The tuk-tuk — locally a remork, a cabin trailer pulled by a motorbike — is the unofficial vehicle of Angkor, and hiring one well is a small skill that pays off every day of your trip. Here's what things should cost, how the day-hire actually works, and the etiquette that turns a driver into the best fixer you'll meet in Cambodia.
The Prices That Matter
- Temple day (Small Circuit): roughly $20–25 for the standard Angkor Wat–Bayon–Ta Prohm day, including the pre-dawn sunrise start.
- Grand Circuit or longer days: $25–35 — more ground, more waiting time.
- Banteay Srei (37 km each way): the top of that range or a little above; many travelers upgrade to a car for this one (see our Banteay Srei day trip).
- Short hops in town: $2–3 gets you almost anywhere central — hotel to Pub Street, Old Market to Wat Bo.
- Evening round trip to Phare: a few dollars each way; drivers happily wait through the show.
All prices in US dollars, which is what everyone quotes — keep small bills, take riel as change (~4,000 to $1). Full money rules in the budget guide.
How the Temple Day-Hire Works
You're not buying rides; you're hiring a driver for the day. He drops you at each temple's entrance, naps in the hammock he keeps in the cab, and is waiting with cold water when you stagger out the far gate. Agree the day's route and price before you set off — "Small Circuit with sunrise, twenty-five dollars, ok?" is a complete negotiation — and pay at the end of the day, not the start.
Found a driver you like? Take his number. The same driver for three days, with the route planned around our 3-day itinerary, is one of travel's great cheap luxuries — and hotels (every one in our hotels guide does this) keep trusted drivers on call if you'd rather not flag one down.
The Apps: PassApp and Grab
For in-town trips, PassApp (the Cambodian original) and Grab both work in Siem Reap and end every "how much?" conversation before it starts — the fare is on the screen. For the temples, though, the day-hire beats the app: the park is a circuit with waiting time, not a series of point-to-point rides.
Etiquette That Gets You the Good Experience
- Negotiate gently, once. The gap between a fair price and a "win" is a dollar or two — someone's lunch. Settle it with a smile and stop.
- Buy the water. Hand your driver a cold bottle at the second temple. The afternoon-you who needs a route improvised will be glad you did.
- Sunrise means sunrise. Confirm "four-thirty at the hotel" the night before — the good drivers are never late; be worthy of them. (Why 4:30? See the sunrise guide.)
- Rain happens. The cabs have roll-down sides; a green-season downpour mid-circuit is part of the fun, not a crisis.
When Not to Tuk-Tuk
The new airport is 40 km out — that's a car job (our airport guide covers it). Same for Beng Mealea and the Kulen waterfalls in the day-trips post: beyond about an hour each way, the charm of open-air travel loses to dust and time, and a car with driver ($40–60/day) wins.