Cambodia is a country that has a little bit of everything for every type of traveller: unspoilt beaches and islands, ancient temples, the legendary Angkor Wat and a culture that is eager to be discovered. Discover this South-East Asian country and all its secrets with a 7 days itinerary in the most beautiful places of the country.

Best time for travelling to Cambodia

Cambodia has a monsoon climate that creates 2 seasons around the year. The wet season with heavy rain, humidity and strong winds is between May and October when the country is usually greener, with more mosquitoes and the farmers are using this period for the crops. The dry season, between November to April, is the best time to travel to Cambodia, with temperatures between 25 to 35 degrees C you can visit the temples without the humidity and mosquitoes. Because we went in November it was still hot at around 32-33 degrees C, we still got the green scenery, mosquitoes and humidity, but it was bearable.

Transport in Cambodia

Related to transport around the country you have a couple of options:

Flights between the main cities, we took a 60 minutes flight from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville and paid around 40$ per person in order to avoid the bus ride that although was almost half of the price, it takes approximately 12 hours;
Cambodia doesn’t have public transport in any cities except for a few new routes in the capital Phnom Penh;

For travelling in the cities, the most convenient ways are using tuk-tuks (for 15-20$ you can have a 4-person tuk-tuk for a whole day including the driver);

Buses and minibuses usually run between different cities or villages, and you can find a big range from small to big buses, and from old and unsafe to new and comfortable.
The best connections and routes are in, and between the big cities such as Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, most of the roads outside the city are not even illuminated.

Accommodation in Cambodia

The standards for the accommodation across the country are a little bit different, and a 3 stars hotel in one city can be comfortable and clean, while in another city can be easily compared to the 1-star hotels. My go-to website when booking accommodation is Booking.com because they helped me every time, I had a problem, and I know I am always safe with them.

We chose some of the best hotels that we found on the website, but we excluded the ultra-expensive ones. In Siem Reap, we stayed at Hima Boutique, a 4 stars boutique that can be easily compared to the 2-3 stars in Europe. The hotel was all made of wood, and you could see that it was old, and it needed refurbishing but was ok overall. Compared to this one, the hotel from Phnom Penh, the King Grand Boutique Hotel, that is a 4 stars boutique looked very luxurious, clean and with outstanding customer service. Also, the standard of the rooms was very different, in the second one everything looked new and in good shape. The food was even better in the second hotel, and the breakfast was absolutely amazing.

Compared to the ones above, in Koh Rong, we stayed in 4 stars Scarlet Sails Resort, and we were very disappointed. Although I heard that the bungalows are a little cleaner, we stayed in the main building, and it was extremely dirty, with a barely working bathroom and mould on the walls. We chose this area because we wanted to stay in a quiet area and the beach was amazing, but the hotel disappointing, the food they had was not too good and the staff not really helpful. Considering that they didn’t have too many rooms occupied we think they should have done better.

The conclusion about the accommodation in Cambodia is that it depends on which city you are in, but if you are a little pretentious and looking for comfort like me, go for the best hotels and the best ratings and reviews.

Food and drinks in Cambodia

Cambodian or Khmer food has a lot of influences from different Asian countries but also French influences. My not so favourite flavours of lemongrass and coriander are used not only in Vietnam, but also Cambodia, and most of the restaurants don’t have decent English-speaking employees to ask for them to be removed from the dishes. The most typical drinks in the area are the green tea and fruit juices and shakes, but also their national beer called Angkor. Some things you have to try when you are there are:

Khmer noodles – that are rice noodles and sometimes they are short and look a little funny as the ones in the photo, but you can order them in different recipes with fish or meat, curries or just vegetables;
Amok – the most traditional Cambodian dish, traditionally made from fish or snails but nowadays variations of different meats can be found in restaurants. Although it’s a standard meal in more Asian countries, the original Khmer Amok has slok ngor, that is a local herb;
Curries – depending on the personal preferences, Cambodia has a wide range of curries to choose from, for every taste;
Red tree ants with beef – depending on the curiosity of each one of you, the Khmer cuisine had a variety of insects in the menu, but perhaps the most popular one for adventurous tourists are the red tree ants;

Rice, noodles, fish and mango – may seem like an odd combination but you can find any of these 4 ingredients in any restaurant, most of the time mixed together;
Other curiosities that you can find on the streets include scorpions, crabs, frogs, tarantulas and other insects;
Balut – one of weirdest things in the world, also popular in other countries such as the Philipines, the balut is actually a fertilised egg of a duck, considered nutritious and rich in protein (if you can pass over the fact that you can see the little duck and feel its beak);

Beer – cheap beer can be found all across the country, and some of the most famous beers are Angkor, ABC, Black Panther and Cambodia Lager;
Iced coffee – usually mixed with condensed milk or coconut for the sweet taste, and can be found anywhere from markets to restaurants;
Tropical juices and coconut juice for the hot days;
Rice wine – a popular drink with 18-25% alcohol, fermented and distilled from rice;

What to pack for Cambodia

For a 2 weeks holiday, I had a cabin trolley and backpack where I fit everything I needed. I can say I am not a fan of the big mountain backpacks, especially in the hot weather, but my friends came with 2 big backpacks, and they were fine. Some of my recommendations on what to take with you would be:

Summery clothes, easy to wash and dry, comfortable and breathable;
Walking shoes, whatever you feel most comfortable, no matter if they are sandals or snickers;
Slippers for the hotels;
Any type of hats, glasses, scarves or other things to protect you from the sun;
Pills: for pain, for the stomach, for allergies and anything else you need on day by day basis. Also, consult your doctor for some antibiotics or other pills specific to the area that you are going to;
Technology: only take what you really need and avoid leaving expensive things in the hotels. We read a lot of scary stories about stealing from hotels, even from the vaults, but happily, nothing happened. If you want to be extra careful leave everything important at the reception. I had with me my camera, external battery, chargers, phone, selfie stick and other cables;
Fanny pack or any other small bag to protect your phone, documents and anything else of value, plus it is very comfortable to wear compared to other bags;
I read that I should take with me anti-repellent and sunscreen, but except for the face sunscreen I preferred to buy everything from there because they are different and stronger than the ones from Europe. The best mosquito repellent from our experience are the ones with DEET inside, but because my skin couldn’t support the DEET substance, I had to buy a natural one and use a lot of it. Some other tricks that we learnt there is that lemongrass is the best natural repellent to keep in the room;
Guides, maps and books, if you are the type who likes to read. I had my Kindle, and it was enough for me;
Noise-cancelling headphones for the flight. They are a must!
Adaptors depending on the country that you came from. Most of the hotels that we stayed in had both the classic type C plug but also the English Type G.

Resources and guides

If you are travelling from Europe as we did, you will definitely need a visa at the entrance to the country and the best way to do it, without wasting more time in the airport, is by doing it online and printing it. For more information about the application process for every country, we applied through this website: https://www.evisa.gov.kh ;
The official language spoken in Cambodia is Khmer, but just like Vietnam, a lot of people speak at least a basic English so you can understand each other;
The currency of the country is Riel, but they also use US dollars, so you don’t have to change your money in riels. It is easier and more convenient to pay in dollars everywhere, but in case they have to give you change under 1$, or if they are out of dollars, they will give you riels;
The main religion in the country is Theravada Buddhism with 97% of people;
You will need an unlocked phone in order to buy a sim card for internet, for GPS and to search for different cultural stories when you don’t find explanations or anybody speaking English. Also, for ordering a taxi without the locals inflating the prices;
Just like Vietnam, you need a Cambodian sim card with a number in order to use the Grab app for taxis, and most of the taxis in Cambodia are tuck tucks. For a 7gd sim card you will pay 10$ and for a 5gb sim card 5$;
Travel Insurance is another must for a trip like this in case your holiday gets cancelled, you lose your baggage, or you get sick and have to go to a hospital in a different country.

Personal impressions about Cambodia

Some of the things that we learnt from our trip:

Don’t drink water from anywhere unless it is bottled and purified.
Shop for 1$ t-shirts and don’t fall in the trap of paying “tourist” prices for clothes and souvenirs.
Some of the people such as tuck-tuck drivers and market sellers didn’t know too much English, so they were just telling us: Hello, tuck-tuck?, Hello, coconut? etc.
There is a big culture for shopping and fake brands, and you can buy extremely cheap, high-quality materials if you know how to recognise them.
The hot weather and the humidity in the air were one of the things that I disliked the most, although the views were amazing. I wish I could have walked more.
Huge numbers of mosquitoes and insects everywhere, especially when the humidity was very high.
It was a once in a lifetime experience worth having, and we discovered another beautiful corner of the planet!

Itinerary for 6 days in Cambodia

1 day was lost on flights and buses – it is a 7 days itinerary, but we lost one day on flights and coaches, and I want to include this in the itinerary because I don’t want people to think they can do everything on the list in only 6 days.

2 days in Phnom Penh (because I was sick, I spent most of the time in the hotel or around it, but this was my list with thing I plan to see around the city). Because we stayed at the King Grand Boutique Hotel, just near the Royal Palace that was supposed to be our first stop. The next stop would have been The National Museum, then the Wat Phnom, followed by some shopping at the Central Market. The end of the day was planned to take the dinner on a Mekong cruise and head back to the hotel. On the second day we wanted to see the Killing Fields, the Russian Markets, try some local food and finish buying the souvenirs for heading back home in the night.

Must see in 2 days in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Siem Reap is known everywhere in the world mostly for the big number of temples in the area and the most famous, the Angkor Wat temple.

We arrived on a late afternoon in Siem Reap, and the scenery changed dramatically from Vietnam, starting with the humidity in the air, the massive number of mosquitoes, the tuk-tuks, the small lizards roaming everywhere and the general idea of a third world country. Although we arrived late in the afternoon, the air was still hard to breathe, and it didn't change not even in the night. It was a matter of adjusting our bodies to the climate, and it was a pretty hard thing to do.

We rented a tuk-tuk with a driver for 2 days because the places that we wanted to see were outside of the city and the area that we had the accommodation.

DAY 1

We liked a lot our driver, so we asked for recommendations about what to do and where to go on the day, so he recommended the Kampong Phluk floating village. The tuk-tuk took us to the entrance of the floating village, the drive lasted for around an hour and a half, where we took a boat and went on a ride throw the village, admiring people working and their living conditions that included working on wood, fishing and raising children. The ride on the small river ends in the Tonle Sap Lake, the most important lake in the country providing most of the country's food supply, so the people in the villages are fishing and distributing fish around the country. The houses are built from wood on stilts up to 10 m high. In the rainy season, the boat can take you straight to the door, whilst in the dry season, they use staircases to get to the top of the house where they live. We visited between the seasons, so the water was almost in the middle of the way. It was definitely one of the most interesting things to see how they live in the floating villages, and I admire how much they work, even the little ones were helping with the fish, doing chores around the houses and even rowing boats so their parents can fish.

After an impressive visit of the floating village, we returned back to the city, and the first thing we did when returning was to go buy tickets for Angkor Wat because they can only be purchased at the official ticket centre. Other tickets bought from hotels, tour companies or other third parties are not available. The ticket will have the date and a photo of you on it, and you can choose between 1-day pass (37$), 3-day pass (62$), 7-day pass (72$). Because we only had one day to explore, we got the first ticket, but the 3-day pass is very popular for people who spend more time in the city, want to see the sunrise/sunset at different temples or want to explore everything in detail. We returned back to the hotel to change and leave the tuk-tuk and went exploring the area around us in the afternoon.

We stopped first to try some authentic Khmer food at the Golden Pumpkin restaurant that was highly recommended online, but also full of customers. The food was absolutely delicious, we tried the stir-fried Khmer short rice and noodles with chicken, and we loved the food, so we returned the second day.

After some lovely food, we went for a stroll in the night market, visited all the shops in the area, bought souvenirs, then went to the pub street, admired the locals and tourists having fun and stopped for some beer and billiard in a rooftop bar.

DAY 2

The second day we started early with breakfast at the hotel and left to see the beautiful temples in the Angkor area. Because we only had one day to explore, we got the 1-day pass, we hired a tuk-tuk to stay with us for the whole day and take us to each temple, so we got to see the most important temples during our visit, such as:

Angkor Wat – of course, we started with the most famous temple in the area, that was the capital of the Khmer Empire and a megacity supporting more than 0,1% of the global population;
Angkor Thom – including Bayon and Baphuon temples, was one of my favourite temples to discover related to the way it was built and the stunning views around it. Amazingly decorated, the temple was the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Javayarman VII. After visiting the two stunning temples, we walked through the 1000-foot Elephant terrace and stopped for some food in a place with terraces and shops;
Ta Prohm – also called the "Tomb Raider Temple", it is well known for the root system of the trees that cover some of the ruins of the temple, and it seems like it was swallowed by the forest;
Ta Keo – the temple-mountain has the biggest steps to climb and the best views from the top of the temple;
Phnom Bakheng – to avoid the overcrowding from the Angkor Wat temple at sunset, our driver took us to Bakheng Mountain where you have to climb a 60-meter hill, but the best part is they limit the number of visitors to 300 so you have to be there early to catch a spot. The view is stunning because it is on a hill and you can see some of the temples from the top, including Angkor Wat.

The visit was highly educational, something that I would recommend everyone to do once in a lifetime. The day was really hot with around 40 degrees and no wind, so be aware what clothes you wear because in order to get into the temples you have to wear something to cover your knees and shoulders, hydrate and protect your skin against the sun, wear something on your head, use insect repellent and even be prepared for rain, because Cambodia is a tropical monsoon country. Also, because it is an area outside of the city, there is a big number of animals such as reptiles, snakes, monkeys and other small animals around the temples.

After the sunset, we returned to the hotel area, went back to the Golden Pumpkin for some excellent food and spent the night talking and enjoying our friends' company because the next day they went back to Vietnam and we had a flight to the South of Cambodia.

Koh Rong, Cambodia - 2 days of relaxation

Koh Rong is growing very fast, and it is one of the most beautiful islands in the world, mostly because it is not as touristic as the island in Thailand, for example, but starting from 2019, more and more businesses began to build around the area, and it is slowly becoming a hot spot for tourists. Even some famous shows such as the Survivor was filmed on the island, so I strongly recommend visiting it now before it becomes very touristic. The most crowded part of the island is definitely Koh Touch, but you can still enjoy quiet, less busy beaches such as Long Set Beach, Lonely Beach and Palm Beach.

Our holiday is slowly coming to an end, so we decided to put on our itinerary 2 days of relaxation, beaches and stunning weather. We left Siem Reap on the morning for a flight to Sihanoukville, from the airport we took a taxi to the ferry and a ferry to finally arrive on the Koh Rong island around 3-4 in the afternoon. Leaving the humid and torrid Siem Reap, we were happy that we arrived on one of the most stunning beaches that I ever saw in my life, the temperature was perfect, the air was breathable, and I was ready for a swim. We chose accommodation on one of the quiet areas of the island, on the Long Set Beach. The accommodation, although it was advertised as a luxurious resort, the rooms were dirty, and insects were roaming around the stairs and around the doors, at least in the main building of the resort, I can’t talk about the bungalows because I didn’t see them, but I would definitely not recommend it. Luckily, we only stayed for 2 nights, so it was bearable. The resort has a small pool and a couple of sunbeds, but I don’t think they are enough when it is the high season. We went on a very quiet period, so we had everything for ourselves and the empty beach was absolutely a dream.

SOME OF THE THINGS I RECOMMEND DOING ON THE ISLAND:

First of all, relax! After travelling for around 2 weeks in a very alert mode, we enjoyed the most, just lying on the beach, listening to the waves, having a drink and because the area was almost empty, I enjoyed the quietude that it is impossible to hear in a city combined with sounds of nature. For me, it was one of the most relaxing things in my life.
Sunbathe! Enjoy as much as you can to lay in the sun, getting that perfect tan at the beginning of the winter, combined with dips in the perfect blue water of the Gulf of Thailand.
Walk around the island, barefoot! We walked around the island as much we could go on the sand without having to go through the jungle, discovering hostels, resort, kayaks, palm trees, hammocks and even played with dogs on the beach.
Have dinner on the beach! Breakfast, lunch, dinner or all of them are best served on a table on the beach with a cold glass of wine and your legs in the sand.
Spend your whole day in a bathing suit! Whatever you do on an island you can spend your entire day in a bathing suit or a beachy dress.
See the glowing plankton! Koh Rong is well known for its bioluminescent plankton, but you will have to be in a tranquil part of the island because you can’t really see it with all the lights. You can take one of the boat tours that they organise in the night for the best way of seeing it.
Boat tours! Are great for visiting more parts of the island because the island is not accessible by car, so if you spend more days on the island it is worth visiting the area.
Water activities! Most parts of the island offer activities such as diving, kayaking, paddle boarding, snorkelling, boat tours, windsurfing and jet skiing.
Jungle activities! If you want to leave the beach for a day, you can head out to the jungle and do mountain biking, jungle trekking, climbing, rope walking and even zip line through the jungle.
Party! Most of the bars and pubs are in the touristic area of Koh Touch, but you can join them for a night out and have some fun.
Visit Koh Rong Samloem! The island is only 20 minutes ferry ride from the island, it is less touristic than the Koh Rong island, and it is worldwide recognised for its white beaches and blue waters.

SOME THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE GOING THERE:

The Wi-Fi is not going to properly work, but you don’t need it on a beautiful island like that, perfect for disconnecting from the world;
We couldn’t find any ATM in our area so take all the cash that you will need for the days you are staying;
Bring insect repellent because the island is full of sand-flies and you don’t want to be covered in bites like some people that we saw around the island;
Bring sunscreen because you will spend a lot of time in the sun and the sun is powerful, I noticed it on my own skin. I don’t usually get tanned unless I spend a couple of weeks on the beach, but I got tanned in 2 days on the island;
The ferries are actually speed boats so be aware if you are seasick that it will take around 30 minutes to get to the island. On our return we had the surprise of a storm in the sea, and it was the worst experience of my life. The boat was jumping over the waves hurting our backs, and I got extremely sick on arrival;
The rainy season is between May to November, so it is better to avoid this period if you want the sun. We arrived on the island at the end of November, and we had perfect weather on the day, but in the night, it was raining heavily with thunder and lightning;
Be careful where you eat and where you swim because a lot of people get sick on the island, including me. Although I am not sure what happened exactly, I spent my next 2 days in a hotel, sick.

After these lovely two days on the beach, we headed back to Sihanoukville and took a long bus ride to the capital of the country, Phnom Penh, to spend the next two days in a hotel, because I got so sick that I was not able to get out and visit. The hotel that we stayed in was the best that we had on this trip so I couldn’t be happier to stay inside. We headed back to London after these days, a little sad that we couldn’t visit the last city, but happy with the overall experience of this holiday.

Cambodia - 7 days itinerary