The little village beach town that could! We loved this place and will also be a special memory for us and one of our highlights of Cambodia. No matter when you visit, I’m sure it will be changed from the time we were their as tourism is hitting these Island’s hard. No shoes are required in this small village with sand instead of roads and only stretches less than 1 km long. All the main amenities are on the main road. There are only a handful of guesthouses and bungalow hotels, with around a dozen restaurants and surrounded by a spectacular beach. Here many described M’pay Bei as what Thailand was 20 years ago. This spot is a local village that has a recent introduction to tourism, but still has a lot of village charm.

While you are here, we have a couple restaurant recommendations. Reserve your spot for the vegetarian and seafood buffet at The Fishing Hook. This Restaurant has delicious food and a good cause. At the end of the night, any of the buffet that is leftover goes to feed people in the community who are hungry so no food is wasted. Next, make sure to visit the Blue Quay for some delicious Turkish food cooked by wood fire. This was our first time trying a Gozleme, and it was a delicious treat. The portions are quite large so don’t make the mistake we did and order an entree each, you will have so many leftovers!

Top 8 Things to do in M’pay Bay:

1. Snorkeling.

In M’pay Bay there are lots of places to snorkel right off the beach. You can rent a snorkel mask from many small shops on the side of the road for $1.50 and go for a swim. There are 2 popular spots. One is right by the main ferry dock and around the corner by Sunset Bungalows. The other is past the village on the large beach, one of your first mini beaches on the left, you will see all the shallow rocks and coral close to shore. If you are an ambitious swimmer, the Island about 50 meters away is supposed to be great snorkeling.

2. Snorkeling, Fishing & Sunset Tour.

A wonderful half day activity, sign up for a tour where you can go to 2 snorkeling spots and then do some fishing while enjoying the sunset. Most tours also offer a BBQ afterwards so you can enjoy your fishing spoils. At Yellow Moon, they offer a $5 snorkeling tour with $2 BBQ and we found this to be great value.

3. Diving.

There are 2 diving companies in town, Big Moon Diving and Cambodian Diving Group to dive in one of the 9 popular dive spots on the Island. Diving from M’pay Bay is no diving boat required, you simply walk off the beach.

4. Walk to Clear Water Beach.

An approximate hour trek through the jungle and along the beach, sometimes through water at high tide. This beach is spectacular and worth the visit! Read more about this beach below.

5. Try a “happy desert”.

Hey we told you Koh Rong Samloem was for hippies, here it’s very open that you can get weed infused brownies or desert, often for only $2.

6. Relax at the Beach.

Enjoy an afternoon relaxing on the quiet M’pay Beach. Untouched by restaurants, bars or resorts, bring a towel and grab your slice of beach underneath the trees on the shore to enjoy a relaxing day on a spectacular beach.

7. Watch the Sunset.

Dragonfly Guesthouse and Sunset Bungalows both offer a wonderful spot to perch and enjoy a breathtaking Cambodian sunset. At Sunset Bungalows find yourself in the round hut or let loose in a hammock nestled in some trees. At Dragonfly Guesthouse you there is a platform overlooking the ocean towards Koh Rong or climb down onto the rocks to be closer to nature.

8. Swim with the Plankton.

At night after all the sun sets and the sky is dark and the lights from the local businesses are turned off it’s time to put your bathing suit back on and go for a swim with the bio-luminescent Plankton. At first the waters will look dark and like nothing exciting until you get in there and start moving around, activating the bio-luminescent Plankton, it’s quite a magical experience!