UPDATE for 2019: There is no need to haggle with tuk tuks anymore as the apps, Grab and PassAPP have made negotiating old fashion. Download either app and put in your location and drop off and the price will be shown on the app. Almost always Grab and PassAPP will be cheaper and even in the suburbs the two apps will have drivers pretty close by.
I get a lot of questions regarding what price one should pay for a tuk tuk. There are a lot of variables that factor into the price, ie is it raining, bad traffic?, or is it night time. I will post some sample rates that should be no hassle for you, the driver is happy, and no one feels ripped off.
Airport to anywhere in Phnom Penh proper will be seven dollars from the queue…if you walk 50 meters and find a tuk tuk in the parking lot, the price is probably down a dollar to 6, but if you go out the gates another 50 meters, the prices will be 5 dollars, even to riverside!
So after the airport you are at your hotel…lets say close to independence monument….From there to popular restaurant FCC on the riverside will be 2 dollars or say you want to visit the national museum first, that would be 2.00. What about the beautiful Royal Palace….2 dollars. There is a pattern….most fares during the day, in good weather with no traffic will be 2 dollars.
Some trips that are not 2 dollars would be from Wat Phnom to Toul Sleng museum (ts-21…the genocide prison). This would be 10,000 riel or 2.50, not that much more expensive so 3 dollars isnt really a fleecing. Going to the killing fields a good price would be 15 dollars, and if you do the prison that fare can be included. The drive will have to drive about 30 minutes to the killing fields, and will have to wait for you until down. The ride can be very dusty, so be prepared!
If you want to go shopping to Psaa Toul Tom Pong (Russian Market) then 3 dollars will probably be the fair….it is a little farther away from the city center.
The last suggested fair would be to Mekong Island or better known as Silk Island. I suggest 15 or even 20 dollars for this trip. You will have to go buy ferry for part of the journey and watching the tuk tuk try to get up the hill from the dock is almost worth the 20 dollars!! If the comedy isnt your tea, the view of the ferry and then Silk Island is awesome. You feel like you are out in the countryside, but pretty close to Phnom Penh still. There is also a small beach on the island that isnt crowded at all. Who said there wasnt a beach in Phnom Penh? 🙂
I hope this helps you figure out how much to pay your tuk tuk driver next time!
PS… Ladys protect your purses…and everyone watch your bookbags!
