Cambodia beach, beaches around Sihanoukville, Koh Kong and Kampot.

Since there is almost no beach tourism except around Sihanoukville there are plenty of untouched waterfronts. Even at Sihanoukville the premier beach destination it is possible to find total seclusion when traveling the extra mile.

Actually it’s not even a mile, it’s a 5 minutes drive from Ochheuteal Beach to Otres waterfront and that's totally off the tourist radar. Because of the mad Khmer Rouge fast patches of land have not been touched since long time of fear to step onto a mine, on the other hand this kept poachers and other scum away and nature had time to rebuild.

There are plenty of beach hotels, resorts

and guest houses in the area behind the waterfront, from budget level to the luxury level. Many excellent houses have a guesthouse classification

but are much better than a normal guesthouse, that has something to do with the tax system in country where guesthouses pay less tax than hotels and some of them pass this to the clients.

This Cambodia beach area is fast becoming a great holiday destination since the cost performance relation is perfect.

Beaches around this harbor town are getting already a bit busy and overcrowded. Ochheuteal is becoming a bit like Patong in Phuket but it's a much more relaxed environ and less commercialized.

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

If you like 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 beach 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 the Koh Kong beach pictures here.

Kampot and Kep

are east of Sihanoukville, that area is also rather little developed but this is exactly why many

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 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 a lot of Asian European food  foods prepared with the western travelers tastes in mind including Khmer seafood, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Italian, German, Russian, Indian, Sri Lankan and more coming soon

ladies here in the south of the country, the gay scene is rather hidden.

Cambodia beach pictures

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 Cambodia beaches 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 looks better than Ochheuteal is in a real mess, not even a tuk tuk drives there because of the bad road. Since the countries future is definitely linked to tourism it’s a puzzle why they don’t do something, because that needs

Water sport activities and adventures.

One of the most interesting is dirt 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

of banks for money change, they also do "Western Union with cash in $".

Several scheduled busses run between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville about a dozen time per day for $ 6,- and the best seafront is just 4 bus hours away from Phnom Penh. Taxis vans, minibuses and regular buses are available at the city and the beaches. Also

for travel to Phnom Penh and Koh Kong, there is also a ship connection to the Thai Cambodian border border. Some cruise 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 beaches are the combination people like, its sun, food, disco and girls, all for very affordable prices, this is one beach destination with great future, it just will take some more time.

Cambodian 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 develope a good infrastructure with hotels of various comfort level slowly emerge, more.