Competing with neighbouring Thailand, Cambodia's islands have an understated charm and absolutely should be a part of your itinerary.
Situated off the southwest coast of the country, they're gorgeous, affordable, not completely overdeveloped, and not yet ruined (as ever though, it may only be a matter of time before tourism takes its toll). Whether you’re visiting Cambodia for a couple of weeks or closer to a month, you absolutely have to make spend a couple of days toes deep in soft sand and a sunset cocktail in hand.
Here are our top tips for visiting the Koh Rong islands that will leave you prepared and ready to relax, whichever island you choose…
You Need To Pick The Right Island for You
When we were planning our time in Cambodia, we did a lot of research into which island was right for us; indeed choosing between Koh Rong or Koh Rong Samloem is probably the biggest decision for people who aren’t travelling for more than three weeks.
Tourism has long been established on Koh Rong, and it’s famous as a bit of a party island amongst backpackers. But we didn’t want to go all the way to a beautiful island just to get pissed (although there remain several beaches on Koh Rong where you can have a more secluded experience).
Koh Rong Samloem on the other hand is much more relaxed, with the island only having been developed in the last few years. And whilst that has brought new accommodations, internet and a stable electricity supply, it’s a long way away from being overwhelmed by tourism. Its size, about a third of next door Koh Rong, is also a natural limitation on being overrun.
For couples looking for a more relaxed resort-like experience, we’d recommend the white sands of Saracen Bay (it’s where we stayed on KRS), whereas backpackers will likely be more suited to M’Pai Bay or Sunset Beach.
How You’re Getting There
We’ve written extensive guides on how to get to the Koh Rong islands from mainland Cambodia (plus the common mistakes travellers make with the daily ferries), so we’re not going to go in to too much detail here.
Essentially, you’ll need to make your way to the city of Sihanoukville on the south west coast by bus or plane (from Phnom Penh, that’s a 5 hour bus ride), and hop on a 1-2 hour ferry over to the the island of your choosing. Be sure to get this portion of your journey booked at least a day or so beforehand as the boats do book up in advance of departure. We used BookMeBus for booking all our transport in Cambodia, including ferries to Koh Rong, but CamboTicket is another popular choice.
If you are travelling long-term, then it’s pretty easy to island hop between the Koh Rong islands for day trips or so that you can have a few days on each .
Keep Reading | For all the info on transport costs, companies, and stops, those heading to Koh Rong should read this post, and Koh Rong Samloem fans should read this one.
The Best Time To Visit
As with most of Cambodia, peak travel season to the islands is between November and March when the skies are blue, rain is a rarity and humidity is manageable. We visited in February and apart from one overcast afternoon on arrival, the weather was bloody marvellous.
The only downside to visiting during this period of time however is the potential for accommodation nightly rate increases and busier beaches - so unless you’re generally not fussed where you stay, booking your hotel or hostel in advance is a good idea.
It is worth noting that whilst the islands do not shut down during the monsoon season (beginning in May, lasting to October with July, August and September seeing the most rain), there are some things to consider before booking your ferry:
Diving can be tricky during the wetter months when there is significantly less visibilty
The ferry journeys can be a little more unpleasant due to high winds and lots of waves. They can also depart late and take longer to reach their final destination.
Given that most people who visit a tropical paradise plan on spending a significant amount of time lazing on the beach, during the wetter months there will likely me several hours a day when this is not possible.
It’s More Expensive Than the Mainland
If you’ve spent time on a paradise island before, you’ll already know that the further you get from the mainland, the pricier things become.
Well, the same goes for the Koh Rong Islands.
As everything has to be shipped in daily, certain things like food and accommodation cost increases will be unavoidable (we were genuinely shocked at how much some of the fancier rooms were going for), but by thinking ahead and packing toiletries and sunscreen before you get on the boat can reduce the chances of spending a lot more dollars than necessary in the handful of minimarts!
The Koh Rong islands remain a very affordable paradise for long-term budget backpackers, but certain beaches and resorts are also now focussed on short-term travellers who are happy to spend more on resort-style accommodation. The good news for budget backers though is that even in the high season the islands don’t become prohibitively expensive, with plenty of cheap and cheerful dorm beds, the option of $3 fried noodles on every menu and an ever present happy hour somewhere on the beach.
Keep reading | Plan your travel budget with our post ‘What Things Cost in Cambodia’
Things Have Come a Long Way in the Last Few Years
There is a lot of outdated information about these islands, especially Koh Rong Samloem, which has developed its infrastructure and facilities a fair bit in the last few years.
It’s now got pretty decent wifi in Saracen Bay (although we wouldn’t try streaming a movie), you can connect to a 4G signal on your phone on the rest of the island, electricity served by generators is available all day and there’s even a handful of fancy resorts that would have been thought impossible until recently. There are still no vehicles though, with transport around the island being on foot or by boat.
Koh Rong, whilst being more built up accommodation wise with significantly more tourists, has about the same level of facilities. In short, you won’t be ‘roughing it’ on these islands.
Bring Enough Cash
As far as we are aware, there are no ATMs on either Koh Rong* or Koh Rong Samloem. This means that before you step foot on the ferry from Sihanoukville that you’ll need a rough idea of how long you plan on staying and what your expenses are likely to be.
It’s especially important that you factor in a relatively large chunk of cash for your accommodation, as whilst some of the fancier resorts allow payment by card at the end of your stay (charging 3.5 - 5% on top), this is often not the case. One work around here is to book and accommodation online which lets you pay the full costs in advance when booking, which could save you having to take out hundreds of extra dollars.
On both islands, you will also find several hotels and businesses which allow you to get ‘cash back withdrawals’, namely by paying them the withdrawal amount + 3.5 - 5%, and they’ll give you the dollars back in hard cash.
*We did read one article that mentioned an ATM in Koh Toch, but are unable to confirm this - if you could let us know your experience in the comments, that would be great!
Make Sure You Have Good Travel Insurance
As far as we’re concerned, this should apply to each and every travel situation - whether long or short haul - but it’s especially important when visiting countries with limited medical systems or infrastructure.
The simple fact is that Koh Rong and Koh Rong Samloem have no doctors, nurses or medical centres. And whilst a few of the dive instructors have basic first aid training, the most they can cope with is mild injuries - if you become very unwell or have a significant accident, you will need to return to Sihanoukville.
This is why having good medical insurance comes is so damn important! If you’re unable to make a planned return to Sihanoukville yourself, you’ll need an emergency evacuation, and without adequate cover this will cost you thousands.
Keep reading | Don’t travel without reading this post - 13 Common Mistakes To Avoid with Travel Insurance
You May Never Want To Leave
After an exceptionally drab January in the UK, we could happily have wiled away a fair few weeks traipsing our way across all of Cambodia’s little islands. After all, who doesn’t want to wake up in paradise every day, knowing that the two most difficult decisions that lie ahead are where exactly to lay down your sarong and when to have the first fruit-flavoured cocktail?
Which is exactly why we think that every Cambodian adventure should end on the islands - otherwise you’ll probably end up having to shave off days elsewhere.
In our Cambodia itinerary blog post, we recommend 2-3 days on one of the islands if you’re travelling for two weeks, or 4-5 days if you’re here for three weeks.
Of course, we would have been perfectly happy to stay much, much longer .
Be A Responsible Traveller, Please
You can’t drink the water from the tap on the Koh Rong Islands, which means many travellers consume a ridiculous amount of single-use plastic. Obviously, this is problematic. We travel everywhere with two travel filter water bottles, and this allowed us to access clean, safe drinking water instantly in Koh Rong and across Cambodia. We highly recommend everyone getting one for their own adventures (it also helps you to save a ton of cash on each trip). Find out more about how travel filter bottles work, and the ones we use and recommend, in this post.
We use our own metal straws, but you can easily pick up a bamboo straw in Phnom Penh. A growing number of businesses on the Koh Rong islands only use biodegradable or paper straws, and we can all support that by requesting one or asking for a cocktail or soft drink without a plastic straw.
Similarly, and it should go without saying, it’s the responsibility of all of us to help keep paradise paradise. Cause less trash, dispose of your trash correctly, don’t treat the beaches as an ashtray for your cigarette ash or butts, help local business who have instigated trash clean-up initiatives (often in exchange for a beer), and respect noise curfews in place to keep certain local villages like M’Pai Bay hospitable for locals.
It’s very much possible to have a brilliant travel experience without being a total dickhead.
Find out more about how to reduce your single-use plastic consumption when you travel, and why it’s so damn important, in this post.
