Where to go to Cambodia - resorts in Cambodia

There are not too many resorts and tourist spots in Cambodia. The most popular of them are Siem Reap (Angkor Temple complex), Phnom Penh (capital) and the only popular beach resort in Cambodia – Siem Reap. The bulk of tours and excursions will take you to these places.

But there are several other much less popular provincial towns in Cambodia, such as Battambang, Kampot, which can not be considered as a full-fledged place to travel, but to visit them only by passing through, well, or for a maximum of 1-2 days. Below is a map of the resorts of Cambodia with border crossings marked on it, a table of seasons for the resorts of Cambodia and a brief description of each of them.

You can pick up tours to Cambodia and book them online, including with installment payment, using the following proven online search and booking services for tours, or through the search form:

• Tours to Cambodia on Travelata.ru (here are promo codes for a discount when buying)
• Tours to Cambodia on Onlinetours.ru

Map of resorts in Cambodia

Seasons in the resorts of Cambodia*

Siem Reap/Angkor

Siem Reap (Siem Reap, also Siem Reap, Simrep, Siem Reap, etc.) is a city in the north of Cambodia, the main stopping place for tourists to access the temples of the Angkor Archaeological Park (most often called simply and mistakenly Angkor Wat). The city was founded in 802, and its name literally translates as "Siam is defeated". This name was given to the city in the 16th century in honor of the victory over Thailand.

From a tourist point of view, Siem Reap should not be considered as an interesting tourist destination without Angkor. It is for the sake of visiting the temple complexes that a huge number of tourists visit Siem Reap every year. Thanks to Angkor, the city is very popular and the tourist infrastructure has begun to develop here. Well, until the moment when Angkor was rediscovered by French researchers at the beginning of the 19th century, Siem Reap was simply a village.

To date, Siem Reap is a tourist city with a large number of hotels, cafes and restaurants, and in addition to the temples of Angkor, other attractions and entertainment have appeared. An international airport has been built near the city, ready to receive flights from all over the world. The population of the city is 171,800 people (according to 2009 data).

There is no beach holiday in Siem Reap, and you can sunbathe only by the hotel pool.

Detailed tourist information about Siem Reap can be found here.

Sihanoukville

Sihanoukville (Sihanoukville, The City of Sihanouk, Sihanouk City or Krong Preah Seihanu) is a city on the southern coast of Cambodia, 230 kilometers from the capital Phnom Penh. It is washed by the waters of the South China Sea.

Sihanoukville is a very small and young city. The population of the city is slightly more than 100,000 people, and the city began its history in the 50s of the last (XX) century. Sihanoukville got its name in honor of King Sihanouk, under whose rule it was built.

Sihanoukville is known among tourists as a developing beach resort with excellent clean beaches and islands. While it is still a very small, little-used and unpopular resort by tourists (and, frankly, the only beach resort in Cambodia), but in the future it is predicted to become the most popular resort in Cambodia, and the most daring promise that Sihanoukville will be Cambodian Pattaya. Well, we'll wait and see.

In comparison with the same Pattaya, and indeed with any other beach resort in Southeast Asia, there are a number of advantages here: since the resort is not particularly popular, prices here are probably the lowest in all of South Asia (it is among beach resorts where prices are always higher than on non-beach resorts); and again, due to the low popularity, even in the highest season, there are not many tourists, and the beaches are mostly clean and deserted.

Summarizing: this place, first of all, is ideal for a relaxing family holiday; "doing nothing" on the beaches and nearby uninhabited islands; snorkeling or diving.

Detailed tourist information about the resort of Sihanoukville can be found here.

Phnom Penh

Phnom Penh is the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia and the largest city of the state. The city is located in the south-central part of the country at a distance of 150 kilometers from the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. The population of the city is more than 2 million people.

For tourists, Phnom Penh is not such a popular holiday destination, since there are no beach holidays and night entertainment. The infrastructure for the city, which is the capital, is poorly developed, there is no public transport. Although, there is almost everything for tourists here: a considerable number of hotels of different categories from cheap to expensive (there is even a backpacker quarter), travel agencies and excursions, offices selling bus tickets to all corners of the country, restaurants and cafes. Therefore, every year the number of tourists visiting the city, even for a short time, is growing, and the infrastructure is improving.

Usually tourists stop in Phnom Penh when they go to the popular beach resort of Sihanoukville or to the Angkor Wat temple complex in Siem Reap. The stop is most often short – one or two days. Sometimes a stop in Phnom Penh is necessary due to the specifics of transport: there are almost no night buses in Cambodia, so tourists have to stay in Phnom Penh to continue their journey to Sihanoukville or Siem Reap the next day.

Although why are they forced? If you have enough time, then it's worth taking a day or two to get to know Phnom Penh. And it is not necessary to do this just to look at the standard sights. It is interesting to stay here to study the life of this city in more detail, get to know the local population, take a walk along the embankment in the evening, relax in cafes selling "happy pizza". Phnom Penh is also the center of Cambodia's nightlife, and a separate category of tourists lingers here for exotic sex tourism. If you want to limit yourself to sightseeing in Phnom Penh, you should not stay more than a day here, there will simply be nothing to do here longer.

For detailed tourist information about Phnom Penh, see here.

Battambang

Battambang is a popular tourist town in Cambodia, famous for its ancient temples and ruins. Battambang is located in the north of the country, 170 kilometers from Siem Reap and 291 kilometers from Phnom Penh. The city is the capital of the province of the same name. Battambang is one of the largest cities in Cambodia (population about 250 thousand people, the second largest after Phnom Penh).

Despite the low popularity and fame of Battambang among Russian tourists, in fact, the city has long earned popularity among foreign tourists. Although the city is the second most populous in Cambodia, the atmosphere in the city is calm, almost rustic. The architecture of the city has changed little since colonial times, retaining its French roots. It is with its genuine, natural atmosphere of provincial Cambodia that the city attracts tourists. It is rightly said that it is in Battambang that you can see the real provincial life of ordinary Cambodians, not embellished for tourists. Of course, the sights of the city and its surroundings are no less interesting.

There are not too many hotels in Battambang yet, and the tourist infrastructure is poorly developed. Of course, you can find a travel agency, tourist transport, and even a tourist-oriented restaurant or cafe here, but all this in the most modest amount. The only thing to do in the evening is to be in your own hotel room and watch TV. Of course, no beach holidays are provided here. It's not worth going here for the entire period of your trip, it's enough to stay in the city for a day or two to get acquainted with the sights and atmosphere of the city. Staying in Battambang longer can just be boring.

It is quite convenient to visit Battambang as part of a one- or two-day excursion from Phnom Penh or Siem Reap.

Detailed tourist information about Battambang can be found here.

Ban Lung

Banlung is a small town in the east of Cambodia near the border with Vietnam. Despite its size (in 2006 the population was 16,000 people), this town is the capital of Ratanakiri Province.

You will not get to this town by plane, do not buy a tour there (unless only an individual excursion). Nevertheless, this place can be very attractive for independent travelers looking for unexplored places. The city and the province are known as a place of extraction of precious stones and you can take an excursion to the mines for their extraction. There are dense jungles around the city (Viratya National Park), there are several waterfalls, lakes (including in the crater of an extinct volcano), mountains and villages of real Khmer mountain tribes. All this makes this place great for multi-day trekking excursions and ecotourism. To do this, you can find several travel agencies in the city and use their services. It is highly discouraged to go to the jungles and mountains on your own, as it is rumored that guerrillas are still hiding in the jungle.

There is practically nothing to do in the city itself. The tourist infrastructure is very poorly developed, but it is present. There are cafes and restaurants in the city, including those preparing European cuisine, a dozen hotels (there is even a four-star one) and several travel agencies. Almost every hotel can arrange an individual or group excursion to the jungle or mountains.

Getting to Banlung is not easy. There are no flights there, and you will have to get there by bus from Phnom Penh or by taxi. Due to the proximity to the border, you can get to/from the Vietnamese city of Pleiku by bus. At the border crossing between the cities, it is possible to obtain a visa to Cambodia upon arrival.

You can visit Banlung at any time of the year, however, during the rainy season (from May to October), due to frequent downpours, whole swamps form, and in the dry season (from November to April) the whole swamp dries up and turns into constantly flying dust. The ideal month for a trip is November, when the mud has not had time to dry yet, and there is not so much rain.

Kampot

Kampot is a small town in central Cambodia, located a few kilometers from the coast of the Gulf of Thailand on the banks of the Kampong Bai River. The city is the capital of Kampot province. The population of the city is slightly more than 39 thousand people.

Among Russian mass tourists, the city is practically not known, although it is a fairly popular tourist destination. First of all, Kampot is interesting because it is located next to the Bokor National Park, which is convenient to visit from here. There are also many natural attractions in the vicinity of the city: waterfalls, caves, rice fields. Just a few kilometers from Kampot, on the very shore, is the beach resort of Kep (Keap), and you can combine ecotourism in the vicinity of Kampot with a beach holiday.

The town itself cannot offer anything special to tourists, but some tourists like its quiet unhurried atmosphere. The city was partially built up by the colonists, the French, and has still preserved a lot from those times. Many buildings in Kampot have French architectural roots. Unfortunately, in the 70s of the last century there were fierce battles between the Khmer Rouge and the liberation forces, and many buildings and structures in the city were destroyed, most of them have not been restored to this day.

There is practically no nightlife and tourist entertainment here, except for a few evening bars and sometimes a disco arranged in one of the hotels. But the city is just that interesting for a separate category of tourists, which allows you to plunge into the serene provincial life of a Cambodian town, enjoying doing nothing. It's not worth staying in the city for a long time, but you can relax here for a couple of days, if, of course, the conditions of doing nothing suit you.

The high (dry) tourist season lasts in Kampot from October to May.