You can get from Kampot in Cambodia to Phu Quoc in Vietnam in a single day. We did it as a family of four on one 12Go ticket: a private minibus to the Prek Chak and Xa Xia border near Ha Tien, a walk across through both immigration halls, a second minibus to the ferry port, then a public boat to the island. It cost £40.46 for all four of us. British passport holders can enter Vietnam without a visa for up to 45 days.
In March 2026 we left Kampot after four weeks in Cambodia and crossed into Vietnam overland, heading for Phu Quoc. We could have broken the journey with a night in Ha Tien, the Vietnamese border town, but it was not somewhere we wanted to stay. So we did the whole thing in one day.
It was a slog with the kids. It was also worth it, and this is how it worked, what it cost, and what we would tell another family doing the same route.
The Route in Four Legs
The journey from Kampot to Phu Quoc breaks into four parts:
- Private minibus from Kampot to the border. The crossing is Prek Chak on the Cambodian side and Xa Xia on the Vietnamese side, just outside Ha Tien.
- On foot through both immigration halls. You stamp out of Cambodia, walk across the gap between the two posts, and stamp into Vietnam.
- Second minibus to the ferry port on the Vietnamese side.
- Public boat across to Phu Quoc.
One Ticket, One Operator: Why We Booked Through 12Go
We booked the whole journey as a single ticket on 12Go, handled by one operator from start to finish. That was a deliberate choice for ease. The operator made sure we got to Phu Quoc, and that at each handover we were on the correct private minibus and then the correct public boat.
You can piece the route together yourself. The case for one ticket is that nobody in the family has to work out the connection at the border or find the right boat at the port, and if something goes wrong between legs, one operator is responsible for getting you there.
The ticket cost £40.46 for the four of us, around £10 each, for everything from Kampot to the island.
Crossing the Border on Foot
The border itself was very straightforward. The only hard part was the few hundred metres you walk through no-man's land between the two borders, which was not easy in 30 degree heat with two hungry kids and all our luggage.
It is worth having snacks and water within reach before you get off the minibus, and luggage you can carry across in one trip.
Do You Need a Visa for Vietnam?
Not for a normal holiday or a slow-travel stay of up to 45 days. According to the UK government's travel advice for Vietnam, "You can visit Vietnam without a visa for up to 45 days for tourism or business." Your passport must have an expiry date at least six months after the date you arrive. For a longer stay, the same page points to Vietnam's e-visa, which allows 90 days and multiple entries.
We entered visa-free at this crossing and left Vietnam on day 45. Count the day you arrive as day one when you work out your exit date.
Visa rules change. This was checked against gov.uk's Vietnam entry requirements on 23 September 2026. Check the current page before you travel.
Arriving on Phu Quoc: The First Few Costs
These are our costs for the day of the crossing:
| What | Cost |
|---|---|
| 12Go ticket, Kampot to Phu Quoc, family of four | £40.46 |
| Taxi on arrival | 525,700 VND (£14.88), paid in cash |
| ATM fee on our first cash withdrawal | 132,000 VND (£3.74) |
| Local SIM cards | 700,000 VND (£19.82), paid in cash |
So the transport for the whole day, ticket and taxi, came to £55.34 for a family of four, before the ATM fee and SIMs.
Cash on arrival. You leave Cambodia with dollars and riel and arrive needing Vietnamese dong, and our taxi was paid in cash. An ATM fee like the one above is normally charged by the machine rather than by your card, and every foreign card pays it. What you can control is whether your own card adds a second fee on top. We cover which UK cards do in how to avoid ATM fees in Southeast Asia.
Data on arrival. We bought local VinaPhone SIMs on Phu Quoc, which is the cheapest way to get data in Vietnam. If you would rather have data working during the crossing itself, for maps and messaging at the border, an eSIM installed before you leave Kampot does that. We compare both in our best eSIM for Vietnam guide.
Paying for Your First Stay on the Island
Our Phu Quoc villa was booked directly with the owner rather than through a platform, and paid by bank transfer through Wise, which saved 15% on the price listed on Airbnb. A direct booking in Vietnam usually means paying a Vietnamese bank account in dong, and Wise shows the exact fee and what the owner will receive before you confirm. We explain the process in how to pay a landlord abroad from a UK account.
Was Doing It in One Day Worth It?
For us, yes. It was a slog with two children, and the walk across the border in the heat was the hardest part. But it meant one travel day instead of two, no night in a town we had no reason to stay in, and arriving on Phu Quoc with the journey done.
If your children cope badly with long travel days, a night in Kep or Ha Tien would split it. Otherwise, doing it in one go on a single ticket is the simpler option.
For what four weeks in Cambodia cost us before this crossing, see our month in Cambodia. For the wider picture on budgeting a trip like this, start with our budgeting guide.
