Sihanoukville City in Cambodia
About 232km from Phnom Penh Capital, Sihanoukville is known as the international, significant deep-sea port of Cambodia while the both fascinating Koh Rong & Koh Rong Samloem Islands have extracted hundreds of tourists around the world to see her beauty and the unspoiled surroundings. Sihanoukville is “A Small Country with a Big Heart” which reminds the event of 2,257 passengers and crews aboard The Westerdam Cruise Ship was approved to dock at the seaport of Sihanoukville on 13th February 2020 when Japan, Taiwan, Guam, Thailand and Philippines rejected the vessel dock due to the deadly Corona Virus. Today Sihanoukville is rapidly booming the growth of development by Chinese Investment, the modern skyscrapers, luxurious condominiums, high-end restaurants, colorful bars, cozy hotels, gambling casinos, entertainment resorts and vast changes have made Sihanoukville become the second largest modern city or may be called “China Town” in the coast of south Cambodia. However, Sihanoukville is still one of interesting tourist destinations in Cambodia for those who seek for beach break, snorkeling, island hopping, scuba-diving, fresh seafood, gambles, casinos and nightlife entertainment.
From low, mid to high ranged, accommodating at beautiful resorts, bungalows, lodges or standard hotels at the mainland is a basic relaxing experience while Koh Rong Samloem Island, Koh Rong Island, Koh Russei, Koh Ta Kiev provide ideals for a better beach experience or even make an exclusive beach holiday at the private island “Koh Song Saa” to capture the true sense of tranquility, nature discovery, swimming and relaxing.
The city orientation, a day trip of city highlights, islands boat discovery and a sunset boat cruise are optional touring activities which also give beyond to see the local culture, encounters and photography opportunity rather than just relaxing at the seaside. On the mainland, Ochheuteal, Otres and Independence beaches provide variety of beach breaks and seaside activities which overlooking the modern buildings and islands or grab an evening sunset boat party while Sokha beach has private beach, seaside and day tour activities for her own in-house customers.
Does Sihanoukville still a place for beach escapes?
The answer is Yes, there are a lot of natural places and beach islands that you may not know for beach break, underwater and natural places to be explored especially the beauty of Koh Rong, Koh Rong Samloem and Song Saa Islands, and other small beautiful islands. At the time you’re staying on one of those islands, underwater tour activities and kayak boat trips can be arranged by a local travel agency and by your hotel.
How to get to Sihanoukville?
By private taxi, public VIP mini-van and buses approximately take 3 ½ – 4 hours from Phnom Penh Capital via National Road 4 while it takes around 2½ hours via the Expressway (National Road 3) which is still under construction and is estimated to be completed in 2023. The border crossing between Prek Chak International Border and Ha Tien (Vietnam) is also accessible along with 3 hours drive to Sihanoukville.
Domestic flights from Phnom Penh (40 minutes) and Siem Reap (1 hour) to Sihanouville are available daily. There are some direct flights which are seasonally scheduled several times from Kuala Lumpur (1:50), Bangkok (1:10), Chengdu (3:25) and Zhengzhou (4:5) to Sihanoukville every month.
By air conditioning train, sitting back and enjoying the city & countryside views from outside the windows, Royal Railway offers 3 times per week which schedules at 7.00am on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and takes about 7 hours along with 2 stops for short break in Takeo and Kampot before reaching Sihanoukville City.
How to get to Sihanoukville’s Islands & Koh Rong?
Public speed ferries and tickets can be booked through local travel agencies when you arrive in the town but to get free hassle, you should make a reservation in advance to avoid full booking which ruins your travel plan. There are a few speed ferry operators run daily speed ferries to those islands with different departure times (45 minutes to 1 hour) in the morning, at noon and in the late afternoon depends on which island you travel to. Be aware that your booked speed ferry ticket is round trip and you have to inform your speed ferry operator one day in advance about which return departure you decided to take. To do this, you can certainly ask for a favor from your hotel’s receptionist. If you’re staying at Russei or Song Saa Private Islands, the hotels will provide their customers a round trip of their own charter speed boat.
When is the best time to visit Sihanoukville?
In tropical monsoon, Sihanoukville and its beautiful islands warmly welcome tourists all year round but the perfect season is from November to February when climate is sunny, warm and cold. The sea level and the beauty of the seaside will vary from March to October, the lack of sea water in the hot season makes beaches a bit dry up overlooking bare trees while the raining season from July to middle October may cause the flood to those islands and frequently re-schedule boat departures if the weather is bad and has big waves but it’s entirely okay for those who stay at the mainland.
Christmas, New Year Eve, Cambodian Water Festival and Songkran New Year are the hassle periods or Peak Season, most of services and accommodations are pre-booked up quickly. This warns you that you have to book most of services at least two month ahead if you plan to spend your summer vacations during those times and you should note that all prices will also increase between 20-30% on top of regular prices of the high season. Unfortunately, train, bus and speed boat tickets are not available for reservation in advance for a longer time.
Climate degree varies from different periods:
– Hot Season 27-36°C – March to May
– Rainy Season 24-35°C – June to October
– Cool Season 20-29°C – November to February
