Chong Chom, Hat Lek or Ban Pakkard to cross into Cambodia and Aranyaprathet, Hat Lek, Chong sa-ngam, Ban Pakkard and Ban Laem to cross back into Thailand by car. I knew you could now cross into Cambodia from Thailand at Poipet, but haven't tried it yet. I plan to use Poipet or nearby Ban Khao Din, which is confirmed to be the 7th international crossing between Thailand and Cambodia in the near future for driving into the country.

One thing I'd like to add - there seems to be some misinformation going around in a LINE group I'm in suggesting Aranyaprathet only allows Thai citizens to drive Thai plated cars out (at that and a couple of other borders). In reality, it appears as though Thai customs is merely preventing Cambodian citizens, who happen to own Thai cars from taking them across the border. This, however, does not affect anyone else, only Cambodians. This rule is unfortunate, if confirmed. It seems Thai authorities only want Cambodians to drive Cambodian plated vehicles into the Kingdom.

Great and useful video - thanks :-) Two questions: 1 Do you know for how long you can stay in Cambodia with your car? Is there any limit? Can you stay in Cambodia for 1, 2 or 3 months for example? 2 I have heard that you are not allowed to have dark film on your car windows in Cambodia. Is that true? Was that an issue for you? Cheers Martin :-)

This is great news and an inspiration to attempt it myself! Would I need an international driving license (in combination with my TH license)?

Great informative video - thank you. A couple of questions. I plan on visiting Kampot on a regular basis. I have rented a house there and planned on shipping household items from my condo in Jomtien to Kampot. I would use the Hat Lek crossing. I have a full uk driving licence and a thai licence - which one would be best to use ? Do you have to pay a fee for each day you have your car in cambodia ? Are there any restrictions on which provinces you can visit ? Is there a time limit on the number of days you can have your car in cambodia ? Were there any 'fixers' at the border offering to assist you with the paperwork/forms for a small fee. Did they search your car for items you may have to pay duties on ? Thank You James

I’m kind of planning a road trip to Siem Reap on my next trip to Bangkok. Can we go to Cambodia with a Thai rental car? I’m from Singapore.