Cambodia beach, resort, Sihanoukville beach & more.

Luckily the tourist here is not pray of Tuk Tuk mafia, Jet Ski scam and other gangsters who come to the tourist places of Thailand from all over the country to harass the foreigners under the protection of local "influential people".

Serendipity & Ochheuteal are the most busy sand strips during the day and night. During daytime its sunbathing and swimming, during nighttime its restaurants and bars.

Every couple of meters is a BBQ grilling fresh seafood, beef and pork. Behind the houses and beside the road to downtown are some open air discos scammed with tourists.

If you like more action with plenty of nightlife try Phuket nightlife but keep in mind what's written in the previous sentence.

Sokha Resort at Sihanoukville

is probably the premier resort in this area, with a kilometer long sandy front and very clean. Interestingly this resort looks very similar to the former Regent Cha Am Resort south of Bangkok at Hua Hin

At Sihanoukville, hotels, resorts and guesthouses are plenty but at high season filled up quickly since many people from Phnom Penh come to the south for a couple of days whenever possible. The road from the capital to the harbor town is quite good now (2012), means it's a 3 hour drive, maybe with some stops along the  way.

Koh Kong

is to the west of Sihanoukville but there are no developments on the waterfront around Koh Kong, from the city it takes at least a 20 minutes motorbike ride to reach a nice sand strip as seen at Koh Kong.

Kampot and Kep

are east of Sihanoukville, that area is also rather little developed but this is exactly why many travelers choose it for staying a while, its pristine but it functions good, means no problem with electricity, internet, hotels, resorts, restaurants etc. the waterfront picture was taken from Bokor Mountain National Park.

In particular at weekends and holidays people from Phnom Penh come down to the south to have some fun at a Cambodia beach.

It's somehow similar to Thailand were many Bankokians drive down the motorway to Hua Hin at holidays and weekends. Room prices at Hua Hin double at that times, luckily until now the Cambodians haven't adapt to this grid driven mentality to such an extend, more.

In front of Sihanoukville beaches

are several islands with pristine white sandy strips, currently the waterfront at the islands are mainly the destination for some small ships on a snorkeling and scuba diving tour.

Fringed with coniferous trees and some palms here and there plus the warm blue waters of the South China Sea, a Cambodia beach somehow is a setting of a paradise on earth foe the sun seeker of Europe US and elsewhere.

Serendipity & Ochheuteal, there are all the bars, discos, restaurants, grills and barbecues plus cheap Sihanoukville guest house and hotels. Tourism is probably the most important part of the Cambodian economy, even it is on small scale compared to other ASEAN nations, but its growing continuously.

The majority of tourists are drawn by the monuments of Angkor Cambodia but there is definitely more tourist relevant potential beside the temples which are not only at Angkor, in almost every part of Cambodia great temples can be visited, there are no much interesting temples at Sihanoukville.

Probably one of the best news is that prices are moderate, accommodations good, food is tasteful, people are nice and for the guys there is also some nightlife available if wanted with cute Cambodia nightlife girls.

Otres

is a bit east of of the two above and rather more pristine, there are not many people around, its the right place to have a quiet day.

Many Cambodia guesthouses have hotel level but run as guesthouses since the taxation is lower. In general almost all hotels and guesthouses are quite new which assures a good standard. There are some smaller guesthouses at Sihanoukville downtown which are not good at all, be careful when booking through internet since it's easy to get a negative surprise.

I stayed here, an excellent guesthouse with new and modern rooms, 60 channel satellite TV plus internet, barbecue etc. is Sontepheap Guest House, Tel. 011 762978 / 016 598050. All rooms are with attached bathroom, shower etc. prices start at around $ 20,- per night. The walk to the seafront is 5 minutes since hotels and guesthouses are at the roads behind Ochheuteal waterfront road.

Everything needed is available and more, including reliable electricity, internet, and western restaurants as well as Asian and European prepared with the western travelers tastes in mind including Khmer seafood, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Italian, German, Russian, Indian, Sri Lankan and more coming soon. For travel with a slim budget, want to have fun in an exotic country with very friendly and civilized people who speak also quite some English Cambodia is an ideal choice, probably the best option in south east Asia for this parameters. If you like a Cambodia companion

At this waterfront (Ochheuteal) they just copy what's going on in Thailand one of this is massage and here we have Cambodia beach massage and some more skin treatment.

The tourists like it, the locals earn money, so what. I had a good massage of this type at Kampot the other day, at that massage shop all ladies employed were blind and they did a good job.

I was really physically down after trekking up the mountain at Bokor National Park and they did some real relaxation, its sometimes amazing what they can do.

For backpackers

this area is also an ideal playground, guesthouses, food and drinks are rather cheap, its even a bit less than in Thailand. Since there are quite a lot of western owned business around they function as a good equalizing instrument for getting cheated to much.

The environ around is sometimes very basic since most roads are not good at all which is not a good thing and shows a very unprofessional approach form the city administration, even the tuk tuk drivers wont go to Otres which is just behind Ochheuteal because the road is real bad.

There are so many poor people there why not giving them some money and have them cleaned the stretches of sand, they look gorgeous when maintained at least a little, for location use the map at right side.

More infrastructure development could bring a great trip at the South China Sea also the hinterland of Sihanoukville and Koh Kong is very promising with lush forests, often bamboo with some exotic wildlife, is still here since many areas were not accessible during the Khmer Rouge Regime and after because of the mines. Visiting the countries seaside is not such a memorable trip as a trip to Angkor but lots could be done.

A very good negative example is Otres waterfront just behind Ochheuteal. Ochheuteal is the second best developed waterfront behind Sokha but Otres which somehow looks better than Ochheuteal is 

Beach Life is not sophisticated, have a sunburn, go swimming and enjoy the simple life.

Otres waterfront is rather rudimentary but it has its charm, its simple, pure, cheap and no amenities. What you get is a pristine stretch of sand and some good time.

Here is Otres waterfront simple and pure its not far from Ochheuteal, so if the Tuk Tuk don't want to go there just walk or rent a motor bike.

biking, there are motor bike tours out of Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. Some water sports are available, if you have enough of the water go shopping or have something to eat sea food is fresh, its prepared on the grill in front of you, sit down on a chair in the sand and enjoy the sunset over the sea. The waters of the South China Sea, fine sand and a relaxed atmosphere create a perfect Cambodia beach life. With warm tropical water around the islands further out is also a ideal place for scuba diving and snorkeling, such watch the underwater world teeming with exotic fishes and corals, there is lots to do get it started

ship operators from Singapore call at Sihanoukville. The Islands of in the Gulf of Thailand are mostly uninhabited; sometimes having fishing villages with a few dozen people only.

Islands such as Koh Tang, have only 7 residents and would take the better part of a day to hike around, so if you are looking for that island to play Robinson, or maybe Tom Hanks in Cast Away it could be done, but it gets boring after a while even when the Cambodia beach has all positive features together.

Popular Sihanoukville waterfront is the combination people like, its sun, food, disco and girls, all for very affordable prices, this is one destination with great future, it just will take some more time.

Cambodia beaches

are not very developed yet which is positive and negative. Don't expect a similar infrastructure like in neighboring Thailand. The country is just starting to developed a good infrastructure with hotels of various comfort level slowly emerge, more.