The country of Angkor Wat and paradise islands, Cambodia should be on the route of everyone visiting Southeast Asia. It’s not yet too touristy, but you can tell that it’s just about to boom in the coming years, so you should visit it as soon as possible! It’s a great destination for all kind of travellers, from backpackers to families. The main points of interest are located around the country making a circle, so it’s easy and time effective to visit all in around two weeks.
Cambodia itinerary for two weeks
Phnom Penh – 3 days
The capital of Cambodia has a lot of history. Visiting some of the museums will help you understand the tough past that the older generation of the country has suffered. We recommend watching the movie “The killing fields” before arriving. Some of the sites you must see in Phnom Penh are the S21 prison and the killing fields. Both are quite tough, so going to both on one day may be a bit too much.
There’re other sites to visit such as the temple Wat Ounalom and the Royal Palace. It’s also nice to walk along the riverside and go to the night market for some shopping and street food.
From Phnom Penh you can take a bus to almost everywhere in the country. We recommend following the itinerary going South.
We recommend:
- Accommodation: Sokha Phnom Penh, If you feel like treating yourself and swimming in the biggest pool of Phnom Penh.
- Restaurant: Sokha Phnom Penh Tonle Sap restaurant on the rooftop has the best views. Every Friday there’s a buffet dinner!
Path by the killing fields
Kampot & Bokor mountain -3 days
Kampot is a little town that attracts lots of tourists and locals. For those trying to escape from the busy cities, it is the perfect place for a weekend getaway. To be honest, we were not impressed about the town itself, and the roads to get there were in terrible condition. However, if you come to Kampot and have enough time, we would really recommend going to the Bokor mountain. There’s so much to do around it and it’s just 30 minutes ride from Kampot. You can go hiking, camping by the lake, visit abandoned French colonial buildings…. It’s really cool! We did a series of blogs where we tell you about all the activities, we did there, go read it here!
Many people also use Kampot as a stopover between Phnom Penh and the islands Ko Rong and Ko Rong Sanloem. From Kampot you can book a bus + ferry ticket that will take you to Sihanoukville, and from there by boat to the islands.
We recommend
- Accomodation: The playground, hosted by a german-australian couple and their sweet little daughter. They have rooms as well as tents and a great garden and roof top terrace to chill and have some homemade dish.
Koh Rong & Ko Rong Sanloem – 5 days
Arriving in the islands may not be too simple. The ferry terminal had no signs at all and there many companies offering different boats and ferry rides. But don’t worry, there’s always someone to point out your way. Just make sure you keep your ticket always visible!
When you arrive in the islands, either Ko Rong or Ko Rong Sanloem, the boat will dock at the pier and you will walk a few meters and find yourself directly at the beach. There’re no such things as ferry terminal, or even streets here! All accommodations are standing on the beach, and there will be people from the hostels waiting for the new travellers to take them by boat.
In these islands you will find paradisiac beaches of white sand and clear water all around. Our favourite was the lazy beach in Koh Rong Sanloem. It takes 30 minutes walking across the island to get to this empty quiet beach. But hey, keep the secret! We don’t want to many people to know about it ?
From any of the islands you can go by ferry back to Sihanoukville and from there take a day or night bus to Siem Reap. We don’t recommend staying in Sihanoukville unless you really need to. It’s just a booming town with dozens of casinos under construction and populated mainly by Chinese people. Nothing to see here really.
We recommend
- Accommodation: The big easy hostel. We didn’t stay there as it was fully booked, but we had lunch a few times and it was lovely
Siem Reap – 3 days
It’s the favourite town for most travellers and home to Angkor Wat. A small but very lively town, perfect to walk around during the day and go out at night. The “Pub street” is always busy and also hosts the night market daily. But what you really want to do when you are in Siem Reap is visit Angkor Wat. Entrance tickets start at 37€, so many budget travellers consider skipping it. We did as well, but we are glad we invested the money in going to this massive complex of temples. To make the best out of your money, we wrote a guide with many tips to visit Angkor Wat, read it here.
We recommend
- Accomodation: Sunvy Angkor, nice little hotel with spacious rooms and most importantly, with a pool
We hope you enjoy this beautiful country! And if you are travelling to or from Laos, read this article about the corruption on the border point and how to get around it!
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