SihanoukVille is located on the coast of Cambodia, about halfway between Thailand and Vietnam, on the Bay of Thailand. It’s locally know as Kampong Som. A spread out tourist town for both foreigners and local people from all over the country. Three sides of the town are bordered by tropical beaches and islands. Filled with empty beaches, crowded beaches, seafood, restaurants, bars, Buddhist Temples, casinos, hotels, and more beaches. At several hundred places, English is spoken; and many French speakers are here as well. About 20 other languages are spoken at various guesthouses and restaurants.
Getting to Sihanoukville: is easy. From Thailand, just fly from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, about a 45 minute flight. Then take 3 to 4 hour ride by taxi or bus to Sihanoukville. Or take a 4 hour bus or car from Koh Kong island to Sihanoukville, starting just across the border near TRAT, Thailand.
Layout of Sihanoukville When you arrive in SihanoukVille, your first stop is usually the downtown bus station at the Old New Market, coming from Phnom Penh or Koh Kong, …….or the Port coming from a cruise ship. From downtown, in the East, South, and West, there are beaches and more beaches. To the North, are small mountains going back to Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kep, and Koh Kong.
Arriving in Sihanoukville: The most practical way to reach Sihanoukville is to take a bus from Phnom Penh. The journey takes about 3-4 hours. You can get the bus tickets from the bus companies at the bus station, or trough travel agencies and guesthouses.
Getting Around Sihanoukville: The standard form of transport is the motodop, or motorcycle taxis. In Cambodia, be prepared that US Dollars is commonly accepted everywhere. Unfortunately this often hike up the prices of things.
Places of Interest in Sihanoukville
The Beaches
Independence Beach This beach is also known as the seven-chann or seven-storey beach, in reference to the old Independence Hotel.
Ochheuteal Beach Beach to the south of Sihanoukville, still comparatively less developed and serene.
Otres Beach Located southeast of Serendipity Beach and Ochheuteal Beach, less developed and ideal for relaxing activities.
Serendipity Beach Beach with guesthouses and bars catering to tourists.
Sokha Beach Sihanoukville’s most popular beach, located between the peninsula and a military base.
Victory Beach Beach between the harbour and Koh Pos Island.
Islands off Sihanoukville
Koh Chraloh, Koh Ta Kiev and Koh Khteah Island in the Ream group, ideal for snorkelling.
Koh Koang Kang Island within the Kompong Som group of islands, good for diving, swimming and snorkelling.
Koh Rong Samloem Another island within the Kompong Som group, also good for diving, swimming and snorkelling.
Koh Tang The most distant group of islands in Sihanoukville.
Kompong Som Islands Islands located near the west side of Sihanoukville Port.
Ream Islands Islands to the eastern side of Sihanoukville, near Phsar Ream.
KAMPOT
Located on both sides of the Kampot River also know as Teuk Chhou or Prek Thom, and connected by 3 bridges (o.k… one is a railway bridge), the East side of Kampot is where most of the restaurants, guesthouses, and market are located. Along the riverfront, on both sides, are several hotels, guesthouses and restaurants with Western and Khmer (Cambodian) hosts. The riverfront is fairly quiet and quite picturesque.
Walk around town, rent a bicycle, or rent a small motorcycle to get around. Also, you can ride motorcycle taxis and tuk tuks (a cart pulled by a motorcycle) for 12 to 50 cents to most places in town.
Some attractions downtown, besides the riverfront, are the central market, small caves with Buddhist shrines, and the football stadium. Towards the ocean on the East side is the port of Kampot and many Cham Muslim communities and schools. Across the river is Kampot’s Wat or Buddhist Temple which is open to tourists. Past the Wat are Kampot’s salt fields, and further out of town are Kampot’s famous Black Pepper and Durian farms. Along the riverfront, mostly South of downtown’s bridges, are several guesthouses and restaurants, right on the river.
Around Kampot
Across the River (West Side) the first big road to the right from either bridge, takes you to the Kampot Zoo (about 20 minute ride and $5 entrance fee), lions, tigers and bears (and maybe some monkeys), and the Kampot River rapids, Teuk Chhou, an informal park for eating, drinking, sleeping, and playing in the water. Take your own motorcycle or get a motorcycle taxi or Tuk Tuk for about $5-7 round trip.
Canoeing, Kayaking, and guided river tours are possible on the river. Check out Kampot Tours and Transport for some suggestions.
Kampot is also known worldwide for it’s Pepper Plantations (Pepper website) (black, green, red and white table pepper) and locally for Durian farms (a giant, pointy fruit, weighing up to 12 kilograms). The Pepper from Kampot is the only food product in Cambodia exported worldwide, and will soon have the Origin Specific label “Kampot Pepper”. Pepper farm tours are a popular activity here.
KEP CITY
Kep is a seaside tourist city located 173 Kilometers south west of Phnom Penh. Visitors from Phnom Penh take National Road 3 via Kampot province or National Road 2 via Takeo province. In addition, the train from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville stops at Damnak Chang Eur Station, about 7 Kilometers from the city. Foreigners coming from Vietnam can enter Cambodia via the Ha Teang Prek Chak border checkpoint, about 40 Kilometers from Kep, or they can travel by boat from Vietnam or Sihanoukville to the Kep City Port. Kep is a small city. The beach, which is suitable for swimming; it only 1,000 meters long, and the sand is not white as in Sihanoukville. However, Kep is a big seafood market.
The city was founded in 1908 during the French colonial times. It was renovated into a beautiful seaside resort in 1960s during then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk’s Sangkum Reastr Niyum regime. The name Kep is derived from the French words le cap, or cape in English. A cape is a point of land that just into water, especially a headland significant for navigation.
Khmer legend offers another explanation for the name. There once was a prince named Sakor Reach who possessed great magical powers. One day, Sakor Reach used his magic to hypnotize a commander of Angkor Thom before stealing the commander’s horse and escaping to the southwest part of the country. While Sakor Reach was relaxing at the seaside, the commander’s troops caught up with him. Nervous, the prince suddenly hopped on the back of the commander’s horse. The horse reared back, however, and fell on the prince losing its saddle1 in the process. The prince got back on the horse and rode off, leaving the saddle there. Hence, the area was called Kep Seh. Later it was shortened to Kep.
KOH KONG PROVINCE
Koh Kong is the most southwestern province of Cambodia. It is one of the biggest provinces in the whole country with a long undeveloped coastline and a mountainous, forested and largely inaccessible interior, which embraces part of the Cardamom Mountains, the biggest coherent rainforest of Southeast Asia. Its tourist attractions include abundant wildlife; big waterfalls and casinos on the border to Thailand, while an Export Processing Zone and new port facilities are being developed for international trade.
The province is an increasingly popular gateway to Cambodia from Hat Lek in southern Thailand, in part of the reasonably direct access to the port and beach resort town of Sihanoukville. While this was previously a gruelling journey by boat and pickup on rough bumpy roads using small ferries at river crossings, the donation by the Thai government of new road infrastructure is improving access greatly.
The name means ” Koh Kong Island Province”. Its capital is Krong Koh Kong, which is located in the West of the province right next to the Thai border. The city is surrounded with a large forested area connected to the mainland by bridges and ferries. It’s generally a quiet town, but there are many reasons to stay in Koh Kong for more than one night such as the nearby islands, rivers, tours into the nature and the buzzing nightlife.
The people of Koh Kong speak mainly Khmer, and most speak some Thai as well. You can also find many Chinese and Vietnamese speakers as well as a lot of broken English. Your stay here will be economical as lodging, food and transportation is relatively cheap here. Please make this place a stop on your travels through S.E. Asia and you won’t be disappointed.
