Sihanoukville, Cambodia. About Sihanoukville.

SihanoukVille is a town large city
in Cambodia.
People live there.
It is fun!

The casino city in Cambodia is bigger than Macau now, with over 100 casinos.
The main tourist port for the country.
The biggest Chinatown in the country (the entire city)
Seaside, Hills, Islands, Casinos, Chinese Restaurants and more.
Construction Zone.
Shopping
Seaside Resorts.
Come visit SihanoukVille today!

Everything you need to know.

While you can spend all your time laying on the beach, there are a few other places to go, things to see, and activities.

SihanoukVille
is located on the coast of Cambodia, about halfway between Thailand and Vietnam, on the Bay of Thailand. A spread out tourist city for both foreigners and local people from all over the country, though now, mostly just Chinese come here for gambling or work. Three sides of the city are bordered by tropical beaches and islands. Filled with empty beaches, crowded beaches construction, seafood, restaurants, bars, Buddhist Temples, casinos, hotels, and more beaches and casinos. At less that a hundred places, English is spoken; and many Chinese speakers are here as well. About 10 or less other languages are spoken at various guesthouses and restaurants.

Prime Time
in SihanoukVille is between the beginning of November and the end of February. Cooler weather, sunny most days, and not a worry in the world. Winter in SihanoukVille is the best! Low season is between the end of April until the end of October. Lots of rain or very hot. Though thanks to global warming, we get many beautiful sunny days as well. March to May starts to get hotter and more humid, but not too much rain. June to September is the Rainy Season. October sees a little rain everyday, which cools things down. Also, during many Cambodian holidays, the city fills up as well.

Nowadays, the remaining hotels are full year round, except for the Otres area. The casinos have taken most of the old hotels for their operations, so the supply of rooms is limited, unless you're gambling..... then you get a free room! Otres Beach and Otres Village still have many rooms left during the rainy season. Except that it's raining many days then.

Getting to SihanoukVille
is easy. From Thailand, just fly from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, (or now SihanoukVille!?) about a 45 minute flight. Then take 2.5 hour ride by private taxi or bus from Phnom Penh ($55+) or a $25 taxi from the SihanoukVille Airport to SihanoukVille City.

Or take a 4 to 6 hour bus or car from Koh Kong, at the South-Eastern Thai border near Trat, to SihanoukVille.

From Vietnam, just fly from Saigon or Hanoi to Phnom Penh and then by bus or taxi. You can also fly right into the city now from Saigon (Ho Chi Minh). You can come by land through Kampot Province. About a 3 hour drive.

From China, just tell them you want to gamble, and show that you have tens of thousands of Yuan, and you'll get a free flight, room, and meals.

From Phnom Penh, 2.5 hour ride by taxi or 2.5 to 9 hour bus ride to get here. (There's a new superhighway. Cost a couple dollars more, but you'll want to use it.) The train leaves everyday now from downtown Phnom Penh to SihanoukVille, and is a very pleasant and scenic 7+ hour ride.

Also, from the Kep, Cambodia / Vietnam border, in Ha Tien, you're just 3 to 4 hours from SihanoukVille.

Flights arrive from Angkor Wat every few days in the afternoon at the SihanoukVille Airport. Flights are now (or will soon be) arriving from Phnom Penh, Vietnam, Kuala Lumpur, several cities in China and Bangkok, and Korea.

Easiest way is just to hop on a cruise ship from Australia or Singapore and stop by the city for the day on your travels.

The city is undergoing a major renovation now, including some of the infrastructure.... Skyscrapers are going up everywhere. At the moment though, many of these skyscrapers are abandoned.

Although Otres has the biggest concentration of cranes, they're mostly in one place, and it's still the most relaxed place to be in town.

90 casinos are up and running and several, (more like several dozen) more are being built.

The islands are growing up too. Still several areas and islands that are very beautiful and peaceful (or major party areas).

By the late 2020's, the city should be quite different than it is today......
Hopefully, better ???

Layout of SihanoukVille When you arrive in SihanoukVille, your first stop is usually the bus station (at random places in the city), coming from Phnom Penh or Koh Kong, Kampot, ......or the Port coming from a cruise ship. From downtown, in the East, South, and West, there are beaches and more beaches. To the North, are small mountains going back to Phnom Penh, Kampot, Kep, and Koh Kong.

Downtown is of course in the middle of the city. Shopping, banking, medical and all other services (except beach services). From here, you're a 5 to 15 minute drive to most beaches, depending on traffic. The only tourist beach not close to downtown is Otres Beach (and now Ream Beach), which is another 5 to 10 minutes further.

No public transportation, ~~but you can walk, ride a rented bicycle, rent a motorcycle (100cc easy to drive)~~, ~~ride on the back of a motodup (motorcycle taxi)~~, hop on a tuk tuk, a cart pulled by a motorcycle, or rent a car with driver. You really don't want to drive yourself here.

You can now download PassApp to catch a Tuk Tuk cheap and quick.

More Information!
can be found at most guesthouses, hotels, and restaurants. There are several services in town, which provide boat trips and car and motorcycle rentals. Want to speak a few words in Khmer, the Cambodian Language. Speak Khmer!

... and find many useless tidbits about our town in
Unofficial Facts & Figures about SihanoukVille.

Cambodian Islands