Koh Rong Island, Cambodia (Travel Guide)

While Thailand is world-famous for its beautiful islands and beaches, Cambodia, it’s neighbor to the east, is often overlooked. Cambodia may be known for its ancient temples in Siem Reap, but the “Kingdom of Wonder” has its own slice of still mostly untouched paradise: Koh Rong Island.

arriving at Koh Rong

It takes all day from Siem Reap to Sihanoukville, with a stop and change of bus in Phnom Penh around lunchtime. The bus service is relatively clean and comfortable, as long as you don’t mind loud Hong Kong kung-fu movies dubbed over in Khmer. Any guesthouse or hotel can arrange tickets. The quality and safety record of the various bus companies varies widely, as does the price. Make sure you know what you are paying for before you buy.

Siem Reap – Sihanoukville: $15-$25 / about 12 hours

Phnom Penh – Sihanoukville $10-$15 / about 6 hours

You will probably have to spend the night in Sihanoukeville. The next morning, take the ferry to the island. Speed Ferry Cambodia (

website

) is a reputable company. You can book online or through your guesthouse.

9.00am, 11.30am, 3.00pm

Return:

10.00am, 12.30pm, 4.00pm

Sihanoukeville – Koh Rong – $10 / 45 minutes -1 hour

http://speedferrycambodia.com/

Arriving on Koh Rong

Arriving on Koh Rong, you will be greeted by a surprising number of foreigners, mostly European or Australia, trying to get you to stay at their guesthouses. They aren’t pushy, and are in fact very helpful and friendly! The island seems to be popular with the hippy type, and you immediately feel relaxed and laid back as island life takes hold of you.

I was actually surprised at how helpful everyone was! Stepping off the boat, we were greeted with “do you need a guesthouse?” When I answered in the negative, I was given a warm greeting and directions to the bungalow I had already booked!

<img src="https://lbconvert.travel.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/760de-img.jpg beer and a walk along the white sand.

Koh Rong Island

3. Sunset Cruise and Bio-Luminescent Plankton

For an unforgettable evening, you can sign up for a sunset cruise around the island and the chance to see bio-luminescent plankton just off the shore. Koh Rong is famous for the microscopic plankton that glow blue in the dark. A night cruise will cost around $10.

Where to Stay on Koh Rong

Unless you are prepared to go all out for one of the luxury resorts on Koh Rong’s private beaches, your best bet is either a dorm in the village or a bungalow just off the beach.

Depending on the resort, a bungalow should run between $20-$50 per night, although can be a lot more expensive than that depending on the amenities provided.

We stayed at Paradise Bungalow for $21/night, and were quite happy with our stay, although it might be a little “rustic” for some.

https://paradise-bungalows.com/

Paradise Bungalow

Paradise Bungalows has a restaurant lounge with comfortable pillows, fans, 24-hour electricity, wifi, and good drinks. We spent our evenings relaxing to soft jazz music and watching the sunset over the water.

WARNING: When the bungalows warn you not to bring any food into your hut, HEED THAT ADVICE! The jungles are populated with macaque monkeys who are very curious and would love to get their hand on any “people food” they can find! The hotel dogs ran through the property each morning chasing the monkeys back into the jungle, although we did wake up one morning to see a monkey in our hut!

Interested in Cambodia? Check out some photos from my first book, “The Long Road From Pub Street: A Cambodia Travelogue”!

Booking.com

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