Cambodia, one of the poorest and at the same time the most interesting places a traveler can reach, still remains one of the most undiscovered. Today we’d like to share some essential Cambodia travel tips to help you explore this amazing country.

Why Cambodia?

Even though this country is known as “the third world” state, it has much more to offer than just volunteering opportunities and charity missions. It is a country of rich history and unbelievably beautiful beaches, a home to Khmer civilisation and unique culture. This post will give you some essential Cambodia travel advice to make your visit as enjoyable as possible.

Angkor UNESCO World Heritage Site is definitely a highlight of every trip to Cambodia

What to see?

Angkor Wat. A complex of temples, located not far from the Cambodian town Siam Reap, is one of the oldest and most fascinating UNESCO World Heritage sites. The Angkorian period began in AD 802 and lasted until the late 14th century, when Ayutthaya conquered Khmer territories. Interestingly enough, these ruins were never used for living or praying in them, but were rather considered to be home for gods, accessible only for priests. The great-grandchildren of the architects and constructors believed that the temples were erected by gods. To get there, you need to take a bike ($5 per day) or a tuk-tuk (around $15 per day), since the territory of the site is too big to walk around.

Koh Rong. This beautiful island is famous for its Lonely beach, one of the most serene and secluded resorts in Cambodia. It has everything one expects from a perfect beach: clean water, white sand, old palm trees and, of course, unbelievable sunsets. The closest town on the mainland, from which you can get there by boat, is Sihanoukville. A round trip costs $20.

Kampot. A lovely riverside town in Southern Cambodia. Kampot is the base for trips up the Dâmrei and Bokor Mountains. There are also numerous possibilities to enjoy boating and rafting on the river. You can visit the Kompong Trach caves with their amazing ancient ruins – pure joy!

The Killing Fields. These are the remainders of the Cambodia’s tragic past. The Killing Fields are a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the communist Khmer Rouge regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the Cambodian Civil War (1970–1975). Usually these sites are deserted places with pagodas, filled with sculls, in the middle. Together with the ticket you get audio-guide, and it’s really worth listening to it, since in such a way you can get a lot of important travel information & learn a lot about this country’s history.

How to get to Cambodia?

By plane. Cambodia has two airports at Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. The airlines which are worth checking before booking a flight are Air Asia, Tiger Airways , Jetstar Asia, Asiana Airlines, Bangkok Airways , China Southern Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

By bus. Our option! We took a bus from Bangkok to Poipet (300 Baht = $9.3), then crossed the border on feet. After that we took a free bus to taxi station and shared a taxi with fellow travelers to Siam Reap (for $5 per person).

Tuk-tuks. While moving around the country, there is a high chance that you will use their services. In Siam Reap you can book a tuk-tuk online (surprise!). We hired this driver and were very happy to travel with him. Otherwise, remember that 1 km shouldn’t cost more than $0.30.

How to get a visa?

A tourist visa costs $30 and is available to buy at the border. In addition to it you have to pay 100 Baht bribe to the custom officers if you don’t want to get into trouble. Some people claim they succeeded to avoid paying bribes, but we don’t know how they did it, ‘cause in our case the officers were tough guys. This visa is valid for 30 days.

You can also buy visa online, but it costs $27 ($7 processing fee) and we don’t think you should really do that. E-visas are only valid for entry by air or at the three border main land crossings: Bavet; Koh Kong; and Poipet.

Cheap Cambodia accommodation

Cambodia is a country where the word “hotel” means everything, from luxury resorts to really dirty guest houses. We stayed in “hotels” for $6 per night for double room and were completely satisfied. The only problem is that you always have to share your room with cockroaches. Even if you don’t see them, they are there. Believe us, they are!

Here are some of the best Siem Reap accommodation we can vouch for:

Our cheap Siem Reap hotel of choice

Blossoming Romduol Lodge

This 2-star hotel (or, rather, guest house) is a top choice for budget travellers with mixed dorms starting at only $8/night. Superior twin room with a fan costs a ridiculous price of $15. The amenities include free wi-fi & free shuttle service.

Book (from only $8/night)

Our mid-range Siem Reap hotel of choice

Bopha Pollen hotel

This 3-star hotel is considered by many the most affordable and high-quality place to stay in Siem Reap. It has free airport pickup, free shuttle service, free wi-fi, and more. The rooms are spacious, the location is great – what’s not to love!

Book (from only $35/night)

Our luxury Siem Reap hotel of choice

Memoire d’Angkor Boutique Hotel

This 4-star hotel has beautiful zen-style rooms, an outdoor pool, free airport transportation, free reliable wi-fi, and more. If you are after more luxurious experience you should definitely consider this place.

Book (from only $85/night)

What food to eat in Cambodia?

There are two cheap and relatively clean options in Cambodia: guesthouse restaurants (we like them, since they serve European food) and street food stalls (good choice of Asian food).

We never spent more than $3 per meal.

We also found Swensen’s ice cream café (ice cream, om-nom-nom) in Siam Reap and left there money we would otherwise spend for a month of travels.

We enjoyed typical Asian noodles and rice almost everywhere, so it’s pretty hard to claim that there is a big difference from Thai cuisine. Our ration consisted of:

rotee (Asian pancakes with different fillings)

(Asian pancakes with different fillings) fried chicken rice

fruit shakes

Beware! Cambodian scams!

Cambodia is a country of fantastic scams and you have to know them to avoid problems.

“You must get a visa before leaving Thailand”. It’s a typical scam, the aim of which is to force you to buy visa from private companies. Usually their prices are much higher than the real ones. Don’t buy visa until you see Cambodian border officers.

“Buy food for orphans”. It’s true that there are many orphans in Cambodia, but those orphanages, where tourists are taken to, are just houses packed with kids, hired to act as if they live there. All these children have parents. Moreover, markets were you are recommended to buy food (rice, for example) have extremely high “tourist-oriented” prices. The donated food is usually sold back to the markets and money is taken by scammers.

“Take a bracelet, it’s free”. A random bracelet or other similar object is given to you by a street seller as a gift, but as soon as you take it, this person start following you wherever you go, asking to buy something from his/ her shop.

“There is a huge festival nearby”. A man comes to you, claiming that there is a huge festival going on nearby and that he can walk with you there to show (without asking for money). Then while walking he starts saying that the festival will finish soon. He offers to take a tuk-tuk (the driver of which he knows, obviously) to get to the destination quicker. A tuk-tuk driver takes you somewhere and then start demanding enormous amount of money for his services.

“Come visit the home of a local family”. A complete stranger involves you in a friendly conversation and after that invites you to visit his home to see how the locals live. As soon as you enter the house they take all your cash.

Other Cambodia travel tips

Children work as adults in Cambodia. That is why you should treat and respect them as adults no matter what.

There are lots of charity events, organized by foreigners to support local hospitals and orphanages. We recommend visiting one of them.

Riel, local currency, is usually not used. Instead you should pay with American dollars.

The best way to bargain is to show that you are not interested in buying anything.

Clothes in Cambodia are very cheap. Shopping time!

We hope these travel post will help you plan your Cambodia trip. Let us know if you have any questions in comments below or mail us at crazzzytravel@gmail.com

Have you been to Cambodia? What was it like?

Do you want to visit it? A true backpacker’s paradise! Tell us about it / ask us anything!