1 week in Cambodia: History, pristine beaches, and Angkor WAt
I won’t lie - out of all the countries on my Southeast Asia tour - Cambodia was the only one that had me a little nervous when I arrived at the airport.
If you’ve traveled Southeast Asia at all or have read anything online, then you know that Cambodia has a little bit of a bad reputation. Tourists frequently report feeling unsafe, there is lots of reported theft, and the cities are a little bit grungy. Even as an extremely confident solo traveler who rarely looks over her shoulder (and is probably too trusting in the innate good of people), I was a little wary for the first time I can remember in my travels heading into Phnom Penh.
In my defense, I had spent the last three months listening to fellow travelers moan and groan about how Cambodia was unreasonably expensive, sweltering hot, and mildly terrifying. So when I arrived (at night, perfect), I nervously hailed a tuktuk, had a gorilla grip on my crossbody bag and phone the whole time I rode to my hostel, and was extremely paranoid about how much this 30 minute solo ride would cost me.
…6 dollars y’all. It cost me 6 dollars. And when the driver couldn’t accept my dollar bills because he didn’t have change, he generously let me check into my hostel and exchange money at reception, fully trusting that I would come back out and pay him.
It wasn’t at all how I expected to be treated in Cambodia, and I continued, time and time again, to be proven wrong about my preconceived notions of the country.
In fact, I had the best one week in Cambodia! (To be fair…It was as just as swelteringly hot as everyone said - but everything else I had been warned about was not my experience whatsoever! )
Cambodia is 100% worth your time, and I will sing it’s praises until the day I die. I had anticipated feeling the need to rush through the country, and as a result didn’t plan more than 10 days there, which I regret! So here I am, plotting and biding my time until I can return and see all the things I missed the first time around.
If you’re short on time, however, 1 weeks in Cambodia is enough time to see the highlights: Phnom Pen, Koh Rong, and Siem Reap.
Is Cambodia Safe?
The biggest fear I had in Cambodia was being the victim of a drive-by theft, where you’re either walking along the road with google maps on your phone, not paying attention to your surroundings, just trying to find your way back to your hostel, and a local drives by on a motorbike and snatches your phone out of your hands.
Another common criminal activity that I heard of was of a similar nature, just that the local will pull up next to you in a tuktuk and snatch your purse or bag while you’re not paying attention.
These (thankfully!!) did not happen to either of me, but I do believe it is important to be aware of what has happened to others in the past so you can take necessary precautions and prevent something like this from either ruining your trip or altering your mindset towards the people of the country.
I always held my phone very tightly, and put it away when I could. Even when I was in the “safety” of the back of a tukuk, I had my bag across my body with a hand on the strap, just in case. As with any other country, stay aware of your surroundings, keep an eye (and a gorilla grip) on your belongings, and make smart choices!
Best time to visit Cambodia:
The best time to visit Cambodia is typically stated as being in between November and February, and this is also when I went right around when I went! I was there for the last week of October and the first week of November, and had beautiful weather. Yes - it was the hottest country I had visited yet, but the sun was always shining.
The heat peaks around March and April - with the average day hovering round 90 but creeping well over 100. Technically this is dry season, but the humidity makes the real-feel SO much hotter.
Tourists typically tend to avoid rainy season for obvious reasons, but although showers will happen frequently, they’re short, and the vegetation is thriving. Prices will also be much cheaper for not only hotels but also for attractions such as Angkor Wat!
I would say ANY month is the best time to visit Cambodia, as you can’t really go wrong.
One Week in Cambodia
Day 1 + 2: Phnom Penh
So for this specific itinerary, it’s ideal to fly into Phnom Penh and then fly out of Siem Reap. I personally entered the country from Vietnam and continued onto Thailand (If you’re backpacking - this is probably what you’ll do as well!) But if you’re planning Cambodia as a stand alone vacation, maybe check to see if a short domestic flight from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (in order to get round trip international flights) is more or less expensive than flying into one city and out of the other!
Phnom Penh is a really good starting point for your Cambodia itinerary, as there are so many cultural and historical sights and tours you can take that will impact how you see the rest of Cambodia during your time there. At times, this history can be extremely heavy, but I do feel like it’s important for travelers to be educated on the atrocities that the Cambodian people have experience in the not-very-distant past, so that they can fully appreciate each smile they see and kind interaction they have.
For people to have lived through something so horrible and still even have kindness in their heart and a smile to offer is incredible, and not something to be taken for granted!
On your first day in the city, however, I would take a walk along the river, grab some local Khmer food, and spend the remaining time you have walking around the Royal Palace as well as any temples you stumble across! The one pictured here is called Wat Langka, and it just appeared as we were walking down a random street! There are so many gorgeous little pockets like this that aren’t in any guidebook, so just see what you find!
The royal palace is absolutely stunning and reminded me of the royal palace in Bangkok! I personally can’t get enough of Southeast Asian Architecture; it’s SO beautiful.
For your second day in Phnom Penh, you’ll visit S21, the old school that was converted into a prison during the ruthless reign of the Khmer Rouge, as well as the infamous killing fields.
While I’m not normally a lover of guided tours or audio guides, I do think that it is necessary at these sites. It is a hard history to hear, like I previously mentioned, but for me personally, it provided so much grace in my heart for these people who are still working to rebuild, especially without guidance from an older generation, as they were nearly completely wiped out.
1 in 4 Cambodians died in the 1970’s, so if you look around, you’ll see that there aren’t that many older people! It was a jaw-dropping realization to have, but if you get the chance to visit Cambodia, take note!
S21 was grim, but powerful. Out of 20,000 people who came into the high-school-converted-prison, only 12 people walked out alive. One of the children who survived wrote a book, and was sitting there signing copies and telling us about his story - he survived by hiding under a pile of dirty laundry while they killed his mother in the same room.
And yet there he was, back at the place that is the root of his trauma, telling us everything the experience taught him, with a smile on his face.
The Cambodian people are RESILIENT.
After walking through the killing fields and waiting on a bench outside for the rest of my friends from the hostel to finish up, a local family waved me into their convenience shop after noticing that I was having a little bit of a rough time processing my emotions.
Once inside, they lifted up their tablecloth and showed me a FRESH litter of the cutest puppies I’ve ever seen, and I was BEYOND grateful! I’m happy that I got to learn more about Cambodian history and pay my respects, but then lift my spirits and come to peace with everything by snuggling newborn puppies.
Shoutout to the local Cambodian family who knew exactly what I needed in that moment.
Where to stay in Phnom Penh
There are so many incredible places to stay in Phnom Penh for SO CHEAP, so if you’re looking to splash out in Cambodia (and by splash out I mean spend 50 bucks on the most beautiful hotel you’ve ever seen), Phnom Penh is the place to do it.
Pro Tip: Booking through Agoda for any Asian destination will offer you a better price than booking! Browse All Phnom Penh options here! (There’s sooooo many good ones)
Best Pool (you’ll want a pool - trust me) The Peninsula Phnom Penh
Best Luxury Hotel: The Bale Phnom Pehn
Best Rooftop: Anik Palace Hotel
Most Unique: Floatation Floating Bungalows
Best Hostel (This is where I stayed and I HIGHLY recommend!!): Mad Monkey
Days 3-4: Koh Rong
The morning of your third day in Phnom Penh, grab a shuttle or a bus to Sihanoukville! This port town isn’t anything worth writing home about (in my opinion!), as it’s just a polluted city that’s filled with Casinos. It is, however, the gateway to the islands of Cambodia, and is a necessary evil.
I got dropped off at the ferry port and had to wait two hours for our boat to leave, so I grabbed a smoothie at a nearby café and caught up on some work.
There are two popular islands: Koh Rong, and Koh Rong Sanloem. I actually visited both and would recommend checking each one out, but if I had to just pick one, I would say to go with Koh Rong.
Now, I think you guys are in for a little bit of a shock.
Did I ever once think that after three months traveling through Southeast Asia (Bali, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.), that the very best beaches I’ve seen in my entire life would be in Cambodia? Literally NO - it wasn’t even a possibility in my brain.
And yet there I was, standing on the sand in front of my hostel, eyes as wide as saucers. Would you LOOK at this water???
I’m not going to lie: I’m sure that there are great things to do on these islands - and I did do a few of them! I signed up for a fishing and snorkel tour through my hostel on Koh Rong Samloem, I attended the Nestival (a weekly rave that happens every Saturday at The Nest on Koh Rong), and I’ve even heard that there’s really good scuba diving! Unfortunately, I wasn’t certified yet so I can only go off of what people told me.
But if I’m being honest, the main thing I did here is to lay on the beach. The sand is white, the water is as clear as a swimming pool, and it was exactly what I picture when the word “paradise” comes into my head.
On both islands, I spent the majority of the time hanging out at the hostels, as transportation on the island is extremely difficult, so choose where you stay wisely!
Where to stay in Koh Rong
Most centrally located: Smile Guesthouse
Best Resort: BeachWalk Koh Rong and The Secret Garden Koh Rong
Best Hostel (Where I stayed!): The Nest Beach Club
Days 4-7: Siem Reap
Ahhhhhh, we’ve finally arrived to the star of the show - the main reason you’re probably planning your trip to Cambodia in the first place. Siem Reap, a city with tuk tuks, street food, and tangled phone lines galore, as well as picturesque parks along the river, vibey modern bars, and even hip artisan kombucha shops - not to mention the EPIC expanse of ancient temples just a 20 minute drive away.
I left Koh Rong in the evening, and then hung out in Sihanoukville until my overnight bus left (budget hack - paying for an overnight bus ticket is essentially paying for transport you would already pay for but also like getting a night of accommodation for free - I use them whenever possible!), and I arrived in Siem Reap the next day fresh faced and ready to tackle Angkor Wat! You can also fly if overnight busses aren’t your thing, but they really do save time if you’re only spending one week in Cambodia.
People flock to Siem Reap because of it’s proximity to the temples of Angkor, but I’ll be honest - I wasn’t expecting the actual city to blow me away the way that it did! It’s somewhere I could see myself holing up for weeks on end (if I ever make it as a digital nomad!); I loved it so much.
Pub street is so much fun for a bar crawl, you can take a day trip to the floating villages of Tonle Sap Lake or take a cooking class! Make sure you allow a few days in the city to explore Siem Reap beyond Angkor Wat because it really is such a cool city.
Although I didn’t know just how amazing Siem Reap itself was going to be, I did expect major things from Angkor - and lemme tell you: IT. DELIVERED.
There are multiple ways you can visit Angkor Wat - you can either book a guided tour, find a tuktuk driver to take you all around, rent a bicycle, or even a motorbike. There are also a few different ticket options, but information surrounding them online is pretty confusing.
I bought a 1 day ticket, but with the purchase of the 1 day ticket , I got another day free. This was a pandemic promotion - but some people on the internet have posted this information thinking it was the usual - this promotion is not longer running!! Now, there are 1, 3 and 7 day passes, that are only good for that many ENTRIES. So if you use two entries on your first day (say, if you go for sunrise, come home for a nap, and then head back out in the late afternoon, that counts as 2 of your 3 days).
I only had two days to explore, but thankfully I was able to just by the 1 day ticket and get my second free because of when I visited.
Honestly, if I could go back, I would totally go for a third day. Most people don’t realize that while Angkor Wat is just one temple, there are about 72 temples located in Angkor. It’s an entire archeological site, and because they are quite spaced out, I only go the chance to visit 4 or 5! That extra day would’ve been rough on my feet and on my exhaustion levels, but I definitely would’ve powered through for the thrill of it and for the privilege of being able to see just a few more.
I stopped by Angkor Wat, OBVIOUSLY, but I also popped by Bayon, which is known for the sheer amount of facial depictions, Tah Prohm, which is what you’re picturing if your expectations of Angkor are coming straight out of Lara Croft Tomb Raider, and Ta Som, which has the iconic tree-root-covered-door photo spot but not much else.
I visited the first three on my little tuktuk tour that I joined my first day, and then I revisited some and popped by some new ones the next day on my motorbike.
If you’re comfortable on a motorbike, I HIGHLY recommend going for it. It gives you so much freedom with your time and schedule, the roads are flat and easy, and there nothing like flying through Angkor with archeological sites and temples on both sides of the road, wind whipping through your hair. It made the whole day an experience, as opposed to seeing the tuktuk rides between temples as solely transportation if that makes sense.
If you’re not comfortable on a bike, be sure to book a tour. Angkor Wat is over 150 square miles (400 square kms!) and even if you rented a bike you would be absolutely huffing and puffing, not to mention the amount of time you spend on your feet exploring the temples themselves!
Exploring the temples of Angkor is one of my top 5 moments in Asia for me, for SURE.
Where to stay in Siem reap:
Siem Reap is probably the most expensive place in terms of accommodation in Cambodia, but it is still extremely affordable compared to other countries! I have dying to splash out and stay at the Park Hyatt here, it looks absolutely stunning.
Browse all accommodations in Siem Reap Here!
Best Luxury (still affordable!): Park Hyatt Siem Reap
Best affordable Resort: Eightfold Urban Resort
Best Hostel (I Stayed in Mad Monkey!): Mad Monkey, Onderz, and Lub D
That wraps up One Week in Cambodia!
The moral of the story is: Give every destination a fair chance, and you might be surprised! My preconceived notions about what Cambodia would be like made me paranoid and distrusting, and I hate that my mindset was “guilty until proven innocent” instead of the alternative.
Not once did I ever feel unsafe in Cambodia, but I was surprised by the kindness of everyone I met more times than I can count.
Cambodia is full of hard history, but it is also full of unbelievable nature, epic reminders of civilizations past, and incredible, resilient people. I absolutely loved my week in Cambodia, and I’m dying to go back!
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