How to get from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville (and vice-versa) in 2019

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Lina Goldberg

The trip between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville is relatively painless. Here’s a round-up of the best options for 2019 (hint: we prefer private taxis) to get from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville and vice-versa. The journey take between 4 and 7 hours. The later in the day you leave, the longer the trip will be due to traffic; around dusk it can take an hour or two just to get out of Phnom Penh.

Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville at a glance…

*Taxi: $60 4 hours, reserve online in advance
Giant Ibus bus: $15, 6 hours, buy ticket online
Mekong Express van: $12, ~5 hours, buy ticket online
Post Office van: $8, ~5 hours, buy tickets online

Compare all buses between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville

One of our favorite Sihanoukville taxi drivers.

Taxi

Private taxis are the fastest way to get from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville, and usually cost between $50 and $60. In high season the prices can climb even higher. Taxis can seat four people, but be warned that they don’t usually have enough room for a ton of luggage. Most of the taxis that go between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville are Camrys, and the drivers aren’t afraid to hit the gas. Expect to get there in around 4 hours or less, although we’d advise you to keep your eyes closed. Later departures will take longer due to traffic.

You can book a taxi online in advance, and the prices are surprisingly reasonable. In fact, if you book online you can get an SUV taxi that seats five for the same price — around $60. There is also the option to book a 7- or 10-seat minivan.
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Kampot sunset boat cruises

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Sydney

As the sun slowly sinks in the horizon, Kampotheads and tourists alike find themselves drawn to the riverfront. Luckily, there is no shortage of sunset vantage points thanks to the sunset tours offered by a plethora of boats docked south of the Fish Market down to the Old Bridge. But how do you pick the sunset cruise that’s right for you? In this post I’ll give some suggestions on picking the right Kampot sunset boat cruise, plus some tips for getting the most out of it.

So you want to take a sunset boat cruise in Kampot?

Each boat is staffed with friendly ticket sellers ready to point out the benefits waiting aboard. In the event you don’t see smiling faces seated next to the gangplank that piques your interest, there is sure to be a large board listing all the important information. Continue reading →

Cambodia scams: Poipet border scams (and how to avoid them)

Posted on January 1, 2019 by Lina Goldberg

The Thailand-Cambodia border is known for scams, and the border crossing between Bangkok and Siem Reap (at Aranyaprathet on the Thai side and Poipet on the Cambodia side) is especially bad! If you know what to expect before you go, it’s entirely possible to avoid the scams and have a painless border crossing. Here are the most common Cambodia border scams:

The Poipet border is known for scams, but they are easy to avoid!

Visa assistance scam

Before you arrive at the border, your bus company may stop in Aranyaprathet and suggest that you allow them to handle your visa application for an added fee of between $5 and $20. They may make it seem like you must hand over your passport and let them process it for you. This is not true. They will also tell you that it will save time. This is also not true. They will usually tell you the charge in Thai baht, or half in baht, half in US dollars, to make the charges more confusing. Continue reading →

Cambodia’s National Library in Phnom Penh

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Pete Ford

The National Library in Phnom Penh, which stands next to the iconic Raffles Hotel and opposite the Lycée Descartes, is another wonderful example of the French-colonial architecture that once dominated the area near Wat Phnom and the railway station.

Cambodia’s National Library.

The single-story library, with its columned portico and Greek-inspired statuary, is surrounded by what was once a lovely garden. Even though the grounds are now a carpark and Amazon coffee franchise, nevertheless the library has an air of calm that’s rare amid the hustle and permanent construction that dominates much of the city.

Inside, the library’s central room contains the reference section, stacks of newspapers and magazines, rows of reading desks, and the dusty remnants of the old filing system. One side room, with a rather elaborate spiral staircase, houses the Patrimonial Section, where Cambodians can trace their family history. Continue reading →

Cambodia’s Water Festival (Bon Om Touk)

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Cassie Wilkins

Cambodia’s famous Water Festival is one of the highlights of the calendar year, bringing together people from across the country for three unforgettable days of boat racing, fireworks and festivities. In 2018, it’s being held on November 21, 22, and 23rd. Heralding the end of the rainy season and the coming of the Harvest moon, the Water & Moon Festival, or Bon Om Touk, has been celebrated along the banks of Phnom Penh’s famed Sisowath Quay for hundreds of years.

Enjoying the celebrations on the Phnom Penh riverside.

This year, the Water Festival falls on November 2nd to 4th to coincide with the full moon of the Buddhist calendar month of Kadeuk. Also known as the Harvest Moon, the moon has long been seen as a good omen promising a bountiful rice crop. This auspicious day is celebrated in villages all across Cambodia, but none more jubilantly than in the capital, where the carnival-like atmosphere of the Water Festival is illuminated by the light of the full moon.

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Review: Red House, Koh Dach

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Julia

One of the paradoxes of travel is that we often express a desire to experience how life in our destination is truly lived, but we would probably hate it if we did. In Cambodia, although there are transcendent moments to be had exploring the countryside and chatting with villagers amid rice paddies and sugar palms, the fact is that living in a rural village basically sucks. You’re usually sleeping on cheap, hot polyester bedding, sweating your eyes out, and peeing all over your feet because you’re too clumsy to properly use a squat toilet. In the rainy season, everything is covered in dirt, water, and every imaginable combination thereof, and it can be tricky to determine which of the brown streaks covering your shoes are mud and which are cow excrement.

A taste of rural Cambodian life.

As journalists, after a long day of conducting interviews that usually converge around the theme of how terrible people’s lives are in the Cambodian countryside, we’re always pretty grateful to escape back to our inexpensive, air-conditioned room in a provincial town and take a hot shower. But we’re sympathetic to the (usually genuine and well-meaning) desire to get to know the “real Cambodia.”

Enter Koh Dach, or Silk Island, a surprisingly rural-feeling island just off the coast of Phnom Penh. It’s easy to get here by motorbike or tuk tuk up National Road 6a and onto a ferry, which costs 500 riel per person and delivers you across the Mekong River as safely and efficiently as is possible in Cambodia.

And enter the Red House, a cleverly-conceived homestay-cum-AirBnB that provides a very good sense of the pleasures and pitfalls of rural living in Cambodia, for a very reasonable price ($20/night). Continue reading →

The best Phnom Penh movie theaters and cinemas

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Lina Goldberg

Phnom Penh’s changing faster than I can keep up, so I’ve given this post a well-deserved update. Remembering a time when Phnom Penh didn’t have a “proper” movie theater makes me sound like an old-fogey, reminiscing about the days gone by when locals would watch movies in small shops with a dozen chairs and usually two or three screens loudly blaring different films at the same time. These days, there are a half-dozen places in town to see English-language movies in Phnom Penh, from giant theaters showing Hollywood blockbusters to smaller theaters that screen documentaries, independent and foreign films.

The Major Cineplex at Aeon Mall is a serious, big budget movie theater showing films in 4-D. Yes, 4-D.

There are two major cinema chains in Phnom Penh, as well as a few smaller movie houses (more on them after the jump). Before you go, know that Cambodian movie-goers are keen on 3-D and 4-D movies, so if you’re looking to watch a “regular” film at one of the larger cinemas, check before you get a ticket or you may end up wearing 3-D glasses and having cold air blown on you to simulate winter while your seat is violently shaking. Movies often sell out at the large theaters, so reserve a ticket in advance.

Looking for movies about Cambodia? The 10 best movies set in Cambodia Continue reading →

Sleepy Kampot picks up the pace

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Iain Donnelly

Kampot, known as a sleepy provincial town for so long, is rapidly shedding that image. Once known as the town with “nothing to do,” Kampot is now a vibrant destination with a whole range of food and entertainment options.

Sleepy Kampot isn’t so sleepy anymore!

It’s always been a favorite escape for many Cambodia-based expats, thanks in no small part to the relatively quick journey from Phnom Penh using either National Highway 2 or 3, as well as the fairly regular, if slow, train service. And with the unfolding developmental disaster in Sihanoukville, there has been a steady influx of Western refugees looking for a (somewhat) quieter life. Continue reading →

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