Sihanoukville: From tourist hotspots to pristine islands

See the locations on Sihanoukville Google Map
See Weather in Kep

Sihanoukville - in Khmer called Krong Preah Sihanouk and also known as Kampong Saom - has become a popular tourist destination due to the relaxed atmosphere of its beaches and Sihanoukville International Airport. So if you look for an abundance of undiscovered beaches, not yet ruined by the stream of tourists that flock to neighbouring Thailand, you can run into difficulties, as you can read here: The town that sold its soul to tourism. But Otres Beach is still a good place for people, who avoid the party. And there are unspoilt islands to discover nearby. But: As more and more tourists visit these islands, more and more resorts have been built, as Sihanouville Revisited notices.

Picture by MSNina


The Beaches of Sihanoukville

The most popular beaches are Ochheuteal, Sokha, Independence and Victory. The beaches from north to south:

Victory Beach: At the northern end of the beach is located the deep sea port.

Picture by Houston March
Twilight near the port.

Picture by .vav


Lamherkay Beach: Also known as Hawaii Beach. Here you can hire a boat to nearby islands.

Picture by whl.travel


Koh Pos Beach:

Picture by -AX-
Koh Pos Bridge


Independence Beach: At the northern end of the beach you find Independence Hotel and Koh Pos Beach with a tiny island 800m off the coast.

Picture by -AX-


Sokha Beach: "Stunningly beautiful, a perfect private scallop-edged strand of immaculate white sand, dotted with palm-thatched beach umbrellas and a backdrop of a pretty, manicured garden promenade", wrote nytimes.com. This beach is privately owned by Sokha Beach Hotel. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by Un rosarino en Vietnam

Picture by Un rosarino en Vietnam


Serendipity Beach: Here you find guesthouse rooms right on the beach and beach huts serving meals and drinks. Don't be surprised, if you are contacted by a lot of hawkers, who try to sell their goods. Don't be suprised by restaurants serving Western food. Don't be surprised by garbage lying in the sand of the beach. The party of mass tourism has arrived here.

Picture by WanderingtheWorld

Picture by HappyTellus

Picture by Em and Ernie
Along Serendipity Beach


Occheuteal Beach: A long and narrow strip of sand lined with Casuarina trees, grass umbrellas, rental chairs and little drink huts as well as bigger restaurants and night-time party spots.

Picture by Sandvand

Picture by Sandvand

Picture by Lorna87
Vendors of fruits


Otres Beach: Less developped and crowded and known for its long stretch of white sands.

Picture by Stefan Leitner


Hotels and Guesthouses in Sihanoukville

Beach Club Resort: From 25 USD. 23 Tola Street. 5 walking minutres from Ochheuteal Beach. With pool. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


Chez Claude: From 25 USD. On a hill between Independence and Sokha beach. Wooden bungalows with ventilator, shower and toilet and Balcony with a spectacular view of the sea with islands. And with a restaurant, which is famous for its French and Asian seefood kitchen. See video with rooms and restaurant.


Holiday Palace Resort: 2 Thnou Street, Independence Beach. All rooms with views of the ocean waters of the Gulf of Thailand. Private Beach. Quite good reviews on tripadvisor.com.


Sokha Beach Hotel: From 150 USD. Street 2 Thnou, Sangkat 4. "The hotel is a bargain for what it offers (spa, huge pool, gym, tennis courts)", recommended nytimes.com. Excellent reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by Lomacar

The Independence Hotel: From 155 USD. Street 2 Thnou, Sangkat No: 03, Otres Beach. The seven-story "modernist beauty with a few endearingly kitsch Miami Beach-style bells and whistles - a round dining room, two round ballrooms and a kidney-shaped pool - was designed by the French architects Leroy and Mondet and was one of the chicest hotels in Cambodia when it opened in 1964; locals insist that Jacqueline Kennedy, invited by King Norodom Sihanouk, was among its first guests, wrote nytimes.com. The hotel has improved its amenities and now has a lift from the beach to the hill and a pier from the beach with sitting areas, from where you can enjoy the sunset. "One of the advantages of the Independence is it is a few miles from town and so is set in huge grounds and very peaceful. There is a regular free shuttle bus or Tuk Tuks are always available", notes pauleaston on tripadvisor.com, where the reviews are very good.

Picture by whl.travel
Independence Beach with Independence Hotel

Picture by thomaswanhoff
Beach Bar


Jasmine Hotel: Basic hotel 50 meters from Occheuteal Beach with mixed reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by Eternal Vagabond

Picture by Eternal Vagabond


Markara Guesthouse: From 27 USD. 14 Mithona St. | Occheuteal Beach. With pool and green courtyard. Good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by Eternal Vagabond


Orchidee Guesthouse: From 16 USD. Only a few minutes walk from Ochheuteal Beach you find 69 rooms. 12 rooms are situated around the swimming-pool. See video of the guesthouse. Mixed reviews on tripadvisor.com, where the owner seems to be commenting every post, what is a bit strange.

Picture by Magalie L'Abbé The pool


The Cove Beach Resort: From 21 USD. To the west of Serendipity Beach. Bungalows in lush tropical hillside gardens with views of the nearby islands Koh Ta Kiev, Koh Chu Lu and Koh Tres, from traditional Khmer Style Bungalowswith fan to apartments witth AC. Rather disappointed reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Picture by Amber de Bruin


The Secret Garden: From 80 USD. 10 bungalows with fan or A/C, private outside showers, and also a swimming pool. The beach is fantastic here. What bothers guests right now (March 2013) is the noise of nearby construction. The reviews on tripadvisor.com are quite good, but many say that the prizes are a bit too expensive. See this video.


And here you find more Hotels and Guesthouses in Sihanoukville




Eating out in Sihanoukville

Chez Claude: Kam Pegn hill, phone 855 12 824 870. The restaurants has great views of the Gulf of Thailand from its hillside location between the Sokha Beach and the Independence Hotels.

La Paillote: Weather Station Hill, phone "The best restaurant in town", according to nytimes.com. French and Cambodian cooking served in an open-air garden setting (Weather Station Hill, phone 855 12 633247).

Starfish Café: Downtown, behind Samudera Market, phone 855 12 952 011).The American baker Deidre O'Shea has taught local women to make Western bread and pastries as a way of supporting themselves and earning money for the philanthropic projects the café oversees.



Sihanoukville Downtown

Ekareach Street, the main street, runs from near the port through the town center to Golden Lions roundabout near the Ochheuteal Beach. Be aware of sex tourism and read Sihanoukville: Surf, Sun and Sex. You learn to avoid the bars of Victory Hill. "For every backpacker there seemed to be two sex tourists. They skulked around its bars leering at local girls who looked to be barely in their teens", Gallivanting Georgia describes the experience of a woman. "There were a large number of middle aged white men in the area, and a lot of them were with young Cambodian girls, many looked under 20 years old", observed Neil and Jackie. But nowadays the business seems to fading away as you can read in The Fall of Victory Hill.

Be aware, that there have been brutal rapes of Western woman and other attacks lately in Sihanoukville. One women was raped, when she was alone on a beach. Another women was raped, after she fell asleep on a taxi. Read more on Khmer Times.


Victory Hill:

Picture by Wilson Loo

Picture by Wilson Loo

Picture by Luther Bailey

Psar Leu Market:

Picture by Luther Bailey
Read the blog of Luther Bailey: Sihanoukville, Cambodia and the mysterious fried things

Picture by spotter_nl


Wat Chotynieng: also known as upper Pagoda or Wat Leu, located on a hill and overlooking Sihanoukville town. It is dedicated to Prince Chourn Nath, a Cambodian Buddhist leader.



Wat Kraom: Down Pagoda. Located in Sihanoukville downtown and dedicated to Yeay Mao, a southern Cambodia divinity.

Picture by Em and Ernie


Picture by Wilson Loo


Read more: Sihanoukville Travel Guide and Canby Publications Sihanoukville.



Discoveries around Sihanoukville

You can take water taxis to the nearby islands for diving, snorkeling, and game fishing. The city is also besides the Ream National Park. Or do a day trip to Kep - famous for its seafood -, Kampot, known for its sleepy French colonial charm and pepper plantations or atmospheric Bokor, an abandoned 1920s vintage casino and hill station.

Koh Pos: Also known as Morakot Island or Snake Island, 800 metres off of Victory Beach. It is under development by Russian investors to become a luxury holiday destination. It was linked to the mainland with a bridge in July 2011.


Koh Rong:
It is situated west of the Sihanoukville coast. It offers a fantastic beach on its southwest, stretching about 5 kilometres. It has a bustling fishing community on the southeast.

Broken Heart Guesthouse: From 25 USD. Private Bungalow. Also drom available.

Coco Bungalow Resort: From 15 USD. 15 Bungalows with balcony located along the beach.

Lonely Beach: From 30 USD. 4 Bungalows with attached bathrooms surrounded by forest and a dormitory. See their Facebook. Very good reviews on tripadvisor.com.

Treehouse Bungalows: From 23 USD. On the north coast of Koh Rong. With 3 km of long white beach and mangroves.

Picture by MSNina

Picture by MSNina

Ferries to Koh Rong cost 20 USD (return ticket) and leave Silhanoukville (pickup outside Koh Rong Divers) at 7am and 4pm and Koh Rong Island at 10am and 4pm daily.


Koh Rong Samloem Island

"Landing at Saracen Bay, I’ve never seen a beach so breathtakingly beautiful. The clear blue waters swirled across the white sands in a snaking pattern that formed tiny circular sandy islands and warm water pools. The sea glowed with a range of blue hues under the glorious warmth of the sun and the entire coastline was quiet, except for the soft lapping of the waves on shore", describes Backpacker Becki her paradiese found in Cambodia. "Koh Rong Saloem is just two hours' and yet a world away from Sihanoukville", writes travelfish.org. At the top of the island sits a small fishing village called Mai Pei Bei or 23 in Khmer. Marine Conservation Cambodia, an ecotourism project, is based here and offers volunteering opportunities to visitors such as teaching in the local village and marine conservation. There are many snorkelling and diving opportunities. Read more about animals and plants on Koh Rong Samloem Conservation. And read about expeditionsamloem.org.

Picture by expressionposthumus
Saracen bay

Picture by Catherine Murray


EcoSea Dive & Bungalows:

Saracen Bay Resort: 45 USD. Bungalows amidst a lush vegetation, with fans,en-suite western style bathrooms and a verandah with sea view.

M'PayBay: 20 USD. M’Pay Bay is an eco-tourism project. Bungalows within 30 meters of the beach. Each bungalow offers a bed with mosquito net, en suite shower/toilet, fan, lights and a power point (electricity available from around 6pm until about midnight). Outside, there is a veranda, with a hammock for those idle moments, and a table with a couple of chairs. The restaurant offers Khmer and Western dishes.

Sun Island Eco Village: Bungalow tents, covered with a grass roof, with private showers and toilets. See video.

The Beach Island Resort & Beach Club: On the white sandy beach of Saracen bay, with 8 beachfront bungalows (some with shared restrooms) and a dorm room for up to 40 people. A 2 hours boat ride from the Serendipity pier at Serendipity Beach. See video of the resort.

Lazy Beach: 40 USD. Beach side bungalows with balcony and ensuite bathroom set on a golden sandy beach, surrounded by tropical jungle.

Picture by Catherine Murray

Picture by Catherine Murray
Picture by Catherine Murray


Koh Dek Koul: Private island 7 kilometres off from Victory Beach with Russian owned Mirax Resort.


Koh Ru (Bamboo Island):

Picture by jimdavidson

Picture by blikbrein

Picture by Tiddle


Koh Russei: Also called Bamboo Island. A few kilometers out from Otres Beach or Ream. There arewa small navy base and some beach bungalows.


Koh Ta Kiev:

Crusoe Island: From 15 USD. If you’re after air-con and luxury resorts, turn back now. Koh Ta Kiev is inhabited only by a handful of Cambodian soldiers and fishermen. You arrive with a traditional Khmer longtail boat in less than an hour. Bungalows: You choose between a hut, where just curtains separate you from the jungle, a TeePee and other quite open sleeping facilities.

Picture by Crusoe Island
Inside the TeePee


More islands: Koh Thmei and Koh Sei.



How you arrive in Sihanoukville

Flights: Cambodia Angkor Air serves Sihanoukville three times during one week from Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. See Flight Schedule.

Bus from Thailand: From Trat minibuses to the border depart every 45 minutes between 06:00 and 18:00, taking between 1.5 and 2 hours. Cheaper are songthaews. First take one from Trat to Ban Khlong, then another one to the border. Onward travel from Koh Kong to Sihanoukville is by air conditioned buses, which leave from Street 3, or by taxi. Read details on Thorntree.

Cambodia in the News

8.8.2015
Dark tourism in Anlong Veng: The government plans to turn the former Khmer Rouge stronghold of Anlong Veng into a tourist hub, but no one is quite sure how. Read more on The Phnom Penh Post.

14.3.14
What’s Real Gets More Creative: ‘The Missing Picture’ - a memoir of genocide in Cambodia - and Other Films Rethink Documentaries. An autobiographical account of the genocide the Khmer Rouge inflicted on Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, the film is directed by a survivor, Rithy Panh, and uses techniques unusual in documentaries: clay figures set in dioramas and mixed in whatever grainy archival footage he could find, along with Khmer Rouge songs and speeches, dream and fantasy sequences, and a haunting original score, topping all that off with a hallucinatory, poetic, French-language narration. Read more on nytimes.com

27.12.12
Cambodia’s "War" On Internet Cafes
Internet cafes are seen as information hubs in most countries, but in Cambodia the government seems terrorized by their presence. Last February, the government mandated internet cafe owners to set up surveillance cameras in their shops and register the names of all customers as a "crime deterrence measure." Then it issued a new circular last month banning internet cafes within 500 meters of schools or educational buildings. Read on thediplomat.com

26.11.12
Rising Khmer literary star goes noir with crime thriller
Author Suong Mak had not even turned 16 when he was urged by teachers, family and friends to approach Phnom Penh’s publishing houses with the collection of his own short stories and novellas that had piled up on his desk. With four published books now under his belt, the softly-spoken 26-year-old’s most recent story, Hell in the City, was included in this month’s Phnom Penh Noir anthology. Read on: phnompenhpost.com


14.11.12
Report Details 20 Years of Impunity, Killings
A funeral wreath and photograph of a bespectacled middle-aged man adorns the cover of a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on extrajudicial killings in Cambodia, and what the group says is a pervading culture of impunity under the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The man on the cover of the report is Om Radsady, a senior Funcinpec official, who was gunned down in broad daylight while eating lunch with friends at a packed restaurant on a busy Phnom Penh street in the run-up to the 2003 national elections. Read on cambodiadaily.com.


A history of violence
Systematic extra-judicial killings were directed and executed for decades by death squads established under Prime Minister Hun Sen’s regime and run by men who are now some of the highest-ranking members of government, a report released yesterday by Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleges. Read on phnompenhpost.com.


Reckless claims do rights organisation little credit
General Mok Chito, Chief of the Interior Ministry’s Criminal Department Phnom Penh, writes: My objective is to propose that the Phnom Penh Post itself shed more light on the article headlined “A history of violence”, written by David Boyle and May Titthara and published in your November 14 issue. With the greatest respect to the editors-in-chief of the Post newspapers, I am extremely shocked by the publication of the above-mentioned article. Read on phnompenhpost.com.


16.10.12
Remembering Cambodia's Enigmatic King
The death of Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia, who succumbed to cancer Monday at the age of 89, is a moment to reflect on one of the great tragedies of the late 20th century. It would be inaccurate to blame the erstwhile king, even indirectly, for the genocide that was ultimately perpetrated in his country. That blame attaches solely to the communists. I often wonder, though, how things might have gone differently had the mercurial monarch been prepared to gamble on America. Read on: Seth Lipsky on wsj.com.


24.8.2012
A China backed company tries to take over the railways in Cambodia
According to a report published by English-written newspaper Phnom Penh Post, a new rail company, financed from Sino-Pacific Construction Consultancy Co. from China and Hikmat Asia Sdn. Bhd. from Malaysia, is looking to take over the 30-year rail concession given to Australian Toll Royal Railway and its local partner Royal Group of Companies. Read on traveldailynews.asia.

18.7.2012
Thousands of Cambodia schools close over fear of virus outbreak
Fane Greenwood on globalpost.com
Cambodia has closed all of its kindergarten and primary schools in anticipation of another outbreak of the widely-reported Enterovirus 71 (EV-71) virus, which has killed 55 children thus far. Read on: globalpost.com

17.7.2012
Top 10 Tour Of Cambodia
Mark Johanson on IBTraveler
Best beaches, Best Destinations for Nature, Best Destinations for Culture. Read on: ibtimes.com

15.07.2012
Hair extensions from Cambodia
Arno Maierbrugger on investvine.com
Backed by seed capital from a Japanese investment fund, Phnom Penh-based Arjuni Ltd has set up a buzzing e-commerce business selling natural hair extensions to worldwide customers. Read on: investvine.com

5.7.2012
Cambodian Deaths Tied to Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease
Associated Press
A deadly form of a common childhood illness has been linked to the mysterious child deaths in Cambodia that sparked alarm after a cause could not immediately be determined, health officials said. Read on: time.com

2.7.2012
4 Cambodian temples that aren't Angkor Wat
Ian Lloyd Neubauer on cnngo.com
At the turn of the millennium one could spend hours walking around Angkor Wat Archaeological Park without seeing a single foreigner. In the first three months of 2012 more than 640,000 visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yet there are dozens of Angkor-era temple complexes in Cambodia that receive a fraction of the visitors Angkor Wat gets. Read on: cnngo.com

1.6.2012
Long hair a luxury for evictees
May Titthara in The Phnom Penh Post
Kheng Chen had her hair cut in January and sold it to a broker for just under US$8. She isn’t happy with the close-cropped style because it makes her look older than her 48 years. But when Kheng Chen grows her hair back in a few months, she plans to sell it again.


11.4.2012 The Less Paid Attention Part of Siem Reap
A night I arrived Siem Reap for Blogfest 2012, I went out to eat at Night Market. In a mart, I saw a very young girl about 8 years old wearing torn clothe and carrying a little baby in her hands. To my surprise she spokes English really well. She was begging for a big can of milk powder in the mart from a beautiful female expat for her little brother or sister. But the expat refused to buy that big one for her because it cost too expensive, about USD18. She was asking the girl just to have a smaller one. But the girl refused. Then, she walked out, leaving three words to the expat, “F*ck Your Mummy”. Read on: khmerenterprises.com.


3.4.12
Selling Sex in Siem Reap
The Wandering Lawyer
the flush of prostitution in this boomtown is a well known phenomenon to the residents, Cambodian and expatriate alike. On a typical night Pub Street is filled with music and crowds spilling from its many bars. Outside of them you can see the girls clustered around tables and entrances, or just chatting together while they wait for the customers. Read on: wanderinglawyer.com

17.2.2012
The bar: The good, bad and practical
An American academic has spent seven years researching the local hostess bar scene, and come up with some surprising findings: the final installment of a three-part series. Read on: phnompenhpost.com

16.2.12
Why western boyfriends? A cultural perspective
An American academic has spent seven years researching the local hostess bar scene, and come up with some surprising findings. This is the second in a three-part series. Read on: phnompenhpost.com

15.2.12
Professional girlfriends: Moving beyond sex work An American academic has spent seven years researching the local hostess bar scene, and come up with some surprising findings. Read on: phnompenhpost.com

25.3.2011
Siem Reap
girlservesworld.wordpress.com
From Bayon temple to a karaoke bar. Read on: girlservesworld.wordpress.com

12.12.2009
Khmer Riche - The Anarchist Generation
Sydney Morning Herald
They live in one of the poorest countries on earth, yet they drive flash cars, dwell in mansions and scorn their impoverished brethren. Andrew Marshall meets the rich sons and daughters of Cambodia elite. Read on: khmerwriter.com

2.11.2008
Bringing Commerce to Cambodia
Ron Gluckman in Forbes
Brash, ambitious, some say ruthless, Kith Meng is building an empire in the newest tiger economy. Kith's Royal Group has a finger in nearly every pot simmering in Asia's newest tiger economy. Read on: khmerwriter.com