Cambodia?

[ab620]

I am planning a trip summer 2019 to SE Asia. I am thinking Cambodia. Has anyone had experience with this country? I am trying to keep this on the cheap with services like Air Bnb etc. Any other good ways to save money?

My budget is 4-5k total.

 

[kramer]

I am planning a trip summer 2019 to SE Asia. I am thinking Cambodia. Has anyone had experience with this country? I am trying to keep this on the cheap with services like Air Bnb etc. Any other good ways to save money?

My budget is 4-5k total.

Lodging in Cambodia is really cheap. Honestly, about a week was enough for me in Cambodia (at least from the tourist perspective). But there are beaches in the south, too, that I didn't visit.

Two full days in Siem Reap was enough for me. I spent a day seeing the temples and Angkor Wat (and one day was plenty) and one day doing a tour of the Tonle Sap Lake area and its people done by a guy who was from one of the villages we visited. Siem Reap itself is just an artificial tourist town.

I spent four full days in Phnom Phen (which I enjoyed way more than the city of Siem Reap) and I had a couple of friends there to go out with. I took a tourist bus between Phnom Phen to Siem Reap (flew into Phnom Phen from Bangkok and out from Siem Reap to the Philippines where I live).

 

[GrayHare]

Cambodia is poorer than Vietnam, and that tends to hold down prices. The people are friendly. Like much of SE Asia, Cambodia experiences long stretches of hot and humid weather.

 

[frayne]

I was there back in 1970 with the 1st Cav. accommodations weren't all that good but I got free helicopter transport both in and out of country.

 

[brett]

We did 10 days in Cambodia two winters ago. Flew in from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Then overland to Phnom Penh for a few days, then overland to Kampot, and then crossed the border into Vietnam.

Are you certain that you want to go in summer months? We typically go that area during our winter.

As others have said, Cambodia is very inexpensive. Currency is USD. I looked up our hotel cost in Siem Reap for another person. We paid $28USD for a nice hotel. It included made to order breakfast. Place had a very nice pool. I think we paid about the same in Kampot. Phnom Penh was about $50USD for a nice place.

In country transport is inexpensive-both van/bus and air transport. Angkor was good, and we liked Kampot. Phnom Penh was nothing special. We very much prefer Thailand and Vietnam.

 

[Red Badger]

I was there back in 1970 with the 1st Cav. accommodations weren't all that good but I got free helicopter transport both in and out of country.

How were the culinary aspects?

On a more somber note - thanks for your sacrifice.

 

[frayne]

How were the culinary aspects?

On a more somber note - thanks for your sacrifice.

They were great if you like C rations. And thank you, it was a privilege to serve, although it didn't seem like such a good idea at the time.

On another note both Viet Nam and Cambodia are very beautiful countries and the Vietnamese people are humble, friendly and great people. I have not an iota of animosity towards any folks in that part of the world and only wish them the best.

 

[brett]

We have spent several winters in SE Asia. Going back next again in Jan for two months.

We spent a month in Vietnam last winter. It was all independent travel. We very much preferred Vietnam to Cambodia. But, we are a little biased as we like being near the ocean. Certainly if we had to pick between them or decide how much time in each we would lean heavily to more time in Vietnam.

I think that now is the time to go to Vietnam. Prices are still reasonable but there can be no doubt that tourism (and industry) is on definite curve upward.

 

[BeachOrCity]

I spent 5 days in Phnom Penh and 3 in siem reap last year. Fantastic part of a month long journey. We did not do it on the cheap, but the place is very inexpensive and I am sure you can find something to fit ur budget

Go for it. For accommodations I would look at places on trip advisor and Airbnb Both

 

[Danmar]

Spent about 2 week’s there in 2014. Mekong river cruise, Angkor Wat temple ruins, great beach resort Song Sa near Sihanoukville. Great trip but overland transport is pretty scary. Lots of accidents, traffic, and bad roads. So bad we ended up chartering a helicopter from Siem Reap to the riverboat. Generally good value for money but a lot of poverty. Agree Viet Nam is more interesting, and offers better travel experiences.

 

[ab620]

Thanks for the info all. My wife is a teacher so summer months are the only time we can go. I lived in Okinawa for a couple of years so I know about the heat. The plan is to do Siam Reap, Phnom Phen, and island Koh Rong.

 

[flyingaway]

I was in Siem Reap last summer. The local people still use their own money, but tourists use USD, exchange rate 1:2000. Things are cheap there, but things in USD get inflated, still are cheap.
Taking some antibody medicine, such as Amoxicillin, with you, as street foods may not be very safe.
People there are friendly and they do need money.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

Hello ab620, welcome to the forum.

Since your wife is a teacher you guys might be interested in doing some work with kids at one of the NGO English schools there. You didn't say how long you would be there, many of them want you to stay at least a month to be effective with the kids. All the kids want to learn English and they love to have native speakers to help them. Some of of the schools will let you stay at a place provided by the school, you pay a little, not very fancy, but cheap. Don't know what you and your wife like to do, but interacting with the people there can often be more rewarding than just seeing the tourist sites with other tourists, as amazing as some of them are.

Since you said you are going to see both Siem Reap and Phnom Penh you might want to take the speedboat along the Tonle Sap River between the two cities, a good way to see the river life and how some live along and on the river there.

I am jealous of you going to Koh Rong, we have been to Cambodia many times over the past decade, sometimes staying several months at a time, but have yet to go to Koh Rong, it is certainly on our list, will probably do it next time.

Angkor Wat and some of the other sites are certainly worth seeing, but if you see just the tourist sites you will not really see Cambodia nor what the people are really like. Visitors who only have contact with people who work the tourists sites will hate Cambodia, visitors who have a chance to see the real Cambodian people will love Cambodia!

The summers are actually not too bad if the rains have started they cool things down a bit. And don't worry about exchanging money, dollars are accepted everywhere, in fact the dollar is the defacto currency everywhere in Cambodia, the Riel is given only for change (they don't use or accept U.S. coins) and for purchasing low cost items. Cambodians use the dollar. However be careful that the U.S. currency you bring, especially $100 bills are in excellent condition, not too worn out, no marks or tears or they won't accept them. The exchange rate is about 4000 to the dollar not 2000 as was mentioned in another post. They are not quite as particular about the quality of $20 bills as they are for $100s, I don't know why, but take only good looking currency. ATMs are available in all the cities, but not yet in the countryside, while we take some cash with us, we mostly use ATMs.

You and your wife will have a great time.

 

[brett]

We spent several days in Siem Reap in Feb. We found it warm.

We were very glad of two things. Our hotel was air conditioned and had a very nice pool. We started our tour with the guide early in the morning and finished by 2:30. Then it was a swim and some cold beer.

Second thing we did not regret was hiring a guide with an SUV. He kept a cooler with bottled water in the back. Some people opt for a tuk tuk driver to take them to the site. The roads can be dusty.

It may seem quaint to travel to the sites by tuk tuk however we really feel that we got great value from a personalized guide. The cost this service was minimal. He knew where to take us and when in order to avoid the crowds. Plus he gave us many insights into the history and the hardships experienced by his own family.

We used a travel agency in Siem Reap to arrange our visas for Vietnam. Filled in the forms at the agency, left our passports. They sent them to the consulate in Battambang and we got them back the next day after 4PM. Very convenient.

 

[Danmar]

Oh, I forgot. We toured some of the temple sites at Angkor Wat by bicycle, Had a guide of course. Great way to do it. Was a high point.

 

[YoungSaver]

Thanks for the info all. My wife is a teacher so summer months are the only time we can go. I lived in Okinawa for a couple of years so I know about the heat. The plan is to do Siam Reap, Phnom Phen, and island Koh Rong.

Should be a good time. Two weeks would be plenty of time. For two people it should cost about $2300 all-in. Hotels are like $15 per night or less, meals are a few dollars per person. Flight might be $800-ish per person. Visa is like $35 each. Angkor Wat is a bit expensive. Go for the 3 day pass.

If your trip is longer than 2 weeks, which I recommend, then you should also visit another country.

For room bookings I use Agoda.com. You can also try Expedia.

Source, been there a few times.

 

[bearkeley]

If you haven’t booked, check out Halong Tours. We normally book all of our own rooms, flights, etc. but last year saw a great Groupon deal for a tour organized by Halong Tours. We don’t like the typical tours where you are restricted to the tour schedule and have to travel with the same people. With Halong, we were able to customize their tour packages and tell them exactly how many days we wanted at each place and if we wanted to fly vs train, etc and they were able to book with very little additional charges. We ran into some of the same tourists along our trip, but otherwise, it was very much like booking our own trip with someone doing all the hard work....really helped! Oh and of course, be sure to google and see if they still have Groupon deals. We did a Vietnam and cambodia tour.