Cheap Return Flight from Sydney to Phnom Penh 27/6/15-14/7/15 for 2 Adults

Hi, I have 3 questions regarding cheapest flight/travel advice and TRS.

I'm looking for the cheapest return flight from sydney to phnom penh for 2 adults. I have to arrive there before 3pm 28th June and can only leave Sydney on the 27th June (friend has exam on 26th sigh), and I've got travel insurance covered till 14th July, so ideally depart on the 14th July. The cheapest i could find was $1594.78 on studentflights.com.
The last time I flew was with my family in 2009 so Im new to travelling overseas. I'm going on a 2 week trip to Phnom Penh with a non profit, they've covered travel insurance from 26th June to 14th July.

Also, anyone got any travel tips to cambodia? The program ends on the 12th so planning to travel with my friend for 2 days but dunno what to do/how to travel well. Was probs gonna stay overnight using airbnb with $80 groupon voucher. I also already have 28 degrees for credit purchases, apparently theres no citibank in cambodia so no citibank plus account so i gotta carry a lot of cash?

Lastly, how do I claim TRS if Im bringing an item back with me? I'll be bringing along apple sport watch which should arrive tomorrow (pretty excited) and maybe buy an iPad mini 2 from optus deal.

Any Advice would be much appreciated :)

Comments

  • +1

    Use bottled water to brush your teeth, don't open your mouth in the shower, don't order food or drink that contains ice (order beer/water etc in closed containers)

    They have quite a few ANZ atms in Cambodia, if they don't charge fees to ANZ customers there then even if you get a poor currency conversion rate you would probably still be in front. I recall some pretty outrageous atm fees even after I'd used my Citi card eg. $20 or so to withdraw $500.

    Perhaps you could order USD before you go, small bills are your best friend because things are so cheap and vendors don't like to break large bills, it's no fun trying to break the pile of 100's the atm gave you.

    Take tinadazole or similar for the likely protozoan infection and buy immodium for those times where you get a little bit of a tummy and you need to travel.

    Things are triple the price for tourists as for locals so get as much info from your tuk tuk driver and hostel/hotel reception as possible…they will probably still rip you of haha.

    They say not to buy things from kids on the street because they allegedly have people perfectly capable of looking after them putting them in that situation and buying into that system stops the kids from being at school and so forth.

    Don't let the tour bus Chinese push you around, speak up and keep your elbows raised.

  • They mostly use USD in Cambodia. It's easy to pull money out of any ATM, you just pay a few dollars for the fee.

    Phnom Penh is less than 300km from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. You may want to consider flying into SGN airport and then you can get a cheap bus for about $14USD to Phnom Penh (see http://www.howtogotocambodia.com/bus-to-cambodia/bus-saigon-… or see also http://catmekongexpress.com/default.aspx apparently including breakfast and wifi?!). However you will need to deal with Vietnam visa issues. Might cost $30?

    Assuming $1594.78 is the cost for return for each person I think you could get return from Sydney to Phnom Penh for about $1350 each if you're willing to take a more onerous route…

    Looks like you can get return flights to Manila on Philippine Airlines for $1000 AUD each on 27th June and Returning 14th July, including bags. PR0212 Arrives at 17:00 in MNL. (Apparently Australian citizens do not need a visa for stays in Philippines under 30 days?)

    As the Philippine Airlines connecting flight wouldn't leave MNL for another 17 hours, you can make a separate booking on an overnight flight from MNL to SGN on Cebu Pacific 5J751 which departs at 22:50 and arrives in SGN at 00:20 on 28 June. That flight is about $150 including a bag.

    Then at 6:30 AM Jump on the VIP van to Phnom Penh for 15 USD… (link above) and eventually you will arrive in Phnom Penh before 3 pm as desired.

    Repeat these steps backwards to get back to Manila, but it looks like you might have to leave SGN at 1 am and then you would have an 18 hour layover at Manila. To get back you may also want to consider a Mekong Cruise from Cambodia down to Saigon… looks like there's some cheap ones.

  • The TRS is easy - just take the receipts and items along with you to the TRS desk after security at the international airport. You can even start the process online:

    http://www.customs.gov.au/trs/TRS-applications.asp

    The flights won't be cheap… 27th is the first day of school holidays in NSW so buy soon, it's most likely just going to get more expensive!

    Cheapest way would be to book AirAsia SYD-KUL on the 27th and then book a separate flight KUL-PNH the next morning at 6am and stay at the airport or hotel. Would be around $520 one way there and then you can buy a ticket back on one ticket PNH-SYD with AisAsia, still with a connection in KUL less time stuck there, for around $500.

    For a flight on one ticket on the way over with a nicer airlines China Airlines(Taiwanese) is $800 one way and you spend the night in the air and then one and a half hours on the ground in Taipei before heading to Phnom Penh to land at 9am.

    EDIT: Just continuing on to inherentchoice's suggestion above above arriving or leaving from Ho Chi Minh you can fly Cebu from Sydney for $680 return with no bags or $360 one way over which could be a cheaper option but as said before would require you to get a Vietnamese visa and catch a bus over the border…

    The prices I listed were without bags(except for the China Airlines flight), I would probably travel with hand luggage for that length of time and it will be hot albeit wet.For someone travelling without family for the first time might feel more comfortable with some extra clothes and comforts but you can even think about checking one bag between the two of you etc if you really want to save $$$.

  • scoot would be $1000 return. you'd have to stay overnight in singapore.

    Jetstar has a direct flight leaving on the 28th from Singapore which is scheduled to arrive in PNH at 2.20pm. although its not a great distance to the city centre, the journey by taxi can take up to an hour so it might not be an option. it depends where you are going though from the airport. The flights at the moment at around $220 return which means all up around $1220 (carry on luggage, excludes overnight stay in singapore which you and your family will love).

    Restaurants to goto in PNH: 1) Friends, 2) Romdeng. They are both training restaurants for disadvantages kids.

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