There’s no shortage of accommodation in Sihanoukville, and with new buildings sprouting up all around there is something to suit everyone’s needs and budget. We’ve lived in our apartment for three months now so the process of finding somewhere to live is still fresh in our minds. Here are some of our top tips for finding a place to live in Sihanoukville.
Looking for an apartment in Sihanoukville? We’ve got tips for how to start your search.
Decide where you want to live. If you want to be near the markets and banks, then downtown is for you, but if you’re looking for a more laid back vibe you might want to check out Otres Village and the beaches.
Property-wise you’ll find a range of styles from a basic room with a bathroom, fridge and gas stovetop, all the way to upmarket villas overlooking the sea. Prices vary accordingly, but $150 to $250 per month should secure you somewhere very livable.
Once you’ve decided on an area, take a ride around and keep an eye out for places to with ‘for rent’ signs. There’s a huge number of places that you won’t find online, plus it will give you a feel for the area and you can check to make sure you’re not near a noisy KTV or metal shop!
Use the Sihanoukville Facebook groups, they’re a good source of information and are more up to date than agents’ sites, which have a habit of listing places that are not available or with the wrong prices — at least that was our experience. There are several in town who will be happy to show you some places at the very top of your budget. Bear in mind you’re likely to save money doing things yourself.
You can often find places listed on local notice boards too such as the ones at Samudera Market and Mottha Travel.
Be on the lookout for “for rent” signs to avoid using agents and save some money.
Important things to consider: check how much your electric rate is, as most landlords will add a premium to the local rate. This can add a substantial amount to your outgoings especially if you like AC.
Is there a generator? When the power goes off (which it will) it’s no fun trying to sleep in a windowless bedroom with no fan — we speak from experience!
Most places provide WiFi which is surprisingly fast most of the time, but if it’s important, make sure to use a speedtest app or site when you view. Otherwise, factor in the price of getting your own internet connection. (See our list of Sihanoukville internet providers.)
Is it furnished? If not it’s not difficult to buy your own, if you’re happy with bamboo there are several shops on the KTV end of Makara Street but Western-style furniture can also be found at a few places along Ekareach Street such as Modern Furniture, and you can even have bespoke pieces made by Lemada Furniture.
The Sakura Recycle Shop is a great place to find second-hand homewares from Japan.
You can buy everyday household things that you might need (pots and pans, etc.) from the market or if you prefer not to haggle over everything, there a few of places worth a visit, Ekareach Book Center and a big shop a few doors down from there. The store is officially called Nai Phally, but confusingly, their sign is for a drink shop. We found prices here on a par with the market and it was easier to have a look around, the 2,500 riel shop (Ekareach Street opposite Orange Supermarket) is also a great place to pick up some bargains on things like kitchen utensils, cutlery and storage (they also sell sunglasses and flip flops).
Another good spot to check for household good, particularly plates and glasses is the Sakura Recycle Shop, which carries second-hand homewares from Japan, all at very reasonable prices.
Modern Furniture
No. 289, Ekareach Street, opposite to the Public Works & Old Transport, Sihanoukville
T: 034 933 858
Lemada Furniture
Open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday, closed Sunday
Street 51, Sihanoukville
T 071 7239 007
facebook.com/lemadafurniture
Ekareach Book Center
Open daily 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
#152 Ekareach Street, Sihanoukville
T 034 933 876
facebook.com/EBC-Ekareach-Book-Center
Sakura Recycle Shop Japan
100 Ekareach Street, Sihanoukville
I am currently retired and just collect my monthly Social Security income.I was thinking of retiring in the Philippines but Cambodia looks to be quite a gem!
Hey, Amy recommendations where the really cheap areas are? I dont need anything, not even a window, just a place with a roof and a door, i am thinking about to spend something up to 150$ per month, if it is possible even less. Any ideas, in which direction to head in town and around?
looking at areas good to raise a baby? We have an 18 month year old boy and are looking into coming over to live for a year or two from south Africa. Somewhere by the beach would be great. Not in the middle of the city. Maybe somewhere with a play school around… not sure if there are any.
Any info would be great.
What’s up guys
Just moved to S-ville and found a great place for 250 a month – thanks for the guide, really helpful! Do you by any chance know a good place to buy bed sheets, pillows, linen and that kind of stuff? Found some but nothing good :)
See you around!
Max
Hi guys,
Thank you for all the great info! I’m planning on moving to Sihanoukville in October to teach English online. I’m worried about power outages as any lapse in wifi could lose me my job.
I’m wondering if I would be able to find an apartment/small house with a committed generator that I can operate at will and as my main power source whenever I have class, for under $250 range and near otres.
Any help is appreciated.
Thank you,
Greg
Hi Greg,to be honest I’m not too sure, I imagine apartments or guesthouses with a generator won’t want to put it on just in case. Things have got a lot better power wise, in a year we had maybe 5 outages. If you get a place in a decent block with its own generator the downtime would be negligible. It might be worth asking on the Facebook groups, pretty sure there are others doing the same thing who can advise. Good luck with the move!
Thanks, Ed.
Do you know if month to month rentals are possible as well? not guesthouses but something a bit more permanent. I’m just not looking to commit to anything more than a month at a time really.
Cheers!
Hi Sharlie and Ed,
Just a quick question about this post – you are suggesting to ride around and look for the signs. And after finding a proper option what will usually be the next steps to meet the landlord and see the flat/house?
You just phone the number from the sign (do they all contain the phone numbers?) or knock the door (in this case what will be the best time to find someone at home?).
Many thanks for your posts on this site by the way, they really are pretty useful!
Hi Anton, yes call or have someone who speaks Khmer do it for you, the number will be on the sign. In big apartment blocks there’s usually a staff member around who can show you around.
Hi , I am thinking of moving to sihanoukville later this year ( hopefully July or before )I would be looking for a long term let 1 year plus. A 1 bed apartment or condo would be good for me. looking at maps ect I am thinking somewhere near the lions roundabout area. do you think I would get something decent for $200 / $250 a month ? also what would you think would be monthly water and electric bill for single guy ? any info gratefully received .
Hi Peter, that budget will get you somewhere pretty decent especially as we’ll be out of high season. Have a ride around when you get here to see which area you like.
Water if it’s metered shouldn’t be more than $2-3 a month while electric depends on how much you like AC, if you have it on all night you can easily spend $80+ a month but if you’re careful it will be much less.
Hope that helps!
HI. Thanks for your advice.am looking at visiting in late April for a few weeks so will be able to view areas ect. no doubt I will be asking for more info over the coming months, thanks again. its good to get first hand information as this is up to date (unlike some of the web sites I have visited ).
Thanks for the great post! I just found your website and I am finding it very helpful. I am considering moving to Cambodia (Sihanoukville specifically) and I have some questions.
A lot of other things I have read have been pretty negative towards Sihanoukville. I have read it is more a “party city” and is very touristy with tuk tuk drivers and such always looking to rip you off. I really would like to live near the beach and this is why I am considering here over elsewhere, although I would really like some peace and quiet.
Otres Beach seems like a quiet alternative, but I am not sure there are many options to live in this area. Are there houses/apartments in this area available for long term rent and not just vacationers?
Hi Kaitlyn,
There are certainly plenty of long term options in the Otres area. The Village would be a good place to start , there’s lots of new accomodation there and it has a nice community feel, it’s only a short ride to the beach. On the beach itself you’ll find rooms rather than apartments but you can negotiate longer stays with many.
As to what you’ve read, Sihanoukville can be whatever you want from it, some people do come to party but tend to stick to certain places, if you avoid them then you can easily forget where you are. Otres especially can be tranquil.
We live in town now and really enjoy having options for food and shopping which are more limited at Otres, we like the interaction with locals and trying to speak the language.
Tuk tuk drivers will try it on if they you don’t know the going rate but we don’t think it’s worse than anywhere else particularly, if you’re here long term you’ll get to know the good guys.
Our advice would be to come and check it out for yourself, we’re sure you’ll find somewhere just right for you.
Thanks for your response! That was pretty much exactly what I hoped to hear. I am glad there are places to live near Otres Beach as I could not find any listings or info online.
One more question, are there a lot of young expats in Sihanoukville? I’ve heard a lot of people retire there but wondering about the amount of people in their 20s.
Don’t worry there are plenty of younger people living here, we didn’t leave our twenties behind too long ago but there’s quite a big younger community here and people are very welcoming, give us a shout when you arrive!
I have one more question that I have not been able to find much information on. When I arrive in Cambodia I plan on doing a bicycle tour in the surrounding countries for a couple months. However, i wish to bring a lot of my belongings as I plan to live in Cambodia afterwards. I am wondering where I can store everything? It would probably be a couple suitcases, so not a lot, but also some valubles (laptop, etc.) that I would not like to carry around on my bike. Are there storage units available anywhere? How ssafe are they?
Hi Kaitlyn, I believe there are a couple of options for self storage, Storage 4 U and Cambodia Self Storage (on Facebook) but can’t tell you any more than that. Another option would be to ask at a reputable hotel/guesthouse but in all honesty it’s not something we’d consider doing with anything you can’t afford to lose.
Would like info. on jobs, areas to live near the beach. Thank you!
Hi William, sorry for the late reply, Facebook is a good place to check for jobs, check the Employment in Sihanoukville group, if you’re looking for casual bar/promo work then a few places on Serendipity Beach Road take people on for high season.
The Electricity Board rate is 720 riel per kilowatt although unless you’re renting a house you’ll pay a bit more, usually between 820 and 1500.
If you’re paying directly you can pay online or pop in to Mottha Travel who will do it for you for a small fee.
Power cut wise Downtown where we are it’s been OK, we had a couple of long power cuts (over an hour) on 2 occasions in the last few months and maybe 4 where it went off for a few minutes, nothing too terrible.