The Cambodia Essentials
Getting there
We started our journey to Asia in Rome to take advantage of a great value Qatar Airways business class Rome - Doha - Bangkok deal I found. There are no direct flights to Cambodia from the UK but major Asian hubs such as Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore all have numerous flights so it’s pretty straightforward. We had a couple of nights in Bangkok and then flew Thai Airasia which was cheap, reliable and good and had a flight time to Siem Reap of only an hour. I booked everything independently which was incredibly easy.
Getting around
There are loads of flights within Cambodia so it’s simple to fly round key parts of the country by plane. I used a car company which I had found online called Cambodia by Private Driver for 3 separate legs They were great, we communicated by WhatsApp in the UK on fares etc and we had modern limousine minibuses and saw more of Cambodia than we would have otherwise done. In the cities we used Grab for taxis and tuk tuks which was useful and very cheap , particularly for airport transfers.
The only way to get to Koh Rong Island is by ferry from Sihanoukville. I booked an open speedboat return with GTVC ferries. It was the quickest way of getting there at just under an hour and cost US$ 30 return each.
Currency
You need to bring cash to Cambodia as well as cards. The official currency is the Riel which we used for tips, taxis and smaller payments. The preferred and widely used currency is US dollars, and hotels, restaurants and shops have all prices in dollars. Hotels and bars, restaurants in the main towns accept cards but the smaller food places are usually cash only. In Koh Rong it was pretty much a cash economy and even our hotel put a 3% charge on card payments
Costs
It’s very easy to go to Cambodia and not spend a lot. In Koh Rong we ate dinner in a local place and for 5 of us it cost $22, which wasn’t unusual. Siem Reap hotels were more expensive than Pnomh Peng hotels, which isn’t surprising but still very good value. As in all Asian countries beer is the de facto alcoholic drink at about $1 or $2 dollars and most main dishes in restaurants are under $10, often much less. We didn’t eat anywhere overly sophisticated but we had great food everywhere we went.
Climate
We arrived in early April and the weather throughout our trip was hot and humid. At times it was very hot and humid. We had a few showers in Koh Rong but nothing that stopped us doing anything and they didn’t last long. General advice seems to be thar between November and May is the best time to go.
Top Tips
Phamarcies are on every corner. We stocked up on antibiotics etc.
E sims are the way to go. I used airola for Asia and it was great.
