Cambodia Travel Guide: How To See The Highlights (And What To Skip)

Cambodia has some of the best places to visit in Southeast Asia — but honestly, also a few duds. While travel is subjective, let me share my impressions in this honest guide.

I’ve explored Cambodia a fair bit and consider it one of the more ‘contrasty’ countries in the region. As overwhelmingly positive as the laidback islands and impressive Khmer temples are, I found myself, umm, whelming in a quite different direction in places like Sihanoukville (a sordid seaside casino resort that I couldn’t wait to leave).

The truth is that Cambodia is always changing and some places that were once great have since faded, as I noticed when visiting the same places several years apart. In this updated Cambodia travel guide, let me share with you my thoughts to help you get the most out of your trip — besides, of course, visiting the epic temples of Angkor Wat, which is on just about everyone’s bucket list!

I’ll talk about two ways to visit Cambodia:

• As a side-trip from Vietnam, Laos, or Thailand. It’s fairly common for tourists to hit up Cambodia for a few days as an extension to a holiday in a neighboring country. If that’s you, read on for some tips on making the best of your limited time.
• Backpacking Cambodia for several weeks. If you have more time then you can invest in exploring Cambodia in much more detail. If you’re on a Southeast Asia trip and not in a rush, you’ll find many fascinating places in Cambodia, including authentic travel, ecotourism, and unspoiled islands.

Let’s jump in!

Creating your Cambodia itinerary

First, let’s get the lay of the land.

The good news is that Cambodia is relatively small and compact, so you can zip between many key places fairly easily. However, travel times between some destinations can still be considerable due to the road network.

Considering the potato-like shape of Cambodia, you’d think it would be perfect for a circular route. Sadly, its road layout doesn’t quite cooperate with such a plan, so a bit of backtracking might be needed if you want to explore different parts of the country.

The main transport arteries are between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (running along the north and south side of the Tonle lake). Other main roads mostly shoot off in different directions from the capital. This means that if you want to travel all over Cambodia, you might have to come back through Phnom Penh once or twice. (E.g. I couldn’t go from Kratie direct to Siem Reap, so I had to go via the capital. From Siem Reap to Kampot also goes via Phnom Penh.)

The map below marks some of the key travel destinations for Cambodia.

The central parts of Cambodia are very flat — it’s mostly massive plains without much to grab your visual interest along the way, besides the Mekong river at least. I like the southwestern part a lot as it has more mountains and it’s also where you’ll find Cambodia’s wonderful islands.

3 Days in Cambodia: For a quick visit, I suggest going to Siem Reap to see the temples of Angkor. Should you be considering Cambodia as an add-on trip then you can find direct transportation from many places in the region, including Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

1 Week in Cambodia: I recommend spending just one day in Phnom Penh. It’s honestly not the most exciting Asian capital, but the genocide memorials are very revealing about Cambodia’s history and are must-visits. Add 3 days in Siem Reap for Angkor Wat and some other side-trips. Then go either 3 days in Kampot & Kep for a chill riverside location, or hit up the Cambodian islands for 3 days. (I like the more back-to-basics vibes on Koh Rong Sanloem and Koh Ta Tiev.)

2 Weeks or more in Cambodia: You’ll have lots of time to explore Cambodia in depth! Consider all the locations mentioned under 1 week and add in a few bonus destinations. I loved the ecotourism project in Chi Pat — it’s a great place for a jungle adventure. Battambang is a calm city that’s often considered a hidden gem; be sure to check our Battambang travel guide for specific activity ideas. If you’re on a bigger trip and coming from southern Laos, you may wish to add a stopover in Kratie, a calm and charming town along the Mekong with only small-scale tourism.

Since most visitors will want to include Angkor Wat in their itinerary, let’s tackle this topic first.

How to visit Angkor Wat

The UNESCO World Heritage site of Angkor Wat is the biggest sight in Cambodia — and one of the biggest in all of Asia.

It’s clearly what brings most people to Cambodia.

Since 3D aerial laser scans were carried out in 2016, the archaeological site is understood to have not just been the world’s largest religious monument but also a huge ancient city at the heart of the Khmer Kingdom. It’s thought that 300,000 workers and 6,000 elephants were involved in its construction.

Angkor Wat is massive. The main temple that appears in most photos is just a tiny part of the 400-square-kilometer site.

To visit Angkor Wat, you should go the nearby city of Siem Reap. I recommend reading our detailed guide to Siem Reap, as it’s a fun city with lots to do besides the temples. But let me quickly explain how you can best experience the temple complex here.

Tip 1: visit the temples at sunrise

The best way to experience Angkor Wat is at sunrise. Yeah, it sucks having to wake up at like 6 a.m., but it’s worth it!

Those dedicated enough for an early rise will gather at the main temple to see the sun emerge from behind its spires.

You can expect a bit of a crowd at this prime sunset-watching location, but you’ll still be here hours before the tour buses start arriving. This means you can then wander the temples in relative peace and avoid the intense midday heat. The early morning light also gives the ruins a wonderful glow.

Most people go to see the sunrise at the main temple, but there are many other sunset-watching locations inside the park that can give you a more serene experience.

Tip 2: explore the outer temples

My second piece of advice is not just to be laser-focused on the main temple that you see in all the photos, but to explore other smaller ruins as well.

Thanks to its huge size, there are many areas of Angkor to check out. The main temples get crowded but there are numerous ruins that are very peaceful (and often wonderfully overgrown by big-rooted trees).

There are some outer-lying temples that can take 30 to 60 minutes to get to. If you’re lucky, you can still be there alone hearing only the buzz of cicadas and the chatter of tropical birds. The outer temples are not as well-restored and are more overgrown by jungle, giving them a more mysterious feel.

If you want to explore the larger area of Angkor Wat, be sure to rent bicycles or hire a tuk-tuk for the day. Ask your driver to take you beyond the standard circuit.

Angkor Wat can also be seen from the air in a hot air balloon, which I haven’t done myself but fellow travellers who did said it was one of their best experiences in Asia. At around $100 it may be expensive on a backpacker budget, but it’s super cheap for a balloon ride compared to what it costs in other countries. If you book this tour, you’ll get not just a balloon ride but also a full day guided visit of the site.

Tip 3: keep at least a full day for Angkor

You can see the most important areas at Angkor in about one day or afternoon. If you really don’t have much time, 1 day will let you get a good impression.

2 days is better as this will allow you to see the more remote temples and learn more about the history of Angkor Wat.

A 1-day pass costs $37 and a 3-day pass is $62. The three days don’t have to be all in a row. Although there is enough to see for 3 days of exploration, most people will probably be a little templed out by day 2, so I think two days is probably the ideal time to spend if you’re not in a rush.

What to do in Siem Reap

Siem Reap is the city nearest to Angkor Wat, which has turned it into pretty much the main tourist spot in the entire country. While not a historical city, I find it a lot more interesting than the capital Phnom Penh, so I would recommend most people to allocate their time here.

Besides serving as a base for temple exploration, you’ll find many other tours and activities in Siem Reap to keep you entertained.

It’s not mainly a cultural destination where you can learn a lot about Cambodia, however it is a place where you can relax (many hotels and hostels in Siem Reap feature a swimming pool) and go on a lot of fun activities and day trips.

Cooking classes, pottery classes, quad bike tours, vespa tours, ziplining, massages, fish pedicures, gondola sunset boat rides… you name it, Siem Reap’s got it! When darkness falls, look no further than Pub Street for cheap booze and entertainment. It’s a whole heap of unpretentious fun.

You can see all the activities in Siem Reap here. Be sure to also check our Siem Reap travel guide for some specific suggestions.

Considering how much there is to do in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, I think it’s worth staying for at least 3 nights if you can.

Tip for visiting Tonle Sap lake

A common day-trip from Siem Reap to do after Angkor Wat is to visit a traditional floating village on Tonle Sap Lake. But if you do this, be warned.

First, compare the reviews of Chong Kneas floating village with those of Kompong Khleang floating village. Clearly, Chong Kneas is an exploitative tourist trap, while the latter actually helps the community and gives you a positive experience.

Make sure you support the right kind of tourism by choosing Kompong Khleang.

What to (potentially) skip in Cambodia

Cambodia is an amazing country to visit, but some places are less worthwhile than others. I just want to be honest in this travel guide to help you spend your time in the best way.

There are three places in particular that show up in seemingly every Cambodia itinerary, but that I’m not sure should be labelled as must-sees.

It’s possible that I just didn’t see in them what other travellers saw, but I’m convinced they are second tier destinations where you don’t need to linger for too long.

Phnom Penh I found simply not as exciting as other capitals in Southeast Asia. Despite desperate attempts to brand it the “Pearl of Asia”, I don’t think it compares favorably to other large cities. The markets aren’t as wild as in Vietnam and the temples and pagodas are no match for Bangkok. Parts of Phnom Penh are still gritty and dusty, elsewhere it’s a cosmopolitan place that’s undergoing a huge construction boom. While I still enjoyed both my visits to Phnom Penh, they ended up not being particularly memorable. (But perhaps you’ll love it — to each their own!)

One reason to still add a quick stop in Phnom Penh is to learn about the horrible history of genocide under the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. This will definitely help you understand this country a lot more and while the subject matter is very dark I’d still consider these somewhat obligatory.

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum S-21 is a former school that was turned into a brutal prison during the Pol Pot regime. At the Killing Fields, people were systematically murdered in the most horrific ways. Both museums are quite intense and not exactly family-friendly fare. However, they are hugely eye-opening and educational.

Sihanoukville was once the go-to seaside resort in Cambodia. It’s gone through several waves of development. 10+ years ago it was a big backpacker destination; sure, a bit seedy with some sex tourists, but a fun place to party and hit the beach. Long ago I was there for New Year’s Eve and had a great time.

However, almost all of the hostels disappeared before the pandemic during a boom in Chinese casino construction. This then turned into a huge bust, leaving loads of half-constructed buildings. There used to have some beaches with fun bamboo shack restaurants and bars, but these were almost all bulldozed years ago. What’s left is a city entirely devoid of charm. I recommend using Sihanoukville only as a waypoint to the islands.

Koh Rong is a bit of a question mark. The island is very beautiful and laidback and speckled with hostels, bungalows, and beach shack type of accommodation. However, an international airport is under construction and roads have been carved through the jungle in anticipation of new large-scale resorts. By the time you read this, Koh Rong may still be that perfect lowkey island to go to, or its character could have already changed.

If you decide to stay on Koh Rong I advise choosing a more secluded beach away from the more built-up areas (e.g. the area around the dock where ferries arrive). There have been rumors of many travellers getting sick due to sewage being dumped directly into the ocean, so I would personally reduce the risk by going to a quieter bay or at least swimming in the waters right near the village. As an alternative, consider the nearby less-developed sister island Koh Rong Sanloem. (Sanloem means ‘remote’ in Khmer, even though the islands are right next to each other and are the same distance from Sihanoukville.)

I hope all that doesn’t sound too negative! I sometimes get angry reactions when my blogs are not 100% positive about literally everything. Just remember these are my impressions and I’m sharing them in the hope that you will find it useful.

My 3 favorite experiences in Cambodia

Despite not being a fan of the previously mentioned places, I should also say that some of my favorite travel experiences in all of Southeast Asia were in Cambodia. I usually enjoy lower-key places where you can enjoy nature or get to know the culture.

Let me highlight 3 experiences that I think are highly worth adding to your itinerary, which are all in the very scenic southwest. There is minimal travel time between them, letting you create quite a compact and efficient route.

1. Staying on the laidback islands

Off the Cambodian coast you can find a scattering of small islands. I love staying on them in part because they are much less developed than the very popular ones in Thailand, so you can have a wonderful back-to-basics island escape.

The biggest island, Koh Rong, is beginning to be developed and has a number of small resorts. Around the main pier on Koh Rong are some party-oriented hostels and bars, but the rest of the islands are mostly quiet and peaceful. It will get its own airport, so it’s destined to become a lot more built up, but for now it’s still fairly lowkey.

The other islands are a lot more basic, some of them only having limited power from generators and limited or no internet.

If you’d love to stay in a jungle lodge or a bungalow by the beach, the Cambodian islands are a must-visit. You can definitely get that ‘stranded on an island’ feeling and get away from it all!

The main islands are easily reached by ferry from Sihanoukville. Other smaller islands can be reached from Ream or Poi Yopon.

Keep your eyes on the waves at night; if you’re lucky, you can see bioluminescent plankton sparkling around these shores!

I really liked staying on Koh Rong Sanloem. It’s a bit less developed than the larger Koh Rong but it still has a town where you can shop for things and some small-scale accommodation around several beautiful bays. I spent a week with campfires under starry night skies and swimming during the day. Absolutely blissful.

Barely-developed Koh Ta Kiev can also give you a real castaway feeling, as well as small islands near Botum Sakor National Park, which I’ve marked for a future trip.

The waters are clear and beautiful, though there generally isn’t as much marine life in the waters as in Thailand or Indonesia. It’s not considered a top location for scuba diving (or snorkeling). However, if you’re just looking to learn, then the many dive shops in Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem can teach you the ropes in about 3 days at very attractive prices.

For beginners the dive sites in Cambodia are actually ideal. You’ll definitely see a few interesting sea creatures, but you can save the truly top tier dive sites for when you have learned your basic diving skills.

2. Ecotourism in the Cardamom Mountains

If you’re looking for impressive landscapes and untouched wilderness, look no further than the southwest part of Cambodia.

This is the most mountainous region that has the most protected nature areas, including one of the last unfragmented rainforests in Asia.

If you want to see lots of tropical birds and other jungle creatures, I can highly recommend going to Chi Pat. Besides the wildlife, this rural area will also give you a wonderful authentic experience — perfect for local homestays or staying in jungle lodges.

Cambodia honestly doesn’t have the best record when it comes to nature conservation (mining and logging sadly get priority most of the time) but these parts are actually protected thanks to local activism — and spending tourism money here will help ensure they stay that way.

I had a fantastic experience visiting the village of Chi Pat inside the Cardamom Mountains. This village has a CBT (Community-Based Tourism) project, letting you go on various trekking and jungle boat tours, with the tourism funds benefiting the entire local community.

I stayed in the village, went by boat into the jungle, and trekked for 2 days with one night spent at a camp inside the wilderness, waking up in the morning to the distant whooops of gibbons somewhere in the treetops.

The atmosphere in Chi Pat was incredibly welcoming and friendly. It was inspiring to meet the forest rangers who once used to be poachers or loggers but are now proudly protecting the nature. While speaking with some of the guides, rangers, and cooks in this village, it really seemed like this project is making an amazing difference. You can read more about my visit to Chi Pat.

Besides Chi Pat there are other projects such as the Cardamom Tented Camp and the Wild KK Project, among others. There are many options that you can find if you research the Botum Sakor National Park and the Phnum Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary.

If you’re on a backpacker budget you may find that ecotourism tours or jungle stays may cost a bit more than just travelling in the cities, but this does help fund the nature conservation and local development, so it’s designed to be a win-win.

3. Relaxing & local trips in Kampot

Finally, I want to mention the small towns of Kampot and Kep. They’re often mentioned in the same breath, since they are just 20 minutes apart. They’re easily among my favorite places in Cambodia — places where you can unwind, kayak along the river, or rent a scooter and explore caves and other small sights in the area.

Kep is a sleepy seaside mini resort. You can expect some wonderful sea views and a small municipal beach. Better than the beach are the woods behind the town where you can hike around and see some cool abandoned French colonial villas from the 1960s (when Kep was a luxury beach resort).

They usually say Kampot is popular with a younger crowd and Kep is a bit more for travelling families or ‘flashpackers’ — i.e. backpacker-style travellers who stay in nicer accommodation. Prices are a bit higher in Kep than in Kampot.

By the way, don’t miss Kep’s famous crab market! It’s abuzz with sellers and filled with stacks of whicker baskets brimming with live crab.

Kampot is a riverside town with a lovely buzzing atmosphere. The downtown area is very lively, though there are also many quiet bungalows along the river.

There are numerous things to do around Kampot and Kep. The region is known for its pepper farms and salt fields, and it’s home to many fishing villages, mangrove forests, and caves. The region around Kampot is known to produce some of the best peppercorns, so it’s fun and educational to visit a pepper farm and see how it is produced.

If you are able to ride a scooter (small motorbike) you can have a lovely day out driving via rural roads to the pepper farms, hidden temples, waterfalls, and caves. Alternatively you can pay for a local tour to take you to these places.

Despite many changes in Cambodia including Chinese money flooding into certain areas, Kampot has kept its essential character and avoids the rough-around-the-edges feel of many other places in Cambodia. It’s a very charming town with lots of interesting scenery nearby, including the Bokor National Park.

How to get around in Cambodia

Getting from A to B in Cambodia is generally not so difficult, though as in any developing country the road conditions may not be perfect and sometimes there can be delays.

Many coach services operate especially between the cities of Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, and Battambang, letting you travel in relative comfort.

Other destinations are often serviced only by minivans. These minivans will definitely get you where you need to be, though they are often crammed with luggage and passengers.

On some routes, you’ll have to transfer between connecting minivans, which can be a bit annoying. (The 4000 Islands in Laos to Phnom Penh route is notorious for this.) The only solution is to be patient and to take estimated travel times with a pinch of salt. If you’re not a budget traveler then private taxi hire will let you get around this.

There are a couple of train lines in Cambodia. There are usually known for being very slow, infrequent, and not worth it. But new train lines are being constructed, so this may change in the future.

You can easily buy tickets for buses or minivans through local travel agencies that can be found in any tourist location, or via the reception of your hotel or hostel. The easiest way to book online is through the 12go Asia booking platform.

Going off the beaten track

If you’re in Cambodia for a few weeks, you can go beyond the typical highlights. Consider adding these places to your itinerary:

Kratie

This laidback town by the Mekong River makes for a nice stop especially on your way from Laos or Vietnam.

Its center features some crumbling French colonial buildings with arched verandas and a vibrant market area. Just across the water is the riverine island of Koh Trong, offering a lovely slice of rural Cambodia with cycling trails and floating villages.

Around Kratie you can visit many temples and basket weaver villages. The main attraction though are the rare Irrawaddy dolphins that live in the river about 20 km north. You’ll be sure to get some amazing Mekong Delta sunsets.

If you’re in Kratie, consider staying at Le Tonle. It’s a restaurant and guesthouse that doubles as a vocational training center for underprivileged Khmer. It has several cozy wood-paneled guestrooms and serves good food. The staff is also totally delightful. (Le Tonle had to close because of the pandemic but plans on reopening in January 2023.)

Cambodian Rural Discovery Tours is another social enterprise in Kratie. It offers dolphin encounters, homestays, trekking, and other experiences. All funds directly support local communities and conservation efforts.

Other Khmer temples

A new road has put several other temples within easy day-trip reach of Siem Reap. It’s about a 2-hour drive to the Beng Mealea temple and the Koh Ker temple, a 30m tall pyramid-like structure rising high above the surrounding jungle.

Even further afield is the Preah Vihear temple. It sits on top of a 525-meter cliff overlooking the border with Thailand.

Battambang

Cambodia’s second-biggest city often gets overlooked in favor of Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. However, it has a more authentic atmosphere; it’s quiet, cheaper, and less commercial. If you’re short on time, you can see Battambang with a tour departing from Siem Reap.

Don’t miss our guide to Battambang for more on this overlooked city.

Mondulkiri

I haven’t yet been but this northwestern province is often touted as a laidback and remote part of Cambodia with a lot of nature and waterfalls. It’s a bit out of the way from other sights, ensuring it will surely remain untouched by large-scale tourism development. This great blog offers tips for visiting this region.