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 Traveller's Tales: Advise for travellers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Heed our handy tips on safe travel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. You may read about travel warnings, health, what to wear, travel with kids, travel with pets, local weather, local government, medical information and traffic information in the area.Also, you might want to read our
Angkor / Siem Reap city guide,
and Phnom Penh city guide.
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| C Evans |
24 May 2005 |
Stayed at Cambodiana Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Booked taxi driver who took me from airport, to go to Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Prison -- dirt road to Killing Fields VERY potholed, so would recommend car. Haunting experience, to be in such places -- but essential for any visit to Cambodia. Read a book called 'Stay Alive My Son' to get the full picture of the horror of the Pol Pot years! After that, hired a tuk-tuk from outside Hotel Cambodiana to take me around for 2 days -- ask for a driver called Bhu, who is brilliant. In tuk-tuk you get the 'feel' of Phnom Penh in a way you don't in a car -- but be careful with possessions. I was warned all the time to hang on to my bag. Must-do's are Russian Market, Wat Phnom, cocktails in Elephant Bar of Le Royal, lunch at Friends restaurant and Le Rits (both helping disadvantaged Phnom Penhois), shopping at Centre for Disabled Persons (Norodom Boulevard, near Wat Phnom), lunch / sundowners at Foreign Correspondents' Club. Khmer Surin restaurant (street 57) offers great food for dinner in lovely old Khmer house with lots of atmosphere -- also surprisingly cheap! Take plenty of dollars, as money flies through your hands in Phnom Penh! I loved it there (you can still see lots of raw Indochina, rather than the sanitised version available in Asian cities such as Bangkok) and will certainly be going back.
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| B Rasem |
20 February 2003 |
Stayed at Holiday Villa Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phnom Phen is especially at night, no really a safe place. After darkness nobody should undertake footwalks throughout the city. There are some other places (northern part of Phnom Phen) which can be unsafe during daytime as well. Because of these facts I would prefer a destination/hotel next to the riverside!
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| Y Cai |
03 February 2003 |
Stayed at Pacific - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Angkor Wat is incredible in all aspects. But there are several things you should be aware of before you open your mouth of this historic wonder:
The boat to Siem Reap can be suffering. Stay close to the head of the boat, either in the cabin or on the roof. No one warned me before, as a result, I had only half my hearing for the afternoon after I arrived.
Be aware of seemingly kind gesture, helping you this and that, everything has a price tag afterwards.
These are just some minor tips, you will enjoy the trip in general, relics, shopping, dining, talking and gesturing to the locals.
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| N Swamy |
23 October 2002 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Airport pick up was provided but return trip was not. Hotel provides transportation for sightseeing etc. for a fee but at least one of the vans is dilapidated. Check what vehicle you are getting.
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| M Stelbrink |
17 September 2002 |
Stayed at Regent Park Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phnom Penh is very worth visiting for 1-2 days and offers more than Tuol Sleng and Killing Fields (even though the presentation of the latter two is very professional, educational and really worth the visit). Hire a driver as public transport is very unorganized and individual movements within the city are sometimes difficult.
Good crafts and fabrics shopping at the Russian Market, but if you're European or American be prepared for a lot of attention by every shop owner and moving salespeople and beggars.
Overall a friendly, but also very poor city of a country that struggles to get to it's feet again after decades of war.
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| R Hazelwood |
27 August 2002 |
Stayed at Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Phenom Penh is a tough town. Not only is it still in terrible condition from the Khmer Rouge reign of terror, but the people aren't exactly the easiest to deal with. Traveling as a single woman I found I was harassed quite a bit, which is different from just about every other place I've been in Asia. Also, a huge number of beggars here. I wouldn't spend more than a day here en route to Angkor Wat and be prepared: the Killing Fields and the Museum of Genocide are incredibly disturbing, particularly the latter, which is very graphic. Everyone around me was crying by the end and I had nightmares for several days afterwards. Probably worth going to but steel yourself!
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| A Van der hulst |
09 May 2002 |
Stayed at Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Going around as a business man trying to discover market realities and possibilities is an adventure on itself, since the idea of trading companies does not have the same standard as those of other more developed countries. "Walking", well more climbing and obstacle jumping trough the Charles de gaulle avenue made me save my daily excercise in the gym, as i walked about 10 km and came back to the hotel brown of dust and mud, my T shirt which i always wear under my shirt to absorb perspiration was soaked because of the heat and I managed to squeeze quite some humidity out of it back in the hotel. People have an easy laugh, specially when i tried to avoid stepping on some formica laid out on the side walk with which they where working, hitting with my shoulder a tree and because it rained a while ago it created a local depression discharging on me, Yes i suppose that was funny for the 20 people watching me and laughing their kidneys out, and accidentally my finger went up behind my back.
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| C Nguyen |
28 April 2002 |
Stayed at Sunway Hotel Phnom Penh - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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If going to Siem Reap (Angor Wat) carrying few luggages or backpacks, best take a motorbike taxi instead of regular taxi, unless many people. Expensive at $5 USD for such a short ride.
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| M Trinephi |
01 April 2002 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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One recommendation: start the day early, as it starts getting very hot as early as 9 AM. and take a nap in the middle of the day when it's too hot to move!
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| H Heinz |
28 February 2002 |
Stayed at Tai Seng Hotel - Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
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Recommenden Restaurant: Foreign Correspondance Club at Riverside. Good Pizzas.To Kompong Som please take official trasportation means and not just a taxi at USD 45.
Be aware of (somtimes aggresivess) transvestites at Riverside, even if you would swear to talk to a lady, it's a man !
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